AIBU to think my DS is over egging the illness ?

[creamola]

DS1 .......just turned 18

has a real health issue that has been around for 3 weeks or so .

However , the fainting at the doctor today on a having a blood sample taken was a bit much.

I feel like a bad mum because after I got called through i said 'get up....there is nothing wrong with you'

Three weeks of 'oh i'm dying' ...........is it because his male ?

should I have been more sympathic?

[Muckyhighchair]

I faint around 3 times aday, and the stupid docs can't find a cause. I also suffer from margins around x4 a week, and they can't find a cause.

I have two types of faints one I just go down on to anything, be it fire, cooker etc and pass out for a minute or two

The other I feel it coming on, still go down and pass out for a minute but I have a second notice to fall out of the way of something. My eye slight goes blurry first then down I go.

Thankfully I have the second more of fen.

[farnywarny]

YABU. I dont think an 18yo man would see fainting as being very 'manly' I would imagine he may have even been embarassed.

[TheLadyEvenstar]

DS1 suffers from Reflex Anoxic Seizures as does DP and also my brother who is 38.

A reflex anoxic seizure is a type of fit triggered by a temporary cutting off of the supply of blood to the brain.

It is not a form of epilepsy, and is different from breath-holding attacks.

A reflex anoxic seizure can be induced by any unexpected stimuli such as pain, fear or fright, or even by a very hot or cold bath.

The trigger factor causes the heart to stop or slow down dramatically, which in turn reduces the flow of blood to the brain.

The child goes limp, falls down and becomes very pale. The body may stiffen and there may be jerking movements of the arms and legs.

After a short while the blood flow to the brain is restored and the child rapidly returns to normal although they may sleep for some time afterwards.

Reflex anoxic seizures probably occur in about 8 out of every 1000 preschool children.

They are most common between the ages of six months and two years but they can also occur in teenagers and adults.

Although parents often say their child looks as if they have died during an attack, I have never heard of the condition causing death.

Often no treatment is required, but some studies have suggested that the drug atropine is effective in reducing the frequency of the attacks.

Thankfully, reflex anoxic seizures usually get less frequent and eventually stop during childhood. Occasionally the attacks persist into early adult life

[Ormirian]

Why did you think the faint was a feint?

[Ormirian]

And yes, try some sympathy.

[noddyholder]

Why are you so unsympathetic to your son who has been ill for weeks?

[yoshiLunk]

I need to know what his 'real health issue' is before commenting.

[creamola]

@ proudfoot because I think he might be over egging it

It's been 3 weeks of doctors/nurses/paramedics ,hospital appointments and deep down I don't think anything is wrong with him

but it's hard to say to your child 'i think your getting yourself in a fangle because you have been on the internet reading up about a million diseases you don't have '

[yoshiLunk]

If an eighteen year old has been fussing for three weeks over an illness he thinks he has then he does need some kind of help.

If you think he's not ill at all then you need to ask yourself why he thinks he is, and if you think he's faking a faint, you need to ask yourself why also, it's a cry for help isn't it?

[fastweb]

Reflex anoxic seizures

Off to have a google, thanks for taking the time to post the info TheLadyEvenstar

[Kayano]

Dunno but as a needle phobic If you had put my fainting down I would have been hysterical and lamped you lol

[creamola]

@yoshilunk......perhaps

[WhoseGotMyEyebrows]

creamola

That is possibly health anxiety/hypochondria then, which can be a type of OCD and can be triggered by stress or a huge life change.

I've had it. Took years to recover properly (always a chance I will relapse). It's not to be dismissed, telling him to just get over it won't help, all it will do is stop him coming to you for help and make him go into himself.

The first thing he needs to do is stop looking up diseases on the internet. The second is see the dr. The difficult thing is for someone with this to realise they have it. In his head (assuming you are correct about this and he is not actually physically ill) he is convinced 100% that he is ill. To go from that to realising that it is health anxiety/hypochondria is a big BIG step.

CBT and counselling really help as does anti-anxiety medication at the same time.

What is it that he thinks he has?

You may find that if it is proven he doesn't have it a new "illness" will appear.

Be sure about this though before you talk to him about it. No one likes to be told something is in their head (don't put it like that though) even if it is.

[mousesma]

My 12 y/o neice had something similar recently. She was complaining of really bad headaches and of feeling faint and sick. She was taken to the doctor who advised an ECG and nothing was found and as a precaution she also had an MRI scan.

We suspected from the start that there was nothing physically wrong because if we could get her to distract herself enough she would forget about the symptoms. This is not say that she was putting her symptoms on but we all suffer from anxiety so we thought she was more likely to be suffering from panic attacks which are in themselves very frightening.

Once she got the all clear the panic attacks and other symptoms stopped. She had worked herself up thinking that she ws seriously ill and got frightened and just needed the extra reassurance.

[WhoseGotMyEyebrows]

mousesma My 5yo is like that!