Tuesday 10 November 2009

Lucy's Legs

Lucy gets this pain in her knees that keeps her awake and night and makes her scream and cry. It started around 18 months ago and hasn't got any better. It's not every night but usually when she's had a more active day. She only gets it in one knee at a time and it's usually the left, but she gets it in the right knee too. Lately, she's not good at walking any distance. Right from when she could walk she has wanted out of the pushchair and walked for ages without complaint. I bought a double pushchair when Leila was born but Lucy barely went in it. But now, we only need to be walking for about five minutes before she starts complaining that her knee hurts or she's too tired to walk. Going anywhere with her is becoming a nightmare.

A few months ago I mentioned it to her GP. He looked at her knees but couldn't feel anything. He said she was too young for growing pains but he believed she'd just grow out of the pain. Last week I took her back because it wasn't getting any better and he sent her to the hospital for an xray. The xray came back clear and the Dr. doesn't know what's happening so he's referring her to an orthopaedic specialist. He said it's probably nothing and it would stop eventually.

I'm trying not to be worried. There is no obvious reason for the pain so maybe it will just pass. If it was in her leg rather than her knee I'd put it down to cramp. Maybe it's all psychological, she does it for attention. It's a possibility I suppose, but Lucy is definitely not lacking in attention either, so I can't understand why she would fake pain for more. It's strange how it always starts around tea time and carries on through the night. I'm going to keep a log of the pain and what she's been doing in the day she gets it. And fingers crossed the orthopaedic Dr will have some answers.

1 comment:

Helen said...

Just catching up on blogs (I've been very slow this month!) and I just wanted to say keep bugging the doctors until you have an answer or keep up with regular check ups. Don't let them pass it off as 'growing pains'

A friend of mine had a similar issue with her knees from about the age of 10 or so. She was an excellent swimmer with promise to possibly be of national standard. She kept being told it was 'growing pains' until her mid teens when she was told she needed knee surgery. By that point it cost her any hope of a swimming career - had it been sorted sooner she may have had time to recover and get her career back.

The good news is her knees are fine now.

If Lucy's knees hurt there will be a reason for it x