Please help, worried about son

Hi, everyone. I’m completely terrified right now. My 11 year old son, for the last month and a half has been vomiting once or twice a week, at different times of day, and says he has headaches occasionally. Some background. He plays football, and before all this started, he got knocked down at practice and hit his head on the ground pretty hard. He was very shaken up and cried some, but we didn’t go to the doctor At the time because he seemed fine, and he had a helmet on. He also has pretty severe anxiety about school. Last night he vomited for the first time in about a week and an anxiety episode about a school project preceded it. During his anxiety attack he said his stomach hurt and he went to throw up. He said he did not have a headache. We have been to the doctor and he looked him over and did some neurological/balance tests, looked in his eyes, in the office and sent us on our way. We even went to the ER once and the doctor there also did those same tests and didn’t think a CAT scan was needed, but that he might have post concussion syndrome. I’m just so worried that he might have a brain tumor. Would the vomiting be mostly in the morning and every day though with that? Could anxiety cause these symptoms? Please help.

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Originally Posted by atm4660

Hi, everyone. I’m completely terrified right now. My 11 year old son, for the last month and a half has been vomiting once or twice a week, at different times of day, and says he has headaches occasionally. Some background. He plays football, and before all this started, he got knocked down at practice and hit his head on the ground pretty hard. He was very shaken up and cried some, but we didn’t go to the doctor At the time because he seemed fine, and he had a helmet on. He also has pretty severe anxiety about school. Last night he vomited for the first time in about a week and an anxiety episode about a school project preceded it. During his anxiety attack he said his stomach hurt and he went to throw up. He said he did not have a headache. We have been to the doctor and he looked him over and did some neurological/balance tests, looked in his eyes, in the office and sent us on our way. We even went to the ER once and the doctor there also did those same tests and didn’t think a CAT scan was needed, but that he might have post concussion syndrome. I’m just so worried that he might have a brain tumor. Would the vomiting be mostly in the morning and every day though with that? Could anxiety cause these symptoms? Please help.

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My son had migraines at around that age. They didn't always present as a bad headache. Sometimes it was the nauseous thing & sometimes throwing up, or his vision seemed off.. Did your doctor mention migraines? My son played soccer & his episodes usual came when he was either anxious or had not drank enough water. I'd ask the doctor about migraines maybe? I'm sorry yall are going through this. We worry about our kiddos I know. [emoji1317][emoji177]

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Anxiety can definitely cause these symptoms. I really struggled in 7th grade. I vomited almost every morning before school. I also had frequent headaches.

I raised five children. Several of them went through periods where they had stomach aches and/or headaches. I don’t remember a lot of vomiting, except when they were sick. Nevertheless, I remember going to the doctor several times to have them checked out.

Maybe you can try doing some things to ease your son’s anxiety and see if he feels better?

I hope all is well soon. We love our kids so much. Worrying about them take anxiety to a whole new level.

Best,
Debbie

Thank you for your replies. Yes, he is seeing a counselor starting next week to work on his anxiety. I hope they can help him feel better.

From what (very) little I know, the sort of puking you get from a brain tumor is not garden variety puking. But!

You report your kid plays football and has recently taken a direct, and hard, blow to the head
You also report he's stressed about school

These two things each seem very much like they should be immediately evaluated by professionals
I think you know this, too -- and the brain cancer worry is what you've come up with to divert stress away from these two real things that probably need some attention
So - strongly suggest you fully address the obvious things head on (no pun intended), first.

Genuine best wishes to you and your kid!

ER is for emergencies only. They wont run a full diagnostic on him unless they believe there is a direct risk to his life. That's why you should book an appointment and talk to your GP about your sons symptoms. Whether it's anxiety or anything else your GP is the person that can help you.

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Yes, he has been seen by two doctors and is seeing a counselor next week. Thanks for your reply!

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Originally Posted by atm4660

Yes, he has been seen by two doctors and is seeing a counselor next week. Thanks for your reply!

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That gives me more confidence to say that this is indeed very likely a case of anxiety. Counseling is a very good first step to battle it. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your son. Good luck!

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I fully understand intense worry about children. I did worry about my daughter having brain tumor various times.
In your son's case guess it is concussion. Vomiting is a classic symptom.
Also, my daughter once vomited because of severe anxiety, as did my mom. So vomiting because of anxiety happens. Could be both these causes for your son. Hopefully he feels better soon. Nothing can be done with concussion now, just let him rest and limit screen time.
And anxiety needs to be addressed asap to ease his life
Hugs!