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.

OK, OP.

Let it be this evening then. You are all clearly exhausted. Hopefully OOH doctor will suggest something useful.

The FODMAP diet helps to not irritate the bowel & lining, that's why it's recommended for Crohn's & Colitis - it's not to stop diarrhoea as such.

From how I understand it, fibre bulks out and makes the bowel work harder which is great for a healthy digestive system; BUT if it's slow moving and getting obstructed then you need to avoid foods which bulk.
That's why a low residue diet is recommended to 'rest' the gut and digestive system.

I would be sticking to clear soups and low fibre until you see a doctor.

I'm someone who never makes a fuss and always accepts what my gp says. I suffered for years with chronic stomach pain, very bloated and so constipated I was living on yoghurts and bananas towards the end. My gp finally decided to refer me to the gastro doc who booked me for a colonoscopy. The bowel prep put me into hosp and it turned out I had a large knot in my colon and it was detaching. I needed emergency surgery and a temporary stoma.
I know how bad the pain is and I wished I pushed earlier for help.
I hope u get it sorted soon

By the time I got to the next nearest hospital I would have already been seen by OOH as it is on our doorstep as is our hospital. We are very fortunate for that.
so it makes sense to try that first them go on to the other hospital after if I have to.

Why can't you go to an a and e at the next nearest hospital?

Where I am there is only one A&E. A 30-45minute drive. Otherwise it's into another healthcare trust and 90 minute's.

How scary ahright. Are you now fully recovered?
It goes to show that you can not take any risk with you health, after reading all your experiences it makes me think we are all crazy as a nation not to be pushing for second opinions etc. Because we feel bad to bother the doctor or think it won't happen to us.
Welldone to you all for getting the care you need!

for you. I know it's difficult to push when you've got anxiety, but you're doing the best for your little one, you should be proud if yourself.

I do hope the Dr refers you to the pead ward. Like others have said, keep repeating how long she hasn't pooed for and how much pain she's in.

Six ambulances waiting is nothing unusual, sadly.

Definitely ask for a referral for the CAU (Children's assessment unit) if your hospital has one, it's probably better to go there rather than a ward and they will send you to the ward once the doctor has seen you if needed. My CAU is great and you don't normally wait too long to see a doctor and it's much more comfortable than A&E.

Good luck

This thread is really upsetting. Horrible for your poor DD and awful for you too. I have IBS and have done for years and it sounds like your daughter has something other than 'just' constipation going on.

I cannot fathom how anyone has looked at her stomach and decided that A&E isn't meant for her. The poor little mite.

Keep us posted op, I really feel for you.

95% of the conversations between myself and dp are about her poo. It has consumed our life my poor other DD doesn't get a look in. Makes me feel terrible and like the most boring poo obsessed person ever.
She is starting nursery every am min-fri after the Easter break and at this moment in time I don't feel she will
Be able to go with the amount of care she needs and bum wiping knicker changing. I am worried she will be the smelly kid that staff don't want to clean up or kids will avoid.
Then I think of the poor families who have a disabled child or a seriously ill child and feel awful for them and that I really have no right to be upset about a bit of poo.

Yabu to go to a&e. Yanbu to want her checked over but if it's being going on for a while and she's not in massive pain it's not an emergency

Good grief, you poor little girl :(

I am a HV (don't judge me, I'm nice!) and we see chronic constipation a lot. I often feel I don't know where to turn as GP's just don't take it seriously and I'm not permitted to do direct hospital referrals in my trust.

I have the most amazing HV who visits regularly to support us and she said that too. You get to know families and are arguably the most informed to make the right referrals. Must be very frustrating as I am sure you really want to do the best you can for the families you work with

Never tried to do a link before so if this doesn't work www.eric.org.uk go to eric.org.uk and see constipation. I actually came across a bbc article on constipation yesterday www.bbc.co.uk/health/overcoming the emotional trauma of constipation and wish i had known many years ago. Not saying it applies at all but might so maybe look at it before your doctor's appointment. Wish you all the best for getting reassurance or a referral quickly, whatever is needed.

Choude, what would you suggest op do then? If it was my 3 year old DD, I would go. 21 days is not normal and I think she needs to be checked over/scanned. The poor girl.

The op is absolutely right to seek help from anywhere she can. The child is not well and she has no prospect of things improving. Good luck op

Her symptoms sound very similar to those of my Daughter 2 years ago. After 3 months of being turned away by GPs I took her to A&E during a particularly bad 'episode'. It turned out she was dairy and lactose intolerant and allergic to shellfish! After 2 weeks on a dairy free diet (and no shellfish!) she was back to her old self.
You know her better than anyone, if you are concerned I would go to A&E-I'm glad I did.

OP you're absolutely right getting help tonight, there's definitely something being missed. Use tonight to boost the urgency of her care plan, this is NOT normal, she needs proper care.

Yabu to go to a&e. Yanbu to want her checked over but if it's being going on for a while and she's not in massive pain it's not an emergency

Do you have a degree in diagnosing people over the internet by a picture?

Do you know anything about faecal impaction?

I was going to say to go to A and E and just saw your last post. I'm a bit shocked with the pictures. You said she is crying with pain and with 21 days worth of food in her tummy! Definitely go to A and E! They will hopefully take you seriously there and do SOMETHING. Someone has to do something. I'm in pain just by looking at the photos...

I was treated for years as having ibs but it was never investigated. It was only when I'd lost about 1.5 st in 12 wks, my hair started falling out, I was vomiting with the pain and at the very end had bleeding he took notice. I had to wait ages for the referral though to come through but once the gastro doc saw me it happened within a week. He thought it was scar tissue but as I had never had a colonoscopy before he thought it wise to make sure there was nothing untoward. This was 18 months ago. My Dh was at work while i was home with the kids doing the bowel prep and I had to be taken in by ambulance as there was blood coming out of everywhere!
I was in hospital for 2 wks and had the bag for 6 months. Looking back now I can't believe I went though that pain for so long. Am now on 4 different laxatives as it won't work on its own and as I lost so much bowel I have no storage area. But I can honestly say that it changed my life for the best. I don't know if I'd still be here if it had gone on much longer.
When I was having an attack all that came out was clear frothy liquid and not being able to pass any wind at all. When I eventually did fart you could actually see my stomach going down and the relief was amazing. Also had a lot of leakage as well, but that's all stopped now.
I honestly hope that this isn't the case for your daughter xx

Hope the OOH doctor refers her for you

I bet if you put her symptoms in the nhs site it will tell you to seek urgent medical help. I did many times and still didn't go to a&e. When I went in that evening, the docs were amazed that they had never seen me before

My daughter had 2 years of constipation and overflow. She had been diagnosed as fructose intolerant. It's quite mild so mainly we have to avoid high fructose corn syrup. She cannot have squash or fruit flavour drinks, dried fruit, yoghurt, and other random things corn syrup. Hers is quite mild though. Fructose is present naturally in many fruit and veg.