5 year old.. wakes up lethargic and hungry?

[Mumof4boyz]

My 5 year old son has these funny turns, in which the doctors can't seem to work out.

So he has them maybe once in 2 months sometimes a cluster.. he wakes up colourless, lethargic.. to the point he struggles to walk.. so weak, hunger pains and is in and out of sleep and sometimes can vomit.

It has been going on for a few years.. today was the worst.. he even started to talk nonsense.. I did his BM which was 3.8, which is in the lower end of okay.

In the end I took him to see the doctor, which by this time he had eaten and had started to return to normal, in which she looks at me like I'm I'm wasting there time.. I record all his episodes but their all clueless..

He's had bloods which are all normal.. he's generally a healthy outgoing child.. but how can this be normal..?

Has anyone else experienced anything like this... or has any advice.. it will be greatly appreciated.. I feel helpless and confused ..

Thanks...

I'm sorry I haven't got the same situation however my husband has sleep apnea and my first thought is that maybe something is affecting his oxygen levels in sleep such as this?

Maybe try a sleep diary for a few months take note of what position you see him sleep in, any wakings, how he feels when he wakes. Observe him sleeping when you can to listen out for breaks in breathing.

It might not be this but it's all I can suggest. I hope you get to the bottom of this 💐

I know it's not every night but it would be great to do the diary every day so you can pinpoint what is different, if anything, when he wakes like this

It sounds like very low blood sugar?

Agree with first poster that it sounds like a lack of oxygen during sleep

@Surfskatefamily Thanks for your reply.. it's funny you say about his sleep, in the last 6 months he has been having hallucinations/night terrors, but only upon waking.. I know this is different from the apnea your suggesting .. but still a disturbance in his sleep? I have tried to do the diary every day, but hard to keep up so it's really now a diary of what happens when it happens and the day before.. thanks for your advice...

@Herocomplex That was my first thought... so the plan with his consultant was when he has an episode do his sugars... which today was 3.8... Now that is low, but still in the 'okay' range and according to the nurse .. what she saw in the video of him being floppy and semi-unresponsive.. that sugar level doesn't warrant his behaviour? so she said maybe he is super sensitive to a lowish blood sugar? but who knows?

Look up Ketotic hypoglycemia- sometimes known as toddler hypoglycemia- most children who get this when viral or under the weather grow out of it.

For some it can be a sign of a more complex condition when the body produces too much insulin, forcing BM low.

Although the nurse is right that 3.8 is ok...they could have dipped and then righted themselves - so maybe worth doing another few - if below 3.5 or around 3 I would pop to get seen - or if they don't come back up - but really the symptoms need investigation but probably a battle ahead - A&E May help if symptoms persist -

Low blood sugars can be serious so balance symptoms with numbers & what you are describing need checking out.

Some children with KH do a controlled fast to see how long they can go without food then you know to wake them after 12hrs or 9 hrs etc - some children need corn starch at 10pm etc to get them overnight -

But all needs to come from consultant- usually an endocrine.