Please help! DD missing GCSEs due to nausea - Stemetil not working - what else can we do?

[Fretfulagain]

Did post earlier but didn't put GCSEs in the title and the fact she is missing her exams is what makes this urgent. we are at wits end.
started Monday pm, quite suddenly.
nausea - tiredness - lightheaded - some stomach pain but doesn't seem severe
Period arrived Tuesday - it is irregular
GP prescribed Stemetil (2nd appointment of week) but not doing much and she's flat, feeling sick and exhausted this morning.
Missed a week of GCSEs.

we are trying to get liquid into her but even that is an effort and she is taking tiny sips. yesterday she had some ritz crackers, a few bites of ham sandwich (after Stemetil seemed to be working) and half an avocado all day. Nothing so far today.

My worry is that there is no sign of improvement and looking at previous threads there are a lot of examples of unexplained nausea in teens lasting weeks or even months.

what else can/should/shouldn't we do?

Your can buy other anti sickness pills OTC in a pharmacy. Try some alternatives. Kwells and Buccastem are different drugs from Stemetil.

I'd be trying local pharmacy today - see what they can suggest - I think Boots at least you can have private chact with the actual pharmacist - I think some lloyds chemists as well.

Then if no luck - trying GP - private or normal NHS one and asking for other options/ investigations very early next week.

X-post there - well I'd try and find a private GP today then - see what they can suggest to you.

I’d be asking for ondansetron. Can you also ensure that the GP has checked her blood sugar levels as diabetes can present like this.

If it was my child and I could afford it I would see if she can get blood work done privately asap, checking for a range of the most common stuff it could be. Then I'd know how to proceed.

Stupid question has she done a covid test? Sickness is a symptom.

We have Ondansetron for 10yo DS. He has had it on prescription since he was 5 or 6yo. He has a gastro problem which means that if he gets a normal stomach bug which makes him sick, he cannot stop himself being sick beyond the number of times you’d expect to expel the germs. It works immediately and allows him to rehydrate and recover. GP can prescribe.

Sounds like exam nerves.

If that;s the case, a parent should provide calm reassurance that feeling or being sick is perfectly normal, get them up dressed and fed in time and make sure they have pens, mascots, hankies everything required. (If necessary) escort them to school and tell teen " ALL your mates feel like this. You are going to go in there and sit the exam. I know you've done the work and can do this. Good luck.".

Is there a chance she could be pregnant?

The OP has done this and sent her in. School have sent her home.

not pregnant - as far as i know (and she's a home-body) not sexually active.

we have tried the 'tough love' and taking her to school and reassuring her etc. she is actually unwell.

i'll look into private gp and blood tests now i think.

One of mine gets a lot of nausea. Crystalised ginger helps as does sleep. Dreading the GCSE years. The nausea is completely unrelated to stress for my dc, waiting for ent referral.

Thanks - of course we can't rule out anxiety but it doesn't seem to be the root cause but so easy to assume that is it and all we/she needs to do is toughen up and my worry is that is getting in the way of being taken seriously. I'd like to have blood tests done but not so easy without a journey i'm not sure she is up to. Private for her age (ie under 18) doesn't seem well served near us - I am also wondering about a nhs walk-in. think she favours A&E but that doesn't seem appropriate, desperate as i am (unless/until she becomes dehydrated). I thought i'd found a private gp we could drive to but they don't do under 18s.

Can you not do an online gp appointment? When does she feels sick. Could it be vertigo or ear related?

Is she dizzy ? Could it be labyrinthitus, I know someone who got this during their A levels .

My DD has Crohn's in her stomach and this manifested with sudden nausea episodes, light headedness and dizziness and constant low grade fever (always in the 37s, spiking to 38 or 38 occasionally. Since being treated her temp is always at 36.4) She also had weight loss, diarrhea and was pale. Is your dd having normal bowel movements?

Definitely ask the GP to prescribe ondansetron. They don't like prescribing it if they are unsure of the cause of the nausea BUT if it gets her through her exams they may be willing.

My DS has it for migraines and it works well.

Keep her blood sugar level up with sweets or sugary drinks as low blood sugar will definitely make her feel worse

thanks again for all input. she says lightheaded rather than dizzy and bowel as normal as it can be when she isn't eating. it did seem to come on suddenly. she seemed to be improving yesterday but then got much worse again - we weren't sure if it was the anti nausea meds wearing off - but we have not seen a repeat of yesterday's improvement today despite medication.

I would give her boiled sweets and icepops to suck.

Thanks - last time I checked on her i left her with flat coke (yuk). I am thinking maybe walk in clinic or private GP tomorrow for new anti nausea drug as I'd expect any HCP to want us to give the current one a chance before we discard it. the trouble is time is what we don't have - we have the weekend but come Monday the GCSE timetable marches relentlessly on, with or without her.

she says even a boiled sweet makes her feel sick and she can't face it. we have an assortment, thank god for M&S and old school sweets - plus surprisingly hard to track down ginger sweets.

If she misses her GCSEs that's going to affect her forever. She needs to go in

@Fretfulagain Holland and Barratt sell Quesies ginger flavoured boiled sweets

Your poor DD. I really do sympathise, I hope my earlier post was not too harsh. Unfortunately even with bloods, we had DD see a private specialist, as the NHS does not run full bloods, and private GP's are not licensed for under 18's. They came back clear for almost everything (she had some 50 things checked!!), other than a positive for Cytomegalavirus, similar to Glandular Fever. The upshot being, she had had it sometime, it left her with random symptoms, there was nothing to do, and unfortunately, like GF, it's just a case of time and rest. Not helpful I know, but just a caution, that you may get a result from a blood test, but not necessarily a cure, and certainly not a quick one.

Ask her GP to prescribe another antiemetic like cyclizine or ondansetron.
Don't bother with buccastem otc, it's stematil but dissolvable. Only available OTC for 18+ specifically for nausea with migraine.

Thanks - yes this is what stops me tracking down private bloods asap - realistically i know (or the non frantic bit of my brain knows) it is unlikely to lead to a magic immediate cure