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Original poster

HELP!! 10 year old son with severe abdominal pain for 3 weeks

51 replies

Tonya1 · 03/02/2019 22:35

Hi! My son has been in pain for nearly 3 weeks now. Generally in pain all day which goes from a swirling pain in the stomach which he says he can handle to a stabbing pain that leaves him in distress and tears. The pain is generally around his belly button. Hasn’t lost appetite. 4 trips to A&E. First 2 trips, they tried to put it down to Norovirus, even though he hasn’t vomited or no diarrhoea. They’ve ruled out appendicitis as no pain on right side. a urine test came back negative. Blood test done at local health centre shows abnormalities in serum creating, total white cell count, neutrophil and lymphocite count. Test was done on Thursday, checked results on line on Saturday through his medical records. Went to A&E again last night as the pain got even more unbearable for him ( he has a very high pain threshold too). Waited 4 hours, told that the results of the blood test that he has on Thursday, although they show abnormal results aren’t too much out of range for it be a bacterial infection such as heliocabacter pylori, as initially suspected by my gp . Probably viral. A viral infection with symptoms lasting 3 weeks, and no sign of his little brother catching anything??Doctor at hospital last night said I can only arrange a scan through my gp as they have no scan facilities on weekends. Booked a telephone appointment with gp for the morning to arrange a ultrasound scan. He’s been off school for nearly 3 weeks. Been sent home on the days I have sent him in. I’m at the end of my tether. Any suggestions?

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Chocolatecake12 · 03/02/2019 22:38

Has he had a stool sample tested?

Could it be food related? Might be worth keeping a food diary while you wait for scan appointment to come through.

Original poster
Tonya1 · 03/02/2019 22:44

Hi! My son has been in pain for nearly 3 weeks now. Generally in pain all day which goes from a swirling pain in the stomach which he says he can handle to a stabbing pain that leaves him in distress and tears. The pain is generally around his belly button. Hasn’t lost appetite. 4 trips to A&E. First 2 trips, they tried to put it down to Norovirus, even though he hasn’t vomited or no diarrhoea. They’ve ruled out appendicitis as no pain on right side. a urine test came back negative. Blood test done at local health centre shows abnormalities in serum creating, total white cell count, neutrophil and lymphocite count. Test was done on Thursday, checked results on line on Saturday through his medical records. Went to A&E again last night as the pain got even more unbearable for him ( he has a very high pain threshold too). Waited 4 hours, told that the results of the blood test that he has on Thursday, although they show abnormal results aren’t too much out of range for it be a bacterial infection such as heliocabacter pylori, as initially suspected by my gp . Probably viral. A viral infection with symptoms lasting 3 weeks, and no sign of his little brother catching anything??Doctor at hospital last night said I can only arrange a scan through my gp as they have no scan facilities on weekends. Booked a telephone appointment with gp for the morning to arrange a ultrasound scan. He’s been off school for nearly 3 weeks. Been sent home on the days I have sent him in. I’m at the end of my tether. Any suggestions?

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Tonya1 · 03/02/2019 22:48

Hey, yes but still awaiting results for this. He has a good diet overall. We generally try to avoid dairy and not given him any bread which he normally has for breakfast as toast. I’ve been keeping track of food intake, but can’t seem to find any obvious correlation to his diet x

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Breadnroses · 03/02/2019 22:50

My DD has similar, although the pain wasn't as severe. When they checked her throat it was swollen, she had been complaining of a sore throat also.
Was diagnosed with mesenteric adenitis. Apparently in children, a sore throat can also inflame glands in their abdomen. Might be worth speaking with your GP about?

Original poster
Tonya1 · 03/02/2019 22:54

No sore throat so far, but will definitely keep an eye out. Thank you xx

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steppemum · 03/02/2019 22:55

I think you need to be a bit pushing with the GP, 3 weeks, and 3 weeks off school is a real concern.
No suggestions as to what it is though

Breadnroses · 03/02/2019 22:56

Hope he is better soon.

SofiaAmes · 03/02/2019 23:01

Could it be an abdominal migraine. My ds used to get them. The only reason we finally figured out what they were is that he started getting regular head migraines and his right eye would do a weird squinty thing when he had them. I noticed that his eye was doing the same thing when he had the stomach aches, and I told the neurologist and she said to give him the migraine medicine and it worked! We had been to the hospital many times with suspected appendicitis and various other things before that.

BettaSplenden · 03/02/2019 23:01

Constipation?

nocoolnamesleft · 03/02/2019 23:09

Also wondering about constipation.

Scone1nSixtySeconds · 03/02/2019 23:15

Did they do a dip test with his urine? Is he sleeping ok? Thirsty? Unusually tired?

My ds was diagnosed with Type 1diabetes at 9 and stomach cramps were such a major symptom for him that the gp spent 5 weeks telling us it was a virus when in fact he was developing diabetic ketoacidosis.

If they did a dip test and ruled it out then my post is irrelevant but if they haven’t done a test then it is easy to rule in/out.

Fabaunt · 03/02/2019 23:17

Any chest pain, shortness of breath, pain in shoulders? Gallbladder? Gallstones?

AuchAyeTheNo · 03/02/2019 23:17

Sounds daft but any chance it could be trapped wind?

It can be really severe and extremely painful. I’d try a windeeze tablet when the pain starts again just incase.

YouDancin · 03/02/2019 23:22

Ok my child is exactly the same!!!! 3 weeks + now! 4 trips to the Dr and 2 to A&E!! They are lying in bed crying right now!!

Will message you if that's okay

Original poster
Tonya1 · 03/02/2019 23:25

Thanks for responding guys. No signs of constipation. He did a urine sample, unsure whether a dip test was involved to be honest. He hasn’t complained of any chest pain. Will definitely look into all of your suggestions x

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Original poster
Tonya1 · 03/02/2019 23:26

Yes of course youdancin x

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ModernStoneAgeFamily · 03/02/2019 23:38

I was also going to suggest mesintinic adenitis.
Dd had it and it seemed very like appendicitis. She even stayed in hospital a couple of nights for observation. It was very painful, but eventually went. I’d never heard of it until her diagnosis Confused

Aurea · 03/02/2019 23:43

Sounds very much like appendicitis. I know you say it's been ruled out, but it's very hard to diagnose.

If you press down on the lower left hand side of the stomach, is the rebound pain on the right hand side worse? This can be a sign of an inflamed appendix.

Good luck!

www.everydayhealth.com/appendicitis/guide/symptoms/

YouDancin · 04/02/2019 00:00

@ModernStoneAgeFamily how long did the mesenteric adenitis last for your dd? It is one of the things they have suggested for my dc. But there's no test. Maybe it will show on ultrasound?

Lindy2 · 04/02/2019 00:10

It could still be appendicitis. The pain doesn't usually go to the right hand side until it is quite advanced and different people can have pain in different places. My appendicitis didn't show up on any blood tests or any of the usual pushing on the stomach tests. It was though clearly seen and diagnosed when they did an ultrasound.

ModernStoneAgeFamily · 04/02/2019 00:20

As I recall they did a scan on dd and it showed up. I was convinced she had appendicitis and needed urgent surgery. I was very worried when they seemed to be dithering about with this instead, but they were quite right.

They kept her in to ‘watch and wait’ as they called it and it began to ease in a few days although I think timescales must vary on that.

As the pp said it can sometimes be triggered by a cold or sore throat. Something which might kick off the immune system and inflame glands in the abdomen.

They said it could possibly happen again. That was around 2 yrs ago. I don’t think it has, although as dd has got older she does suffer with ibs type symptoms and we’re always on the lookout for things which can trigger that. Stress seems a cause, but she’s at college (17) doing exams..no way of avoiding it really 😧

ModernStoneAgeFamily · 04/02/2019 00:26

To correct myself, because I’m not sure, I don’t know whether the scan shows up MA itself or whether it just rules out appendicitis. Ie leading to the conclusion that it was MA instead iyswim.

mytieisascarf · 04/02/2019 00:27

My son also had mesenteric adenitis. It still flares up. So when some people get a viral infection their glands swell. Mostly this is in their throat/neck but for my son it is in his tummy and causes significant pain. The longest bout was just over a week.

We too thoughtit was appendicitis. But I'm surprised it hasn't already been suggested by your doc.

YouDancin · 04/02/2019 00:29

Thank you @ModernStoneAgeFamily and @Lindy2

ChristmasSnow · 04/02/2019 00:30

Can still be appendix... A rumbling one....