DS 8 complaining of feeling wobbly

[ChampionWorrier21]

DS has just turned 8 and got the past couple of weeks, he’s said sometimes at school he feels what he describes as “wobbly.” He can’t quite articulate it but from what he says, it comes on suddenly and sounds to me like he means low in energy/a bit weak, maybe?

He said today it happened at lunch break (so he’d eaten and wasn’t hungry) when he was playing cricket ball-throwing. It also gave him tummy ache and a bit of a headache. He’s complained of feeling “wobbly” a couple of times at bedtime.

He seems otherwise ok, is active, plays a lot of sport. I was thinking it could be 2 things:
a) he doesn’t get enough sleep - he messes around at bedtime and doesn’t get to sleep til 9.30/10 and then struggles to get up for school

b) I don’t think he drinks enough - I think he only gets through one water bottle at school. And the weather is hotter lately (although he’s adamant he doesn’t feel hot when it happens),

Any ideas/similar experiences? I’m a worrier and always obsess about vague symptoms like this so if anyone can suggest some obvious, non-awful things it might be, that would be appreciated. Thank you.

Is there any history of diabetes in the family? Those symptoms could be a sign of high blood sugar but there are others which you can check and see if that’s a possibility. Either way I’d get him to the GP for a check up but try not to worry (easier said than done I know).

Thank you - no history of it. Do you think a GP would want a blood test? He’s had one before (for a different issue) and hated it - it would be a nightmare getting him to have another…

I suspect the GP would only do a blood test for diabetes if there were other symptoms. They talk about the 4 T’s, tired, thin, toilet and thirst. Toilet being needing a wee more often.
I would chat to a doctor about it though if I were you, if nothing else to put your mind at rest.

Thank you @WestIsWest - yes, I’ve just been looking on Diabetes websites and read about the 4 Ts - he has none of those, which I’m taking as a good sign.

We've had similar problems with DS since he was the same age.

Weve ruled out ENT and we are seeing a neurologist next week with a view to it being migraines.

DS says the room spins, or he will be going to bed and starts to panic that the room is moving.

I've lost count of the number of times he's ended up with the school nurse feeling wobbly or sick.

I’ve recently recovered from covid; the main symptoms I had were vertigo and a headache. Might be worth testing him?

Do you think he could be feeling faint?

Maybe low iron? Does he take any multivitamins?

Thank you, all.
@actiongirl1978 sorry to hear that. Migraines are a possibility, I suppose - but the way he describes it, it doesn’t sound particularly severe. It’s hard to say. Today is the first time he’s mentioned it made his tummy and head hurt.

@Wigeon yes, I think he might be feeling a little bit faint. But why would that be?

@respark321 yes, he has multivitamins

Standing up/jolting to the side too quick causing a rush feeling?

Depends what he means by wobbly tbh. Weak could be blood sugar drop, blood rushing to head etc.

Might be anaemia?

@Usernamenotavailabletryanother yes, that’s a possibility.

@TheWayoftheLeaf it’s so hard to tell what he means - he says it just makes him feel like he has no energy

Dehydration like to have said
Or sleep like you have said
Growth spurts and not takin in enough calories
Keep a food diary
M.E Have you liked into this
Book an optician appointment
Sunglasses in the bright lights or sunshine
Gradual wake up light clock
Not bright walls on the house
No harsh lights in the house
Travel sickness bands ?

Thanks @quietnightmare for all your suggestions- he wears glasses and has his eyes checked recently but his dad wears special glasses as bright light affects his eyes.
Re the sleep and drinking - thinking about it, don’t think he’s complained of the problem at the weekends which is when we’re obviously with him all day and nag him to drink more and he gets more sleep as he doesn’t have to get up for school, so I’ll see what happens this weekend.

I’ll keep a note of as much info as I can gather such as food, if he’s in bright sunshine when it happens, etc.

Oooh I see what about those 'blue light glasses' to wear when using or watching screen if his dad suffers they might help. Perhaps there's stress issues going on so some sort of meditation, sort music, nice scents in the home like lavender under the pillow. Also sounds random it allergies can work in mysterious ways , allergies to certain foods like cheese and or chocolate, hayfever is the obvious one but even dust can have cause the effect you've mentioned

If you think he's dehydrated, that's a really obvious cause of feeling faint. Plus being tired plus being outside in the sunshine and doing physical activity (ie the cricket ball throwing). Or it can happen if he's feeling very nervous or anxious about something?

You could ask him if he feels dizzy / head feels a bit weird/ vision starts to get blurry or whether he sees spots in front of his eyes when it happens? And whether it gets better if he sits down? That could indicate it's feeling faint. Obvious thing to do would definitely be to drink more, plus get out of the sun / sit down.

I'd second the vertigo due to a viral infection (covid or not). I had this for a couple of weeks recently and then it just disappeared. It can linger quite a bit!

Ok, so I’ve done a Covid test and it’s negative.

It’s been hot today and I’ve done my best to get him to drink quite a lot after school. He says he’s been fine all day. But it happened again at bedtime when he was in bed - he did say he felt hot and I’ve managed to decipher that the feeling he’s describing is feeling faint because I asked him if it’s the same way he felt when he had an injection once, which made him feel faint. And again, bedtime was late.

He says when it happens at school, he sits down if he can.

So I’m leaning towards tiredness/heat/not drinking enough but I’m not sure…I feel so silly going to a GP about it but I don’t want to ignore it.

Could he have heat stroke? I’ve had it on occasion and felt similar. I also use the term ‘wobbly’ when I have labyrinthitis.

I’ve no experience of heatstroke but would it be so sporadic? It’s been happening over the past couple of weeks but not every day.