Somthing going on with my son...

Nurses General Nursing

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Alright, first off I know nobody on here is allowed to give out medical advice, and I understand that - it's not what I'm looking for. If a Staff Member still finds this inappropriate feel free to delete it.

Over the weekend we let my 10 year old indulge himself in way too long a play period with his video games. He started complaining of neck pain on Sunday.

Monday morning we noticed every so often he would roll his eyes up and to the right involuntarily.

Yesterday it was severe, happening every 5 or 10 minutes. He says they "itch" when he rolls them.

Anyway, I am not wondering what is wrong - I know it's out of everyone's scope to diagnose something like this.

What I do want to know is if I should be taking him straight to an Optomotrist first or a Physician. We do not have insurance. So it's important that - as alarming as this is - we be as frugal as we can when trying to get him to the right specialist.

I'd go see the doc first.

They're both doctors, just have different titles and preparation. Which one are you recommending?

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Specializes in Army Medic.

On a side note, I was very adamant with my wife when she took him in to make sure she talks to the optometrist alone after treating our son and she did not - to see if he thinks he might be faking it for attention, ect.

She also did not do a few other things I recommended, that I felt were crucial to making sure the optometrist was taking this seriously.

I'll be attending the meeting with the pediatrician, and I'll make darn sure we don't leave until we are 100% satisfied with care given.

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Not to alarm you, but video games can trigger seizures. I think you should start with his regular doctor. An optometrist won't want to do anything.

I don't know what state you live in, but your son likely qualifies for free , state-subsidized health insurance. That might be an option to explore for near future.

Good luck.

my son rolled his eyes like that, when he was around 4-5.

i found, through observation, that he was tired.

once i fought with him like the dickens, to rest/nap, the problem stopped.

but he didn't complain of itching (is there any symptomology of tearing, redness or him rubbing his eyes?).

let us know what happens.

leslie:)

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Specializes in Emergency, CCU, SNF.
They're both doctors, just have different titles and preparation. Which one are you recommending?

He said "Optometrist or physician", I know they're both docs, I meant not the optometrist.:)

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Specializes in Army Medic.

So we took him to pediatrics today.

The appointment with the doctor lasted less than 30 seconds (I timed it with my watch).

My wife mentioned that we had taken him to see an optometrist and everything checked out fine, and his reply was "So why are you here wasting my time?"

I could tell from the start that he was a crap doctor and had little to no interest.

In total he spent maybe 5 seconds looking at my son before saying "It's just a tic, ignore it."

While this is all good and fine, and I'm relieved if it's just a tic. He did not check all sorts of things that I felt he should have.

I could tell by the way he was acting that arguing would be pointless, he was short, rude, and uncaring. We're taking him to see a second pediatrics, and then a third, and a fourth, until we find one that will at least spend 5 minutes with us explaining everything involved with tics and what to watch out for.

Is that out of line? I mean seriously, his only assessment of my son was "Look straight forward for 5 seconds" before making a diagnosis. No vitals taken, no testing for normal pupil dilation...nothing.

I realize as parents we can be over bearing, and I don't want to give my son a complex taking him from doctor to doctor - so what are your thoughts on this? Should we just leave it be and say it's a tic, or see another doctor until we get one that actually explains it to us?

I made no mention of having previous medical background to him - I wanted to see if he would explain what it means to us for a child to have tics, he did not, even when asked.

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Socks, well at least you know you can do almost all the same assessments yourself in order to monitor...

Your neuro/cms, temp, B/P, and your physical assessments for meningitis, etc. while you wait for the physician world to "step up" to the plate.

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Specializes in CCU, ER, Psych.

Socks,

What your son is doing is not normal and may not be related to the video games. If it is truly involuntary and it continues to occur you need to take him to the emergency room so they can do a CT scan. It is perferable to take him to ER when the symptoms are occurring or as soon as possible after. Some other signs to watch for:

1. During these episodes, can he respond to you by looking at you, turning his head towards you, or speaking?

2. Is he immediately aware of what is going on around him after an episode?

3. Does his vision become blurry or changed after an episode?

4. Does his speech become erratic or slurred after an episode?

5. Is he running a fever?

6. Any nausea or vomiting?

7. Is his balance and ability to walk normally intact afterwards?

There are lots of other things to watch for. He could be having seizures, transient ischemic attack (mini strokes), tumor, arterio-venous malformation, etc. I know money is a concern for you, but the symptoms you described are serious enough to be considered an emergency. Please keep us informed on how he's doing because we care.

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Specializes in L&D; GI; Fam Med; Home H; Case mgmt.

DBS, I have to ask you a question. You say "he was short, rude... " etc - why would you include his height in your evaluation of his behavior? I'm not being snarky, I'm seriously asking. It struck me as odd - it stood out. If you would, explain why you felt the need to include that.

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"short"...as in irritable, quick to respond, and tempermental.....not as in height :)

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I think the OP meant that the MD was verbally short (terse/curt) in speaking with him.

JOJO beat me to it :p

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Specializes in L&D; GI; Fam Med; Home H; Case mgmt.
"short"...as in irritable, quick to respond, and tempermental.....not as in height :)

Oh, HAHAHA!! DUH-HUH, don't mind me, I'm bloody brain-dead after working all day and driving teenagers to a retreat an hour away (and back). Wow. I can't even believe I missed that!! Thanks. :eek:

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DBS, I have to ask you a question. You say "he was short, rude... " etc - why would you include his height in your evaluation of his behavior? I'm not being snarky, I'm seriously asking. It struck me as odd - it stood out. If you would, explain why you felt the need to include that.

:rolleyes:

I don't believe the OP was referring to the physician's physical height in this remark. "Short" is an adjective that may be used to describe someone's behavior. As in, they are not very talkative, brief, dismissive, do not elaborate, etc....

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