Need a handhold - son in hospital

[HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend]

Took him to A&E yesterday as he fell at the gym and we thought he had broken his wrist (thankfully just a sprain) however during their examinations they were worried about his circulation as his hands and lower arms were going blue and were cold to the touch, they advised we needed to make an appointment with his GP for further investigation.

Managed to get a GP appointment for 3pm today as the hospital suspect he could possibly have Raynaud's syndrome/disease

GP took his blood pressure and it was 177/127 , they thought the machine was faulty so got a another one and it was the same.

We had to take him straight to A&E, they’ve been trying to get bloods for the last 6 hrs but his veins keep collapsing and are unable to obtain his bloods, 2 doctors and 3 nurses have all tried with all sorts of needle sizes/cannulas etc… even with a vein scan machine, he’s been poked and prodded more times than we an count,

They’ve done a serious of tests, ECG, blood pressure cuffs on his arms and lower legs every 60 mins.

His only symptoms are some slight dizziness and some blurred vision, because of this they carried out a test where they turned the lights off and shown a torch in his eye… however the drs body language changed, she went and got her senior doctor to look and they redone the test.

We were then told to wait in the room as they needed to speak to a more senior doctor.

We were then put into a room, nurse came in about 45 mins later and advised he was being admitted, we asked why and she said has no one told you anything and we said no.

Doctor has come in and said DS is being transferred to another hospital, either tonight or tomorrow morning, he needs to see an specialist eye doctor , he also needs a urgent CT scan, possibly MRI and a heart scan as his ECG has shown some concerns and did we know he had a heart murmur.

They also need to get his bloods urgently somehow.

I’m not naive, I know what they are suspecting, I just need to be positive and hopefully the scans show nothing.

That would have all been part of the history taken.

we all knew what the nurse was insinuating and what the OP was saying.

You're “gotcha” didn’t do anything other than show you up. Stop trying to justify it.

The OPs son is very unwell in the middle of his GCSEs - have some compassion.

I don't really want to get into the steroid debate - but I just wanted to put out there that sometimes you can sometimes suffer rare side effects to prescribed steroids which include some of the symptoms your son has.

I know this because I suffered rare side effects to a strong steroid cream that was being used to treat my extensive psoriasis when I was 9. I had been suffering odd symptoms for some weeks - dizziness, headaches, slightly blurred vision but nobody really reacted until I collapsed in school assembly and was rushed to the GP and found to have high blood pressure and a rapid heart rate. The (experimental) treatment was discontinued immediately and I was back to normal in a week or two ... unfortunately the psoriasis came back with a vengeance.

I don't wish to derail by posting much on OP's thread but it has been very poor. My GP has- just yesterday - actively prevented Ds getting a 2nd NHS prescription for the drugs that are (finally after 11 months) helping, because we have expressed that we were not happy with his GP care. We found a number of interesting things on his notes when we obtained them. Comms were awful.
PALS say we may have a legal case. I amy try to contact my MP on Monday.
THANK YOU for asking. It's made me cry (in a good way). I've not read all of the thread but for anyone questioning the OP, you have no idea what the visceral fear is like until you are there. I'd not wish it on anyone. Keep going OP xxx

I second @Zippedydodah .Ignore the attention seeking posters who clearly lack empathy!
As a Mum of 2 rugby mad sons I sincerely hope your lovely boy gets all investigations done asap. Absolutely everything crossed 🤞 I hope you have been able to eat , drink and get some rest X.

I agree it's awful my son was in critical care for three weeks for the first six nights they didn't know wether he would survive they allowed ne to stay overnight with him despite it being an adult critical care as he was just 16 and still at school ,after 6 days he turned a corner thankfully it's so hard seeing your child so unwell and knowing you can't do anything.

Oh Op must be such a worry. I really hope all is ok.

As you mention rvi I presume we must be close. My ds recently went to a neighbouring hospital a few weeks ago where they couldn’t draw any blood. Got transferred to Sunderland and they drew it out first time. So hopefully that’s nothing to worry about.

Really hope the scans come back clear. Also that CF nurse sounds out of order! Make sure you get her name.

I should add that I received amazing support from MN at that time.
I don't think I'd have managed without it. So, a belated Thank you too.

Exams are nothing in the face of his health so you are absolutely right to say worry about that later. Lots of helpful advice here but I'm sure school will be able to help. Fingers crossed he gets a swift diagnosis and treatment, and is feeling right as rain soon.

I hope he gets well soon.

You're in good hands. Fingers crossed for you.

I had a horrible reaction after coming off Prednisolone years ago which was prescribed for an acute allergic inflammatory skin condition. I have always said since, "No steroids under any circumstances". People don't realise how harmful they can be.

Yes, the nurse was implying anabolic steroids and the op was correct in saying her son doesn't take those.

Don't worry about it, you said nothing wrong, you were merely clarifying a point. Many people don't realise that what they are prescribed sometimes are steroids, Prednisolone is often dished out for arthritic conditions.
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Op, I do hope things are progressing well now. It must be a nightmare for you.

Sending you all love and strength. You must be exhausted 💐

What a silly comment. Do you realise that there are two main types of steroids, and they have different effects on the body? The steroids one would take for muscle building etc., which is what the nurse was implying the OP’s son must be taking, are anabolic steroids and are different to corticosteroids, which are used as an anti-inflammatory and will be the type prescribed!

And you think that helps her feel better??

I wouldn't wish it on anyone either. My son was in PICU for 7 weeks, the memory of helplessness and utter fear is burned into me forever.

I'm sorry that the care wasn't good enough for your son, it sounds similar to what happened with my son too. As I said, we just received the serious incident report from the hospital recently and I'm still digesting it. I can't believe how much he was let down by some medical professionals.

@HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend please let the school know ASAP re: exams. If your son is up to it can actually be arranged for him to sit the paper in hospital with an invigilator present. Believe me I have just organised this for a student. If you get a doctor's note for the exam board the amount of credit he gets is fairly low, but if he does feel able to do the paper this is the best option available.

Asking is fine. Clearly accusing him of lying is NOT.

so sorry to hear this OP. Sending best wishes that you find the cause quickly and he makes a speedy recovery.

I’d be besides myself and cannot believe the stupid things people say. Any medical issue with my daughter worries me sick.

When I was in, in January, they had no issue with any of us having phones. iPads, laptops & other items plugged in all the time.

Nor did they a few years ago when I had a fan brought in from home - they were just happy there was another fan. The hospital owned fans had been PAT tested.

Best wishes OP

You are in the right place.

Has troponin been checked? Some cardiac issues (inflammation) only really show on MRI (not a Dr, was a patient).

recovery over exams. He can always make up the latter.

Exactly!!

it's horrible as an adult when they basically accuse you of lying, let alone as a teen.

The RVI is a fantastic hospital I gave birth there and had a few friends receive amazing treatment there.

Thinking of you OP, such a worrying time.

Ignore previous poster, really is awful someone is questioning you when it was quite clear you were talking about illegal / bulking steroids, not meds for asthma.