DS is currently on a leave of absence from uni, having done 2 years of a 3 year degree. He dropped out after the autumn term in his final year because he said he wasn’t sleeping and there was unable to study effectively.
To be honest, he has had problems getting to sleep for a long time. Probably since starting secondary school. He is unable to get to sleep until about 4am in the morning and is therefore tired and not functioning well the next day. We paid for him to be seen at a sleep clinic. They established he did not have sleep Apnoea and advised on good sleep hygiene. However, the consultation did not lead to any improvements in sleep. DS buys Melatonin online but this doesn't seem to help much either.
I have long suspected that he might be suffering from inattentive Attention Deficit Disorder. Since hitting secondary school, poor organisation has been a massive issue for DS. Teachers repeatedly commented on his poor organisation over the years: not having the right books for the lesson, forgetting to do homework etc etc. I now regret not asking school to look into this further. DS pretty much sailed under the radar at school as he is smart and wasn’t badly behaved in lessons He has other issues which could be indicators of being on the neurodiversity spectrum. For example, restricted diet, hyperfocus on areas of interest (video gaming), lack of facial expression, social anxiety/difficulties with social interaction.
The problem at the moment is that every day he seems to think that he has a new medical problem. He has complained about pain in back, and tightness in throat. He now believes his body cannot tolerate lactose or Calcium, so the range of food he is willing to eat has reduced even more. There are so many other things he thinks are wrong with him (too many to list). He has repeatedly booked medical appointments with the GP, has spent hours waiting to be seen in A & E and has booked many appointments to see private physios. One day, I looked out of the window and an ambulance arrived (called by 111 after one of DS’s calls). Of course they did not find anything wrong with him and felt his throat was probably tight due to stress.
The problem is I’m not quite sure what help to get for my son. He is convinced that he is suffering from multiple health problems. I believe that his problem is with his mental health and not his physical health. He thinks that I am being unhelpful by not believing that he has real health issues.
I have encouraged him to get a job, which I feel will take his mind off constantly worrying over his health. He has just started a part time job in retail, which I hope will help. Better than wafting round the house doing very little.
He is due to start his final year of his university degree in October and I am hoping that he will be ok to go back.
Has anyone experienced anything like this and how did you tackle it? Any ideas would be great. Sorry this is long.