question for a friend

[pingu]

HI Everyone.

I am in touch with a mum in america who has 2 children, her youngest has autism and her eldest is wheelchair bound through disabiliy.

 

She sent me a message today asking for advice, but sadly i cant give her any as i have never come across this problem before. I was hoping you might be able to help? I thought at first her lad may be starting with a touch of tourettes, but on the other hand i dont know. This was her post ... (she doesnt mind me posting it here, so i hope this is ok)

 

Hi there, i hope you are going okay. We are okay here. I really had a question to ask you.. Colby has started having throat spasms, and panic attacks because of it. Have any of your kids had this problem? I just feel so bad for Colby, he is sad all the time, and is refusing to eat. He has lost 3lbs just this week, and is very larthagic and weak. I think the spasm are are being triggered by the lithium he is on, but they get worse when he start focusing on the spasms. He spends hours crying about dying in his sleep. I just want him to be happy again, and i dont know really what to do. Every relaxation technique i have tried doesnt help. If you have any advice to give me that would be great. These spasms actually block his airway completely and it is scary for all of us. Get back to me when you can,

 

 

Any advice i will send back to her. kindly recieved.

Thank you in advance.

shaz

[pumpkinpie]

I dont know anything about this except if he is having symptoms to go to the doctor asap. He could be having an allergic reaction, or could have devloped epilepsy etc.

 

Sorry I am all for if in doubt ask a doctor.

[aro]

Could it be whooping cough? I had the jab but got a mutated form that caused these spasms and could not breath (terrifying!) The dr gave me a relaxant (something like diazipam, but was over 20yrs ago! ) to break the spasms. Definately time to see dr though!

 

A x

[jb1964]

Hi Pingu,

 

My daughter had these just after she started comp. (Yr7), by the end of October (after 6 weeks in school) she wasn't eating anything at all (other than Strawberry Build up) and had several investigations (x-rays, barium etc) before being referred to CAHMS which initiated the assessments leading to the diagnosis of ASD/AS - obviously during this time she did not attend school or leave the house (not that she does much anyway) as she could hardly walk around the house - even climbing the stairs could cause her to nearly pass out as she was so weak.

 

It was extremely frightening for her and us and totally frustrating as a parent to watch your child become a complete bag of bones (she was tiny prior to this and had been under a Paed since birth til 11 - because of failure to thrive) and there seem to be no answer at all - it seemed to take forever before someone even listened to there being a serious problem - it wasn't until her weight reached such a critical level to being admitted (for Anorexia!!) to hospital for drip feeding that anything was done.

 

Obviously at the end of it all (after months of work with CAHMS) she did get better although it was a very very slow painful process - and the bottom of it all was anxieties and stresses that had developed from the change in primary to comprehensive plus the beginning of puberty on top and started the spasms in the first place.

 

But as you say once they become aware of the problem it becomes such a fear that they can't let go and we too had the fear of going to sleep and dying and we had weeks and weeks of her sleeping next to us crying because she was so scared and she obviously then became so scared that she was going to die because she wasn't eating - it was like a vicious circle that could not be broken - but once they are focused on something it is just impossible for them to reason it away.

 

I think he should really see someone before this develops into something that takes hold.

 

Hope she gets some help soon.

Take care,

Jb

Edited April 16, 2007 by jb1964