Worried about my 11 year old daughter

[worriedmum]

Hello everyone,Im new & thank you for the welcome David

I guess I,ll begin at the....beginning!
My daughter started bleeding last summer from her bottom,....having suffered piles myself,didnt panic ,at first but asked her some questions,if she felt constipated etc.
Then the following night she ran downstairs saying she,d had a BM and lost alot of blood in the toilet....
This time,I panicked!! she had already flushed the toilet so i couldnt see any evidence,but decided to take her to the docs anyway....no doctor was available but she saw a nurse from the assessment team and she...without even looking said she,d probably had a burst pile and prescribed lactulose and said to come back if it happened again.
I gave her the lactulose and made some changes to her diet,included lots of extra fruit,fruitjuice (she hates veg) and changed to wholemeal bread & extra wholemeal cereal for supper.Meanwhile she had tonsilitis twice and seemed to complain about tummy ache quite alot,which the doc said was a symptom of tonsilitis.....I didnt question him....doctors know everything right?
things seemed to calm down,but I noticed she was becoming very pale and had bags under her eyes....which I explained away with her late night sleepovers at her friends...
Then after Xmas she became very poorly,fissures in her bottom,severe stomach ache,extreme tiredness,constipation,blood on the tissue again,thrush down below,ulcers in her mouth,fever at night and tummy pains in her ribcage then much lower.she missed a week of the new school term.
I took her to the doctors a further 3 times who all contradicted each other.
I suggested Crohns to the 2nd one and she totally dismissed it because "people with Crohns get diarrea not constipation"
She had a digital examination , said there were no signs of piles either ,so it must be lazy bowel and to carry on with the lactulose and also prescribed Movicol
I still wasnt happy with the diagnosis but continued with the lactulose & Movicol...
She then began to have diarrea alot,which panicked me ,so I stopped the meds and returned to another doctor....
He felt her stomach and said her bowel was full and that the diarrea was nothing to worry about,it was the 'overflow' and drew me a diagram of her digestive system to explain what the Movicol was doing...
I asked about her pale skin and wether she could be anaemic,he pulled her lower lid a little and said no,as they were bright red.....
he put my mind at ease a little and said the fever,ulcers etc were probably a virus on top of the constipation....she also gets cold symptoms
She has been ok for a week or so but has now got tummy ache again and 3 massive ulcers in her mouth....she looks pale and weary and utterly fed up
I am going back to the doctors to demand blood tests,something just doesnt add up
can anyone please comment....am I nuerotic? is it 'just constipation' ?

 

[Guest]

please take her back to the docs and request they refer her to a GI. i had most of these symptoms when i was her age, and i was around 20 when i finally got diagnosed.

it may well be that she's just constipated, and the diarrhea is overflow - i've seen this in kids myself - but it may not be.. and the sooner you get some diagnostics done, and some answers, the better. both for her physically, and you mentally.

the other symptoms are there for a reason - they're telling you something's pulling her down, and she deserves everything to be fully investigated and explained.

if your doc is difficult & won't refer you.. you can see someone for the first time privately at Bupa, and then go onto their NHS list... i've done this in the past also.

good luck! and trust your motherly instinct.

 

[worriedmum]

thank you so much for reading & replying to my post
i so want to be wrong,but like you say....i have to trust my instinct,I am making an appointment in the morning
to top it all...the school sent me a sarcastic letter about her attendence....humf!
her health is more important than a few missed weeks of school.....she has never been off school before,I was so angry,as I,d already rang and sent a letter in about what had been happening
thanks again

 

[Nancy Lee]

Oh my I feel so badly for your young child..
what a lot she has been through.

Crohn's and/or Colitis are misdiagnosed all too often.

As Dingbat said and I agree 100% please take her
back to the doctor and tell him you want a referral
to a gastroenterologist.

Please keep in touch here and let us know
how she is doing.

Heart Hugs~Nancy

 

[worriedmum]

I will definitely keep you informed,thanks Nancy

 

[DustyKat]

Hi worriedmum and :welcome:

I agree that this warrants further and more exhaustive investigation by a GI, I don't want your daughter to have IBD and hopefully she doesn't but something definitely isn't right and a lot of those symptoms are common to IBD.

My daughter never had diarrhoea with her Crohns, only constipation so the old "but you only have diarhoea with IBD in some cases is not true, particularly if it is present in the Terminal Ileum so something like CD (ileo colitis) could produce those symptoms. Go with your gut feeling and push for answers.

In the meantime go to your GP and have blood tests done - Full Blood Count, Liver Function Tests, Electrolytes, CRP and ESR (infammatory markers), Iron Studies, B12 and Folate. You can have a normal HB and still be anaemic.

Good luck and I hope you can get some help and answers soon. There is nothing worse than watching your child suffer with illness.

Take care, :hug:
Dusty

 

[Dexky]

Welcome Mum, just wondering if you've any news yet?

 

[worriedmum]

well,she seemed to pick up really well the following few days...so I,ve held off from the doctors visit,for now.......she's had her movicol and lactulose (I,ve watched to make sure she doesnt pour it down the sink!!)
she's perked up,got colour in her cheeks and all symptoms seem to be fading,but...
I am going to keep a very close eye on her indeed
i hope it is just a case of severe constipation,and nothing more
do you get mouth ulcers & thrush with constipation??

thanks for all your help and advice,it is much appreciated.i know exactly where to come for reassurance and honest talk.xx

 

[Dexky]

Don't know about your question...but I hope for your girl, you never feel the need to come back We'll be here just in case though!

 

[Guest]

hi again... glad to hear there's some improvement

i've never heard of 'normal' constipation causing thrush or mouth ulcers (however as you probably know, these things can be symptoms of IBD)... but i just wondered if your daughter's had any courses of antibiotics recently? some people are more prone to thrush after antibiotics than others.

 

[worriedmum]

Hello
she had antibiotics for tonsilitis but that was a few months ago.
can u have IBD but not have crohns?
Ive done some research about crohns and colitis,which sounds horrific, but didnt think constipation could be so terrible too!!

 

[Guest]

i'd really be tempted to take your daughter to the gp, and ask if she can have some antifungal treatment for the thrush... that course of antibiotics she had could be the culprit for at least some of her symptoms right now..

IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) covers a few conditions, Crohn's & Colitis being the two most talked about here, and yes they can be horrible conditions, but they can also be mild, and easily brought under control with meds/diet... i wouldn't worry yourself too much, she is improving, and it's possible that constipation plus the thrush have been the causes of her symptoms. constipation can be horrid when it's really bad, sometimes needing hospitalization...

 

[worriedmum]

omigod how stupid am i !! she had antibiotics for thrush too!
please excuse my lax mind....i do have an excuse though...im suffering with a severe back problem at the moment and havent slept in days!
i wonder if those antibiotics for tonsilitis caused her first bout of symptoms and the thrush antibiotics caused the mouth ulcers too??
she did have the mouth ulcers before,but we had a severe winter,so maybe it was that
the doctor did say her bowel was very full and she had faecal imapactation...whatever its called and it can make someone very ill....
thanks for explaining things to me,it has helped immensely....
I really didnt want to rush off to the doctors at every symptom.....its nice that I can come on here and talk to people who really know what its about,but should my daughter have another bout of illness soon....I,ll not hesitate to take her back and get bloods done
thanks again everyone

 

[worriedmum]

jesus christ...its happening all over again!
my poor daughter had 3 big mouth ulcers a few days ago which i treat with anbesol
she came home from school today feeling fine...
about an hour after her tea she shouted of me saying she,d had a BM ,was bleeding and was in agony with tummy pains....
i ran to the loo and my poor daughter was crying,in pain ,I looked in the loo to see a normal stool,but then over the next half hour she was doubled over and had diarrea (with blood) 3 or 4 times,having to run to the loo each time
she also felt nauseous and shaky.....
my poor babe is suffering and I am not going to be messed around with crappy meds for constipation anymore....!!!!!!
it is time for blood tests and some answers!!!

 

[Rebecca85]

I would take her to A and E, let them see her in pain and with the runs and the blood, hopefully they will take you seriously! Good luck!

 

[girlygirl]

Hi WorriedMum,

Good luck to you! I hope you get some answers. for mouth ulcers, I have CD and get them on my tongue when i'm getting sick and have active inflammation in my body. Triaminiclone dental paste is what my CR Speacialist prescribed me and worked really well.

Keep us posted!
hugs
~Mon~

 

[Dexky]

Get after 'em mom!!

 

[worriedmum]

Just spent all morning at docs....my little girl has finally had blood tests..... renal,bone,,liver,glucose, & full blood count.....I stupidly forgot to ask when results would be back,but at least we,re getting somewhere near diagnosis

 

[Astra]

Hi worried mum
and welcome

Don't want to worry you even more, but blood work can/may come back normal. Therefore it's important to know this and don't be fobbed off. Your little un needs a referral to a gastro and tests such as a colonoscopy to confirm or eliminate IBD.
Let us know how you get one, thinking of you both, try not to fret, a gastro will/should sort it out.
lotsa luv
Joan xxx

 

[worriedmum]

Thank you so much Joan
Oh Ive got the bit in my mouth now and wont let go....
I have been researching every IBD going and I now think it may be 'diverticulitis'
even if the bloods come back normal,I will insist she sees a GI
my daughter,who has just turned 12 (and had a lousy birthday,by the way) should not be bleeding from her bottom since last June....
the doctor,whilst finally agreed to the blood tests seemed more interested in my daughter having the movicol and seeing the female doc to look at her fissures....
he seems convinced the bleeding is from those....
well,i am not!!! i know im not a doctor,but mothers instinct counts for alot and if only he could see my daughter now in her dressing gown,flaked out on the sofa,no energy whatsoever & looking utterly fed up....(she looked like this in the doctors room,but he kept focusing on her full bowel.....what?? after a full BOX of movicol and a full bottle of lactulose??? ....no way....) she is just so pale,i just know the bloods will show she is anaemic
i suffered with anaemia years ago,through all my 3 pregnancies,then afterwards through heavy periods and my doctor said "keep on with the mirena coil and folate tablets......"
when i started passing out,i had my hg done and it came back......8hg !!! (dropped from 13)
so,i think im an expert on anaemia
if it wasnt for this forum,i think Id lose my mind with worry!!!!
thank you everyone x

 

[Astra]

Aw good luck,
keep insisting and persisting, and be aware, you might get a dx of being neurotic! lol, but tell em to go away in polite terms!
But a mother's instinct is always right! A little un shouldn't be bleeding like this, something's going on for sure.
Also, overuse of laxatives and softeners are not a good idea over time, our bowels can/may become lazy, they need to work on their own really without too much intervention, IMO.
keep swimming and stay strong, chomp away on that bit, you're doing great!
xxxxx