Strange Night time issue -please help

[momof3boys]

Hi, I used to be on here a lot for my oldest son who has ADHD. But, he's become very manageable with Adderall, so I haven't been on here much. This post is about my middle child, who is now 4 years old, who has been somewhere in between a easy child and a difficult child.

My 4 year old has been having horrible fits at night, every night for about a week. First, when it's time to go to bed, as he's starting to fall asleep he starts complaining that his hands feel too hot. This escalates to complete meltdown. The whole time he's squirming, kicking, hitting himself in the head, and yelling "my hands are hot, my hands are hot, help me". It takes him 10 minutes to a few hours for him to calm down and eventually fall asleep after he's completely exhausted himself (and the rest of us). He then usually wakes up again in the middle of the night, and it starts again.

We've tried lotion, giving him a bath, having him run cold water over his hands, having him hold bags of ice wrapped in paper towels. Nothing is working. I think he's just in a very strange cycle that he can't get out of.

Any ideas? Have any of you seen this kind of thing with your kids?

I thought that if anyone could be help me, it would be you all.

Thanks so much!

--Pam

 

[BusynMember]

First, I'd take him to his pediatrician to see if there is a medical reason for this. Then, if not, I'd take him to a neuropsychologist or Psychiatrist for an evaluation. If there is nothing medically wrong with him, he is showing high anxiety (which can cause physical symptoms) and it's a good idea to try to find out why he's showing so much anxiety. How was his very early development? Any psychiatric problems on the family tree? Substance abuse?

 

[momof3boys]

Thanks for the response. I emailed his pediatrician this morning. She emailed me back and said that the only thing that she can think of is "Favry Disease". She said that she doesn't know much about it, will make some calls monday morning to people that know more about it, and get back to me. I think you're right. If this isn't something medical, we'll go see a neurologist or psychiatrist. I need my sleep to be able to deal with my 3 boys! I'm exhausted, and we need to get this resolved. Thanks so much for the sound advice.

(Oh, and yes, we've got a lot of family history including: lot's of bipolar disorder, addiction, alcoholism, ADHD, and possible Aspergers) - so, with our history, we are always on guard for psychiatric issues.

 

[Matty's Mummy]

Hi Momof 3 boys
I just wanted to let you know that my now 18year old difficult child Child at around 7years old started to complain about his feet being hot, burning… in the end he was happy to fall asleep with a wet washer on his feet. His feet did actually feel hot to touch I never thought to take him to see a Doctor but them this kid had so many odd teahouses it didn’t at all seem out of character for him.
I hope it’s nothing serious with your boy ill be sure to keep watch.

 

[Sara PA]

I think the doctor meant Fabry's Disease.

 

[momof3boys]

You're right, it's Fabry's. Favry's was a typo.

 

[tiredmommy]

Any history of allergies or hives? Duckie"s hands and feet used to get hot... then minor welts started appearing and then she swelled up from hives under her skin. I'm sure tree and grass pollens must be very high in PA right now, which could be causing a reaction.

 

[Marguerite]

I would be inclined to think that Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) is a more likely consideration, given the Asperger's connections in the family. Don't lock in to any one idea until more careful assessment has been made. Does he show any other indications of possible Sensory Integration Disorder (SID)?

Marg

 

[momof3boys]

Yes, he does show some Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) signs. He hates changing his clothes (he doesn't mind the clothes themselves, but I think that he doesn't like getting out of warm clothes and putting on cold ones). As a baby, and young toddler, he hated the feeling of sand on his feet, but he grew out of that.

I had thought of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) with the hot hands thing, but this just seems different to me somehow.

And, no history of allergies, except his one brother is allergic to penicillin. No other allergies in the family.

I'll make sure that we keep Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) and allergies on our list of things to look into. His pediatrician emailed me today, and is finding a genetics counselor for us to talk to about him getting tested for fabry's. I'll feel better once we rule that out, and then we can focus on other possibilities. I knew you ladies would have good ideas. Thanks so much!