Wish I could switch my brain off!

[Mell1988]

Hi there,

Just need to rant a bit so please feel free to ignore :-)

I won't bore you with the details but basically I have anxiety relating to my son's health.

At the moment we're having a "rough" patch in that in the last couple of months he's had a couple of colds followed by tonsillitis and then last week an ear infection!

All relatively common childhood things (he's 3).

However, I just wish I could stop thinking ahead and trying to consider every possibility - my brain just doesn't stop ticking and thinking "What if xxxx, then what if yyyyy and what if zzzzz happens ?"


ARGH!! I explained it to my husband and he said it must be an awful way to live - tell me about it!

Look at the time - can't sleep as my son was a bit peaky tonight and we may have to go back to the docs as his ear infection could be on the return. Added anxiety is that it's the bank holiday weekend and our docs don't open until Tuesday again so it would mean taking him through to the hospital to the urgent care centre.

Whilst my brain is busy running through this working out what we should do - my husband calmly just says "Well, he is OK now so we'll just keep on top of the paracetomol and see how he goes then take him to the docs on Tuesday if we're still concerned"

Now why can't I think like that ? Instead of "Well we may have to take him to the urgent care centre, what if he gets worse during the night, what if he gets worse over the weekend, what if etc. etc. etc. etc."

ARGH! (Again)

[linjane]

Morning Mell,

We will not ignore you!!!don't even think that.

Hope you eventually got some sleep. I have a 3year old (well, he is four, at the end of May) and that age group seem to catch everything going. I think people with anxiety etc.. fit into a 'THEM AND US' category, THEM being people who don't suffer with anxiety, therefore are immune to worrying about most things and US who are caring considerate people, who unfortunately, tend to worry too much! You are not on your own in your ways of thinking at all. I get sooooo paranoid if either of my kids bang their heads..what if....what if....what if....where as everyone else will say that they are fine!

Work through with how your son is at the moment and as a mom you will instinctively know if you need to take him to out of hours docs or Aand E, trust your instinct and you shouldn't go far wrong. I am sure, you will know, deep down, if you are panicing or whether he really needs to be seen. I have suffered with anxiety for years but do manage to rationalise (sometimes with the help of my hubby - ONE OF THEM!) and have so far, not ended up at the hospital or docs for anything unless it was necessary.

Take care of yourself and your little boy and please feel free to PM me if you need any more help. There will be lots of people on this site who will give you the support you need.
Linda.x

[Mell1988]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply and PM - much appreciated.

I did get a bit of sleep but still feel rough this morning.

My son is not bad - I know deep down that he probably doesn't need to be seen urgently although I do think in the back of my mind that there is still some problem there.

His temperature seems OK this morning (it was up last night) but he seems quite queasy (he's been like this off and on for a while now which coincided with a cold he got at the end of January so not sure if the nausea is to do with the cold then he got tonsillitis and now an ear infection!!) and he was like this last year when he had an ear infection too.

The doc last week gave us some nasal drops and told us to keep on with the paracetomol but I do know that some ear infections need antibiotics to clear them up - just wondering if this is the case with him and that it won't go completely until then. He had just finished penicillin for his tonsillitis so don't know if that's why the doc didn't immediately reach for the antibiotic.

I think we will play it by ear (scuse the pun) and see how he goes - my instinct does tell me that perhaps there is something there but realistically I know that whilst his temperature is stable and he is reasonably happy in himself that it doesn't probably warrant a trip to the urgent centre.

It is just typical that it is a long bank holiday weekend and the normal surgery isn't open until Tuesday :-(

I will reply to your PM too when I get some more time as hubby wants us all to go out now to get some fresh air and distractions (seems like a good idea otherwise I will just fret).

Take Care & Thanks so much

[linjane]

Hi Mell,
No problem. I think with your son and how he is feeling, is very typical of loads of different bugs going round at the moment. My little boy is on antiobiotics for an ear infection too, he always seems prone to them after a cold, whereas my daughter never suffered with them and also, before that, my little boy had a cold, followed by two days of diarrohea(sorry if anyones just eaten:D) and high temperature which lasted for about two days. Then, last week, my daughter was sick and complaining of stomach ache which again lasted for a few days. I think you're doing the right things, but if you are in any doubt you could always ring NHS direct for more advise.
Take care,
Speak to you soon, I'm off to work in a bit.
Linda.x

[Mell1988]

Hi Linda,

Thanks for your message. I'm pleased yesterday is over as it wasn't one of my better days.

My son seems a bit better though which is good - we didn't take him to the docs as his temperature seems OK now. I rang NHS direct and they said they weren't overly concerned and to take him to the docs when it re-opened (unless he gets worse of course in the meantime) and get his ear checked just to make sure the infection is clearing and that he doesn't need antibiotics.

Fortunately this is only the third ear infection my son has had (he's just over 3 now) so I guess we're quite lucky - but he seems to be having a rough patch since Christmas but by the sounds of other parents it seems alot of people are in the same boat. My friend has two little ones and she has had tonsillitis, ear infections, colds, burst eardrums, tummy bugs and last week her two little ones picked up rotavirus which resulted in the youngest being hospitalised for 2 days due to dehydration. Poor thing is exhausted looking after two little ones who can't even stomach calpol - and to top all of that her husband was diagnosed with leukaemia last year (it is under control at the moment with medication but the last thing he needs is to pick up rotavirus and all these other bugs too).

I guess I should think myself lucky I suppose.

Trouble is my son is very allergy prone - he had eczema from being a month old, followed by food allergies which he still has - he also started with hayfever last year which was a nightmare so I'm not looking forward to the summer. He also suffered from reflux and was terribly sickly for about 18 months which I found incredibly stressful and frustrating.

I've always been a worrier but the reflux has left me very anxious even now - particularly as he has been a bit sicky again this last couple of months and I think it just brings back very unpleasant memories and I just can't handle him being like this because I dont think I could get through it if he started suffering reflux again. I guess we were even lucky with reflux as he never suffered the pain and sleeplessness with it that alot of children too - he was just very sicky (probably connected to his food allergies to) and he only really had to have medication to thicken his milk and not lots of other things like some children do.

I was about to say "I hope today is a better day" but I'll rephrase that "Today WILL BE a better day". I'm off work until Tuesday and I really don't want to spend the time being anxious - and I know the only person that can stop it is me.

OK, so my son is perhaps a bit peaky but I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it and the main thing is he's happy and has fun with his mammy and daddy while we're all off. It hit home yesterday while my son was running around playing and I kept stopping him to check his temperature, look at his throat, ears etc. that I suddenly realised that if I carry on as I am I will start giving him major hang-ups about his health - and that last thing I want is to pass my anxiety onto him.

Take Care