Medical Issues With My Daughter

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

The phenergran and coedine is given to cover up the vomiting and pain of a migraine and it will totally knock you out into a stupor. I've had it and my MIL has taken it for this too. Phenergran alone is given for Rotovirus too, and coedine can be a good cough suppressant but these all come with a diagnosis. Phenergran is a medicine used mostly for cancer patients who vomit from chemo and coedine is a pretty powerful pain killer. If the child hasn't been cleared of anything more serious first I'd suggest another Dr because one that thinks drugging a kid to shut them up is scary. IF the child does have migraines, which is what I suspect the Dr thinks she has, she needs to be seen by a Neurologist to make sure its nothing else first. Migraine should never be diagnosed with a quick look-see. The diagnosis comes when EVERYTHING ELSE under the sun that could be doing it is ruled out. What's really odd is how they come & go and cause screaming, that does not sound like any migraine I've ever heard of

I agree with everything LuvOrlando said.
Hoping your little one is much better & has a concrete diagnosis.

Any doctor that hands out codeine to a child without a diagnosis would make me find another doctor. You have to be your child's advocate so going directly to the ER next time might be a good step.

Wishing you all well.

 

[aprilgail2]

I would be looking at chiropractic care. Lots of weird things happening that MDs can't put their finger on is a pretty common thing that gets people to the chiro. Nice gentle work if you can find them...I love Network Spinal Analysis and Atlas Orthogonal, especially for a kidlet.

I'd try to stay away from dosing her with tylenol. It's a drug that causes me problems and as you can see from the news they are finding that it's not as benign as many people thought...

You can NOT be serious?? Why would you subject a child to a quack "dr" that doesn more harm than good??
OP- I would insist on a CAT scan and if no answers from that then an MRI. The first time my daughter went to the ER and said she had a headache when she was 3 they put her right in for a CAT scan!
My daughters sister was going through getting headaches all of a sudden and vomiting- she saw a specialist and it turned out to be migraines- medicine is working great for her and no one cracking her bones to get her better!!

 

[C.Ann]

I would be looking at chiropractic care. Lots of weird things happening that MDs can't put their finger on is a pretty common thing that gets people to the chiro. Nice gentle work if you can find them...I love Network Spinal Analysis and Atlas Orthogonal, especially for a kidlet.

If you really want to get "out there", find a traditional homeopath to find her constitutional remedy, see if that helps with the random pain and listelessness.

I'd try to stay away from dosing her with tylenol. It's a drug that causes me problems and as you can see from the news they are finding that it's not as benign as many people thought...

Would you really advocate this for a 4 year old with NO diagnosis? I don't have to say out loud what her symptoms could point to if it's not migraines - do I?? Headaches bad enough to make her scream and hold her head - and vomiting as well??

My DD (adult) has seen chiropractors in the past, but that would be a totally irresponsible route to take with a 4 yr. old child who has been exhibiting the symptoms mentioned and has had NO medical tests to determine what the actual problem is..

 

[Sabeking]

OP I read your thread and was reading close to my own story. We had a similar experience wiht my DD about 3 years ago. At first I thought she was a hypocondriac and was trying to get out of going to school. This started in 2nd grade. After unusual headaches, throwing up, to feel better again we ran a gammet of tests. She had a CAT scan and everything came back normal. One day we went to eat at a place here called Goodberry's (they serve frozen custard). Within an hour she had a splitting headache and was throwing up. It dawned on me that the last time she got that sick we ate at the same place. I started to keep a diary and noticed a pattern. We found out she had developed a milk allergy. One minute she was fine and the next she would start sweating and acting like she was in extreme pain. The weird part is only certain foods containing cream/milk set her off; like fett. alfredo. Things that are really rich in cream! Please keep us updated. Ifeel for you guys

 

[smschex]

Be careful of the phenergan and codiene in anyone and I really don't think it should be used in a four year old when you don't know what you are treating.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/499746

Feb. 18, 2005 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc., have warned healthcare professionals via letter that use of promethazine HCl (Phenergan) tablets and rectal suppositories is contraindicated in pediatric patients younger than two years due to the potential for respiratory depression and death, according to an alert sent yesterday from MedWatch, the FDA's safety information and adverse event reporting program.

Caution is advised when administering promethazine to children aged two years and older.

The FDA has received postmarketing reports of respiratory depression and apnea (including fatalities) associated with a wide range of weight-based doses of promethazine in children younger than two years.

Because these adverse events are not directly related to individualized weight-based dosing, promethazine should be administered with caution and at the lowest effective dose for pediatric patients aged two years and older. Concurrent administration of other drugs with the potential for respiratory depression should be avoided.

Promethazine is indicated for use in treating hypersensitivity reactions and as an antiemetic and/or sedative in various settings. It may also be used as an adjunct to meperidine or other analgesics for control of postoperative pain.

The FDA notes that antiemetics are not recommended for the treatment of uncomplicated vomiting in pediatric patients; use of these agents should be limited to prolonged vomiting of known etiology.

Use of promethazine should be avoided in pediatric patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of Reye's syndrome or other hepatic diseases, because its extrapyramidal effects may be confused with central nervous system signs of undiagnosed primary disease.

 

[AC7179]

Okay, well.........no more issues since the last.

I like the idea of taping her when she's in pain to show the doctors later.

I do want to mention that the headaches all happened within the span of a weekend. She may occasionally complain of a headache but she's never before had a headache that resulted in the screaming pain.

The other screaming pain incident was because of pain in her abdomen, which is why I'm not sure if they're related. Seems like the intensity of the pain and the come and go aspect is all the had in common.

When we were in the ER with the abdominal pain, the ER Doctor mentioned we cut put her through lots of testing if we were concerned, but it's obviously unpleasant for a four year old to go through. I hate to put her through all that stuff when the issues are not constant, actually, they are fairly rare.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice. IF she has another episode we will video and reevaluate.

I found the suggestion of anxiety interesting. She's only four but was in a preschool setting this year that, while I thought she was enjoying it, it turns out her teacher was let go at the end of the year for having unrealistic expectations of the children and being too demanding. She didn't seem to be stressed out through the year, though, really. It's a bit of a reach, but it does make me wonder.

 

[disneygals]

My dd was diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome last fall...it is related to migraines (which she also gets). We always thought she had food allergies, stomach viruses etc. We saw 2 gastro specialists and the 2nd one figured it out in minutes after discussing symptoms.

check out www.cvsaonline.org and see if her symptoms fit.


Good Luck!!

 

[flying_babyb]

look into Ibs and migranes. Both used to make me vomit and wake up screaming. I was absoulty miserable when I was in high school. I wasnt alowed to eat between classes and hunger was one of my triggers So by 8th hour I was totally dead. I so failed spanish (who knew napping with your head in a book wouldnt get you a A).

 

[disfan07]

I completely understand the frustration about doctors.
3 years ago i was hospitalized with pneumonia. I was than in the ER on a regular basis for serious asthma attacks. One of teh doctors told me to take a xanax and it would go away. hahah...so did not happen. I came back in later that night in respiratory failure. It was known thorughout the ER that he was to never treat me again. I went through 3 pulmonologists until we found one who was willing to listen b/c my symptoms were so inconsistant and did not follow typical asthma patterns. 2 1/2 years later after being told by more than 1 doctor that it was all in my head, i had a methacholline challenge done and turns out that i have one of the most severe cases of asthma that my doctor had ever seen. I am now on the highest dose of inhaled steroids 2x day and oral meds as well and i will be for the rest of my life.
Also, at 17, i developed tachycardia suddenly out of the blue. I was admitted to teh hospital with a heart rate of 190. For the past 2 years i was told that it would go away and that it wasnt anythign serious...that it was just stress. Well, i just moved and got a new cardiologist. Ive only seen him twice and i am being scheduled to have a cardiac catheterization and an ablation to fix an electrical problem that is causing the fast heart rate.

I had been told so many times in the past 3 years that it as all in my head that i started believing it myself. If YOU think there is something really wrong with your daughter, persue an answer. Don't stop looking for an answer because one doctor doesn't believe you or is too lazy to look. In the end, maybe it is an anxiety issue, who knows, but it sounds like not enough has been done yet to fully rule out somethign physical

 

[phorsenuf]

I had issues with stomach aches and off and on fevers with my son. It actually went on for years. They would think it was his appendix but than things would subside and he'd be fine. Sometimes it would disappear for weeks, sometimes for months. The Drs said it was chronic appendicitis (or something like that) and a lot of times kids would grow out of it. They were hesitant to do surgery because all surgeries had risks so we played the wait and see game. When he did have an episode it never lasted too long.

A year or so ago he had another "attack" went to the Drs and from there to the ER just in case. This time though they did a CT scan on his abdomen. Turned out he had stones in his appendix! Stones. Not a very common thing. Needless to say the appendix came out.
That's why he kept having the odd issues. Sometimes the stones would shift and cause problems (pain, fever) but then they would shift again he'd be fine.

Might be worth having them do a CT scan to see if maybe there is an issue like that going on with the stomach aches.