Ok, apparently my kid is falling apart...or is this all psychological?

HowMuchLonger

New Member
I just posted yesterday about difficult child 3's constipation, but there are a few other "medical" concerns. Of course his pediatrician has been on vacation and doesn't return until Tuesday next week...and family doctor is useless.

He broke out in hives Monday night, for no apparent reason we can figure out. He has broken out in hives before (but last time I recall was probably 2 yrs ago), so we have had allergy testing done. Usually the hives cleared themselves up with some Benadryl...generally within 24 hrs. This outbreak is now on day 3. They are disappearing and then reappearing in different areas and he's extremely itchy. Some are small little spots, some as big as a fist.

I kept him home from school yesterday as he was itching like he had fleas, and was embarrassed about the spots on his face. Last night he started complaining of a bad headache, but refused any advil. He woke up very early this morning still complaining of the same headache. He came downstairs and layed on the couch and finally agreed to some advil. I had a few lamps on and he had put the tv on very low...but when i went to turn on the overhead light, he squinted really bad and almost cried out. I am wondering if its possibly a migraine...I have no idea how to tell.

So now we have a constipated, itchy, spotty, headachy kid on our hands (on top of the usual behavioural issues...although at this point I'd be pretty cranky too). I am ok to keep him off school again for today...and he requested it before I offered. But now i'm worried is this all a ploy? Stress? I don't want to start a trend here. He's usually pretty happy to go to school, and as far as I know hasn't ever faked ill in the past...usually has to be limping, fever of 104, and bleeding from the eyes before he will admit he needs to stay home from school lol.

Any takers?? I am going to call his fam. doctor today...see if i can get him in there
 

DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
Your sig doesn't list difficult child 3 and whether or not he is on any medications....

It is possible to suddenly develop an allergy to a medication that you've been taking all along with no problems. Headache, hives, itching.... check the patient info for anything he might be taking and see whether these are possible 'side effects'...
 

HowMuchLonger

New Member
Sorry Daisy...I meant difficult child 2 (and just realized I think i've been putting difficult child 3 into all my threads lol). So he is on adderall, and has been for approx. 11 weeks give or take? We too considered a medication allergy. can it develop that suddenly after that length of time?
 

DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
Sorry Daisy...I meant difficult child 2 (and just realized I think i've been putting difficult child 3 into all my threads lol). So he is on adderall, and has been for approx. 11 weeks give or take? We too considered a medication allergy. can it develop that suddenly after that length of time?

Yes it can. I developed an allergy to sulfa drugs after taking them with no problems for YEARS!
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Something else... I know there are all kinds of vaccines for chicken pox and measles, but... I'm living proof they don't always work. I've had the chicken pox, light cases, several times.

Also - Jett had a similar issue once when he used too much soap in the laundry. Just a thought... Could explain why they are "moving".
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Well... I take Duckie to the family doctor late this afternoon with similar symptoms. I'll tell you that there's a virus AND strep going around here (Buffalo, NY area). Three of her closest friends have had strep in the last two weeks. Her throat is sore, tonsils red, back of her tongue has a white coating, haven't "caught" a fever but suspect she's peaking at just over 100F, she's extremely tired and then a mild red rash on her face last night. Almost like hives, but not quite. And... her behavior has been very difficult recently.
 

HowMuchLonger

New Member
That might explain some things as well tiredmommy. I was reading up on the combo of headache and hives and quite a few sites mention the possibility of his body fighting off a virus even though any other signs aren't present yet or might not become present at all. I finally got through to the doctor and he's going in an hour. We'll see if he can find anything apparent
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
HML-

Our youngest was chronically constipated and suffered from migraines. Colace is an OTC product you can get to help with constipation, or if you can get him to eat a couple bowls of Bran cereal that might be a little easier to tolerate, even Raisin Bran. With regards to migraines. Most children like ours develop stress headaches before they get migraines, so you could be right on the money about that. You are going to know your son better than anyone, but to give you some idea of migraine symptoms in children my son would get warm, tell me he was nauseated, sometimes throw up, but not always. Ice would help the most, along with a dark room. He would get "auras". These can be different for every person suffering from migraines. Some see snow-like floating flakes, some see a ring of light - hazy, but bright. Some see nothing at all, just a sharp pain on one side or the other of their head, or a pulling sensation in the back of their brain as if their neck is being pulled backwards. It is possible to have a left/right migraine pain, but most likely when a person complains of that type of pain? It's a stress or tension headache and those can be accompanied by pain. If your son sits down and tells you things like, it feels like the worst headache he's ever had in his life, his head feels like it's splitting in two, his head is crushing? I would seek an appointment with his doctor and get advice. There are lots of medications that can be tried, not all work and you have to find the right one for him. Also it helps a doctor greatly if there is a history of migraines in your family AND to know triggers - like what he was eating that day, what the weather was like, shampoos, soaps, perfumes, laundry detergents used. Most migraine sufferers are asked to keep a 3 month diary before seeing a neuroligst and if it comes to a more serious level of having an MRI - these things should be done first.

If it turns out that it's stress? Which is totally understandable with our kids - they have a lot going on in their heads, it's not easy being them...then I would talk to his therapist when you go and ask him if he can help with some relaxation techniques, and again - suggest he work with him on some anger management coping skills. There are lot of things they should be teaching him on how to better help himself destress, and decompress.

Hope this is nothing serious and that he's well soon.
Star
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I have been dealing with hives since just after Xmas. They are absolutely no fun! Mine are traveling all over my body just about everywhere except my face and are anywhere between the size of a pea to the size of a marble under my skin and itch like the dickens. I had a basic allergy panel done at my family doctor....normal weeds, pollen, dust, mold, and some foods, and it came back negative so we are making an appointment with an allergist for in depth testing. Right now they have been gone for about 2 weeks but I am sure they will resurface soon enough. I simply cannot figure out what caused them.
 

HowMuchLonger

New Member
Janet, that's pretty much where we stand right now. We went to the fam. doctor and he was no help. He feels difficult child 2 may be coming down with some sort of viral infection. The headache eventually disappeared last night but he was complaining something awful about his eyes hurting whenever he moved them...that concerned me a bit. The doctor said that's common in children when they have a headache preceding a fever, so to watch for him to spike a temperature. He never quite did get feverish...temp was always high 98's, but he did complain before bed that he felt shivery, and he definitely felt warm to the touch. The hives got even worse last night..I feel really bad for him. At one point he cried and asked "why me??"

Yesterday though, a light bulb came on and I'm going to push really hard today for him to go to school. I never mentioned it in my original post as I didn't connect the two. Friday night was the night he was taken from home by police/ambulance. Monday when he went to school and had a great day but at some point in the day the girls that live next door (same age/same school as difficult child 2) had told some kids that they saw difficult child 2 taken from the house. I guess some kids asked difficult child 2 about it and it obviously upset him greatly. It was Monday night when the hives started...I'm wondering if this is a stress issue...a way for him to stay home from school (conciously or not) to avoid the questions. He told me he lied to the kids that approached him and I told him very gently that I did not approve of lying, but in this case, I understood and backed him on it and that the girl had NO right to tell anyone. I did call the school and speak to the principal the next morning about it..and made sure to tell difficult child 2 that I had done that. I hope I can get him to school today..but I see this morning as going very rough.
 

joaner

New Member

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I wondered too if my hives have been stress related because all this has come on after my Dad died the beginning of December and then we had a very hard and emotionally turbulent Christmas. Then just the next week I started with the hives. At first people started telling me they thought they were either bed bugs or some new laundry product I was using. I really wondered about the bed bugs because I had stayed in two motels over the time my Dad died...not expensive ones either. Plus I stayed in an extra bedroom at Jamie's house that his wifes stepbrother sleeps in. But I dont think they were bedbug bites because they never had bite marks and we never saw any bugs and Tony never got any bites. And this went on for a LONG time. Plus we could literally see the hives move on me.

One night I was really itching so I took a bath in pretty hot water. They just sprang up all over me. Tony rubbed me down with benedryl cream. The only place that they werent was on my back in like a one foot square. Suddenly in about an hour, we watched as they moved to the one place on my back that he hadnt rubbed down with benedryl cream!
 
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