Daughter with Strange "Episodes"

Ask your doctor for a referral to see a specialist...you know your daughter better than anyone...if you are concerned go with your gut. Get a second opinion.

Hi,

Anytime a child is sick, whether it is explainable or not, is emotionally taxing. And to go through a bunch of testing is also difficult, but often a relief in the end. I ag4ree with others that you should take note of your daughter's diet and stress level to see if anything could be affecting her. I'm writing to relate my own experience with my daughter (almost 5), and although it may seem out of sync with other responses, I'd liek to try to help.

My daughter has often had similiar "episodes". She wakes up in the morning, either vomiting or feeling not-so-well. She often has a headache, spikes a fever after vomiting some, sometimes accompanied by diarehia (sp?). Her problem, best as we can determine, is catching a draft while sleeping. She often kicks of the covers and this occurs mostly in summer when it may be cool at night. It is several hours, or roughly half of the day, before she can keep something down. I only give here tylenol. I know this may sound strange, but it is true. A pharmacist looked at my quizzically when I tried to ask what I could give her to help her after "her belly caught a draft." She once had a bad episode after drinking a large glass of milk before bed, then in the middle of the night got out of bed, laid down under the ceiling fan, uncovered, and slept till I found her in the early morning. She said she was too hot at night, but her belly suffered then.

We have solved this by wrapping her abdomen with a lightweight blanket at night. Also, if the vomit is yellow after food has dissappeared from it(apologize for grossness), that is a good indication that she caught a draft.

I also know this problem well as I suffered much this past winter from similiar episodes.

I wish you the best.

Has she been tested for Lyme? There are two types of tests, one is more accurate then the other. Doctors usually do the later because it is cheaper. and quicker. check out nhlyme.org for more info!

Hi T., wow this would really scare me also! I am studying to become a nurse and there are sooo many things out there this could be attributed to the one thing I would suggest to you is to keep on your pediatrician to find a definitive answer, you are your child's best advocate. Also keep a diary of what your child eats and when these episodes occur, how long they last, what her temp is, ask her what she feels like, make sure her vomit doesnt include any blood ( I know gross). There may be a pattern that you don't realize until you see it in a diary. Good luck.

Go back to your pediatrician until you find the answer, or get a new pediatrician who is willing to help you diagnose and treat your daughter. This is a medical question for doctors. It sounds serious and worth getting resolved professionally. You may need to see specialists. Diagnosing over the internet and message boards is risky, it could give you a false sense of security. There are lots of really good pediatricians out there who will not chalk something so disturbing up to a migraine and leave it at that. Be an advocate for your daughter and either push the pediatrician you have to dig deeper or send you to a specialist, or get a new one and push the new one too until you get a satisfactory resolution.

Dear T.,
I feel for you. The episodes would bother any parent. Reading this, (with no experience, sorry) my first thought was to now check your air quality in your home. Just a thought - good luck and let us know if you find the problem.
L.

Wow... this is so weird. A customer in my shop just told me the other day about when his niece was 5 or so and had the same symptoms. It turns out that one of her kidneys wasn't growing. Weird, but true. Have them check out her kidney functions. It could be what's happening here. Good luck!

I am sorry to hear your daughter has to deal with this. I would definately keep on your pedi about it. Its def. not normal. If you can suggest to your pedi that maybe she should see a G.I. specialist...... It doesnt sound viral if it is random occurances.
Good luck and I hope you have it figured out soon.

I am so sorry your daughter has to go through this. This is very similar to what my own daughter went (is going)through for the last 13 years.

It started at age 7 right after a bout of chicken pox that was followed by Mono. She would feel 'dizzy' a lot and would get weird fevers. After 6 months she had a grand mal seizure and for the next year was poked and prodded by every doctor we could think of. Finally, after another seizure, a neurologist saw her and within 5 minutes diagnosed migraines.

with medications, we were able to do okay but when she started college, things went bad, fast. she started to have Migraines that lasted weeks, and petty mal seizures daily. sometimes every few minutes. To wind it down, She is allergic to MSG, and many artificial preservatives.

When she took those out of her diet, she had to cook her own meals in her tiny dorm room on a illegal hot plate, the massive migraines disappeared and no more 'twitches or limbs moving of thier own accord'

She has to make everything from scratch, nothing prepared, cured, aged, breaded, no cold cuts, cheeses, yogurt, ....

She is a different person. She is well, happy and able to deal with the world. These chemicals were affecting her brain and could have been causing damage.

Please, For your daughter, try two things, change her diet to no preservatives and no MSG. then, have her allergy tested to see if there is anything else she might be sensitive to. At least this change can't hurt her.

Good luck

Hello there. I looked to see where you lived and you live quite near me. I am close - in New London, CT area - to where you are. And there has been a lot of this type of virus going around this area, with both kids and adults, and this might have gotten to your area too. So although I agree with some of the other mothers, you should check it out, but it also might be as simple as a virus or stomach flu going around. The symptoms here in CT were the same... It happened to me a few times, just like your daughter. I felt better, then it returned and I felt sick again. Hope this helped.

I'm not familiar with CVS or abdominal migraines but am wondering if MSG isn't possibly playing a role in this?

As someone who is also hypersensitive to MSG (symptoms ranging from nausea to heart palpitations), I can tell you that it is hidden everywhere! Most commonly it is found in chinese food, but it could also be hidden in other foods found in your cupboard that are not labeled as such. This is totally allowable by the FDA because MSG is classified as a flavor enhancer, rather than a preservative. I've had reactions to foods with autolyzed yeast extract, torrula yeast, even natural flavors! Don't be fooled either, some of these products are found in the natural section of your grocery store.

Here's an eye opening link... http://www.truthinlabeling.org/nomsg.html

You may be surprised that MSG is in more things than just chinese food.. Please read this article from the NY times to find out more. thanks

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/dining/05glute.html?_r=...

im not exactly sure about the fever part however my little cousin had some similar symptoms when she was young, she had pinworm a few times, which is very common and very contagious, it even caused her to have asthma. Maybe just to rule it out have her tested for all the parasites, you never know. And dont let her doc say no, alot of times unless youve traveled overseas they dont want to bother with the testing. Some docs seem to thin you can only catch parasites in poor, foreign countries. Good luck

My husband has something called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome or CVS. It is normally a childhood disease but can affect adults. Episodes vary from person to person but it is repeated vomiting for hours or even days. Your pediatrician was on the right track calling it abdominal migraines (if it is CVS). Once the episode is over, there is a little recovery time (depending on how severe) and then back to normal. My husband was getting sick as much as 2x a week sometimes. We found a doctor that gave the right meds and now he has not gotten an episode in over a month. You can ask your pediatrician if she has heard of this. Not too many doctors have. Email me if you have more questions and good luck.

Your experience struck a chord in me. When he was about 10, in fifth grade, my son entered a totally new situation in school, going from one teacher to four teachers who each had unique teaching styles. He began to have migraines, often one or two a week, when he would turn to me and say, "Mom, I don't feel--," and vomit into, for example, my shoes. Recovery required darkness and silence, as well as ibuprofen if he could keep it down, for at least several hours, and sometimes a day off of school. Usually he would just sort of pass out after throwing up. I did not check his fever, because I believe some fevers are helpful to eradicate an infection and thus should be left for a little bit... Anyway, his pediatrician, who diagnosed migraines, also suggested that stress was causing them. After much thought, prayer, and discussion, my husband and I decided to bring him home to homeschool him again (he had been homeschooled with his siters through grade 3). Immediately, he stopped having migraines. Since then (he is now 17) I think we can count his episodes on one hand. He did return to "school" in the eighth grade and now is a junior in the local high school, doing pretty well!

I hope this is not confusing, but helpful. Some kids are more sensitive to the stress of this age than others. Our son has ADHD, diagnosed at age 7 offically, but he is not medicated, very smart, lean and athletic like me, plays excellent golf, and is quite distractable! He is the youngest of three, having two older sisters: the eldest (22) never attended "school", got her GED, married and has a son, and now is ready to take college courses; the other (20) is a junior at college and on the Dean's List. Each is unique and wonderful, and I absolutely loved having them all at home. We sacrificed monetarily, but both my (now ex) husband and I agree that it was definitely worth it. My children still thank me for their laughter-filled, relaxed, yet stimulating childhood at home ...