More health problems for my daughter. Prayers needed

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
My daughter has been battling stomach problems for years. A couple of years ago she was diagnosed with stomach ulcers and acid reflux after an endoscopy. She was given medications, and things were rocky there for awhile. She was still battling nausea and vomiting with intermittent stomach pain. Then things seemed to have cleared up. She had a colonoscopy this past August, plus another endoscopy. The endoscopy showed her ulcers have healed. During the colonoscopy they found a pre cancerous tumor which they removed. Her gastroenterologist says these types of tumors often grow back and turn into cancer. difficult child will now be having colonoscopies every three years for the rest of her life.

So anyway, in the last two weeks difficult child has suddenly developed new symptoms. She has had bad diahrrea for several times a day, along with stomach cramping and nausea. One night she even had blood. I took her to the pediatrician earlier this week, after things hadn't cleared up after giving her Immodium AD. Her doctor is very concerned, and wants a stool sample. He thinks it could be some type of infection and really pushed hard for her to give a stool sample. difficult child says it's gross and she is absolutely, 100 percent refusing to comply. Meanwhile, she has missed 5 days of school and she continues to battle these symptoms.

Her abdomen was also very tender to the touch when the doctor pushed on it, so he is sending her to the lab for an ultrasound next Friday to check her gallbladder. Since she is overweight, she is at risk for gallbladder disease. Meanwhile, we also saw her gastroenterologist to get her input. She agrees with the pediatrician, and is demanding a stool sample from my daughter. She also wants to run a test where they inject difficult child with dye and look at her intestines. I really hope we get some answers with these tests. In the meantime, we are ALL on my daughter's case for that darned stool sample that she absolutely won't give! Please keep us in prayer.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
The gastroenterologist can get that stool sample with a long swab. It isn't pleasant, but it can be done.

Or, she can be hospitalized with only access to a commode or a "top hat" on the toilet until she "produces" and a nurse can get the sample.

I'd be more concerned with her having an intestinal infection at this point than anything else.

Can you just get her to not flush so YOU can take the sample. Yeah, gross, but with rubber gloves, and a tongue-depressor, do-able.

The other alternative is another colonoscopy, which insurance may or may not pay for.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
She just had a colonoscopy in August so I doubt the insurance will cover another one. I will ask her not to flush the next time she uses the restroom. Her doctor told us there is no way he can get a stool sample without her cooperation. Hopefully she will agree to it. I don't know what else to do. We have to find out what's going on with her.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Yes, she would have to cooperate for her doctor to get a swab, of course, but I was thinking that that would get around the "Ew! You mean TOUCH it!?!" issue, if that was the problem.

My suspicion is that your daughter has Clostridium DIfficile infection, which is a bug that overgrows when something has knocked out the good bugs in the digestive tract. Flagyl is the usual treatment, but it HAS to be treated as it can be deadly if not treated.

I had it in hospital after my bowel resection in 2005 and it nearly killed me. Granted, I was already deathly ill when i caught it, but it's a :censored2: of a disease to catch and get rid of. Her doctor has to get that sample and she needs to be treated for whatever she's got, especially if it's C.Diff, as it can do permanent damage to the gut.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
CB, I went to my doctor for an annual gynecological exam. (OK 5 years). He announced, I am going to do an anal exam. That was it. No consent. While there he swabbed for a stool sample. Again, no consent. And the sample was analyzed (no pun intended).

Your daughter must cooperate. One way or another. Yours is the only consent that is required. She must do this.

How is it going CB?

I am sorry she is ill. It is scary. Keep posting, please.

My prayers are on the way.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Actually, Copa, depending on the state, CB's daughter CAN deny consent for any medical procedure.

MY OB/GYNs have always asked consent before each part of the exam including the bimanual/rectal exam and swab for fecal blood exam. Likely a very good thing as anyone who sticks a finger up there without fair warning is going to get a size 10 and a half foot square in the face at best.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
GoingNorth, thank you for correcting me, before I got CB in trouble.

What can CB do? Daughter needs to cooperate. I am really feeling for mother and daughter.

Maybe it is because I have a similar set of gut issues. Maybe it is because I am powerless to get my own child to attend to his serious health issues. He is 27.

COPA
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
in my opinion, CB may have to "stop her daughter's world" until she consents to the sample.

Simply take away EVERYTHING that the law doesn't require CB, as parent, provide to her daughter, and interpret that law literally.

That means no phone, no screens of any kind, 7 outfits that CB chooses (not fashionable, just utilitarian)a pair of shoes, a bed on the floor sheets, a blanket, a pillow, 3 meals a day that CB selects. NOT daughter's favorites, and if daughter doesn't choose to eat, daughter chooses to go hungry.NO snacks or treats. No transportation anywhere except to school or medical/dental appts., No friends over/visiting friends, no extra-curricular activities. NOTHING until that sample is provided.

I've read of this being used to great effect for various things, and i had it used to great effect on me when I was 11 years old and decided that I would no longer take the penicillin tablets I was to take for a year after having had rheumatic fever.

I might note that my parents came up with this long before it was written up in any books on dealing with "difficult children", LOL.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
I ended up getting one of the stool samples over the weekend and my mom turned it in to the lab for me on Monday. They actually want two samples. One has to be preserved in liquid, and you can take it in to the lab a few days later. The other sample has to be given and taken immediately to the lab within several hours. I still haven't gotten the stool sample that has to be turned it right away. Now difficult child is constipated, darn it. But at least we got one turned in for now.

Friday is her ultrasound, and I'm hoping it will show something. Difficult child has missed six of the last seven school days because of the on again/off again pain. Because of her attendance history, the school is refusing to accept the doctor's note I turned in last week. They say the doctor did not give specific dates so they need another note. I called the doctor's office and asked them to fax another note. Hopefully they accept this one. Between my job and having to deal with difficult child, the stress is tremendous. I have been getting bad migraines every single day and some random chest pain. This is not good for my health. I need another job and I need to figure out what is wrong with my daughter ASAP.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
I am seeing a brand new psychiatrist in two weeks. I am not happy with my current one. I have only been seeing him for about six months, and so far he has cancelled my appointments last minute twice, and once had me waiting for two and a half hours so I had to leave. He also took away my Tegretol, and without a mood stabilizer I am rapid cycling. Not good. So hopefully this new doctor will know how to treat me.

One thing I can say positive is that with the increased Neurontin dose, my afternoon panic attacks are much less severe. I still have them, but not as bad as before. I had to leave work two hours early a couple of weeks ago due to having such a bad panic attack at work, it felt like a big scary clown was chasing me with a knife and I was running for my life. It was so scary. Luckily I haven't had another episode of it since. Still, I need help and hopefully this new doctor will give me better insight.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
CB, from the sound of things, you may need to be hospitalized to get your medications straightened out.

The "scary clown"? I'm not sure if you actually saw the clown or if that's how you are describing the feeling? It may be that Saphris isn't holding you as an AP.

If not, you have my sympathies. I have a new psychiatrist, too, and she had hysterics when she found out I was on Loxapine. She put me on Latuda, So, I'm tapering down on Loxapine, and tapering up on Latuda, and am not getting quite enough of either of them to do the trick.

Ugh..voices, blech. Luckily, I don't get command voices or anything like that. More like tinnitus that talks in the background.

I think the Latuda will be good once I'm up to a therapeutic dose on the stuff. I have to figure out when to take it, though. I tried taking it at night and it kept me up, even with the Temazapam.

So, I took it in the AM, and walked around in a fog all day, LOL!

I HATE psychiatric medications!
 

CrazyinVA

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Sending positive thoughts your way. One of my daughters has Crohn's Disease, so of couse my mind went to that as a possible diagnosis as well. Her smptoms were very similar when first diagnosed. The GI should be on top of that possibility though, when looking at the various test results - and if they haven't raised it yet it may not be that. Just be sure the GI is involved in reviewing those tests, and not just the pediatrician. I'm a big beleiver in speciailsts for things like this.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
She has her ultrasound of her gallbladder tomorrow. If it's negative, her gastroenterologist wants to perform another test where they inject some sort of dye into her and look at her intestines. I am really hoping they find something easy and fixable. She is missing more and more school. She will most likely not be graduating due to her attendance. I am hoping for a miracle.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
She is missing more and more school.
CB, I believe the school might be obligated to send a teacher to visit and/or provide materials for home study that she can complete at home, if she can or is motivated to do so.

The other possibility is to discuss the situation with the school, her teachers so that make up materials can be completed at home when she is able.

Or failing that, can she do extra credit, an online college course, etc. to make up the missed classes?

There are teachers on the Forum that will be best able to help you on this, but I believe that because of medical issues which are well-documented, she should not fall behind.

COPA
 
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AppleCori

Well-Known Member
How did your daughter's gall bladder test go, Cali?

Can she get a homebound teacher to come to the house?

It sounds like she is in a lot of pain.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
Well so far we are still waiting on the ultrasound results. My daughter did pretty good over the weekend. She wasn't in much pain. However, now instead of having diahrrea, she is having constipation. I have IBS myself, and I am suspecting she may have it too. She has also been having problems sleeping, and yet again missed school today due to being overly tired. We may have to go the independent study route if this continues. She is not at all motivated or a self starter, but we may have no choice. She has to graduate somehow, even though I already know that this year she definitely will not be graduating. It will take me a little while to get over that. I was really looking forward to her senior year. This year has been one big disappointment, that's for sure.
 
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