10 year old been ill for 7 weeks! Help!!

[KarrieC]

I am hoping someone can reassure me, My son has been ill for 7 weeks and been off school all this time.
Week 1 - sore throat, very tired
Week 2 - chest infection, AB's didn't work
Week 3 - Chest infection, second AB's work by end of week
Week 4 - gradual improvement had 1 full day at school, then sore throat, very tired and feeling unwell, cold symptoms.
Week 5 - Sore throat, very tired and unwell
Week 6 - As week 5
Week 7 - Very tired, just feeling unwell.
Been to two nurses, 3 doctors and 1 blood test - normal for everything, no glandular fever either.
Doctors are getting sick of me and was palpably annoyed with my visit yesterday. My son shows no outwardly signs of illness - temp, etc etc.
They are just saying he got unlucky after the chest infection and caught a virus and it has hit him hard. They may be right, has anyone else had their child so unwell following a chest infection?
I am going slowly crazy here.

That's exactly how my best friend was when she had post viral fatigue when we were 15. Couldn't even brush her hair for tiredness sometimes. Took a few months for her to get back on her feet. It was rotten. Hope you get a dx for your DS soon

Is it possible he was bitten by a tick? My daughter had Lyme disease and those were her symptoms. The blood tests for that are notoriously unreliable.

You need to insist on a referral to paediatrician for tests.

What have school said ?
They can refer you to lea officer who deals with sick kids or you can call lea.
They would be talking to you anyway if he has been off for seven weeks ?

You need to insist on a referral to paediatrician for tests.

What have school said ?
They can refer you to lea officer who deals with sick kids or you can call lea.
They would be talking to you anyway if he has been off for seven weeks ?

Just an update (i know if i find one of these threads from a google search i always want to know what happens).
Anyway they have referred him to see a paediatrician urgently - i.e. 7 to day day wait! But its still progress. The Dr we saw today could find nothing wrong with him either and says it may be a long succession of viruses or post viral fatigue. But i think my son is worse so am relieved he will see a paediatrician. I will update further when we see someone.

meant to say 7 to 10 day wait!

Poor thing. Hole they work out what it is.

Also school are totally not worried about him missing so much school. they say he just needs to get better and he is a bright boy so will catch up. As far as i can tell my LA only offer home tutor if something is a chronic condition or something that is known to carry on for some time - like cancer or if lots of hospital trips needed. Maybe he will eventually fall into this category, but i hope he just gets better first.

Thanks CappucinoCake xx

I really sympathise.

My ds had an awful cough on and off from October of Year 5 to the following March. He had crackling on lungs. It just went on and on, despite six different antibiotics, steroids and numerous trips to GP. He also had tonsillitis on and off.

Like you we kept going back but it took til March to see a Paediatrician. By then it had nearly gone.

It was really stressful as if he went into school he would cough so much it disturbed the class. When at home I asked for work from the school.

In the end they diagnosed a form of hooping cough, known as the hundred day cough. It was a stressful time.

Also, ds missed about 7 weeks of school. I kept them informed and he went in when he could. They never said anything about absence.

Hope you and he get some answers x

I hope you g t some answers soon and your ds recovers quickly. It’s awful when they are sick like that. My ds when in yr 6 so 10 at the time had from the late sept till early June off apart from. A few days totalling 10 I’m betweeen. No matter how many times I asked school for work I wasn’t given. In the June we fínnaly got 3 sessions with a tutor at home provided by the LA. The school even had the nerve to ask me to bring him in for SATS. I did a lot of work with ds from the Collins workbooks and some online resources. I would get in touch with the LA and see what they can provide.

So glad you've got that appointment to come. Hope he gets better soon.

Out of school education arrangements kick in when a chikd is missing more than 15 school days
See www.gov.uk/illness-child-education
Speak to lea officer dealing with children missing school due to illness
Your ds may also be able to access hospital school as day pupil
He has a right to education unless so sick he really can't do anything.
If he is at home watching tv or reading he can access education

My child missed 5 months of school.
They absolutely refused to give any extra help to catch up.
Child just had to put in the extra work independently once well enough to go back.
It seems that much depends on the school.

If he has not been in school for seven weeks then school /council should be stepping up. It's a legal requirement if child absent 15 days. Ie three weeks.

(Dd1 had virus... missed from half term summer term.. this became autumn term .. LEA provided group tuition ... gradually increased time... then hospital school as day pupil... She was eventually diagnosed chronic migraine. Took two years to get back to regular school with still low attendance )

I would also say get a throat swab if he hasn’t had one . My ds had about 6/7 weeks off school in yr 6 with a similar issue , glandular fever was ruled out and in the end it was a bacterial throat infection .

LEA has statutory obligation .
They have to put something in place. Tho I think only since 2014 (?)

Sorry 2013. Read the statutory guidance
www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-for-children-with-health-needs-who-cannot-attend-school

"As soon as it is clear child will be away for 15 days or more " LEA has to put provision in place.

Just an update, my son has still not improved (now on week 10). he was in hospital for 3 days where they tested him for everything they could think of, everything has come back normal. They have concluded he has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. We are now awaiting a referral to a clinic dealing with this, which could take some time. It is completely unkown how long he is going to remain exhausted and unwell, could be weeks or years! Though i am being told it is good its nothing serious i think having a child who may potentially be unwell and unable to participate in normal life for years is very serious. But i want to stay positive and am going to research further what may help him.

Hi Karrie. I saw this thread the other day and came back to suggest CFS, but then saw your other thread saying your DS has been diagnosed with it which I've replied on.

Just to say that as it appears your DS's condition has been brought on by a virus, his chances of a full recovery are probably very high. And that for reasons still unknown to medical science, it's just going to take his body a very long time to recover from it.

Anecdotally this is around 2 years which is devastating news but I find it helps to manage expectations. As I said on your other thread, rest is absolutely important and only then a very gradual gentle increase in activity once you feel he is able and it doesn't tire him (it may take around 4/6 months to get to that stage) .

I would also say to be extremely careful around other people with viruses as they can cause a big setback. We spent 14 months getting DD to a point where she could leave the house and manage up to 3 hrs of activity a day and a cold put her back to the beginning. I wouldn't wish that on anyone and at this time of year when colds etc are rife, I'd get some antibac gel and make all visitors use it.

Thanks BonnesVacances i am trying to get my head around the time scales that might be involved and it is just devastating to imagine, but i will cope if it comes to it, Thanks for your advice and honesty, it is helpful. xx