15 month old - long blinks and one instance of eye rolling - really worried...

[scubadiva]

My 15 month old DD has started doing long blinks and this evening (just before bed) I'm sure I saw her roll her eyes. She is a very active child and gets very unstable on her feet when she's tired and is always bumping herself. I'm worried because a friend of mine has a 2.5 year old who rolls her eyes and falls over lots and they think she has a form of epilepsy. I'm 4 weeks off my anti depressant tablets (the dreaded seroxat) and so I'm feeling very wobbly anyway. Can anyone give me any idea as to whether this is something that will pass or something that I should take her to the GP about? Trying not to panic but not doing very well on that score!

[WipsGlitter]

Could it just be she is very tired. When I am feeding my 16mth old at night his eyes can roll with tiredness.

[scubadiva]

Hi WipsGlitter, she has sometimes rooled her eyes when I've been feeding her at bedtime and I could see that that was just a pleasurable type of eye rolling if that makes sense! Maybe tonight the eye rolling was just because she was very tired but the long blinking she does in the daytime too. Perhaps I shoudl try and note if she does it when she is coming up to her daytime nap and is also tired. Thanks for responding.

[sprinkles77]

scuba, my DS is 15 months. He also gets unstable and falls and bumps himself when tired. The long blinks also seem worse when they're tired. Not sure about the eye rolling, but I've not been looking. Is your DD otherwise OK? I think an appointment with your GP would do no harm. I know nothing about antidepressants, but it sounds to me that if you know you are feeling wobbly it might be worth you speaking to the GP about this too. I'm sure if you say to her honestly everything you've posted here: that you're worried cos a friend's DD might be epileptic and showed similar signs, and that you're worried that you'll not be taken seriously because of what's going on, but could they look at her anyway, you'll get the help you need. Good luck.

[scubadiva]

Thanks Sprinkles77, I'll make her an appointment and hope it is just a tiredness thing. I only noticed the eye rolling tonight and it is perfectly possible that it was just tiredness. The blinking thing has been bothering me for a while tho so I will get her seen. She is otherwise absolutely fine :-)

I will also speak to GP about my wobbliness. Unfortunately it is a side effect of coming off the dreaded seroxat and that is why it is dreaded because so many end up on it for longer than they want to be on it for because they can't bear the side effects of not being on it! I didn't know any of this when it was prescribed to me unfortunately. Nor did I know that a common side effect of taking it is increase in appetite and therefore weight gain. 12 months down the line and I am 2.5 stone heaver than I was a week after giving birth! Hey ho. I'm determined to stay off the tablets but perhaps the GP could help me find alternative (natural) ways to manage the physical downs that I am experiencing until all returns to normal (whatever that is!).

Thank you for caring. I'm feeling calmer already.

[sprinkles77]

did you have seroxat for PND? Maybe you need some extra support while you are coming off it? I'm sure that there will be 100's of other threads about what you are going through. It's so tempting to try things that you can do alone (like diet, supplements, medications, books, exercise) when you have a baby, because it can be so hard to explain to someone that you need a baby sitter so you can go to counselling. I really should get to a counsellor about some stuff, but just don't know how I'm going to do it. Also, if you don't get the answers you need, or the support you want from your GP, change. In my experience there is nothing like a young female doctor (preferably one with children) to take you seriously. What they lack in experience they more than make up for in up to date knowledge and empathy.

[scubadiva]

I did have it for PND yes. I've weaned myself off it slowly and am now in my 4th week of no tablets. I've started running again (once a week) and go to mum and toddler keep fit (once a week), have tried to eat more healthily and to have a word with myself when I'm getting anxious or very sad but it is a struggle some days. I've had depression in the past and couselling for it but this is different. I feel unbalanced in that I just get an overhwelming sense of sadness and tears roll down my face for no apparent reason! It's different to when I first had PND and was really anxious and tearful all the time. I don't feel this is something that couselling would help with as it feels physical as opposed to mental if that makes sense.

I hope you can find a way to get to couselling if you think it would help. I've benefitted form it in the past (prior to becoming a mum) but I think it very much depends on the counsellor. Are you also feeling PND like or is the couselling for other things? Are there any support groups in your area that you could go to with your son in tow?

I totally agree with you about the GP's. Funnily enough I teach communciation skills to medical students and I'm always banging on about empathy. You can imagine I am a GP's worst nightmare as a patient!

[sprinkles77]

Trying to exercise is so hard isn't it? Sounds like you do more than me! You know all that stuff about it taking 9 months to gain the baby weight, so 9 more to lose it? Maybe you can apply that to what the seroxat put on you over 12 months!

I'm sure I'll get to a counsellor: work is quiet at the moment so could finish early and see someone before getting DS from childminder. Or ask DH to get home early from work, or start late. He can do that no problem, and me getting counselling would be for his benefit too! I don't want to go to a group just yet, I'd like to get a better handle on what my head is up to first.

I'm sure that the only GPs who find you a nightmare are the ones you wouldn't want to see anyway!

[scubadiva]

Hi Sprinkles, sorry I didn't respond last night, got distracted with other things. It sounds as though you have a plan for getting to counselling so it's juts a case of bitng the bullet and doing it. If it will benefit you all then it's definately worth making the time. it feels weird doing stuff just for yourself though doesn't it? But in the long run it will be a good thing and if your son is happy with the childminder for an hour or so longer then go for it.

I've made an appointment for me and my daughter to see the GP tomorrow. I saw DD rolling her eyes and lolling her head this morning while she was in the back of the car, it could just have been a tiredness thing but it wasn't at a time when she would normally be tired. She did look as though she was going to nod off to sleep though. Not much we can do until we see the GP I guess. Fingers crossed its nothing.

Good luck with your counselling and keep faith. x