My son has been having pain on his upper right side, sort of in the rib cage area.
It does not hurt when he is relaxed, only when running or jumping around. He also has started to have pale colored stools. Urine color is normal.
I took him to GP on Monday and they ran blood test to check liver function and all came back fine.
GP said to go see GI Dr bc he has no idea. I don't think it's muscle pain.
I'm worried it's his gallbladder and I have also read it could be a side effect from Augmentin.
Any thoughts?
Thanks for any help.
Posted by kimmie (Member # 25547) on :
I dont know about the GB issues with Augmentin, but I do know it can be rather hard on the liver. Plain old amoxicillin is much less toxic to the liver. Maybe you can switch to that.
It is a good sign his liver enzymes are normal, but that still does not rule out an inflammed stressed liver. I would probably see a GI doc.
Posted by Sammi (Member # 110) on :
You may want to get an ultrasound of his gallbladder to be safe.
Posted by momintexas (Member # 23391) on :
I mentioned that at our appt on Monday and he said that kids don't have gallbladder problems. Heavy sigh.......
LLMD is out until Tuesday - I plan to call then and see what he says.
Amoxicillin didn't really help him at all. Augmentin is the first abx that we have seen huge improvement on.
GI Dr. is booked almost 3 weeks out. Nice. Since he is not in terrible pain or having dark urine, apparently no one feels this is urgent. No one except ME!
Posted by momofthree (Member # 19490) on :
My daughter and I have had really severe pains in our sides. Sometimes our lower ribs will jut out. We have checked everything out skeletal and internal. We figure they are flare ups or herxes
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
Sounds like gall bladder! He needs an ultra sound of the GB to see if there are stones or sludging.
BUT a really easy solution (besides checking it out as above) is to do a liver/gall bladder flush. Do a search for the instructions. How old is he? (I'm wondering about what can be easily done for a child of what age).
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
Hi All--
It could be that the cartilage on his rib cage is inflamed -- This is Very common --
There has been dozens of posts about this symptom in the past--
Do a search on- chest pain - or rib cage pain - --Jay--
Posted by Jane2904 (Member # 15917) on :
I remember early on in our daughter's Lyme journey, she would complain of the same pain.
Do not think she had pale stools though.
Went to Pediatrician couple of times, rib pain, side pain etc.
Always dismissed, but did get better with Lyme treatment.
They told me to give her Zantac.
I hope he feels better and you get some answers.
Posted by sk8ter (Member # 8671) on :
Pale stools can be gallbladder issues. It is a sign that bile is not flowing through the bilary tree. An ultrasound of GB and bilary tree would help see if there are stones or sludge.
Posted by momintexas (Member # 23391) on :
Thank you all very much for your replies. This is such a great group - thank you for sharing your experiences.
I'm actually more concerned about the pale stools than I am the side pain. I think they are both related but the pale stool really alarms me. He drank a lot of lemon water last night and I put a heating pad on his side and this morning things seem to be a tiny bit darker. Going to keep an eye on it.
I do plan to ask for ultrasound of GB when we get into GI Dr. 3 WEEKS FROM NOW!!
I did read this this morning: Ampicillin antibiotics, like amoxicillin, have the potential to cause liver dysfunction, putting people who take Augmentin at risk for developing liver-related side effects, explains RxList.com. Such symptoms include yellowing of your skin or eyes and clay-colored stools. In most cases, liver dysfunction caused by Augmentin is reversible and causes no permanent damage.
Augmentin has made such a HUGE difference for him too................ Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Focus on this part of your quote for the next 3 wks!!
"In most cases, liver dysfunction caused by Augmentin is reversible and causes no permanent damage."
Hope all goes well. I've had my share of upper right quadrant pain... even way after having my GB out and off abx.
Posted by Beachinit (Member # 21040) on :
Babesia can affect liver as well and is a not uncommon co-infection of Lyme/Borrelia.
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
One of my first and on going symptoms has been upper right quandrant pain. Did gallbladder workup and it was fine. Did 2 liver ct scans and found 3 benign liver cyst. Docs say they don't cause pain. Never discovered the cuase.
I didn't have the pale stool. That could point toward gallbladder or maybe just taking a break from medication would help.
Oh and children do have gallbladder problems......stupid doc! My cousins little girl, 9 years old had gall stones. It is something rather rare though.
I would be inclined to think it is the medication your son is on. Hope this resolves for him soon!
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
quote:Originally posted by sk8ter: Pale stools can be gallbladder issues. It is a sign that bile is not flowing through the bilary tree.
I agree with Sk8ter. You could try Milk Thistle, as that is supposed to increase bile.
Fats will not digest if there is no bile to break them up into tiny globules.
Castor oil packs would be good now. LED light therapy would be helpful.
You could try these suggestions until he gets evaluated by a physician.
Carol
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
I wouldn't wait so long to see the dr. Call the LLMD before the appt to ask what to do.
You could do a simple liver/gall bladder flush daily with some olive oil and lemon juice in hot water on an empty stomach. That would get the bile flowing ok again--unless there are a lot of gall stones, in which case you would need a more thorough liver/gall bladder flush.
Posted by azdaisy (Member # 25357) on :
I support you and believe your child!!! I had the same symptoms when I was 24 and my doctor at the time said if it was serious it would get worse....Which it did. and when it was removed pictures were taken and I am now in the New England Journal of medicine for my gangrenous gallbladder. Pathology came back as "paracites of unknown origin"...hmmm spirochetes anyone? So, I guess what I'm saying is more will be revealed and your child knows exactly how he feels.. for me...dairy and any thing with butter fat increased the pain. the oil and lemon juice maybe hard for a little person...so I suggest lemonaide!! with xylitol and fresh squeezed lemon it can work quite well too. hug each other often and know that people are praying for your healing!!!!
Posted by momintexas (Member # 23391) on :
Thank you for the great suggestions
I do have him on Milk Thistle and I've had him on it for many months, thanks to what I've read on here.
Lemon water seems to be helping somewhat, I think..... with the pain. He says its not as bad as it was.
He has been on a gluten free, dairy free diet for 3 years and I really watch what he eats as well.
One of the MANY things I've learned about Dr's is that they are wrong a lot of times. There is NO such thing as children "don't get those kinds of problems". No one is exempt from anything.
I'm sticking with my gut on this one and watching his signs. If his symptoms get worse, we're off to ER.
I plan to call LLMD on Tuesday morning and run everything by him as well.
Thanks again for all of your thoughts - they are very much appreciated!
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This is such a great group - thank you for sharing your experiences.![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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