Ds keeps screaming his legs hurt : (

[alibobins]

I posted a while back and gp said it was growing pains, but i'm worried it could be something worse sometimes he can't put any weight on his left leg for up to an hour after he's woken from a nap and he can be awake screaming for up to an hour a time during the night.

Its not just crying he's sometimes sick with the pain I just don't know what to do for him

He's 2.5

what happened ali?

I had this with my dd a couple of years ago, when she was coming up 5. She had growing pains, from time to time, not as bad as many of you, but her ballet teacher commented that she was favouring one side, skipping irregularly etc. I spoke to an osteopath friend and he said that this was the age when two particular conditions might manifest themselves. GP was satisfied that neither was an issue, so I took her to a cranial osteopath and it really helped. I don't really understand cranial osteopathy but it seems to make a difference to a lot of people - and is obviously not just for heads!

Gp checked his legs and watched him walk, he has arranged for some bloods to be taken not sure what for though

He was a bit worried that it could be a side effect from all the medication he takes ( he has a lot of oral steriods)

Said if he starts to limp continually (sp) then to go back asap.

He was really good and i do feel a bit better but i just thought growing pains were an old wives tale.

oh he also said to watch out for any swelling or a very high temp.

dd suffers from leg apin in the night but has very poor circulation. Cramp-like pain and restless legs can be caused by deficiency in potassium (oh or is that magnesium) maybe both.

Glad that your Gp didn't just dismiss it alibobins.

KerryMum He's got chronic asthma and many serious allergies. He has regular inhaled medication but gets so many flare ups he's on oral steriods quite alot

alibobins - probably barkign up the wrong tree, but your OP really reminde me of when ds had a UTI and I thought it was something wrong with his legs as he couldn't bear weight on them, especially after a nap. kept limping too.

probably wrong but just wanted to mention it. hope he gets better soon, D x

My nephew had something called something like irritable hip where he couldn't put any weight on his leg for a while, and then it just resolved, for no apparent reason. I'll see if I can find any info.

Ds see's consultant at hospital every six weeks and his hoping this is the year he starts to settle down. He's been put on a permanent low dose antibiotic to try and stop the infections.
I know steriods are not good but sometimes its the only thing that helps

[[http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=218&sectionId=11074 irritable hip]

KNEW THAT WOULDN'T WORK!
irritable hip again

It says on that page it is often after a virus (look in Causes)

Thanks for the link

It comes and goes last night he was fine and today up until about six he was ok. Then started to limp a bit.

hi alibobins
my ds is also on long term low dose steroids, in fact usually high dose but right now he's on 5mg alt day which is his best yet - hurrah. anyhow, it is really common for children on steroids to get these kind of joint pains. gp's often don't realise how common it can be. does he have other problems such as mood swings as well?
we do massages/hot compresses to try and help. he also gets a lot of cramps which is difficult.
you could try calcium supplements/omega oil supplements/aloe vera/acupressure - I know people who have had success with some of these.
hth

Thanks morroco
That helps me to feel better.

took my dd to the doc yesterday - he checked her leg & she'll be having a scan and xray to see what the problem is. There's nothing broken so he wondered if it was a bad muscle strain but we'll know once she's had the tests.

ali - do they think it's the meds?

my ds1, 6, always says his legs hurt.
Over a different issue we took him to a dermatologist who ordered blood tests and he has come back with liver function anomolies and we are waiting to see the paed immunologist.

alibobins, I would ask for a full blood screen including ANA

hope you can get to the bottom of it

I should explain that what with the dermatological issue and the aching joints AND the poor liver function, he checks boxes for an autoimmune disease of some kind, so I reckon you should try and rule out an autoimmune cause for your son

I really don't want to go scaremongering here but anyone with a child with 'growing pains' do get blood tests and have them checked.

A co-workers little boy (he was 4 or 5) used to get them, and friends and family took the mick gently as he limped a little when walking.

Eventually he was taken for tests and had leukaemia I left work not long after that on maternity and didn't return, but from what I remember, it was incurable - too far gone, and everyone was raising money for him to go to disneyland Still makes me cry thinking about him, bless him.

Gp does seem to be listening but at the moment its only happening at the most twice a week and he did say if anything changed then to go straight back.

lunavix, poor little lad

My sister and I both got what we called "aching leg" during the night when we were little. Sometimes it was so severe I couldn't walk - I would get up to go to my mum & dad's room, and collapse on the way! I can still remember the pain - it was so bad it made me feel sick. I used to say I had a headache in my leg. My parents assumed it was cramp so my dad would rub and massage my legs very hard, which made them much much worse!!! Junior aspirin ("Disprin"?) sometimes helped. The doc said it was growing pains, and turned out he was right. I had them until I was about 13. My DP had them too when he was a boy. It all seems a bit of a mystery at the time as we didn't know anyone else who had it, and "growing pains" seemed so vague, but that's what it was sure enough, nothing sinister after all. Eventually we discovered that milk helped (perhaps we lacked calcium?). I got one more bout when I was about 19 (and growing again) and milk definitely helped even though I can't stand the stuff. Hope you find a solution soon.