to go to A&e with my dd3 *pictures*

[littlemaemae]

My DD who is 3 has been having stomach/bowel problems for the last year. Diagnose as constipation. She can not pass a stool for weeks despite fantastic diet and laxatives and weeks is in severe pain most days. She is very petite and skinny but her stomach has swollen to look 9 months pregnant. Getting no where with doctors/hospital etc.
Aibu to think this is not how a heathy child's stomach should look.

LIonsledge - the little one has had constipation for a year and is under the care of gastro consultant. She does not have another appointment till august. No tests were ordered. She was diagnosed with constipation.
i'd take a guess the diagnosis sent in letter to GP was constipation with unknown cause - hence the treatment in the last few days.

I agree at this point with you Lionsledge she does need further tests to find if there is a cause.

I am in shock at the comment that nothing would be done until a child hadn't been to the toilet for a month.

It's not " normal" to give small children enemas. I think too much is being made if this..the child is well, growing,no other symptoms. Not a case for A&E. This has been going on for some time..where is the Emergency.. Why is sitting on the loo for an hour? What's the point in that ? No,,back off

RTFT Fallon. This little girl is not otherwise "well".

fallon it's not "normal" to leave a small child for such a long time, in pain without any investigations.

Completely agree with LionsLedge!

The OP's DD has had the problem for a WHOLE YEAR with no improvement. Apparently it's not unusual for the poor girl to go without a poo for SIX WEEKS. And still no further tests or scans have been ordered?! Sorry, but that is shockingly bad healthcare and really makes the UK sound like a fucking third world country.

I would take the DD to A+E and refuse to leave before she has had a scan / more tests. How much longer does everyone want to keep guessing?!

I think you'll find it's my DD that has gone up to six weeks. extra

I PM'd you before I'd got to the end of the thread - but YES YES YES to the Senna! You will give it for far longer and in far higher doses than teh packaging says and yes it's the ordinary OTC medicine, but it will STIMULTATE the bowel and not leave it loose and floppy like that terrible liquidiser Movicol. It's still no quick fix but for anyone here who's questioning it, we ended up on it with Consultant no. 3 and it was a blessed relief to us after months and months of pain and anguish (also for a three yr old, triggered by potty training and a "Mind over matter" issue, therefore a major disclaimer as crohns etc had already been ruled out by that point - but it was a miracle for us)

As the Op has stated many times on this thread, this is ongoing & getting worse which is why she is absolutely exhausted & losing faith with her GP & everyone else she has seen.

She has already said her child is pale,lethargic ,screaming in pain at times & many other symptoms that I won't list as its all here on the thread.

What would you do if this was your child?
If your general practitioner wasn't listening?
If you were moved to tears by what your Dd was suffering?

Yes in an ideal world the GP is right all the time ,but sometimes they are not right,they are only human and make mistakes just as people in other professions can and as other posters on this thread including myself have witnessed.

No Head, it's in the OP's post from Tue 29-Mar-16 17:02:38: She has gone 6 weeks in between before and that is quite typical.

It's evident that different treatments work for different People. Some prefer enemas, others movicol or Senna. I think that's why you get different opinions.

I am seriously that all this is being advised without an xray first.

there is seriously potential to make things worse here
Wtf are they thinking

Oh I I'd missed that. But then that length of time isn't that unusual here!

Lions - it may be that when she saw the consultant she had no red flags - no abdominal distension+vomiting, - she currently has abdominal distension but ?vomiting which only combined would make it a red flag. we don't know the other red flags as they all relate to birth history etc + locomotor weakness in legs.
a reg flag would allow for immediate tests for underlying disorders and referral to child specialists, and exclusion of idiopathic constipation.

amber flags - ? faltering growth, but again when she went she may have been fine - she may still be fine according to her red book.... we don't know as onlookers online.
an amber flag gives the go ahead to test for celiac's disease.

if only green flags this is indicative of idiopathic constipation.

OP - look over the chart - labelled TABLE B on the link i gave you, discuss each point with the nurse tomorrow. IF you are concerned with anything in the boxes ask for an urgent appointment with the gastro consultant again - tell the nurse tomorrow if something has changed or if you were not asked something important like is your little girls abdomen distended and she is vomiting at the moment - IF she is you do need to see a specialist ASAP.

i wish you well OP

"I am concerned there is a growth or twisted bowl etc. But so far scans have been refused due to her being of potty training age and constipation being common."

So no scans, have any other investigations been done at all op? Blood tests? It's all very well saying give the movicol a chance but the op said this has been done time and again, the impaction just begins all over again. A doctor dismissing a three year old because "if it was anything serious she would be much more poorly" should not be practising medicine in my opinion.

Glad she is getting some rest. Please take time to rest yourself, and I hope things go better for you tommorow.

I'm thinking of you and little one. Fingers crossed things start moving soon both in terms of bottoms, and the treatment.

My ds has had issues in the past, we're almost where we should be, no holding, no leaking, and going to the loo under his own steam, but it's been tough at times. I can't imagine what your family is going through.

OP you mentioned where she is on the centile chart earlier on. Has she always followed this line or has she dropped? (I only ask as DS dropped from 75th to 4th over a matter of months aged 2. It can be a good indicator of health and nutrition. DS was under a gastro paed consultant (privately) for failure to thrive. Actually it was nothing to do with his tummy. It was ENT related. Grade III tonsils, adenoids completely covering space between nose and throat and ears full of infected fluid; no one had tought to check these things and I figured it out myself from symtpoms such as sleep apnoea and daily vomitting. He was about to be admitted for tube feeding. I know your issue is different but I felt how you feel now. I demanded to see an ENT consultant and a week later he was operated on and we never looked back. Do consider her centile charts as potentially useful info).

Perfumedlife no tests have been done on this child ,that's why Op is starting to question things,she fears something underlying & after all this time the least her dd should get is a thorough looking over by a qualified paed specialist especially when the OOH doctor agreed with Ops concerns last night.

OP - the best thing for hiding Movicol is Iceland's Raspberry & Apple juice.

My DD has been on it for 7 years. Dilute in a small amount of water & top up with juice. Use the fanciest drinking straws you have to serve it. Always works. Brilliant juice, I buy loads every week.

I know MN looks down on Iceland etc. I think you deal with faecal impaction & then we can discuss...

What's the worst that could happen if you went to A&E? Why not go?

Why are you so afraid of taking her to A&E? They will not tell you off. Your child is getting cramps, her rib cage is impacted. How much longer are you going to wait? Are you waiting until something very serious happens? Her bowels may rupture or something else can happen. Your GP is not worried about her well being, they are only worried about keeping costs down.

I've been to A&E for minor things (not on purpose, I thought it was serious) and they were always lovely.