Severe abdominal pain in my 12 year old daughter

[Castlecellar]

Hi,

I have not used this site before but I am at the end of my tether and am really worried about my daughter, I don't know where to turn!

My daughter is 12 years old and has been having severe abdominal pains. She started her periods in January so knows that the pain is different to the normal period pain (as if that wasn't enough, poor girl!). She has had two episodes, one lasting for 10 days in March/April and a current one which has now lasted a week.

The pain seems to move around her abdominal area and up the back, she describes the pain in her back as a knife trying to stab its way out and the stabbing pain can also come and go in the abdominal area. As well as this, she has an ache in her stomach which gets a lot worse when she is moving. During this current episode she has a lot of pain in her upper back too and around the rib cage on the front, she can't bear any pressure on the ribs or tummy. She is also describing the pain going in her hips and down into her thighs. My daughter is a big eater, she loves her food but is off her food with these episodes. She does drink, only water (when normally it would have to have squash in it!). She is also weak and feels like her eyes are going to close. When she does move around she says she thinks she is going to pass out she is so dizzy.

The first episode started in March, she had to have 2 days off school (most of the time was during the Easter holidays) and this time she has had 3 days off school so far.

The first time she had it I took her to the docs and they treated her for a kidney infection as she had blood and protein in her urine and after 2 days of taking the tablets she was better. This time, there are no signs of blood but there was protein, but it is most definitely the same pain. The docs have said that it is likely to be an abdominal migraine, which I had never heard of.

I took her to A&E yesterday morning as the pain was that bad, they did blood tests and checked kidney, pancreas and gall bladder and everything came back negative.

After doing some research, it says that the these migraines can last for one hour to 3 days but hers are much longer. Has anyone experienced any of this? I am sorry for rambling but I thought best to tell everything.

Thank You!!

[Floralnomad]

It may be worth asking them to rule out coeliac disease , my daughter was diagnosed at 11 after about 2 years of abdominal issues and fainting episodes . Hope she feels better soon and you get to the bottom of her problems .

[Pintoe]

My daughter was also diagnosed with Coeliac Disease at 11 after stomach problems since she was eight. She was sometimes so weak she couldn't walk very far, also was very pale, thin hair, lost weight. She is like a different child now!! Hope your daughter feels better soon.

[Castlecellar]

Thank you for your replies, how did they test for Coeliac disease? We went back to A&E yesterday evening as she was no better. They have prescribed her cocodamol but still don't know what it is. They said these things can go unexplained in children, which I am not happy with. She hasn't been to school, isn't eating and is so dizzy that she stumbles when she is standing!

[pollywollydoodle]

uncommon but it's worth ruling out Addison's Disease

ask your gp for a referral to a paediatrician

[Floralnomad]

Coeliac a is tested for by a blood test followed by a endoscopic biopsy . You do need to be loaded with gluten though so don't be tempted to go gluten free before hand to see if it helps . My mother has Addisons and I would have thought if it was that she would have been more acutely ill IYSWIM. Definitely push for a referral to a paediatrician though . I'd also be cautious about taking too many co-codamol as they can be very constipating which is a whole other problem . Before we were diagnosed my daughter had been misdiagnosed as constipation , appendicitis and mesenteric adonitis also I did get the impression that some medical professionals thought she was putting it on .

[pollywollydoodle]

floral not always. AD is one of those diagnoses that get missed and kids can end up in eating disorder clinics/surgical exploration etc

[Floralnomad]

Fair enough , I only have experience of it from my mother and she was diagnosed in the dark ages but I do know it didn't 'come and go' , she was emaciated , her skin went brown and she literally couldn't stand . I just find it worrying when people are told that things can go unexplained in children , my daughter has CFS now , I have no idea if its related to how long it took to get a diagnoses on the coeliacs , probably not , but we will never know and it has severely impacted on her life and education.

[StuntNun]

My DS2 has abdominal migraines and they're nothing like what you describe, although he could have a mild case I suppose. He gets stomach aches and becomes quite listless; he can't eat, sleep or concentrate until they pass. He is treated with Sanomigran, if abdominal migraine is suspected then she should be treated as it is usually a diagnosis of exclusion. If the medicine works then it is abdominal migraine. Do you have any family history of migraines?

[Castlecellar]

Yes I have head migraines and they started with me when I was going through puberty. I have looked on the Internet though, and as far as I can see they only last for up to 3 days and the pain in abdominal and doesn't go into the back, pelvis and thighs like hers does? We're on day 9 now, every movement is painful for her, even going over bumps on the motorway and round corners! Something is really not right!

[notaverynicemum]

How are her bowels?? My DD was 10 when finally (after 3 years plus) diagnosed with a bowel issue - no real name for it but medication now controls it. Basically her bowel works spoadically.

I have the same/similar condition and can have bouts that are agonising. Affecting my hips and ribs similar to how you describe.

Its worse when I constipated as in seriously constipated. I may be passing stools but I am blocked further back up the colon.

[notaverynicemum]

A simple xray can see how loaded the colon is. So perhaps it may be something to suggest to your GP.

I would suggest if you dont end up in A&E again today then you make an emergency appointment with your GP tomorrow and ask what they think it could be and how they can rule each possibility out. She cannot carry on like this.

Good luck.

[intarsia]

Kidney stones??

[Sparrow8]

My friends dd ,11, has had abdominal problems for 3 years. They have finally found out that she is fructose intolerant! They are hoping that this has been the issue all along. Her pain would last for a few weeks at a time and then she would be fine. At one point they thought it was a problem with her gall bladder and were thinking about removing it.

[Castlecellar]

I would of been happier for the doctors at A&E to have at least given her an X-ray or ultrasound, then I could have ruled out some of the above that have been mentioned. I am no doctor but I do know my daughter, I have never been a pushy mum on these kind of things but I am quite tempted to take her back once again and demand something more to be done. Cocodamol is just making her fall asleep and masking whatever it is.

[Castlecellar]

Her bowels do seen normal, she is going every day for what she says is normal size.

[StuntNun]

My dad has migraines and doctors have tried to push that diagnosis on me in the past just because there's a family history. It has turned out to be eye strain, teeth clenching and viral encephalitis but never migraine! Maybe they see abdominal migraine as an obvious diagnosis but it does sound more severe than my (admittedly limited) experience of my DS2's migraines.

[Viviennemary]

I think you need to take her back to the doctors and get answers. (Easier said than done I know) But nobody should have to suffer that level of pain. Hope you get it sorted out.

[ExcuseTypos]

Don't worry about being pushy, you have to get to the bottom of it.

I'd go back to A and E tonight or if shes asleep now, in the morning and insist on a scan/x rays. A Dr can't just dismiss that amount of pain as 'unexplained'

[RandomMess]

It could be something like an ovarian cyst too - they can come and go with your cycle and yes they can happen in young girls at the very start of puberty.

[dot91]

My daughter gets these sore stomachs they started when she was 11 and she still occasionally gets them now. Like your daughter she had lots of tests and it was diagnosed as being brought on by stress. When she was younger it was when she took part in singing competitions although she didn't feel she was worried about it and definately no pressure from us but as soon as she sang the pain went. She has been on omeprazole for her tummy but it didn't work it just needs to ru its course usually a week of very bad pain the most recent one was just before she sat her standard grades .

[Castlecellar]

She is sleepy now but will definitely take her back in the morning and demand to have scan etc. she has been taking omerpazole since Wednesday and that's not helped (although I don't know how long it takes to start working). Looking at the signs for ovarian cyst, that sounds like a possibility, pain in pelvis , back , thigh and ribs. After a horrid couple of hours this afternoon, I am ready to be a very pushy mum. Thank you all for your comments, it certainly makes me feel like I'm not being a neurotic mum :)

[ExcuseTypos]

No you're not being neurotic, mums have to be pushy sometimes.

[idiot55]

I was going to post re ovarian cyst too, I see its been said. Defiantly ask for an abdominal ultrasound, hope you get things sorted xx

[RandomMess]

I know of 1 11 year old in real life and 2 other young girls on here who've had ovarian cysts that were completely dismissed etc. Please please insist on them exploring that avenue thoroughly.

[Whataloser]

I'm not posting to scare you, I'm posting to support you.

But my dd had abdomnial pain and consultants were fobbing it off by saying all adolescent girls have abdoment pain. I said that wasn't a good enough reason.

I had to fight to get scans and exploratory operations as I wouldn't back down. My dd had cancer.

I hope I've convinced that one consultant to take more notice of a mother's intuition in the future.