Hi everyone,

Many of you know that my 6 year old daughter Mikayla was diagnosed with Lyme in Sept. of 2003.

She has been doing very well and Dr.Jones has cut her meds down to 1 Zithromax a day and we are hoping she can go off all meds in July.

On Friday, she began complaining of chest pains. The pain is located in the center of her chest..sometimes it radiates under her right breast, and sometimes it feels like it going from the front right through to her back...but most of the time it is localized to the one spot in her chest.

I called the on call doctor who assured me that she probably pulled a muscle at school and would be fine.

She had another chest pain that lasted about 5 mins on Saturday.

On Sunday, she had 2 chest pains. One happened to be at a Scouting event and the school nurse was there to check her breathing and pulse.

When I picked Mikayla up, the nurse thought she might have asthma or pleurisy ( something to do with an infection in the lungs). Also around her lips was a little blue.

So I immediately called the on call Dr. again and was told to bring her in on Monday.

The school nurse asked me to send Mikayla to school in the AM, before her appointment so she and the other school nurse could listen to her lungs.

I got a call at 10:00 asking me to come pick Mikayla up as she was having another chest pain and was crying..( I couldn't get her into the Dr.until 2:00)

When I picked her up, the nurse said this one lasted over 30 mins..her skin was very white and she was scared.

So I took her to the high school nurse who thought she may have pleurisy as several elementary kids have had it in the past few weeks. But when she listened to her chest, she said everything sounded great.

I took her to the on call doctor at 2:00..she listened to her chest..poked around for less than a minuet asked me if she had fallen or injured herself, which I said no she hadn't..

She then tells me that Mikayla probably pulled a muscle or ligament in her chest wall and would be fine.

So I asked her what I was suppose to do when she has these pains at school, and she said to have the nurse give her Motrin and have her lay down..

I then asked if it could be pleurisy and she abruptly said no. Then I asked if it could have anything to do with her having lyme..this time she all but rolled her eyes and said NO.

So I said I was concerned as around her lips turned blue and her skin turned ghostly white when she had the chest pains and she said this was a normal reaction to pain.

I'm not very comfortable with this doctor, or her diagnoses..or the way she handled Mikayla's concern about being scared...

Mikayla's primary doctor is on vacation until next week...so until I can see him for a second opinion, I really don't have much choice, other than go to the ER if things get worse.( which I will..referral or not!)

I'm just wondering if any of you have had children with these types of chest pains?? Or if anyone had any advice...

Thanks,
~Missy

But, what about the gall bladder? Rare in children......but what about children on lots of abx??

Hi, so sorry you are going through this again. You are a good, attentive mother, and it seems like you get into some extraordinary situations.

While it's impossible to know what these symptoms mean from a layperson's perspective, you may find a way to defend your kids without getting too surprised every time it happens. Kids just regularly get sick, so doctors and nurses brush these things off. It drives all moms ballistic--you should hear my best friend hit the roof after a doctor's visit. At least you know to be ready, and you are sure Lyme is the issue.

Hi Lymetoo,

Yes, she is a duck. She is the same on call doctor who told me Mikayla had Blounts disease when she was 14 months old, as her legs were a little bowed.

So for 3 days I researched Blounts disease and prepared myself to deal with the surgeries she may need and the fact that her legs may be become severely deformed..only to have the radiologist and the head of pediatrics call me and let me know that this doctor read the x-ray incorrectly.

So I do have a history with her, and I just don't trust her judgment.

I don't know,.... maybe I'm worrying for nothing, but I too thought about the gallbladder as I had similar pains when I had to have my gallbladder removed last year...

I also looked in to the pleurisy and that fits her symptoms as well...

And then I wonder about lyme and the heart..I know Lishka has had heart troubles related to lyme..

I don't know I guess when a 6 year old goes to the doctor with chest pains lasting up to 30 mins, I think it warrants an x-ray at the very least, to rule out a more serious illness.

I just feel like my concerns were blown off and I just don't feel comfortable with this diagnoses... I mean this doctor literally spent less than 3 mins evaluating Mikayla....

Luckily the high school nurse is an old friend of my husbands and she is going to keep a close eye on her for me. She advised me to take her to the ER if the pain worsens, if it last longer than 30 mins,if she develops a fever or cough...

She had 2 chest pains at school today, 1 lasted about 4 mins and the other 20 mins. The nurse called me, gave her Motrin and sat with her until the pain stopped. ( she looks and feels completely healthy when she isn't having the chest pains)

Luckily we are a very small school system with 2 full time and 3 part time nurses who are all very loving people and Mikayla feels very comfortable with them.

So I guess until next week, I will continue to have the school nurses monitor her and if I feel things are getting worse, I'll take her to the ER..

I am so sick of ducks!

Thanks again,
Missy

Thanks for the post..

You said:

"Hi, so sorry you are going through this again. You are a good, attentive mother, and it seems like you get into some extraordinary situations."

I do seem to find my share of ducks..lol!

That's what happens when you live in a small town in New Hampshire..where according to most doctors around here, we don't have lyme.. grrrrr!

I know it's not easy to get through, but you could call Dr Jones's office for an opinion in relation to Lyme disease.
May give you some peace of mind.

The chest pain I have appears to be neurological, because after a period of time it migrates or spreads, and there is no muscle connection between these points. It often fits the classic heart atack pattern by spreading down my left arm and through my jaw.

For me, this is clearly Lyme-related. The pain is often triggered by weather, I believe. I sometimees get the same type of pain elsewhere, such as on the top of my foot, and it spreads in a similar manner.

Just wanted to share this expereience w/chest pain and Lyme. Notice that I did get reasureance from being evaluated at some point, after I'd had the pain attacks for some years and got sick of being scared.

I am so sorry MiKayla is hurting.

Dominic did have chest pains in the beginning. He could be fine then would turn very pale and start to get beads of sweat on his forehead.

I would notice he didn't want to take a breath, said every breath he took made the squeezing hurt more. He use to explain it as if his dad would pick him up in a bear hug and just squeeze him so tight he couldn't breathe.

His lungs always came out clear on x-rays and the only thing that showed up was on an echocardiogram it showed inflammation around the heart.

On a good note a year after his lyme treatment started we had another echocardiogram and it showed the heart ok and like a normal 7 year old.

Oh and in the beginning they said Dominic had a terrible case of asthma and he was put on 2 advair treatments a day plus 5 neb. breathing treatments.

The "asthma" went away after his treatment started and he has never been back on anything for asthma again.

I know it is really scarry when there heart is concerned for them and us. As Dr C said it is always better to be safe then sorry and ordered the test for Dominic's heart.

What about calling Dr Jones maybe you could get in touch with him instead of waiting until your regular Dr is back??

I would rather err on the side of caution and be an alarmist.

I've had eight children and believe me if it has been thought of they've done, said or tried it.

I know pain can make you blanche and break out in a cold sweat, but I don't believe for a New York minute that her lips turning blue is anything but oxygen deprivation.

I would run not walk to the best children's hospital you can find and have her heart checked, NOW!

Ok so if I'm wrong you can shoot me, and I hope I am, but if I'm not...

Please don't pi## around with these drs egos and don't take no for an answer and this is important don't take their word for anything!!!

Ask to see ALL test results. They can and will lie to you to suit their purpose.

They have done so to me several times. Your daughter's life is more important than any dr.s so called feelings.

Hi cbb

Thanks for the post. Yes, we are very lucky to have such kind understanding nurses!

I did try to call Dr.Jones all day yesterday and today, but I couldn't get through. I will try again tomorrow. I'll give Mikayla a hug from you first thing tomorrow morning!

[b]Hi Lyddie,

It was her turning ghost white and having the skin around her lips turn bluish that concerned me as well. but this doctor assured me that it was due to pain.

Also when Mikayla isn't having a chest pain, she does look and act fine..so when this doctor saw her, she looked fine. But she should have seen her 2 hours before, it was very scary.

I wonder if she could have anemia, I had it as a child and continue to have it. She bruises very easily, but she is a redhead and she has very sensitive skin.. I'll mention it tomorrow.

Let us know when you reach Dr. J. As you can see, alot of people are sending many good thoughts to you and your daughter. Good luck and I wish you a speedy diagnosis.

Thanks for the post! Derek had chest pains too before he was diagnosed, but Mikayla has never complained of any type of pain in her chest. Her symptoms were mostly gastrointestinal...

I asked Mikayla if it felt like someone was pushing on her chest and she said no..she said it was a sharp pain.

Derek has asthma as well..he still has it 2 years into treatment. But he is also allergic to dust mites, trees, grass, dogs, bunnies, hamsters, mold, pollen etc..so it's hard for his asthma to clear up.

I don't think Mikayla has asthma as she isn't wheezing or having difficulty breathing.. but I guess it can't be ruled out until we get some testing done.

Thanks again for the post, it's nice to know you are always there!

.....

Hi Kat

I Know what you mean, I'm not getting good vibes either and think I will trust my instincts and take her to the ER tomorrow if she has another attack.

I am going to call the school nurse and have her call me ASAP if Mikayla has a chest pain tomorrow and I'll take her right to the ER.

I'm sure the insurance company will give me a hard time, as I won't have time to get an authorization. But last time I checked a child having chest pains, rapid heart beats her skin ghost white and the skin around her lips turning blue, was an emergency.

I'm sick of fighting with these ducks and insurance companies to get what I consider adequate care for my kids. I just don't see how this doctor can spend 3 mins with my child and decide that she is fine and only has a torn muscle or ligament without doing any type of testing???

Thanks again for your post!

Please don't panic but she needs to be seen immediately for this. The blue around her lips is almost always a sign of oxygen deprevation. I worked EMS and rescue to over 10 years. I saw a lot of pain, but blue lips was never anything associated with it unless there was decreased oxygen.

I would think any doctor with half a brain would take this serious until proven otherwise. Thank God I have an excellent peds doctor and her back up is just as good. She would have sent me directly to the hospital and met me there.

Good luck, prays are with you. Please get a quick second opinion.

I had the same thing happen with my daughter last August before her lyme dx. I paged the on call doc at the peds office and they told me to take her to the ER which I did.

They felt she pulled a muscle and had some costochondritis.

I have also had these same kind of symptoms and it is not fun and you have every right to be concerned! My chest pains started 3 years ago...long before my lyme dx and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

The blue around the lips doesn't sound good and I agree with jmardis get it checked!

I'll say a prayer for you and your family!

Take care.

Thank you! I guess lyme could be the cause of this as well..who knows this disease can do strange things!

Mikayla has been doing so well with her lyme, in fact I was hoping Dr.Jones would take her off meds when he saw her last month, but he wants to keep her on it until her follow up in July and we'll see how she is doing.

I know my son was 6 when he began getting chest pains and when he started meds his chest pains reduced dramatically. In fact he is now 8 and I think he has only had 2 chest pains in the past year.

But when he had chest pains, which seemed much less painful than my daughters, they sent him to the Children's hospital and ran an ultra sound EKG ( i think that's what it is) an echocardiogram, and a CT scan..

And this doctor just looked her over for 3 mins and declared she was fine? I think I will feel better if they do a couple of tests, just to be on the safe side,

Thank you for sharing your story, I'm a little less freaked out..

....

Hi Deb

Thanks for your post. I don't think she is too young for lyme related arthritis, as my son Derek is now 8 years old and his LLMD Dr.Jones, just ordered some tests to find out if he has arthritis, as Derek's major symptoms are joint pain and swelling.

And as I mentioned above,, my son did have chest pains when he was younger, so maybe it is Lyme related. I sure hope I can get through to Dr.Jones tomorrow!!!!

I know what you mean about being scared... When I see her little face pale and she sits on my lap just staring and so still... as she is in so much pain, I swear I can feel her pain myself.

And she is only 6 and has been through so much in her short little life, she is very scared when she has these pains. Unfortunately the doctor didn't help ease her concerns very much.

When Mikayla told the doctor that she gets scared when the pain comes, the doctor just told her not to be scared, as it was nothing to worry about..gee thanks!

Luckily the school nurses are wonderful and when I picked her up yesterday, one of the nurses was sitting on the bed with her holding her hand and she was talking to her about how it was okay to be afraid..

I'll keep you all updated when I hear anything from Dr.J or the if I end up in the ER tomorrow. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers!

Thanks for the post. I'm not a doctor, but even I thought that when I mentioned the skin around her lips turning blue, that the doctor would have, at the very least sent her for a few tests.

When I asked her about the blue lips and her turning ghost white, she said it was from the pain. I said her lips will turn blue from pain? and she assured me that it was from the pain..that if it was anything serious that the inside of her lips would turn blue not the outside.

My face must have shown my disbelief in what she said as she again said that the body can do many things to deal with the pain.

I am definitely planning on taking her to the ER tomorrow...Thanks again for your post!

..............

Hi Snowboarder

Thanks for the post...I'm too tired to do a search..lol! What is costochondritis? Also, did your daughter's pain go away without treatment? And do you remember what kind of tests they did?

Thanks for the prayers, I truly appreciate them.

So sorry to hear that your daughter is having such trouble. I would just second what someone else said about the possability of gallstones.

The first two episodes sound like maybe too short for that but half an hour is reasonable. It sounds like her pain is very similar to what I had with gallstones.

I am only 22 and had no risk factors for stones other than abx. I had asked my doctor only a few weeks prior what the real risk to my gallbladder was from the Rocephin. He said that it would be highly unlikely for me to have any problems.

I had my gallbladder out two weeks ago.

I would asl for a full evaluation including a chest/abdominal ultrasound.

ask her if she stretches whether it hurts more or not (that would be a pulled muscle or inflammation of the muscle.) I stretch to one side with my hip out to the other side or stretch with my arms up in the air - if either way it hurts more or if it hurts more in a seated position - I have found that it is costochondritis or muscle inflammation. If this is the case, Motrin usually helps.

ask your daughter if when breathing in and out she feels a rubbing or rattling feeling generally on one side of her chest?? that is generally what I feel when I have had pleurisy.

with asthma - I don't generally feel pain - if when I first feel like I can't breathe I panic and my breathing become labored and my adrenaline spikes up causing the tachycardia and then chest discomfort but not really pain and it last for longer periods of time - one episode can knock me out for a day.

I'm sure you and Mikayla aren't feeling very comfortable with this..so sorry.

Pluerisy and chest pains can be caused by Lyme/Mycoplasma/Bartonella.

Since there was a recent change in doses I'm sure Doc J' would want to know this, and have insight, even in as much as what scan to do locally through the hospital.

This is a scary symptom..and so you know..
in any situation like this, you can leave a message through the oncall service, which is always on..

and one of the staff gets back to you. You can always get someone with a call on something like this no matter what.

If it can wait till business hours (which for Doc J are 9AM-7PM at least)..the staff can ask him directly. (he's there all day, I spoke to them today about a problem with my son this way)

They are usually there, just dealing with massive patient load when the phones are busy or it goes to service..

(when the phone is busy, constant redial gets you through but may take many tries in a row)

But this is the kind of thing you send message through the service for if you can't get through.

Another way is to send a fax..
or leave a message with on-call service to have staff please call you in the AM when Doc J is in and leave in the message that Mikayla is having chest pains.

This doesn't sound like a muscle pull, and Doc J is a general pediatrician focused on Lyme, so he readily can advise you what to do to figure this out, where to go, ect...in ruling Lyme in or out.

Best of luck, and I hope you have a calm and quiet evening..

Mo

With girls starting their periods so soon--it might be worth checking her thyroid. Hashimotos and thyroid disease are a disease of teenage girls. And an outcrop of lyme disease.

Just a crazy idea.

Linda

Thank you all for the posts. It has been a rough few days and I am exhausted.

I left a message Tuesday night for Dr.Jones, but I have not heard back from him. I tried all day yesterday to get through to Dr.Jones.. it was busy until 11:45 and then I got a message that they were off until 1:30 for lunch.

Mikayla had 4 more chest pains at school yesterday so I called the doctors office. Unfortunately the same doctor was on call and she again insisted that it was a pulled muscle and that there was no need to worry. Our PCP isn't abck until next Wed.

I tried to get an appointment for her to be seen by another doctor, but she was the only one on call.

The school called at 1:20 and said Mikayla was having another chest pain, this one was more painful... so I went to school to pick her up.

When I got there, the pain was easing up and the nurses and I discussed what to do next. We decided that as she was feeling better and that the only doctor I could see was the on call Dr, that I should go home and try to get through to Dr.Jones.

So I went home and once again tried to get through to Dr.Jones. I kept trying until after 3:00 and I was still receiving the message that the office was closed from 12:00- 1:30 for lunch..very frustrating.

Mikayla started to have another chest pain, so I did what the on call doctor said to... calm her down and gave her some Motrin.

About 15 mins later the pain became very bad and she was sweating on her forehead and her hands were ice cold. She said it felt like a needlem was in her heart.... and on a scale of 1 - 10 the pain was 11teen. ( means more than 10)

So I called my husband and told him screw the on call doctor, I was taking her to the Emergency Room.

So I dropped Derek off at my moms and my husband met me there and we took her to the ER.

Once there they rushed her into a room and began monitoring her. They asked all kinds of questions and one of them was about throwing up, which we remembered to mention that Mikayla has always had sour burps or what she calls throw up in her mouth.

( I mentioned this to the on call doctor this morning and she said it was two separate issues and that they were not related)

She was checked for gerd, reflux, etc when she was 18 months old by endoscopy , gi tests..everything checked out fine. And she continued to have sour burps once in a while.

But over the past few weeks, she has had the "throw up" in her mouth more often..

So the ER doc said this might be what was causing the pain.. he didn't think it was a pulled muscle like the other doctor.

And he said he was surprised that the on call doctor didn't order an ekg or x-ray, as even if one suspects it is just a pulled muscle they should rule out anything more serious.

He also said that when a child tells a parent that it feels like a needle is in their heart, that there isn't a mother in the world who will rest her worries, until she has proof that her child's heart is okay.. I like this man!

So the ER doc ordered urine & blood tests, and ekg and x-ray of the chest. He did a thorough evaluation and talked to me about the lyme.

Hours and hours later, the good news is that her heart and lungs look and sound great!!! Phew! The bad news is that he still isn't sure what is causing her pains.

He gave us several possibilities..the reflux, possible lyme relapse.. and he mentioned the possibility of growing pains. He also mentioned pains from puberty, I can't remember the technical name...

She is only 6 years old but has already started to "sprout" in her chest region. I was a C cup by the time I was 11 years old. So he mentioned that as some girls developed, it makes the muscles ( or something) under and between the breast bone become inflamed and that this could cause the pain she is feeling.

He also said that in most cases if it isn't heart, lung, or illness related, they rarely find the cause of a child's chest pain.

He did say he feels there may be some mild inflammation in the chest wall, so he wants me to give her Motrin every 6 hours and to have her get extra rest. No gym, outside recess or other activities that might aggravate it.

So while I still don't have any definite answers to what is causing her chest pains, I do know that it is not her heart or lungs...

The doctor even showed Mikayla her chest x-rays as he said it was important for her to see that her heart and lungs were healthy, so she wouldn't be afraid.

We joked with her and said, see no needle in your heart. She was visibly relieved to know that her heart is okay. They even gave her a handmade doll to take home when she left.

We got home around midnight and she only had 1 more chest pain attack last night. I kept her home from school today and she has had several more chest pains today, but I think having the Motrin in her system every 6 hours is helping, as they aren't as severe. Though she is still in a lot of pain.....

Plus as she knows the pain isn't from her heart, she didn't get so scared and while she is still going very white, and she does feel a little clammy from the pain, I haven't noticed the blue around the lips.

We have an appointment with her regular pediatrician on next Wed at 9:15 and he will look into the reflux issue and we'll go from there. He is a great doctor and if she is still having the pains, I am sure he will shed some light onto the cause.

Thank you all for all your advice and prayers, they are truly appreciated.

The chest pain your daughter is describing can be very consistent with reflux. I remember when I first really started getting it, I thought I was having a heart attack!! I would get terrible sharp pains right in the middle of my chest. Her lips are turning blue when she has these episodes? I know that when I get a really bad reflux attack, it hurts SO BAD to try and breath in that you almost hold your breath so you don't have to feel the pain. I wonder if thats what your little one is doing.

Is she on oral antibiotics?? Those can be very, very harsh on your stomach and can definately contribute to acid reflux as well. If shes getting a bad "vomit type" taste in her mouth-another sure symptom.

Im glad to hear that you did take her to ER to rule out other concerns-I definately would have too!!!! Try pushing the reflux issue a little more with your regular dr. Also if it's ok with your dr, you could try giving her licorice root chewables. They are available at the health food stores and are pretty inexpensive. To me they work so much better then tums tablets!!!!!

I really hope she finds some relief soon!! Email me if I can be of any help.

These poor kids..

Missy, I should have been clearer..
when you get that message for Doc J's, it says to hold on and the answering service picks up..
that's how you get the message through to the office. They deliver it right away.
Kowing there are chest pains, ER..change in meds..they will get back for sure.

Hope you all can get rest.

Mo

[/QUOTE]

Mikayla is still having the chest pains and it seems to me that they are lasting longer and are more painful.

I am giving her Motrin every 6 hours and this does seem to help with the intensity of the pain, but these attacks are still coming.

She also continues to get what she calls "throw up" in her mouth. So we may be dealing with a reflux issue on top of the lyme..

Her pedi comes back from vacation on Wed. and we are seeing him at 9:15 a.m., so hopefully we will get some answers then.

Mikayla continues to be in a lot of pain, please keep the prayers coming!

They are always there and available in emergencies..
either getting through the busy signal, or go through the recording at lunch or before or after hours
to connect to answering service.

We've done this numerous times.

Hope things get better soon!

personally, I think you are still dealing with lyme. Have you discussed these problems with Dr. Jones? It may be that the Zithromax isn't enough and she's backsliding.

another possibility, as I saw you noted, is that she could be having heart problems, as I did too. I had a lot of chest pain like what your describing and we don't know if it was related or not to the heart problems that I was having, or if it was just inflammation in my chest wall.

It could very well be she's having inflammation in those ligaments and muscles from the lyme, but I would absolutely get a second opinion. I definitely feel like it does warrant a trip to a cardiologist (do you have a good one around you?) since she's getting pale and blue. It could be from the pain? But if I were you I would rule out that it isn't her heart or her lungs. I think a chest x-ray is acceptable to ask for as well. I would definitely go back to your doctor when he/she gets back from vacation and request maybe a chest x-ray and a referral to a good cardiologist. It might seem extreme, but, this is your six year old daughter and she only has one life to live. And as we know with lyme....it's best to catch things early. SO I think ruling those things out is definitely not too much to ask for.
If nothing seems to be wrong besides the pain, maybe there is something you guys can do to make her more comfortable? I would definitely talk to Dr. Jones about all of this. I know lungs and babesia go hand in hand too, so maybe that's something he'll want to look into. Is she coughing at all?

PS. I just saw the post about "throw up" in her mouth...and acid reflux? I wonder too if that could be a possibility as well. I've heard that can cause some pretty nasty chest pains.

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Lishka