childrens scan , worth paying private? tummy ache

[mooseloose]

Hi. My son is waiting for an abdominal.and renal.scan to diagnose tummy ache which he has had since Jan. It's end of May and he is really struggling with the pain and they can't offer him a sooner appointment. It's rotten and I'm cross. He is 12. I have him on a cancellation list now but don't hold much hope out. Gp can't help. Other than getting him to a and e and being admitted I don't know what to do. He isn't that bad though. But he is off school. Does anyone have a suggestion or know how much a private one is. U shouldn't have to though ! Docs best guess at mo is an ulcer.

Is there another local hospital with a shorter list? When dd2 needed a scan she got one within the month but not at our nearest hospital. You could ask if there's shorter lists within say an hour's drive.

Unless you think he'll be admitted, or the pain is suddenly much worse then I doubt going to A& E will do anything except tell you to go back to your GP.

What sort of scan exactly is he waiting for? Do you/they have a pretty good idea of what the problem is?

I only ask cause 'tummy ache' can be caused by a lot of different things and therefore can need all sorts of different scans/tests to diagnose (unless you have a pretty good idea what the problem is and just need confirmation). Has your GP ordered the scan, or is he already under a consultant at the hospital?

He is under consultant, had bloods done, all ok. At the moment their best guess is an ulcer. He is still in a lot of pain, on calpol, and I have rung everyday and they won't see him early, or see him in clinic. Told me to go to A and e. I think it's appaling ! It's an abdominal and renal scan. So even if I go are unless they scan him they still won't have a clue.

Tbh Moose, I'd take him to A & E then. Tell them he seems to be in more pain if necessary - whatever it takes to get the scan and get things moving.

I know a lot of people don't approve of using A & E like this, but sometimes it's the quickest way.

Hope you get some answers soon and he starts to feel better.

What sort of pain is it? I ask because ds's pain has been put down to abdominal migraine- (which I had never heard of). Calpol working was an indicator that that was the right diagnosis.

I've looked up the migraine, but ds has his everyday and the migraine comes and goes. I havent taken him , partly because it's not an emergency or an accident, but then on the other hand I have seen cut fingers etc in a and e! He is brighter today, and he says it's a bit better. He isn't eating at all. So I will continue to monitor him. I do think the nhs is dreadful about this sort of pain in a 12 yo, and haven't offered see him in children's outpatients clini. Familydoc doesn't want to know because she has phased the care over. Calpol is working a bit. I am working on distraction at the moment. A hot water bottle and dick and Dom helped yesterday, a lot!

Sorry to hear of this moose - DD aged 11 has had same sort of thing since November last year. We saw GP in January, referred to paediatric consultant, and after seeing him we waited about a month for an ultrasound appointment, then there was a problem with it so were given another appt for scan about a month later. Like you I have been sitting up with DD till midnight with her in so much pain, she's had time off school etc. Consultant is now thinking abdominal migraine - he said we have to decide if she can live with the pain, or take medication which has side effects, so we are waiting and seeing at the moment - a one time it was 24/7 but lately she has good days and bad days.

Ok so that's my experience, but yours sounds like a nightmare, waiting from Jan to May for a scan?! Have you rung the hospital in question to ask what the waiting list is and if its too long, get referred to another hospital? Call and ask for the name of the Hospital Administrator or the Hospital Director's PA and e-mail one of them to ask for support in speeding things up. Or speak to your consultant's secretary and see if she can stir things up a bit for you? If they suspect an ulcer, have they put him on omeprazole or similar as a precaution whilst you wait?

Hope things improve for you soon.

There is quite a lot you can do whilst you are waiting, I would anyway, that is if you want to see if he would improve.
Tummy ache suggests that there is prob something in his diet, my best guess would be wheat, which is known to trigger gut problems. You have nowt to loose if he gets better. My ds had lots of blood test that were neg/inconclusive but he was still unwell. We went gluten free and never looked back. These types of intolerance will not show up in any tests or scans until severe damage is done, sadly the treshold for diagnosis is too high on the damage side and it puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the body to cope with. The best you can get from scans is to say he has inflammation (that's why calpol helps I expect). Even if he has an ulcer, it would heal if food stops aggravating it.
If it was me, I would take him off wheat to see if it helps, you might just be surprised.