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All tests normal but 5 year old still in severe pain
About 4 months ago my daughter (5 years old, 35 lbs) started complaining about her tummy hurting. I started to notice it was around the time she ate and I just assumed she was being a 5 y/o and didn't like what I was serving. She has always been small, preemie/twin 6 weeks early. It didn't seem serious so I ignored it until about one month ago it really got bad so her pediatrician put her on Axid for gastritis. 2 weeks later she was still really complaining about tummy pain and started to violently vomit brownish liquid. She was admited to the hospital for 4 days where they did an X-ray, urine sample basic blood work all which looked normal. Her Ped Dr. sent her over to a Gastro doctor who still said gastritis which caused anorexia. The Gastro doctor sent her home with previcid and levsin for pain. She has started eating some and has gained back 2 pounds she lost but she is still in a lot of pain. She has had more blood work done all again which looked normal, and ultrasound which looked normal except for slight fluid on her left kidney which she does complain about pain in her lower left back. She also has pain on her adams apple, you can't touch her at all there on her neck. She has missed more than a month of school so far and can only lie flat on her back all day because any sitting or standing, "hurts my tummy". You still cannot touch her stomach at all. She has had a slight fever on and off always under 101. She is scheduled for an endoscope and kidney urine flow test next week. Wouldn't one of the previous tests have shown something by now?
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Oh, my. I wish you the best of luck!
I have been through most of what your daughter has been through. I injured a mid-thoracic vertabrae at work 10 years ago, and due to the instability of my spine, just from a slightly twisted T5, I would hear and feel this awful pop in my sternum when sneezing - with associated pain, ranging from under my ears, down my neck to the lower portion of my torso, nausea, stomach pain, heartburnish feeling, even not sleeping well at night. Pain was inconsistent, too. Sometimes at night, sometimes sitting, sometimes physically active. I, too, had two doctors recommend gallbladder removal, but after my former veterinarian husband and I researched some, declined. A physical therapist diagnosed the slipping rib! She was correct. Unfortunately, that was after all the same "you'll just have to live with the pain", "it's all in your head", "you are just a head strong woman that needs to learn to let go of control" nonsense, and attempts to get me to take all those silly pharmaceuticals... by top-notch pain specialists in Dallas, etc... With a biology degree under my belt, I kept insisting that the original spine injury was mechanical, the pain symptom was a signal of something mechanically wrong, and that we needed to find a mechanical correction, not mask the symptom with drugs!! The stabbing, burning pain in my right shoulder blade area and the feeling of a knife between my ribs when I breathed in and out was debilitating after time.
I spent countless hours in a chiropractic office, which would usually give me an HOUR to two days of relief, but not always that, and, maddeningly the pain would just seem to return for no rhyme or reason. Long story long, due to misdiagnosis, improper physical therapy at first, what I now call intrusive "whack and crack" chiropractic...MORE rib cartilage was irreperably stretched and now my rib numbers 1-7 go out! (When the #1 rib goes, within minutes I get a large lump from my right trapezoid muscle, fighting to hold everything in place.) So frustrating that this possibly could have been prevented! Anyway, I DO believe in chiropractic. The nerves really do run through the spine and to subsequent organs/tissues. And, yes, the stomach is an organ! There is a direct relation to the spinal alignment and how my body operates. I have six years of proof, now that I have found some real help for what ails me. What I do highly recommend is that you find a chiropractor who only uses the Activator Method. It has been around for over 40 years, but it not widely known, except to people who swear by it. Me included! I simply trusted a very good massage therapist when she recommended I go to a chiropractor who employed this technique, and it has changed my life. Look up activator.com. Find a practitioner near you on the locator, then call and really ask a lot of questions. (Don't be surprised when a chiropractor you like says s/he is giving you the same care..They are NOT. Explain you are simply looking for a method that fits your problem better. No one would expect you to only cut steak with a spoon, even though it would sort of do the job...) Only go to an advertised/listed/certified Activator Method Chiropractor who solely uses that method. (When traveling, I found some who mostly use only the Palmer method and general body manipulation style, but will add the Activator...NOT good for me, so I refuse!) The Activator method seems a little hocus pocus at first, as the doctor will actually move your legs a little and ask you to do certain things like lift your chin off the table while lying flat and turn your head to look at the right ceiling of the room. What s/he is actually doing is watching muscle patterns they are trained to detect. What a concept! Looking at the body and touching it to fix mechanical issues rather than just scribble out a script on an RX pad. (Sorry, a little jaded after all these years of knowing something was wrong, but being made to feel like I was just a complainer or crazy.) For three years at the beginning of the original injury, I never got more than three hours of sleep at night, etc. Now, I sleep like a rock! Pain gone for longer periods or managed between visits! THE REASON THE ACTIVATOR METHOD WORKS FOR ME WHEN OTHER CHIROPRACTIC DID NOT: The doctor uses a tiny little pneumatic instrument, that sort of looks like a syringe, but has different pressure settings. Once s/he determines where the bone/cartilage/tissue needs adjustment, it feels like a litte tap on the skin, but, demonstrated, will pop a styrofoam cup off a table. This is much more gentle, less invasive to the rest of my musculoskeletal system, so the ribs are nudged back into place without blowig others out. My body doesn't tense up as the doctor is adjusting, like I used to with other types of chiro, so everything is much more controlled in the adjustment, which is very important when dealing with stretched rib cartilage. FYI: my doctor adjusts ribs from both the front and back, lying on my back, or lying on my stomach.
I have since learned that even the slightest wrong movement, like sneezing or reaching over the edge of a baby crib and lifting a child can cause Slipping Rib Syndrome, and, much like a knee joint that is hyperextended in the wrong direction, that stretched cartilage can never completely heal itself. It inflames easily and the adjoining muscles/tissues/nerves flare up easily from that point forward.
So, massage before adjustment seems to even get better results. I believe in acupuncture to relieve some of the inflammation, plus I take extra doses of Omega 3 fish oil, vitamin D3, and lots of turmeric (pills or in food) as anti-inflammatory aids. A Family Nurse Practioner recently recommended I get tested for foods and related inflammatory response allergies, if I would like to even increase my odds of cutting down on inflammation. I have researched prolotherapy as a possible step to further cutting down on painful incidents, but worry a little about introducting an inflammatory response into my body as a cure. Gentle strength toning of my thoracic area seems to decrease episodes. I have a flight attendant co-worker who had the end of her rib cut off in Boston as Slipping Rib cure, and she is pain free, but with all the MRSA stories one hears these days, I would like an operation to be a last resort.
So, if anyone has recommendations about how I can get PROLONGED relief (like months?) from Slipping Rib Syndrome, please let me know.
Just know that you are not crazy, and you must stand up for your own health when dealing with the medical industry. Your pain is real. Your related symptoms are real, and someone has to have the right cure.
I have been through most of what your daughter has been through. I injured a mid-thoracic vertabrae at work 10 years ago, and due to the instability of my spine, just from a slightly twisted T5, I would hear and feel this awful pop in my sternum when sneezing - with associated pain, ranging from under my ears, down my neck to the lower portion of my torso, nausea, stomach pain, heartburnish feeling, even not sleeping well at night. Pain was inconsistent, too. Sometimes at night, sometimes sitting, sometimes physically active. I, too, had two doctors recommend gallbladder removal, but after my former veterinarian husband and I researched some, declined. A physical therapist diagnosed the slipping rib! She was correct. Unfortunately, that was after all the same "you'll just have to live with the pain", "it's all in your head", "you are just a head strong woman that needs to learn to let go of control" nonsense, and attempts to get me to take all those silly pharmaceuticals... by top-notch pain specialists in Dallas, etc... With a biology degree under my belt, I kept insisting that the original spine injury was mechanical, the pain symptom was a signal of something mechanically wrong, and that we needed to find a mechanical correction, not mask the symptom with drugs!! The stabbing, burning pain in my right shoulder blade area and the feeling of a knife between my ribs when I breathed in and out was debilitating after time.
I spent countless hours in a chiropractic office, which would usually give me an HOUR to two days of relief, but not always that, and, maddeningly the pain would just seem to return for no rhyme or reason. Long story long, due to misdiagnosis, improper physical therapy at first, what I now call intrusive "whack and crack" chiropractic...MORE rib cartilage was irreperably stretched and now my rib numbers 1-7 go out! (When the #1 rib goes, within minutes I get a large lump from my right trapezoid muscle, fighting to hold everything in place.) So frustrating that this possibly could have been prevented! Anyway, I DO believe in chiropractic. The nerves really do run through the spine and to subsequent organs/tissues. And, yes, the stomach is an organ! There is a direct relation to the spinal alignment and how my body operates. I have six years of proof, now that I have found some real help for what ails me. What I do highly recommend is that you find a chiropractor who only uses the Activator Method. It has been around for over 40 years, but it not widely known, except to people who swear by it. Me included! I simply trusted a very good massage therapist when she recommended I go to a chiropractor who employed this technique, and it has changed my life. Look up activator.com. Find a practitioner near you on the locator, then call and really ask a lot of questions. (Don't be surprised when a chiropractor you like says s/he is giving you the same care..They are NOT. Explain you are simply looking for a method that fits your problem better. No one would expect you to only cut steak with a spoon, even though it would sort of do the job...) Only go to an advertised/listed/certified Activator Method Chiropractor who solely uses that method. (When traveling, I found some who mostly use only the Palmer method and general body manipulation style, but will add the Activator...NOT good for me, so I refuse!) The Activator method seems a little hocus pocus at first, as the doctor will actually move your legs a little and ask you to do certain things like lift your chin off the table while lying flat and turn your head to look at the right ceiling of the room. What s/he is actually doing is watching muscle patterns they are trained to detect. What a concept! Looking at the body and touching it to fix mechanical issues rather than just scribble out a script on an RX pad. (Sorry, a little jaded after all these years of knowing something was wrong, but being made to feel like I was just a complainer or crazy.) For three years at the beginning of the original injury, I never got more than three hours of sleep at night, etc. Now, I sleep like a rock! Pain gone for longer periods or managed between visits! THE REASON THE ACTIVATOR METHOD WORKS FOR ME WHEN OTHER CHIROPRACTIC DID NOT: The doctor uses a tiny little pneumatic instrument, that sort of looks like a syringe, but has different pressure settings. Once s/he determines where the bone/cartilage/tissue needs adjustment, it feels like a litte tap on the skin, but, demonstrated, will pop a styrofoam cup off a table. This is much more gentle, less invasive to the rest of my musculoskeletal system, so the ribs are nudged back into place without blowig others out. My body doesn't tense up as the doctor is adjusting, like I used to with other types of chiro, so everything is much more controlled in the adjustment, which is very important when dealing with stretched rib cartilage. FYI: my doctor adjusts ribs from both the front and back, lying on my back, or lying on my stomach.
I have since learned that even the slightest wrong movement, like sneezing or reaching over the edge of a baby crib and lifting a child can cause Slipping Rib Syndrome, and, much like a knee joint that is hyperextended in the wrong direction, that stretched cartilage can never completely heal itself. It inflames easily and the adjoining muscles/tissues/nerves flare up easily from that point forward.
So, massage before adjustment seems to even get better results. I believe in acupuncture to relieve some of the inflammation, plus I take extra doses of Omega 3 fish oil, vitamin D3, and lots of turmeric (pills or in food) as anti-inflammatory aids. A Family Nurse Practioner recently recommended I get tested for foods and related inflammatory response allergies, if I would like to even increase my odds of cutting down on inflammation. I have researched prolotherapy as a possible step to further cutting down on painful incidents, but worry a little about introducting an inflammatory response into my body as a cure. Gentle strength toning of my thoracic area seems to decrease episodes. I have a flight attendant co-worker who had the end of her rib cut off in Boston as Slipping Rib cure, and she is pain free, but with all the MRSA stories one hears these days, I would like an operation to be a last resort.
So, if anyone has recommendations about how I can get PROLONGED relief (like months?) from Slipping Rib Syndrome, please let me know.
Just know that you are not crazy, and you must stand up for your own health when dealing with the medical industry. Your pain is real. Your related symptoms are real, and someone has to have the right cure.
To 1Ranger1:
Hello, did your daughter end up having surgery for Slipping Rib Syndrome?? I did! Please let me know!
kristymay_c***@****
Hello, did your daughter end up having surgery for Slipping Rib Syndrome?? I did! Please let me know!
kristymay_c***@****
Thanks both of you. Olivia has had her stool checked all negative or normal and I will look into the slipping rib syndrome. Since she is only five I can't imagine what she could have done to hurt thoses two ribs but I have nothing left to loose. I am taking her to a Chiropractor on Monday. I will see if he saw anything on the x-rays he took. I am reaching for any kind of help I can get for her. Ranger1 you said your daughter was worse in the morning mine is DEFINATLEY worse at night. most nights she can't even walk up to bed and there is no way I can get her to eat at night. She just had a VCUG but the only thing it showed was a huge bladder 475cc's. That was a horrible experience for her so we are taking a break for a couple of days. I will reschedule the endoscope later in the week. If she doesn't already have an ulcer she will if I have to keep taking her to doctor after doctor for all theese tests. 5 y/o don't understand why all the poking and prodding (which = PAIN) is needed to find what is wrong. She is starting not to tell me when she hurts for fear I will call the doctor.
My 16 year old daughter just went through a 2 1/2 month ordeal and just wanted to share the final diagnosis in case it would help anyone else. She started with bacterial infection symptoms and we were in Mexico when it started. She was treated with bactrim and flagyl. While taking that those, symptoms started back up, and had continuous abdominal pain. She had her appendix removed and that was not the cause. Her symptoms went from lower abdominal to upper and she started getting right side pain, shoulder pain, back pain, constant nausea and dry heaves, sometimes a little bile. She also developed right side muscle tremors and weakness, urinary hesitancy and pain after urination. She was told it was IBS, in her head, etc., although her symptoms were real. She developed stabbing chest pain. She missed 5 weeks of school from pain, codeine, nausea and lost 15lbs. It hurt after she ate or even drank water.
It hurt round the clock not just from an attack. She had 2 CT scans, an ultrasound, a colonoscopy/ endoscopy, an edoscopic ultrasound, 2 HIDA scans, blood tests, and an MRCP. All were negative, except the endoscopic ultrasound showed that there was sludge in her gallbladder. It was recommended that her gallbladder be removed. We found out that sludge occurs when the patient has had a sudden weight loss which she had, so don't go through with surgery just on that finding. We weren't happy with another surgery with no evidence, so we went to the Mayo Clinic. Within 1/2 hour, she was diagnosed with SLIPPING RIB SYNDROME, a rare, but very undiagnosed real condition. Sometimes patients just develop the syndrome months or years after having a chest impact from sports (our daughter snowboards, wakeboards)or accident, horse fall, skateboarding, car accident, . The floating ribs, #7-#10 get separated from the cartilage that connect to the sternum. This can never grow back. This condition aggravates the intercostal nerves that run on the underneath side of each rib. They cause the nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, back and shoulder pain, urinary and gastro symptoms when they are inflamed. The chest pain was costochondritis brought on by the dry heaves which inflame the chest nerves.
She had injections of an anti inflammatory from an anesthesiologist into the nerves (1/2 inch from lungs, only a qualified doctor should attempt this), is on relefan, a once a day oral anti inflammatory and wears a TENS unit which is an electronic self administered low electric pulse that scrambles the pain signal to the brain until the nerves die down. They can't reconnect the cartilage and won't operate to remove it. They say that can cause more pain. We met many people in waiting rooms with similar stories there for gastro operations and while some need that, I wish I could tell everyone about this. Sometimes if it isn't too bad, it will go away on its own, and doctors think antibiotics helped or the kid didn't want to go to school. She also felt worse in the mornings. The pain from eating wasn't WHAT she ate, but it turns out that everytime she ate, as her stomach expanded, it pushed on the nerves of her ribs. Also, Mexico had nothing to do with this. The change in air pressure from the flight(she was nauseous when we landed, (as she was on flights to Minnesota to Mayo clinic) and snorkelling 25 feet deep in the ocean under salt water pressure affects the nerves also.
If this helps one person, it will have been worth posting. By the way, most doctors have never heard of this, or if they have, do not believe it causes all these symptoms. The test is to put 2 fingers under the rib cage and pull up. It would make my daughter shocky and start vomitting with extreme pain. Her ribs would also click. Also, if a gallbladder is removed and still having gallbladder symptoms, do not go through with an ERCP test without checking this out first. The test itself will cause pancreatitis with severe consequenses. Many people go through this when they may have Slipping Rib Syndrome. Good luck!
It hurt round the clock not just from an attack. She had 2 CT scans, an ultrasound, a colonoscopy/ endoscopy, an edoscopic ultrasound, 2 HIDA scans, blood tests, and an MRCP. All were negative, except the endoscopic ultrasound showed that there was sludge in her gallbladder. It was recommended that her gallbladder be removed. We found out that sludge occurs when the patient has had a sudden weight loss which she had, so don't go through with surgery just on that finding. We weren't happy with another surgery with no evidence, so we went to the Mayo Clinic. Within 1/2 hour, she was diagnosed with SLIPPING RIB SYNDROME, a rare, but very undiagnosed real condition. Sometimes patients just develop the syndrome months or years after having a chest impact from sports (our daughter snowboards, wakeboards)or accident, horse fall, skateboarding, car accident, . The floating ribs, #7-#10 get separated from the cartilage that connect to the sternum. This can never grow back. This condition aggravates the intercostal nerves that run on the underneath side of each rib. They cause the nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, back and shoulder pain, urinary and gastro symptoms when they are inflamed. The chest pain was costochondritis brought on by the dry heaves which inflame the chest nerves.
She had injections of an anti inflammatory from an anesthesiologist into the nerves (1/2 inch from lungs, only a qualified doctor should attempt this), is on relefan, a once a day oral anti inflammatory and wears a TENS unit which is an electronic self administered low electric pulse that scrambles the pain signal to the brain until the nerves die down. They can't reconnect the cartilage and won't operate to remove it. They say that can cause more pain. We met many people in waiting rooms with similar stories there for gastro operations and while some need that, I wish I could tell everyone about this. Sometimes if it isn't too bad, it will go away on its own, and doctors think antibiotics helped or the kid didn't want to go to school. She also felt worse in the mornings. The pain from eating wasn't WHAT she ate, but it turns out that everytime she ate, as her stomach expanded, it pushed on the nerves of her ribs. Also, Mexico had nothing to do with this. The change in air pressure from the flight(she was nauseous when we landed, (as she was on flights to Minnesota to Mayo clinic) and snorkelling 25 feet deep in the ocean under salt water pressure affects the nerves also.
If this helps one person, it will have been worth posting. By the way, most doctors have never heard of this, or if they have, do not believe it causes all these symptoms. The test is to put 2 fingers under the rib cage and pull up. It would make my daughter shocky and start vomitting with extreme pain. Her ribs would also click. Also, if a gallbladder is removed and still having gallbladder symptoms, do not go through with an ERCP test without checking this out first. The test itself will cause pancreatitis with severe consequenses. Many people go through this when they may have Slipping Rib Syndrome. Good luck!
Hi there. have you been to Mexico or Canada lately? I'm thinking she could have contracted a parasite like giardia. When my son was about 10 years old, he had this. He lost weight and was vomiting almost daily. Giardia is difficult to diagnose sometimes, but easy to treat, with flagyl. You might want to explore this possibility. Hope she feels better soon.
Hudson
Hudson
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