4.47am - cant sleep for worry.

[Meewah]

Hi

I have been awake since 2am as I am worrying about my 11 year old son. He has mainly been clear of asthma for 5 years now and after a summer cold he has developed a wheeze and the doctor has pescribed him oral steroids.

The problem is I keep ruminating about the worse scenario. I cannot be calm in his pressence and worry that he feels I am not there for him. I am sure he is scared but the last thing he needs is a dad that is even more anxious. Why does this feeling of dread not go away? Why can I not have a visit to the docs that does not scare the life out of me? I cant help catastrophising.


Can anyone help my nerves?

Mee

[josephine]

Hi Mee,

I had a similar night to you. My son is 13 and takes minimal medication to control his asthma, bu t recently he has been getting a bit tight chested, especially at night. Last night he had to take his blue inhaler and have another dose of his brown. He felt better then.

He went to sleep but i worried like mad. We have rushed him to hospital a few times when he was younger and i hated seeing him so poorly. I never want him to be like that again. My husband wasnt here last night ,i was alone with my son, so i kept running through my head what i would do if i needed to get to the hospital, call a cab, ring a friend etc.It was horrible.

Anyway i fell asleep eventually and when the day came i felt so much better.
I think he feels a little breathless sometimes because of his hayfever and im sure your son has just been affected by the cold he had.

Im sure with the right medication your son will be fine.

It is very hard not to worry about our children. I fuss over my son all the time and when he is poorly i continually ask him how he is feeling. I drive him nuts. I have a habit of over dramatising things sometimes, and worrying until i feel sick. So i know alittle of how you feel.

Have you someone you can talk to? Sometimes it helps to unload onto someone else. Also they can give us a different perspective on things and help us see things more rationally. I have my mum and friend who i know will help me when i need to be strong for my son.

I think worrying about our children comes with the job description. you wouldnt be normal if you didnt worry.


LOve Josephine.

[Meewah]

Thanks Josephine.

I was just going through my old threads and found this one. My son had another attack. The doctor put it down to stress of moving home. He is now on brown inhaler and blue if needed. We have also got a peak flow meter which makes me feel a lot better now as it has removed the guess work.

I feel because I am so helpless when it comes to illness as I know it is out of my control. I feel the rewards of having children in the first place outweighs the worry they give you.

Hope your son is better now.

Mee