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Question about an 8 year old... Should I be concerned?
Sat, 07/10/2010 - 20:31I am very new to this site, and am seeking input. I have an 8 year old son with type I diabetes. Last weekend, he seemed very unsteady on his feet, and told me his legs felt "shaky." A little while later, while we were in different rooms, he began crying uncontrollably. I called out to ask him if he was ok, and he did not answer, so I went to him. He met me in the doorway, crying hysterically and confused/disoriented. He was crying so hard, he could not respond to my questions. I helped him into the couch, where the crying continued for several more minutes, perhaps as much as 8-10. Then, he suddenly sat up, smile on his face, and seemed ok. He asked me if he came into the couch on his own. I asked him if he was ok, if he fell, and several other questions. We determined that he really had no idea what happened, he didn't remember being upset or why, and seemed to have a bit of a memory gap.
I thought it odd, but we moved on. That was last Sunday. This afternoon (Saturday), he was trying to ask me a question, but couldn't complete the question after several tries. Then, he led me into his bedroom, sat down on the bed, threw a handful of chips at me (he had been having a snack), and began again to cry hysterically. This time, he initially tried to hold my arm, then didn't want any contact at all. He lay in his bed, nearly falling asleep twice before resuming the screaming. Then, after what I was told by someone else in the house was about 10 minutes, he rolled over wtihout warning, and was completely fine. He smiled and wanted to know where his snack went! Again, he has no recollection of what happened, or for about 5 or 6 minutes before it started.
Last time, his sugar was firmly in the normal range, though he was hypoglycemic today. I'm really concerned, but at the same time, I don't want to overreact. The poor kid already has too much to deal with! :) I'm not seeking a diagnosis on a forum, I'll be talking to his endo about it in August. I would just like opinions.
Thanks so much in advance for your input!
~D
Comments
Re: Question about an 8 year old... Should I be concerned?
Submitted by jtjmom on Wed, 2010-07-14 - 16:11
Thanks so much for your input. This is exactly what the nurse told me yesterday.
When he was an infant, he also used to have little episodes of his head shaking for several seconds, just as he was falling asleep at night. It looked like he was sleeping with his eyes open, but his head began shaking. It was a fairly regular occurrence, so I journaled it. The doctor dismissed this is me being a parent with an overactive imagination.
He used to have terrible stomachaches, and we ended up in the ER several times because of it. We were just told to give him laxatives. Turns out, it was an early symptom of ketoacidosis, from the diabetes.
He has always had terrible, extreme separation anxiety. I spoke to the doctor about this, different doctors, actually, on more than one occasion. I was told he would grow out of it. We later found out that he has Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which is why he was having such difficulty.
I am so tired of being dismissed by doctors. At the same time, I feel like a bit of a Wendy Whiner. No one wants to think that there is something wrong wtih their child! I'm not a hypochindriac. Why can;'t this kid jsut catch a break!
~D
Thanks so much for your input. This is exactly what the nurse told me yesterday.
When he was an infant, he also used to have little episodes of his head shaking for several seconds, just as he was falling asleep at night. It looked like he was sleeping with his eyes open, but his head began shaking. It was a fairly regular occurrence, so I journaled it. The doctor dismissed this is me being a parent with an overactive imagination.
He used to have terrible stomachaches, and we ended up in the ER several times because of it. We were just told to give him laxatives. Turns out, it was an early symptom of ketoacidosis, from the diabetes.
He has always had terrible, extreme separation anxiety. I spoke to the doctor about this, different doctors, actually, on more than one occasion. I was told he would grow out of it. We later found out that he has Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which is why he was having such difficulty.
I am so tired of being dismissed by doctors. At the same time, I feel like a bit of a Wendy Whiner. No one wants to think that there is something wrong wtih their child! I'm not a hypochindriac. Why can;'t this kid jsut catch a break!
~D
Re: Question about an 8 year old... Should I be concerned?
Submitted by rugby_tee on Wed, 2010-07-14 - 14:03
Hi D,
I am a diabetic and have been for the past 4 years and was recently diagnosised with epilepsy. It was a bit of a fluke that I was diagnosised with epilepsy because while at work I had what I now know was a complex partial seizure, because my sugar drops (due to my diabetes) every so often people at my work place thought it was that. They were bringing me my glucose tablets to take but I was not responsive for a short period of time.
They then decided to call an ambulance because I didnt seem right when the medical attendants arrived my blood sugar was in the normal range. I found it strange and they said it is best to go to the hospital to get checked out to be sure. I arrived there and had another complex seizure in front of the doctors and nurses. They tested my blood sugar while I was having the seizure and it was in the normal range yet again.
When I came to the doctors explained that they didnt believe that these seizures were caused by my diabetes because all my blood work had come back normal and my blood sugar was fine. They thought it was neurological (which of course scared me a little).
I had a scheduled EEG, CT for the next week.
My CT came back normal. But my EEG did NOT!! I was seen by a neurologist who gave me my results. I was diagnosised with epilepsy (left temoral lobe - complex partial seizures) in March of this year. I am struggling to control my seizures at this point as I have had more but they are getting better with the current medication but they have not stopped.
I hope that you are able to get a referal to a neurologist and as Phylis said the sooner you can figure out the reason for this behaviour the sooner you will have the piece of mind knowing what has caused it.
Good luck!!
Hi D,
I am a diabetic and have been for the past 4 years and was recently diagnosised with epilepsy. It was a bit of a fluke that I was diagnosised with epilepsy because while at work I had what I now know was a complex partial seizure, because my sugar drops (due to my diabetes) every so often people at my work place thought it was that. They were bringing me my glucose tablets to take but I was not responsive for a short period of time.
They then decided to call an ambulance because I didnt seem right when the medical attendants arrived my blood sugar was in the normal range. I found it strange and they said it is best to go to the hospital to get checked out to be sure. I arrived there and had another complex seizure in front of the doctors and nurses. They tested my blood sugar while I was having the seizure and it was in the normal range yet again.
When I came to the doctors explained that they didnt believe that these seizures were caused by my diabetes because all my blood work had come back normal and my blood sugar was fine. They thought it was neurological (which of course scared me a little).
I had a scheduled EEG, CT for the next week.
My CT came back normal. But my EEG did NOT!! I was seen by a neurologist who gave me my results. I was diagnosised with epilepsy (left temoral lobe - complex partial seizures) in March of this year. I am struggling to control my seizures at this point as I have had more but they are getting better with the current medication but they have not stopped.
I hope that you are able to get a referal to a neurologist and as Phylis said the sooner you can figure out the reason for this behaviour the sooner you will have the piece of mind knowing what has caused it.
Good luck!!