Arachnoid cyst in ds

[NeverTalksToStrangers]

My ds (9) had a bad fall at the weekend, with massive lump on his forehead. He was coherent but drowsy and his wee body went into shock with the pain.

Hospital were very good but weren't going to scan him until he threw up for the 3rd time.

CT results showed no fracture or bleeding but did reveal an arachnoid cyst that we didn't know about previously. I wasn't speaking to neurology about the cyst, just the paed docs on call, due to the timing of the scan (very late sat night) and he was then discharged on Sunday, but I was told they (neurology/surgery) would be following it up.

1st paed doc said he was probably born with it, but nothing was ever mentioned at ultrasound and he's no stranger to head injuries, so I'm not sure if that is the case.

Anyone have experience of these? I'm intending on finding out more this week. Size, location etc. I was too exhausted/speechless/dumbstruck/relieved at the no bleeding etc to ask when i should have.

Did you get to speak to your GP today?

No, but he's going tomorrow for unrelated blood test so going to speak to them then.

Wikipedia page looks excellent. Try not to worry.

Gp notes day it's large, but he didn't know what that meant; 1cm/5cm/10cm?

Left frontal lobe.

And he's being referred by surgical consultant to neurology for 'Further imaging". I spoke to the consultant's secretary and she said she hadn't done the referral yet, or seen his chart in order to do so, so I don't know if it will be urgent or if the further imaging refers to repeated scans to keep an eye on it, or an MRI to look at it in more depth.

Does anyone have experience of this??

The more I've read the more sense it makes. Ds has always been a bit peculiar in a way. When he was very young I googled the symptoms of autism so many times but he didn't fit there. He was very set in his ways, obsessive over certain things, but far too interactive with people to have autism. He had a bit of a speech delay, but this was more related to pronunciation. He replaced f sounds with p, which seems so unnatural to an adult and was very hard to understand out of context around 3-4.

He was a nightmare to potty train, and still to this day would be wet sometimes during the day. He's currently undergoing investigations for that but so far nothing has come up as being wrong.

He wets the bed. He sleepwalks. Both those things are typical in kids with cysts where his is. I've also seen some evidence that similarly located cysts can lead to language and problem solving difficulties (and that these improve if the cyst is drained). He's a smart kid, with wonderful spelling and good vocabulary, yet his sentence formation has always been a bit wrong, both in how he speaks and writes. He lacks confidence in speaking to people, even myself and often just gives up mid telling you something. His thought process has often baffled me and he often doesn't pick up on very obvious things or social cues.

All of these things are cyst related I believe. It makes so much sense now. I'm concerned for his future because cysts like his have been linked with depression. I'm torn between not wanting to have to intervene with it, for obvious reasons, to thinking how much easier he might find life if it was drained.

I know this is a few months old, but we’ve just had results of a brain scan for our daughter, as part of an investigation into recurring episodes of vertigo & vomiting. As she has significant ear problems, the focus was on her inner ear...however, aside from a couple of minor related issues apparent on the scan, it has also picked up a large arachnoid cyst, which is why I’ve found this thread. She has been referred for neurological evaluation, but in the meantime I wondered what other experience people have had with this? How has your son been since, has there been any progress or are things being left as they are?
Just when you think they can’t find anything else, something else unknown pops up. Would be great to hear how you have got on, thank you!