growing pains / restless legs at night

[mintyneb]

I've gone back through other posts and seen that night time pain in young children is very common and is usually just 'growing pains'.

My 6 yo DD has been complaining of having sore legs for the last week or so but the last 4 nights have been horrendous. She's been waking in tears of pain every 1.5 hours or so throughout the night. But she's also thrashing around uncontrollably with her legs and can't/won't keep them still. She's also saying her arms are hurting her too.

I've tried giving her calpol or nurofen just before bed and throughout the night but that doesn't seem to have any effect. I've tried gentle massage of her legs but again it doesn't seem to be helping much. With it being so sticky at night recently she's not keen on cuddles as they make her too hot :-(

I took her to the GP this am as she's not totally herself (not surprising given how little sleep she must be getting!) but she's not got a temperature and a urine sample has come back clear for everything tested so there's nothing obvious there.

I realise if it is just growing pains there's not much to be done but I'm really not looking forward to a weekend of nights like the last ones we've had.

Does anyone have any other tips that could help get me through and out the other side of this episode? Oh, and also any idea how long it could last??

Hi. Not sure if this is the answer but have you come across Ekbom syndrome. It's also called restless legs syndrome. It is a condition that causes an irresistible urge (actually more of a throbbing ache) to move your legs. Have a look on the NHS website for more info. I know it probably sounds mad to anyone who hasn't come across it but both myself and two of my sons have it. Exercise helps as does having something to take your mind off it (story tape?) Hope this helps, best of luck.

thanks stjo, I've just looked that up and the symptoms seem very similar :-(. She's commented that sometimes its hard to know exactly where the pain is as it just shoots around her legs. She's also said that it feels a bit like pins and needles which again ties up with the symptoms.

distraction sounds a good idea if I can get her to buy into it in the middle of the night!

From your experience, is this something that's going to happen every night now to this intensity or can it stop any time soon? DD is really starting to struggle with it all now and its only been a few days.

So it turns out DD is suffering from a viral infection which is affecting the muscles and joints in her arms and legs.

She's woken up regularly every night for the last 2 weeks crying and screaming in pain. She's also lost a kilo in weight and is now wobbly on feet, can't stand comfortably or walk long distances and climbs stairs like an old lady.

Apart from giving her regular doses of ibuprofen there is nothing we can do other than let the virus run its course.

She may have started to turn the corner now but it looks like it will be a while before we get our energetic little girl back.

Oh how I wish it was just 'growing pains' now!

Hi Minty. How did the doctor diagnose that it was a viral infection? I just wanted to suggest keeping an eye out for any swelling and suggest asking for a blood test if you see any. Our six year old DD started out having what I thought was shin splint type pain in one leg which eventually turned to swelling in her knee. She's now been diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. I don't want to worry you by mentioning it but I had no idea for months that something more serious was going on and wish i'd known about it sooner for her sake. We still haven't started any treatment though are finally getting closer to seeing some action. I hope your DD feels better very soon.

Growing pains is not a recognized medical condition - basically they don't exist.

Some GPs refer to growing pains if they want to reassure parents and they cannot work out what is wrong.

So if you are told something is growing pains and you think there really is something amiss then insist on second opinion or see another doctor.

Lovesewing fortunately my gp doesn't believe in growing pains :-), I guess I was just using it as a phrase to start with as when I looked on Dr Google when DD first fell ill that's what it kept coming back with. The one thing that the articles did keep saying was if the pain continues during the day (which it did) then see your gp.

Waterbaby I'm sorry to hear about your DD I hope she doesn't suffer too much pain. My dds story is a little complicated in that she has cystic fibrosis. The plus side to this is that we have access to a great team looking after her and if she is ever unwell it all gets taken seriously.

The cf consultant wondered if her potassium levels were low and asked for a blood test to check a number of factors. The gp also added in a request for full blood count and inflammation markers etc and everything came back completely normal.

Dh had a weird virus last month that left him exhausted and nauseous. Neither DD nor myself had any symptoms but the cons is fairly certain that DD did catch the virus and this is how it is coming out in her.

She does seem to be turning the corner but she is still very sore for the first hour after waking up (not a good sign I think) and her legs are quite weak.

The consultant has said that if the weakness gets worse or there is any sign of swelling she will refer her to a general paediatrition for further tests.

Fingers crossed she continues to improve and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any changes