Another A&E thread

[MyOtherCarIsAPorsche]

AIBU to take granddaughter to hospital this evening or will it wait?

She's been having headaches regularly this year. She describes pounding and pain in eye. GP said eye test - optician immediately said that she could see a large prescription. DG had glasses then three months later had another checkup and a stronger pair prescribed. She's due back in December. So I'm assuming that they're increasing the strength of the glasses in increments.

Her headaches have persisted. This current one she's had since last Friday. I picked her up from school on Monday and could tell that each footstep was making her wince with pain. She couldn't sleep Monday night because of pain and feeling sick. We've been alternating paracetamol and ibuprofen for pain relief. Saw GP on Tuesday who said it was nothing sinister but was referring her to paediatrician. This evening she was complaining of eye and nose pain and appeared to be light sensitive. She's woken in pain a couple of hours after she went to bed and her eyelid is drooping.

Is this worth a trip to A&E?

We're very worried.

I would somehow pay for a private scan . If she needs one that should be done .btw I sympathise about your husband . Mine is on steroids for a serious autoimmune disease and his personality has changed a lot . It’s sad and difficult to live with atm .

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche do you drive??

The name would imply so...

Very true… but I have read that the OP has had some medical issues of her own, so perhaps she’s not at the moment…

I can’t sleep and have just read the whole thread.

Oh OP, you poor souls, you and your DD must be absolutely past yourselves with worry. As the mum of a 13 year old daughter who has suffered from recognisable migraines since she was 6, and she probably had them before this, I know how worrying bad headaches can be, and you have a whole lot of other symptoms added in there too. You have so much on your plate and have been through so much.

I’m afraid I don’t have any advice that hasn’t already been discussed but just wanted to offer a bit of support and a handhold.

OP please help your DD get your DGD to somewhere that they will do a brain scan, it's rare but her symptoms can be the sign of a stroke or a brain injury.

I was diagnosed with something very rare and at first it was unfortunately missed and I'm still ill now and disabled because of our local hospital's mistakes and I wish I'd none back then what I know now.

Fingers crossed for you all that it's not anything serious but I always edge on the side of caution now.

Look

My migraines cause pupil constriction and eye issues. I can’t see things in front of me, like pillars.I get dizzy, I vomit, I look like I have had a stroke. But I’m 47 and was scanned first.

Age 7 its probably migraine, which can mimic stroke but the NHS is broken and a scan wont be for ages. OP is right, it will need sedation (ANAESTHESIA) and this required a BIG private hospital approved for paediatrics, hard to find and a referral from a private paediatrician or NHS GP or Private GP.

This will take at least a week or two.

If more than one paediatric consultant has said wait then fine… but she needs some meds from paediatrics that’s better that simple pain killers so that’s worth AE again. Or if it’s only one paediatric consultant then it needs another’s opinion and one person can be wrong, two is more reassuring and that’s worth going in again for.

I don't know how to state it more clearly. She has new progressive symptoms that are alarming (eg falls and visual changes). Furthermore the symptoms that were present when she was last seen have not resolved but are still present (worse?) several days later. These things change what management is appropriate. The advice you were given is now out of date.

She needs to be re-assessed and may need an inpatient scan for safety. Not an MRI now (unless it happens to be available), but a CT now then possibly an MRI later. This can only happen on the NHS. Call 111 today. Now. Or simply go to AE. Time to stop engaging with this thread and get a move on, in real life.

An urgent / inpatient CT will happen same or next day. At age 7 MRI is not usually done under GA, that would be exceptional. Can be arranged for days/weeks usually. Please don't go on information you get here, so much of which is wrong. Take her to be reassessed. This is my day job and I would scan her same day unless you are substantially misrepresenting her symptoms.

I would take her back in the basis of the fall and vomiting and insist on an mri. They can sedate her if you think she won’t lay still enough for it. I really hope you get answers. I know how scary things can be

To be honest I would drive to Manchester it’s not so far away.

present to the Eye Hospital A&E. they’re attached to Manchester children’s hospital if she would need to be admitted.

they are extraordinarily dedicated, excellent with children, thorough etc.

I echo the advice of going to Manchester and going asap

Please listen to this OP and her previous post.

DD shouldn’t waste time with a walk in centre as they simply send her to A&E.

Either DD needs to ask other DD to mind the kids or ask a kindly friend/neighbour to help out.

Yes please go to manchester eye hospital they are much more likely to figure it out and are next door to manchester royal and children's if they think you need those specialists. They are very good. And if she goes with everyone as she has no childcare she will just get seen more quickly, I used to have to take my baby with me and they always took pity on me. Also, I had all the symptoms you are describing with uveitis and no red eye. By the time they go red it's much more severe. It may not be uveitis of course but I think those specialists will be able to figure it out much more quickly .

Just sending all the love and hugs in the world.

Here is their list of what is classed as an emergency:
Eye Emergency List

ETA: I would probably defer to the dr that has joined the thread if they think it's regular a&e not eye a&e that's needed.

Any update, @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche? Hoping you were able to get your GD to A&E and get some answers. Please don’t leave her to suffer any further without a scan.

I think an eye hospital would refer this into a general hospital as needed but I really don't base that in direct experience - I haven't worked in eye hospitals. Ophthalmologists will be experienced in the crossover between opthalmological and neurological diagnoses and I would expect them to have a good awareness of neurological differentials (some signs of which can present in an eye examination).

It's not a bad idea to think about ophthalmology differentials, likewise the general hospital may involve an ophthalmologist though it does sound as though they did this the last time? Depending on the comprehensiveness of the previous eye examination it seems unlikely a new serious eye problem has developed to account for the new/ progressive symptoms.

I don't like to comment too strongly on management of a child who I obviously have not seen or be involved with, but if this was my child I would definitely seek same day re-assessment (this is completely reasonable despite the recent assessment as the situation has persisted and worsened) and I would want to very clearly understand the rationale for not following guidance on brain imaging. Hopefully it is nothing sinister nevertheless a cautious approach is the right approach with children and possible brain tumour. Have seen it go wrong.

Hoping the silence from OP means that action is now being taken to support this LG.

@amusedbush thank you very much. That's so helpful!

Reminder that this isn't a soap opera, it's someone's real life, and the OP doesn't owe us updates.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche I followed your posts about your struggles with your husbands health issues and the ongoing manifestation of his personality change and everything else including your dd and gdd's problems . I'm so sorry that you have something else to deal with now. I hope and pray your dd gets the medical response necessary and for your continued resilience with all this and everything else 🙏

Nothing to update unfortunately.

Lost WiFi connection at our static caravan - it's remote.

Just got home from visiting DGD - straight from oop north.

Even though I have mentioned the term 'brain tumour' my daughter thinks it is 'just a migraine'. She says that DGD is behaving normally when the painkiller kicks in and a little quiet when it wears off. She hasn't been sick again. Her eyelid hasn't drooped again. But she still wakes earlier than usual with headache.

She still has eye pain - she covers the whole of her eye when asked where the pain is. She added that there's a line of pain from her eye to her ear, which is new. There is pain at the top, front of her head. She feels a little bit dizzy and a little bit sick. She's been to school. Mum said she looked very pale when she picked her up because school had not given calpol at lunch and DGD didn't ask for any (she wouldn't). So again, the headache was making her wince walking home.

Her mum rang the GP at 8am - the doctor rang her back and did not seem concerned about the symptoms - the appointment is Thursday. This is day 12 of headache without a break.

DGD asked 'when will this stop nana?'

Daughter is worried about going back to hospital as she's there quite often (with her sons). There have been a lot of emergencies and ambulances called this year for her youngest and she's paranoid that someone will think that she has a fixation on her children being ill. She's convinced that the hospital are keeping a tally of the visits.

It's unfortunate that all three children have problems. DGD was at physio this morning because she is hypermobile and has frequent leg pain. She was upset because she's not been able to do many of the exercises due to her pain. She is back to our local hospital on Wednesday for new shoe orthotics.

Mum thinks that she's being a nuisance because of all the visits. She was at the main hospital at lunchtime for her youngest to have eeg wires fitted - when she went to pick her other two children up from school a yr 6 boy shouted 'OMG he's got a bomb strapped to his back' - the wires go into a small rucksack which is strapped to his back so that he can't take it off.

I asked if she wanted me to nip DGD to A&E - to be on the safe side. She said 'mother they're going to end up taking my children away from me if I can't accept their diagnosis - they'll think I'm crazy'.

So, I'm trying to justify my daughter's behaviour. I can't justify mine. DGD looks under par. Her eyes look tired and weak. Im hoping it's migraine, although I know mine have never lasted this long.

That's a tough situation. Unfortunately I do know parents who have been accused of FII so I can understand your daughter's concerns.

I really hope that you get some answers soon and that DGD feels better

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche, no one will think badly of your daughter if you take your granddaughter to A&E. You need to
get that poor child seen again and get her head scanned. I can’t imagine my hospital turning away a child who is in so much pain, and being so dismissive with a guessed diagnosis. So many people here are concerned for her. This cannot be normal. Your poor granddaughter is suffering and that is more important than your daughter’s reputation. Please take that child in.

Your granddaughter has several new red flag symptoms since she was last assessed. Medics aren't infallible, they get things wrong. Your daughter is more likely to have intervention if she doesn't seek medical support when needed, regardless of how logistically difficult it may be.

Your poor granddaughter needs to be reassessed