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.

Not a doctor but a parent whose DC gets lots of tonsillitis. Tonsillitis can be tricky and has a tendency to reoccur - it would be worth asking if they think that it's being cleared properly between cases. We've had a mix of 7 and 10 day courses of antibiotics for tonsillitis, after the 7 day of amoxicillin one 2.5 weeks later we were back in A and E as it was back.

Oh poor little girl! I do hope she starts to feel better soon.

Well done on pushing for her to be seen by the paeds, she absolutely needs further investigations.

The dr has just come back in and said the consultant on paeds ward has said she can go home because tonsillitis isn't serious enough to be in hospital. They were really patronising. I said I'm not leaving until something is done because I just don't feel like they are taking anything seriously. She got annoyed and asked me "so you want me to go and tell the consultant you are questioning his decision and refusing to leave" and I've said yes. They keep coming back and saying we can't do anything here so you need to just go home, she's obviously just got tonsillitis because she's young and in school. I feel like I'm being pushed in to it but I've told them again that I'm not happy to leave

But now I'm really doubting myself!

Good for you for standing your ground OP.

Surely they understand it's not just the tonsillitis, it's the constant back to back infections (and it's not tonsillitis that was causing her stomach pain obviously)

Poor thing. My ds had a few years of being constantly sick I think due to being weedy after I had PE and he was born early and 4lbs but that was nursery. By the time he started school he had a cast iron immune system and never gets I'll. He had at least five admissions with suspected meningitis before he turned four. We lived at hospital then one day it just all stopped.

Hugs

You're absolutely right to not take her home again until you’ve seen paeds.

Have they taken bloods yet?

Your poor little girl, she must be miserable and you must be shattered.

Has the consultant examined her?

Unbelievable. Its not normal for a 5 year old to be constantly sick like this. Stand your ground. I'm sorry this is happening to you both

@Sexnotgender @Blimeyherewegoagain no they haven't seen her and no blood tests have been done. They are making it very clear that they are annoyed with me but I just want some answers!

It’s not just tonsillitis though. It’s an extraordinary number of UTIs, tonsillitis and bloody diarrhoea.

Stand your ground. She cannot advocate for herself.

You’re absolutely doing the right thing.

At the very least I’d want bloods and her examined.

You are doing the right thing OP. Well done for standing your ground.

Well done you for standing your ground!! Hope everything goes okay tonight for you both and your little one feels better soon! 💛

@ohnoohnoo I’ve mentioned DD already but hers was recurrent tonsillitis with mesenteric adenitis, she said the pain in her stomach would be worse than her throat.

She had at least monthly bouts needing antibiotics, when she had them removed they said they were so badly scared that the bacteria would have just been hiding out there, the antibiotics would have reduced the number but not got rid eventually so they’d build back up and make her ill again.

Threshold for surgery is 7 bouts in a year or 5 a year for 2 years, so it may be they need her to get ill a few more times before they intervene.

Hope they do bloods and they are reassuring for now, and poor DD can get some rest and recover

Keep going op. Ask to speak to someone from pals or similar. You (unfortunately) have to get arsey to get taken seriously with a lot of NHS services now

Keep pushing them OP, tell them you want bloods done and whatever else you want done for them to investigate why she is always so poorly

Keep at them. I'm a nurse and I don't understand why they just want her to go home. If she gets sicker they will have to have her in for longer. If they send you home I'd drive to the nearest Childrens hospital and have her seen there.

I know the nhs is having a hard time at the moment but sending very unwell kids home when antibiotics aren't working is a stupid thing to do

They have point blank refused to admit her now. They said they will do her discharge papers and we can go because apparently they think it's normal for her to be this poorly. I honestly feel like crying I just don't know what to do

You are absolutely right to question that consultant. What a patronising shit. It’s not as if there’s a list of infections that mean admission or not: it’s the severity of them! A cut on a finger can get someone admitted if it gives them sepsis. To be honest I woulent be surprised if your daughter is in some kind of autoimmune storm now, whereby her body has no idea what to do so is just attacking everything as it has no base immune system

Oh OP you’re being so brave and absolutely the right thing. Your poor DD. I feel stressed for you just reading her journey. As with previous posters, it’s not ‘just’ anything - it’s a run of recurrent infections. I don’t think you can push hard enough to get some proper input. It’s possible there is an immunodeficiency which is allowing these infections to rage in your poor DD.

I have a 5 year old and 2 year old and they are often poorly (the bit between 1-2.5 was particularly brutal). But it is absolutely not usual for a 5 year old to be having recurrent UTIs AND tonsillitis as you describe.

Re the UTI - it is possible that it could be an embedded infection and that the short course antibiotics are not getting it. NHS testing and treatment regimes are not good at detecting or treating embedded UTIs. I have an embedded infection and have had to seek treatment through the late Prof Malone-Lee’s private clinic. I don’t believe they are allowed to treat children anymore (due to controversy around the use of long term antibiotics) but it’s worth looking into and I believe there are lots of support groups (including those for children who suffer). The logic that they apply is if there is pain and discomfort in the right areas, then there is an infection regardless of what urine dips say.

Re your GP - if you go back for diagnostics via them, please make sure you ask how they will escalate diagnostics - bloods, an ultrasound, then what? What are the working hypothesis around diagnosis? What are they ruling out each time.

I really wish you all the best in solving this - the NHS is amazing but cannot be relied on to deliver in situations like this without a lot of pushing. Keep being strong. X

You are doing the right thing, continue to stand your ground until you get some tests and answers. This really is shocking treatment, your poor DD… I hope you get answers soon and she starts to feel better. Best wishes.

This is going to sound disgusting but if she's still unwell tomorrow can your husband take her?

My Dd was curled up in pain like this last year. She's older, 13. Checked for appendicitis but it wasn't. Turns out she has a lactose intolerance. Switched to dairy free and she's much better.

OP You need to explain to them again that if the tonsilitis was an isolated incident, you would OF COURSE go home

But it's not. It's part of an unusually frequent series of events and they need to stop looking at is as a stand-alone problem and consider the context. Tell them you are deeply concerned with the frequency of infection, levels of pain and constant diarrhea. Reel of dates and problems till they listen