Partner has anxiety and "small" auditive and visual hallucinations

[Ktllc]

It has been going for a few weeks now and it seems to spiral up.
The anxiety happens at night and he says he has racing thoughts of bad stuff that he can't stop. He usually ends up shaking and crying. I suggested he reads a book before bed so he can keep those bad thoughts under control (murders, monster eating his arms, etc...). It has worked fairly well but not anymore...
He says he has the thoughts during the day but it does not get as bas as night time. He also hears voices and noise when it happens althought he knows they are not real (told me that in his own words). I asked him if anything else happens that should not happen. He replied that his teacher gets further and further away when she stands before the class and he cried some more telling me that...
He has heard voices before (but he cannot make out what it is saying) when he was about 4. It was at night ainly but also sometimes at daytime (he would cover his ears saying it's too loud). It went away on it's own, or at least did not cry about it anymore.
I told him I would take him to see Ms Y (V's therapist) and see if she can help.
It seems a bit "crazy" as I type all this. Any suggestion? Could it be just a normal phase? The part I like the least is the "teacher getting far away"....
He has always been a VERY sensitive child and is not allowed to watch any kind of violence on TV. He odes not watch TV or play vidoe games outside of school. He tells that nothing happened to trigger it. (Iasked him several different way).

 

[buddy]

It sounds very like what Quin said when the seizures started. He knew it wasnt real. With it being visual and auditory, plus suddenly causing anxiety I'd get to a neurologist. Remember. Especially short eegs can miss seizures.

Keep records of times and other symptoms. Does he have any eye or motor movements, wet his pants etc ( that happens with bigger seizures) .

Q never had motor or loss of awareness with this kind of seizure. Just felt weird, things looked weird etc.

It's scary even for adults.

It could be anxiety but I wouldn't assume so, especially since you have two others with neurological signs.

Poor Partner, kisses and hugs to him.....

 

[Ktllc]

Hum... I did not think about that. He does have reccuring head aches. That is the only thing I can think of... I'll call our pediatrician on it then. She is very thorough and listen to parents' concerns.
After talking with pediatrician, I'll decide to call therapist or not.

 

[BusynMember]

I gently say I do not think this is normal and he should probably see a child psychiatrist, not a therapist. There are many reasons why children hear voices, but they do need to be stopped and there are medications for that. His speech delay could mean that he is on the spectrum. Most spectrum kids do overcome the speech delay, but they are still on the spectrum and uber-high anxiety can result from Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)...just a guess. Also, if Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is in the family, there is a higher chance of mental disorders also being part of the family tree. All of them can be treated, but usually not just by a therapist.

As someone who was a child with extreme anxiety myself, I also tended to be oversensitive to things and needed help to calm down. I slept with the light on and it helped a little. In the dark my imagination would go wild. You'd be amazed at what your imagination "sees" in the dark. I remember that at age thirteen my mom let me keep my closet light on and it was pretty bright. I simply had terrible nightmares if I slept in the dark. School was another big stressor and I understand Partner's fears there. I'm not sure what the teacher growing smaller and smaller means. Could be an anxiety symptom. Myself, I used to feel like everything around me was a dream...and was told later that this was anxiety. However, I never did hear voices..you need to explore that.

I feel so bad for your little Partner and hope you can get him some relief very soon. Gentle hugs!

 

[buddy]

That was the reason the neuro kept checking even when some eegs didn't show them.....he had so many headaches. I know when he needs a medication adjustment because the anxiety plus headaches start again.

Q was treated with anxiety medications for years for nothing. Always best to rule out any physical first. Seizures are tricky to rule out. I'm glad you have such a good doctor.

 

[buddy]

by the way, when they thought it was anxiety related they said those symptoms were "derealization" and "depersonalization". It doesn't always mean psychosis. Especially when they know it's not real. It's still scary.

Because seizures often hit the lymbic system, fears and anxiety and other emotional problems arise.

No matter the cause, darnit! Poor Partner.

 

[Ktllc]

The pediatrician wants to see Partner right away, so we'll go there afterschool. I know she won't be able to give a clear answer but at least which direction to go.
I'll keep you posted... I don't know what would be "better": physical or psychological cause. Both are kind of scary.

 

[InsaneCdn]

I don't know what would be "better": physical or psychological cause. Both are kind of scary.

I know what you mean.
{{hugs}}

 

[buddy]

I know, I felt the same. With it being seizures, q felt comforted and the medications worked. I guess thats the ticket. To find out so the correct treatment has a chance to work. For Q, he was wanting to die after fighting it for years with anxiety medications.

Let us know what the doctor says!

 

[SuZir]

My difficult child has had derealization and depersolization symptoms. He says they are scary and make him feel awful even now that he knows what they are (before he was scared he was going crazy/psychotic and didn't tell anyone.) And he is an adult so I can only imagine how badly young child (who whoever is old enough to know how things should be) would feel. In therapy difficult child is learning to deal with these symptoms better and of course just knowing what is going on has been a huge relief for him.

It's good you got appointment to pediatrician so quickly. Hopefully she can refer you forward and you will soon find out what is going on and how to deal with it.

 

[TerryJ2]

With all of the responses here, it is clear that the diagnosis will be tricky. It is also clear that your difficult child must be seen right away, and I am so glad you are going today! Bravo.
Let us know what happens. My guess is that the pediatrician refers you for testing.
Give the little guy a hug for me.

 

[Ktllc]

pediatrician was fantastic (as usual). She first asked me a few questions and since I was not sure, I turned to Partner. She then talked with Partner for a good bit. She wanted to know if the voices were inside or outside his head, how many, male or female, nice or scarry, if they were telling him to do stuff... Partner said: outside, 1 voice, male, scary, cannot make out what he says. Happens mostly at night but sometimes at school as well. I won't bore you with all the detail questions. But she referred him to a neurologist. She thinks Partner is dealing with atypical migraines (remember I have migraines myself, but they are typical, have had migraine since childhood). Atypical migraine can create visual distortions (like the teacher getting further and further). She also talked about his scary thoughts. Partner was VERY nervous but he answered like a little man.
She concluded by saying that at this point she does not think it is psychiatric but the neurologist might have a different opinion. Since Partner is not on any medications, that rules any medication side effect out. She is not sure what tests the neurolgist will choose (blood test, scans?).
She said that outside voice that one cannot understand usually rules psychiatric disorders, but we can't be 100% sure at this point.
She also think that the stress from growing up with a brother with special needs, the stress from his friends retelling scarry movies, his extremely sensitive and righteous nature (he has a very strong sense of what is right and wrong, following the rules) plus the typical developmental stages of a 7 year old (fear and wanting to understand death) all creates what Partner is going through.
I might still take him to therapist a few times and actually do it during school time (so I don't have to bring V and Sweet Pea along). He said he wants to see her and it might help him manage his anxiety better (no matter the cause of the anxiety it can't hurt to talk about it or learn strategies to deal with it).
Busy day to say the least!

 

[buddy]

Since he is really typical in his communication, having someone to talk to and help him with child friendly anxiety control methods could be comforting to him. I'm so glad you have such a rock star for a doctor. Interesting, when Q's doctor picked which seizure medication, they chose Lyrica because it is also used for headaches and anxiety. Covering the bases. I'm so glad you got a referral. Why in heck do kids have to experience stuff like this? Some days I get pretty fed up thinking of it, my optimistic nature kind of shrinks a little.

 

[Liahona]

difficult child 1 has had hallucinations since 4 years old. Here are some of what we've done. Nightlights, sleeping with the light on, I sit outside his door (with the door open) until he goes to sleep, a recording of grandma singing bedtime songs, , telling him that its not real and he is going to be ok. For nightmares he has trained himself to realize that the nightmare isn't real and to wake himself up. He has also taken charge of the dream, twisting the "plot" so it is favorable to him. None of these ideas works all the time but sometimes they work. And, sometimes when one didn't work another one would. medications to help him sleep have helped a lot.

Good luck getting to the bottom of it. I hope he doesn't have to go through this long. It sounds like they really scare him.

 

[Ktllc]

We watched a movie last night and since V fell asleep on the bean bag, we let Partner sleep on the coach. The dog was o the other coach . Partner fell asleep so fast that he does not remember if he had dreams or not.
In his "room" (open floorplan: both V and Partner have a section of the basement along with the sensory room. no walls to really seperate, just some shelves working as divider. there are windows and doors to walk outside, so the basement is really like living quarter. not scarry), there are plenty of night lamps. He does not want too much light otherwise he cannot sleep. Tried to have one of the dogs sleep with him but he won't stay... still a puppy and very attached to me. I might work on that with him though...
Partner does have very good communications skills. He is my little intellectual . If we teach him strategies, i know he will use them.
We are not singers in my family, but maybe I could turn the noise machine on (nature sounds). Buy a few books about anxiety addressed to children?
Now that it is going on, I am so glad I never let the boys be exposed to any kind of violence. Partner would not be able to handle it. He has such a gentle nature.
husband was not too excited about my idea of scheduling counseling during school hours. He thinks V should go to afterschool care so I can take Partner afterschool... I have a feeling V would not be able to understand that... he has trouble putting other's needs before his own wants/needs. Still have not heard from the respite service...
Whatever happens, now I need to schedule a meeting with Partner's teacher. pediatrician thinks she should know what is going on so she can help Partner controls his anxiety and distortions. Or maybe not control it but at least reassure him that he is safe. I think I'm in this school every day! They preach parental involvment: here they have it. LOL
Thanks for sharing all of your ideas and experiences. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm going to end up with 3 special need kids... Kind of blows my mind. How does it even happen?? Maybe every family is like that but we just don't know?
Buddy, I know it is not fair. But I find comfort in knowing that my kids are happy kids all in all. They have the most important thing: no life threatening condition and love from their family. That is a lot more than what some kids have... Maybe it is some self talk, but it helps!

 

[buddy]

Absolutely! They're so beautiful too. You are blessed for sure. <3
If your three do all end up with some kind of special needs, it could be interesting to get genetic testing done to see if there is some condition underlying but that manifests differently. Usually they don't find anything but it's helpful for future generations to know. ( I worked with a family who had a mostly typical child, one with Aspergers, one non verbal girl with an autism diagnosis. And one who died- he was clearly sick from the start. They did find a genetic disorder. That's super rare of course, but important to know .

You're absolutely right though, and your kids are in the best family. You make great decisions for them.

Does V like after school care? If so could use the "your lucky you get to go to _____" reverse psychology method, lol.

Q plays music nightly to stop from hearing noises and to distract from all of his fears of bad guys. He also is comforted by prayers and my neighbor who is very Catholic, gave him some guardian angel statues and Q believes they are protecting them.

The white noise or nature noise machine sounds great!

 

[Ktllc]

it could be interesting to get genetic testing done to see if there is some condition underlying but that manifests differently

Read more: http://www.conductdisorders.com/for...ve-visual-hallucinations-52810/#ixzz2MTsAj0Pu

Funny that you mention that. I take V to a genetic doctor tomorrow. We only had 4 month to wait as they extended their team. I've had very good recommendations but I agree: chances are nothing will be found. In V's case, we will probably be looking at William's syndrom (random disorder). I read the description of William's syndrom and it would definitely fit V. Even more now that is not learning at school like he should on ALL subjects (not just reading). I will keep you all posted in a different post.

 

[buddy]

When they tested Q it was a general check of all chromosomes, not looking for any one condition. It took about a month for the results. You have loads of appointments! Fun, huh? LOL ....at least the docs are there to help!

 

[BusynMember]

Getting back to sleeping, I have heard that classical music is very soothing for anxiety. Every time I go out, I put on MTV's classical music station for (don't laugh...ok, laugh) my dogs!!!! When I come home, sometimes I forget to turn off the music and it really is soothing if it is on softly in the background!

I agree with you that the happiness of the child is the main thing. My oldest three were not happy and my oldest still isn't. My 28 year old once drug user is finally happy and so are my youngest two, even the one on the spectrum. In fact, Sonic is a very happy young adult on an even keel. I consider his life richer and more enjoyable, at least for HIM, than my chronically miserable oldest son. If you have three happy kids, that's HUGE and a great credit to you and the environment in your home. Special needs often improve with age. Partner sounds absolutely delightful, special needs or not.

 

[buddy]

Any updates?