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My 12 yr old Daughter has been unwell since 28 September

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sarah290981
sarah290981

Hi, looking for abit of advice.. My 12 yr old Daughter became unwell in September with abdominal pain. She had bloods done, x ray and an ultrasound and they removed her appendix. After surgery (key hole) she was still unwell suffering with pain in her tummy and it was radiating to her hip but now on her left side - we were told and assumed it was the after effects of her op but she hasn't recovered. We've been back and forth numerous times as the pain then stayed on her hip, weve had several diagnosis' such as constipation, hernia, period pains etc and they prescribed her medication. None of this worked and then in November she collapsed at school and was taken to hospital via ambulance. The A&E weren't very helpful and said that they only deal with breaks and fractures... The following day I took her back to my own GP as the pain gets unbearable and restricts her from normal day to day activities such as going to school and just pottering around the house. We got referred to the CAU and saw orthopedic surgeons and said that the rumotologist doctor needs to see her so she was admitted that night, on examination they found a lump in her groin area and said it was an hernia but the scan later that day didn't pick anything up so they think it's just abit of fatty tissue. The next diagnosis is enthesitis which is inflammation of the hip and she had to have a general anaesthetic and had 5 steroid injections in her hip on 21 December. She was okish a couple of days after but not 100% then last week she's gone straight back to how she was originally and now the pain is radiating around her tummy again as well as her hip. She's next due to be seen in clinic 21 Jan but I've been trying to speak to the consultants secretary who hasn't been very forthcoming as my daughter has now lost her appetite and is been sick. She's not been sick everyday but when she eats I think it irritates her and she's sick, she says she keeps going dizzy and light header and sometimes gets shooting pains at the back of her head. At the moment she is on morphine, naproxen, gabapentin, omerprazole and paracetamol and nothing is working whatsoever. I don't really know what else I can do or where I can go - the pain that she feels comes and goes in spasms and it's like a sharp stabbing pain and then like someone is Continusouly punching her in the tummy. If anyone can give me advice or if you or someone you know have experienced anything like this yourself can you please drop me a line so I know what to expect. Thanks

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Nanny1086
    Nanny1086 sarah290981

    Posted

    Hi Sarah ,I'm so sorry to hear of your daughters illness,

    sadly I have no answers for you ,

    but I read your story and felt the need to,let you know that someone has read it ,I hope you get some answers soon and your daughter will make a full recovery ,we hate to see our children poorly and we are so helpless in these situations ,all I can offer you are my best wishes ,and you will both be in my prayers ,I hope you get answers soon ,God bless 

    p,s, it will be interesting to follow up on your daughters health improvements and diagnosis,

    take care xx

    • sarah290981
      sarah290981 Nanny1086

      Posted

      Thank you for your message. She is has an appointment today with our GP to hopefully refer her to get her med reviewed.
  • para_52094
    para_52094 sarah290981

    Posted

    Hi Sarah, So sorry to hear of these many difficulties your daughter is experiencing. I am sure the doctors have told you the morphine can cause constipation. I suggest Swiss Kriss which is a senna based laxative with herbs which help soften the stool. You can find it online or at health food stores. It is very similar to senokot which you can find at the drug store, but Swiss Kriss is much more gentle on the system. Your daughter can take some every night at bedtime. She can begin with a half or one tablet and work up to one or two tablets if needed, but at twelve years old, I suspect one or one and a half tablets will be enough. She should be sure to not get constipated. This may be a sensitive subject, but your daughter may need to be tested for vaginal infections. People can actually get things like chlamydia and other infections from surfaces, without sexual contact. Some infections can go up through the uterus and out the fallopian tubes into the abdomen, causing a great deal of pain, and this pain can be greater on one side than the other. A follopian tube with infection inside is extraordinarily painful and can appear on tests to be a lump or cyst. If no solutions are found, you may need to ask a doctor if they should do a laparoscopy to look inside your daughter's abdomen. There is also the risk she has endometriosis or ovarian cysts...though unlikely at her age. Endometriosis can be seen during laparoscopy and I think ovarian cysts can be seen with ultrasound...but not always. And sometimes a person can have had a problem, like an infection, which is now healed, but it left scar tissue in the abdomen which is pulling on different things and causing pain. Scar tissue can be seen on laparoscopy and even cut, or corrected, during laparoscopy. I don't know why your daughter is on gabapentin. These side effects could come from gabapentin..."she says she keeps going dizzy and light header and sometimes gets shooting pains at the back of her head." I had these side effects from gabapentin and had to stop taking it. I see she had steroid injections last month. Please be advised to watch your daughter carefully after any steroid use. There is something called post steroid depression which is one of the most severe depressions a person can experience. If the doctors do not know what the lump in the groin is, it must be either biopsied or have a laparoscopy to look inside. The pain in the hip is not necessarily from the hip.  A person can have hip pain referred from abdomen or spine. The lump the doctors say is a bit of fatty tissue, I would not settle for that explanation unless biopsied or checked by laparoscopy. I hope the doctors will find a minimally invasive way to find out what the lump is made of. It is possible for infection, even if resolved, in the abdomen to appear to be a lump or cyst or even like a hernia. The bottom line is the doctors need to go straight to the answer and stop guessing and stop treating symptoms until they know what that lump is. Specialized doctors only know specific portions of information and sometimes they attempt to fit a symptom into their portion when it really belongs to another type of doctor to help you. This requires great persistence for the patient to continue to see doctors until a path is clear to determine what precisely is happening so it can be effectively treated. Please consider whether there is any chance of vaginal infection since those can cause great abdominal pain and scar tissue if they go into the abdomen. I am just really sorry your daughter has faced so many difficulties. I hope the doctors find out what is wrong and really help her get fully recovered. Wishing you both all the very best.
    • para_52094
      para_52094

      Posted

      Hi Sarah, I just thought of something else. You said your daughter goes light headed and dizzy. This is not uncommon with hormonal changes. Sometimes young girls faint several times before, during, and after periods begin. Some girls have more trouble with being faint than others. The question would be, is the dizzy and light headed feeling coming with the abdominal pain, or is it separate. If seperate, it is possibly hormonal or related to gabapentin. If it is with abdominal pain that is not menstrual related, she needs further testing regarding what I said above to rule out something more happening in the abdomen. Again, I want to reassure you that feeling faint is not necessarilly  uncommon in young women. Though the lump and severe pain still need to be resolved. Also, if a person is having infection, fallopian tube issues, or ovary issues, each of these could make them feel faint or dizzy. I hope you get a lot of help to get this sorted out so your daughter feels much better. All the best to you both.
    • sarah290981
      sarah290981 para_52094

      Posted

      Hi, thank you so much for your email - i found it really interesting reading this as I have more to fire at them when we go back to see the consultant Thursday. Over the weekend she has been the best I've seen her in months so im hoping that were nearly at the end of the tunnel.

      Thank you and best wishes

    • para_52094
      para_52094 sarah290981

      Posted

      Hi Sarah, That is great news that your daughter was feeling better over the weekend! Glad the information is helpful. Hope the appointment goes well on Thursday.  Wishing you all the best.
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