A&E or wait to see the Gp??

[ohnoohnoo]

Have posted a few times about this issue, I should probably change my username as my details are now probably quite outing but I've kept it the same so people can see the previous issues!

Short version of backstory is that DD (5) has been poorly every few days since Feb which was when she got admitted in to hospital with stomach pains and vomiting. Eventually needed a drip and was told it was some sort of gastroenteritis. Since then she has been on antibiotics almost constantly for different things, tonsillitis, urine infections etc. She can't seem to go more than 5ish days without coming down with something else.

Things ramped up 3 weeks ago when she got another urine infection. Temp went to the highest it had ever been (41+), got put on antibiotics and after a couple of days seemed to be getting better. However she then developed severe diarrhoea, going up to 15 times a day and it was just fluid, sometimes had blood in it. That has continued and is still going on.

Gp agreed to do a stool sample and also referred for bloods to see if there is a reason she keeps getting poorly. Stool sample has come back negative for c diff, gastroenteritis and anything else they tested for. She is booked in to the hospital for bloods tomorrow.

Here's where I'm not sure what to do. I picked her up from school yesterday and as soon as we got home she started screaming and crying saying her stomach hurt again, she was literally lying in the foetal position and said she couldn't move. Gave her some calpol and rang Gp to let them know it was happening again. They have booked us in for a face to face appt this morning. Since then she has developed a really high fever and is still crying with stomach pain.

Should I wait and take her to the Gp this morning or should I just take her up to A&E so they can see how bad she is getting and hopefully find the cause quicker? I don't want to waste anybody's time but I'm also at the end of my tether and just want somebody to help her.

The next thing is new so I'd go back to a&e. Maybe a new hospital?

temperature and a stiff neck would be enough for A and e for me, meningitis symptoms.

She sometimes will complain if a sore neck when she has a temperature so I think it may just be navies she's feeling so unwell and achey. I've checked her all over and can't see any rashes. I'm just worried her infections aren't clearing up

Do you have a children’s hospital with an a&e within driving distance?

Can she move her neck? It’s possibly swollen glands? What is the out of hours gp service like where you live? It’s pretty good where I live and they might make an appointment to see her.

@7eleven yes I think it may be because of her glands. I've asked her to look up and down and put her chin to her chest and she can but she just says it hurts. Our nearest children's hospital is over an hour away but our ooh Gp service is normally pretty good so hopefully they will be able to make us an appt

Straight back to A&E. A rash doesn't tend to appear with meningitis until the infection is much further along.

If it were me, id be driving the hour to get to the children's hospital. For any Dr or nurse to think it's acceptable leaving anyone, never mind a child in this pain is heartbreaking.

All it takes is for you to get one with a different attitude and they will investigate it properly. Depending on the outcome of the bloods and stool sample, I would honestly go to the children's hospital, they will have a completely different attitude towards her and better knowledge.

My Mom has a terminal illness and kept getting fobbed off at her local hospital (she'd also worked there for 35 years), so she got driven by my dad to another one and they changed all the medicines she had been prescribed, questioned why they had mixed some and took full blood tests. They were like a dog with a bone and have helped her massively.

Op.

So sorry to hear your dd is still poorly.
I have read your posts and I think you should take her to the children's hospital.

She's had a fever for days, recurrent uti's (unusual in itself in a child so young) STILL poorly, your local hospital keeps sending you away even though it seems to me that your gut is screaming at you that's she's not right.

Now you say she has a stiff/sore neck and that's one of the warning signs for meningitis.

No one has listened to you so far it seems. You may find that the specialist teams at the children's will.

That's where I would be

If you're in the North East, the RVI is amazing. They took extremely good care of my nephew when he was taken in with appendicitis.

Hope you get an answer ❤️

If you think it's meningitis, go to a hospital.
Or call 111.

However, if they check her over for that and decide it's not, they will just send her home.

They arent going to admit her for tests, I'd assume.

You have mentioned the GP thinks it might be ceoliac.

I know it's not advisable to remove whole food groups from children without proper advice, BUT for a week or two you could easily experiment by dropping gluten from her diet.

There are many alternatives now with gluten free bread, pasta, etc. It's more easily do-able than ever.

The ceoliac support charity has guidance.

Worth a try? (And if you do, don't tell her as it may mask the outcome.)

Has her father ever taken her to A&E? It shouldn't be a thing, but a lot of places listen more when a Man is the one saying they aren't happy.

Please don't remove gluten OP, you are specifically told NOT to do this. I've got two coeliac grandchildren for reference.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/diagnosis/

I've not clicked on your link but I've read the site before as I am gluten intolerant (not coeliac, I know.) and it's about leaving 'evidence' for blood tests or a biopsy.

I think the OP's DD has already had a blood test.

I mentioned it because the child is in agony every day with tummy ache.

This all really gets my goat OP. Why is it ok to let a child suffer like this? Would they treat an adult the same? We all see the label on a calpol bottle that says if a fever persists after 5 days then medical help should be sought, yet doctors dont seem to take notice of this. i wont tell you my story till you have good news but dont give up x.

Wod they treat an adult like this?
Of course they would. If anything doctors tend to prioritise child health. Try being an adult and going to the doctor about ongoing pain and ill health sometime.

Just to update we are currently sat in the waiting room at ooh waiting to be seen. And to top my week off my 3 year old Ds (who is normally fit and healthy and never gets a temp above 38) has now also got a temp of 40.8 and is breathing really fast so I'm also waiting for 111 to call me back about him as well. Surely this week can't get any worse!

@ohnoohnoo oh no :( I hope you get somewhere soon

Try recovering from the doctors letting your child down so badly that you lose them before having a go at me.(Doctors missing meningitis if you must know.....)😭

How did you get on @ohnoohnoo ? How’s DS too?

They said that although the tonsillitis is still pretty bad we need to just wait a few more days for the antibiotics to kick in. Luckily she does seem to have really turned a corner today and seems much better. Now we just have to wait for the test results to come back and hope that we get an answer!
DS is not feeling well at all bless him but we're keeping him dosed up on calpol which seems to be helping. He normally bounces back pretty quickly so fingers crossed he will feel better soon

@Strictlyfanoftenyears I'm so so sorry for your loss

I’ve just read through your posts and really hope you get some answers soon and your dd can start to feel better.
i second the giving of probiotics too.,

So glad to hear it. Do they ever swab her to check the antibiotics are the right ones? If it’s taking this long I would wonder whether she has a non standard infection? Esp with the uti

really hope you’re all on an upward trajectory and get some answers soon

Thankyou, so glad that your dd is feeling better. Your mothers instinct is a great thing xx