Child is sick too often! (update post 214)

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Really? My kids get blood work every other year, it doesn’t bother any of them, same with shots.

You've never met my sister, who is 3 years older than me, then. She would kick and scream at the nurses when it came time to get blood work done. It was the needles that caused the biggest stress. When she was a teen and needed to have her wisdom teeth out because they were coming in crooked they had to give her multiple valium just to calm her down enough to give her the anesthesia.

Now for me I don't like needles and don't particularly like to have blood drawn (either by finger prick or by normal procedure) but I can do it and have to do it now for my health insurance on my husband's company each year.

But FWIW I think it's pretty well known that enough people are not so keen on needles. Some also don't like the idea of seeing blood, etc.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

OP I hope you find out what's going on! I can only imagine how much it's putting you all through to have someone sick and to be sick without knowing if it's something else going on.

 

[DLgal]

Glad we agree that different doctors do things different ways. Living in the Chicago metropolitan area allows us to benefit from doctors who specialize in all sorts of things, and have been around the block a time or two in their years of practicing medicine! I'm sure there is a lot of "hooey" out there.

And I am assuming you are an adult and your doctor didn't feel you were at risk for freaking out during the biopsy like a child would be, eliminating your need to be put under general anesthesia?

I am happy to hear that your Celiac diagnosis was negative. It is really a terrible disease.

I am an adult. I was put under twilight sedation. I have absolutely NO memory of the procedure. It was a great nap!

I wonder if general anesthesia is standard procedure for kids. Might be. Maybe the use of twilight sedation isn't appropriate for patients under 18. Not sure, but general anesthesia never came up in my case.

 

[DLgal]

OP, is she WAKING UP in the morning with headaches and vomiting? If so and this is a sudden onset symptom, take her to a neurologist for a comprehensive exam. It really does sound like migraine to me (I've been a lifelong sufferer), but headaches upon waking along with vomiting can also be due to a brain tumor, and I know that probably doesn't help right now to hear that because it is a serious diagnosis, but it really does need to be ruled out.

 

[OneOftheB's]

DS was a puker for the first 9 years of his life. Every 6 or so weeks, he would throw up. As he got older, it mostly occurred on Friday nights, but it could happen anytime. No fever, no other symptoms just rush to (hopefully) get to the toilet in time. He threw up walking into 5 Guy's Burgers one day (I felt soooo bad for the people eating, but there was no warning). I could always tell an "episode" was brewing because he would get ghostly pale, even his lips would be white.

He started seeing an endocrinologist for an unrelated issue and during the very thorough first visit, this came up. The Dr said it was probably a food allergy, but he would grow out of it in his opinion. Sure enough, it appears that he has. He hasn't had an episode in 18 months or more.

It was bad enough that we bought hospital style barf bags for all of the cars. The funniest occurrence was one evening when DD (who was probably 5 at the time) thought that he was joking about needing to rush to the bathroom and actually blocked him. She got hosed in a most unpleasant way and learned not to impede someone in an emergency. The next best story involves my husband almost losing it as well when he heard DS in the bathroom.

 

[Dumbo777]

She threw up on Saturday, for half the day, then was better. Now she is throwing up this morning. Also, a few weeks ago she threw up in school. No fever. I'm a nervous wreck over this. Bad stomach ache, throws up a few times, gets better then a few days later it all happens again.

Could it be allergies? When my allergies are acting up, I am super nauseous because of all the post nasal drip.

 

[Colleen27]

Unless it is recurring over a long period of time, I wouldn't worry overly much. The kids at my daughter's school have been playing pass-the-stomach-bug pretty much since they went back after Christmas break, and it hasn't been a one-and-done thing like most years. We've had actual influenza A & B and at least two distinctly different stomach bugs make the rounds so far, and our pediatrician's opinion was that it has just been such a brutal flu season that most everyone's walking around with their immune system just a bit overtaxed/worn down and catching every little thing that comes along.

 

[mefordis]

Okay so went to the doctor today and the rapid strep test was negative. We did bloodwork at my request because I wanted her checked for mono. And also to get a complete blood count. I'll get partial results tomorrow afternoon.

Right now she feels better, is eating and only has a slight headache. One thing that cropped up, she started having lower back pain! I think she must have pulled it somehow so now she is suffering with that - lower back pain can really hurt when you walk. I thought it might be connected to the sickness but i can't find any reason for lower back pain other than pulling a muscle.

Thank you so much for helping me through this. God bless!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Hmmm pretty early but suddenly this popped in my head... could it be the start of womanhood?

 

[OhMari]

I remember when my DD had the stomache flu. She acted the same way. My pediatrician told me, her stomache is the size of small apple and right now it is clamped up tight and was very sensitive, so we had to slowly give her clear broth, a tablespoon every 15 minutes, or a piece of jello, every 15 minutes. Try telling that to a hungry 6 year old person. But we had to do it, otherwise, everything she ate just came flying back at us. It was over 3 weeks of trying to get her stomache to settle down.

 

[mefordis]

Hmmm pretty early but suddenly this popped in my head... could it be the start of womanhood?

Oh my goodness I hope not! She's only 9. Her sister started at 11 1/2 and I started when two months before I turned 12.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Oh my goodness I hope not! She's only 9. Her sister started at 11 1/2 and I started when two months before I turned 12.

My friend started at 9.
I was pretty lucky and didn't start until I just turned 14.
I can recall that several times prior to it happening I felt really sick and got headaches and back aches on and off for a couple months prior.

 

[mummabear]

Thank you. Do you think I should get a complete blood count? Maybe test her for allergies? I always worry about the worst, too, like cancer, diabetes, etc. My mind just runs wild I am such a worrier.

While I say, don’t panic, chances are it is some sort of virus or ear infection. Do whatever you need to feel better and rule anything else out.
If your Dr isn’t taking you seriously go somewhere else.
I have 2 babies in my middle child’s coffee group whose mothers concerns were blown off by their doctor. The first didn’t see his 1st birthday (brain tumour) and the 2nd didn’t see her 3rd (rare genetic condition)

 

[mummabear]

Oh my goodness I hope not! She's only 9. Her sister started at 11 1/2 and I started when two months before I turned 12.

My DD is 8 1/2 and has just started needing deodorant. I have read his so the start of the “changes”
Teacher friends have said they have known several 9 years to start.
Even though I was older when I got mine, DD no has a pencil case in the bottom of her school bag with clean underwear and a couple of pads. She has been shown how to use them and had a light talk about what it is, how she could get it “soon” or it may be years but I don’t want her scared because it happens at school and doesn’t know what it is or what to do.

 

[firecracker725]

Okay so went to the doctor today and the rapid strep test was negative. We did bloodwork at my request because I wanted her checked for mono. And also to get a complete blood count. I'll get partial results tomorrow afternoon.

Right now she feels better, is eating and only has a slight headache. One thing that cropped up, she started having lower back pain! I think she must have pulled it somehow so now she is suffering with that - lower back pain can really hurt when you walk. I thought it might be connected to the sickness but i can't find any reason for lower back pain other than pulling a muscle.

Thank you so much for helping me through this. God bless!

Back pain and nausea are symptoms of a kidney infection. If blood work shows sign of infections, this is the first place I'd look.

 

[gillep]

Oh my goodness I hope not! She's only 9. Her sister started at 11 1/2 and I started when two months before I turned 12.

This was one of my first thoughts too, my mom didn't start until she was 17, and I started right at 10, so you never know. I used to get back aches, headaches and vomiting the first few years after mine started as well. I hope she starts to feel much better!!!!

 

[BLAZEY]

Back pain and nausea are symptoms of a kidney infection. If blood work shows sign of infections, this is the first place I'd look.

When you mentioned lower back pain without a fall this is what immediately came to mind. I have a bladder condition that makes me prone to them. I usually catch them early but sometime the symptoms are all over the place and I feel pretty bad and achy, dizzy and nauseous.

 

[mefordis]

I have a uti test strip I can have her use while we wait for the blood test results. She can barely move her lower back hurts so much, as well as her hip flexors. I wonder if this is related or she somehow strained her lower back?

 

[mefordis]

Going through all of these illnesses with my daughter (coksackie, strep, colds, stomach viruses), I am just so overwhelmed with being a parent. You bring these kids into the world only thinking of the wonderful times, not the very real heartbreak that you will experience. This is such a difficult road to travel down, isn't it?

I lost my sister to cancer when she was only 13 so I am very very anxiety prone when my kids get sick. I always think of the worst possibility. Thank you for the reassurance and support all of you have given me.

 

[mamamary]

Awww - hope you get an answer soon. Once you mentioned lower back pain I thought kidneys also. I grew up with bad lower back pain (on the side) and it took a long time to finally get diagnosed that I had a blockage. Just something to think about if that pain keeps up. The doctors seemed to check everything but my kidneys.