What could this be, and does it need GP?

[BarbieIsAWoman]

DS6 has suffered four consecutive nights of random acute pain in his groin/very lower abdomen. Second night he was crying out in his sleep 8-11pm, woke around midnight and vomited every 30-40 mins through the night until 6 by which time he was throwing up horrible yellow liquid (bile?) as his tummy was so empty. He was properly writhing around in pain, unable to stay still, pacing around the room, reminded me of a woman in labour (obviously not as extreme or we'd have gone to A&E) First, third and fourth night, he's been moaning in his sleep, waking and crying, writhing in pain, needed paracetamol and a heat pack but managed to go back to sleep.

During day time periods he's been relatively fine- maybe a little tired/up and down, but mostly full of beans, so we keep thinking he's better/fine then it happens again in the evening.

Possibly relevant history:

We swim frequently and he will often complain his tummy hurts when swimming which made me think maybe a strained muscle (?)

He's had a couple of instances of tummy pain and vomiting recently, maybe 2 or 3 in a couple of months

He's not a drama king/moaner etc- vomited at school and didn't tell anyone, never really makes a fuss, is one to tough out injuries usually

Not sure if he's just got a bug that he needs to get over, or if we should be more concerned and getting him seen. Sort of leaning towards getting him seen but unsure if it will just resolve on its own 🤔

Please ring whatever your country equivalent of 111 is. DS had groin pain and it turned out to be testicular torsion which is a medical emergency.

Is he eating/drinking/weeing/pooing normally in the day time? Seems strange it only comes on at night

I would get it checked out via the GP if the vomiting continues.

I'd be worried about testicular torsion, call 111.

Yes, eating, drinking and weeing normally.

Would testicular torsion be ok in the day though? That seems odd?

It may well be mesenteric adenitis, but abdominal pain is notoriously difficult to diagnose properly without a face-to-face assessment, so I think you should try to see your GP tomorrow. If the pain comes on tonight and doesn't settle quickly it would be entirely reasonable to ring 111.

Have a look at strangulated hernia and if you think the symptoms match please take him to A&E

This is an interesting suggestion as he has had a sore throat of the days preceding the vomiting episode.

Thank you, don't think this fits- no lumps or bumps, and bowels open normally

I’d get his abdomen checked for hernias, they can pop in and out.

Good luck getting to the bottom of this - a call to 111 would seem to be a good next step. Take care

It may well turn out to be mesenteric adenitis then, but do contact your GP tomorrow - abdominal pain is one of the symptoms which most GP surgeries will prioritise for a face-to-face appointment. Hope you get sorted.

Torsion can occur during sleep and the pain can come and go but doesn't usually resolve completely.

It could be an abdominal migraine. How old is he? I used to get them a lot as a child. Never multiple nights in a row, I don’t think, but it was always at night and then fine by morning. They were hell. I was probably around 8-11 when they would happen and I think often triggered by stress or being over-tired.

My son gets mesenteric adenitis with every virus he gets and it does cause stomach pain at night. It's very possible that's all he has but if it starts up again do get him checked.

Ringing 111 should be the first step. I hope you can get a GP appointment tomorrow.

Sorry OP, but why on earth haven't you sought professional advice for him yet?
If it was you I have no doubt you'd have got an opinion much sooner.
You need to get this investigated.

THIS. Go to A&E.

Well, there's a vomiting bug going round his class, so

Night 1: oh random stomach ache, that's odd, medication, cuddles, he settles after an hour or so
Day 2: absolutely fine
Night 2: copious vomiting, accompanied by pain- assume vomiting bug we need to ride out
Day 3: absolutely fine, must be better
Night 3: tummy pain, more vomiting (nowhete near as much, think Iissed this from my OP actually)- oh no, he's not over it
Day 4: absolutely fine
Night 4 (so far): stomach ache, medication, cuddles, settled after an hour or so- hmm, this doesn't seem to be resolving, phoned MIU who won't see him, he's settled so not bad enough for A&E, seems most suitable route is GP tomorrow,but perhaps in the meantime mumsnet might have some ideas?

So it's been 3 days and we're just heading into the 4th night. Majority of the time he is absolutely fine, so we think he's fine, then it comes back! Not that ridiculous in my view, and no, for myself I absolutely would not yet have sought medical attention, but thanks for the judgement! To be honest our GP surgery was laugh us off the phone if I rang for an appointment based on 2 days of tummy ache 🤷🏼‍♀️

Is it tummy ache, or writhing round in pain?

Maybe do a food diary incase of allergies

He's writhing round in pain with the tummy ache, but it is resolving relatively quickly with paracetamol and a heat pack, except the night where he vommed all night, he was in a decent amount of pain on and off from midnight to 6am - that had a clear cause though, the vomiting so I wasn't so concerned then as I am now that it keeps recurring.

My child was exactly like this- three weeks later they were diagnosed were appendicitis, which had been missed by the doctors for so long it had ruptured and became a MAJOR problem. Children can present very differently to adults when it comes to appendicitis and so it’s not uncommon to be written off as a vomiting bug (which was also going around at the same time for us too). Pain can come and go, and isn’t in the ‘classic’ place.
Monitor their temp OP- if it’s only a low level fever, and swinging (ie gets better, gets a bit worse, gets better again etc) that’s another red flag.
Please ask them to consider this too. Since our experience I am evangelical about making sure people understand how differently appendicitis can present in kids- and how catastrophic it can be if continually written off as nothing serious. X

Thank you, this has been niggling at the back of my mind tbh- did it come and go like I've described in my timeline above?

Have you done a covid test? DS had similar symptoms and had covid. Doctor said 3 other children had presented with suspected appendicitis and then tested positive for covid ( no appendicitis).

In the earlier stages it absolutely did, we kept thinking it was a bug that was improving, and then it got worse. We weren’t diagnosed until we’d been in hospital with severe dehydration for a week- and they STILL kept saying ‘just a bug’ They scanned him to pacify me I think- and that’s when it became clear. Children present with vomiting as the main symptom (along with low grade swinging fever) far more often than adults- and in our case- the pain was never in the ‘classic’ place because his appendix was facing the other way. I get it’s incredibly hard for doctors to know the difference between appendicitis and the many other causes of stomach ache and vomiting! But a blood test to check for infection levels is a very very helpful thing to request early doors, as it will indicate if there’s an infection (rather than a viral bug etc). Thinking of you x