Is my 9 year-old sick, or is he faking? Docs?
 

For the last week, our 9 y/o son has been complaining of headaches, nausea, and just not feeling good. It started last Sunday just before leaving for the movies with his brother and sister. Said he was sick, thought he was going to throw up, etc. Interestingly, if he takes a shower, he comes out feeling just fine.

The next day, Monday, was the first day of school. The nurse called us to come get him around mid-day....same complaint. Family practice doc checked him over and drew blood to check blood sugar...all okay. Next day...same thing. Called home to be picked up around 10 am.

Took him to a pediatrician who did a complete exam, checking motor function, detailed questions, etc. All seemed normal..said it could be migranes, but those don't usually come and go so frequently. Gave us a scrip for nausea medication that hasn't really helped. When he feels good, he is his old self. Says it comes on in spells and a shower takes it away. Took 5 showers yesterday (not something he normally does).

Sleeps well through the night and has never actually thrown up. No diahrreah, no fever, no congestion, etc. Just his assertion that "another one is coming on..I"m going to take a shower". Sent him to school this morning despite his claim that he's sick (after about 9 hours peaceful of sleep). Wife standing by to pick him up if needed. I think the school nurse also is questioning his sincerity.

Next step will be another trip to the Pediatrician. Possible referral to a Neurologist, MRI, etc. I'm concerned that he's simply faking. When he's having an "attack" I can still make him laugh, although he fights it. He's a big kid for his age and insists no one is picking on him in school, etc. It comes on randomly. He'll feel good for about 90 minutes and then will ask to lay down or take a shower...doesn't feel well (headache/nausea).

You hear so many stories, I hate to be firm with him only to find out something is really wrong. Open to suggestions. Do his symptoms make any sense? Why would a shower make it better? He's missed the entire first week of school and we remain baffled.

Thanks.

Your kids start school in early august? Dayum....the kids around here don't start until mid sept.

Is this something your son has done before? No one knows your child like you do. If my 9yr old was doing this we would be at the dr everyday until they figured it out. He does not complain at all.

As far as the shower: I personally take showers when not feeling well. The hot water relaxes your body so the pain lessens. He may have figured this out.

Good luck with this.

Maybe he's just jerking-off in the shower?


Anyway, doctors are expensive.
Spank him every time he feels sick. Pretty soon, he will stop feeling sick.
Worked for my parents... I haven't missed a day of school or work since 3rd grade.

I guess my tact would be to try and find out what's bothering him. Most kids fake sickness because they are trying to avoid something.

But get him checked out in case he's telling the truth.

Is there something at school he wants to avoid?

A bully?

A certain teacher?

Faced with something they don't want to be near, kids will find a way to get out of the situation.

My 9 year old daughter is a hypochondriac, but even she would not be able to keep up something like this for more than a day.

Looking for attention, from the sound of it. Or trying to avoid something as has been mentioned.

I call BS.

Just a minute. When a kid really fears something, they can get themselves worked up to the point of manifesting physical symptoms.

I'd ask him if something was bothering him at school, and not take no for an answer. He may be ashamed of whatever is bothering him and reluctant to talk about it.

Maybe he just hates school.

I hate to go here but:

Taking a shower....trying to 'get clean'? Make sure no one is going where they shouldn't go with him. I think rape victims take a lot of showers.

I REALLY apologize for bringing this up but it needs to be ruled out.

That was my first thought. Hope we're wrong.

That's what I was thinking as well...I was just dancing around the subject. That is something severe enough for a kid to get sick when they think about being in the situation again.

I sincerely hope this is not the case and your kid just has a minor bug.

my thinking would be to monitor blood pressure throughout the day and see if there is any correlation with the nausea.

i can't imagine dreaming up the shower thing as part of an elaborate ruse to stay home just to avoid schoolwork. as a parent this makes me think there is something (such as mentioned by legion and dr dogface or just plain illness) causing it.

any changes in routine around the time this started? different school, friends, diet, etc etc?

Agree with a few above. You might think about getting a good child psych consult rather than neurologist. Though with kids it takes awhile to earn trust.

Lacking any compelling social issues, I would assume that this is medical and pursue it vigorously if it fails to quickly resolve.

+1

Maybe he has developed an allergy. Mine came on when I was his age.

I also struggle with severe headaches and nausea. Just had an MRI on Friday. Might be the right thing to do for your son.

Can you relate his feeling ill to either proximity to eating or perhaps waiting to long to eat?

You need Markus.

i reccomend against that. highly.

I'm absolutely sure this is not the case. We're just coming off of summer vacation. Kids are home and my wife is a stay-at-home mom. We live in a rural lake community where most of the neighbors are senior citizens and the kids are NEVER out of my wife's reach.

Anyway, he stayed home today and my wife took him to the Ped again. She examined him for any neurological issues and is coming up empty. Said she would consult with a neurologist and may request a CT or MR, but was non-committal as I don't think she feels he's got any serious issues. At best, she thinks he may be having migranes, but this remains unclear.

She told him to go to school tomorrow. He loves school, is a great student and has lots of friends he was looking forward to seeing when school started. We had a long talk about possible bullying, teachers he's afraid of, etc., and he insists there are no issues.

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions. He's a good kid and although I think there's some drama being added, I suspect he's really not feeling well. We played cards as a family last night (he loves that) and left the table saying he didn't feel well 10 minutes after we started. Normally he'd be wanting to play for hours.

Thanks for any and all comments. Really appreciated.

Good. It could be as simple as allergies or a middle ear infection or as complicated as a neurological problem. Stay after it, particularly if he's not improving.

That's a good "tell."

Odds are his issue is genuine.

Not a 'Doc' but two kids ages 8 and 6. Similar symptoms. Quick visit to the doctor, two x-rays and some Miralax solved the issue.

On a slightly less somber note, are 9yr olds interested in girls yet, and do they have the wherewithall to express that, you know, when they're alone...?

Also very glad it's not what some of us worried about. Pursue this to the end. Likely has an easy fix. :)

I had my first girlfriend at age 6. By 11 i was already rounding second hard on my way to third.

Don't 11 year old girls still look like 11 year old boys?

Body wise, sure. But the faces most definitely do not.

yeah but you and me , we're sluts!;)

There's no denying that man. :D

Helicobacter pylori?
 

Mike,

I am going through the same thing with my 11 year old and it is gutting not being able to help him.

One thing we were hoping it was is Helicobacter pylori. One of the most common infections in the world that can cause nausea and a feeling of general unwellness.

I say we were 'hoping' beacuse it is easily cured with a course of antibiotics.

Good luck,
Scott

I've read about similar situations before and after weeks of tests it finally turned out to be Lyme disease.

My mom has that.

Difficult. Let me see if I understand the information correctly. You have a 9 year old boy, that previously has been feeling well and with no history of any serious disease? From one day to another he develops intermittent periods feeling nausea and dizziness? No other symptoms and feeling well in between? Claims he likes to go to school.

Pediatrician checked him twice, including certain blood work and neurologically. Coming out empty.

Statistically (having ruled out psychological grounds) I would guess it is infectious. There are a lot of infections that will give this symptoms, not least viral. Given that the symptoms do not progress, I would probably give it a few days to see if it disappears. However if progressive symptoms and/or other symptoms added, further investigations are necessary.

Markus...for the most part you have the symptoms correct, although it's sometimes difficult to nail it down from his descriptions. I wouldn't say he experiences dizzyness, but he says when it comes on his head gets "cold". Go figure. I take it as good news that it doesn't seem to be getting any worse with time, and will heed your advice. Hopefully it's just something that needs to run its course.

He seems to be feeling good this morning...so, off to school. Hoping for the best.

Asked my mom about her lyme disease symptoms, they don't match those of your kid's Choco.

How is the little guy doing today?

Was in great spirits last night and went to school today. Freaking out and crying by 10 am. My wife met with his teacher, the school nurse and the principal. They believe it's anxiety...said they've seen it before. They offered him quiet time when he's feeling bad and offered to let him sit quietly and read during PE for a few days. He liked that and is determined to make it work tomorrow. He really seems to want to get this behind him.

My wife called his Pediatrician about it and she seemed to agree although didn't offer the suggestion herself. Nothing she sees indicates that he's sick, including lab work. He shows no symptoms lately when he's home with the family (no more showers). Seems to be a school/psychological thing. We're really at a loss in terms of how to handle it as we've never dealt with this sort of thing. The team at his elementary school are really going over the top to help him through this. More than I would expect from a public school. Taking each day as it comes, but for now, we're going to give it a bit more time before sedating him and doing an MRI (would prefer to avoid the gadolinium injection as well...bad stuff).

Thanks for all the comments and follow-up. If it doesn't resolve itself with another week and focus from his teachers, we'll go back down the diagnostic imaging road.

I know that every person presents their symptoms differently, but we had something wrong with our 11 yo a couple of months ago, and he showed several of the symptoms you mentioned.

We got a diagnosis of "mono" (the old kissing disease!). I was a little surprised, but evidently it's not that uncommon and it's plenty contagious.

It's worth a question to the doc....

Good luck and keep us posted.

Eric