Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion gifted peoples and weird symptoms when ill

I am asking this because my son is still.... yes...... still sick and his symptoms are getting weirder.

He had a sinus infection that cause headaches and nosebleeds... well he was cured of that and was great for about a month and now he seems to have it again.... except now, he is becoming exhausted at the same time everyday, and is having dizzy spells. When he says he is exhausted, he completion is very pale.

So I have appointments with 3 different doctors in the next two weeks trying to figure out what is going on. Meantime, he is missing school, and we're afraid they are going to make him repete 3rd because of all the absences... even though it's too easy as it is. He skipped 2nd, so..... you can probably hear the argument about age peers and social.

Anyone else notice that gifted people have weird symptoms when they are sick?

This is pretty common in my family, with more then one relative being written up in medical journals.

Yes, but sometimes I wonder if the weirdness has to with an increased perception of symptoms, on the part of the child and/or the parents. Just thinking out loud, that maybe plenty of other people have weird medical issues but they just don't know it.

My kids are always having mysterious medical issues. Strange leg pain, a thrombocytopenia that the hematologist may be changing her mind about, stomacheaches, unexplained issues in dirty diapers, the list goes on (birth defects - tethered spinal cord; weird random test results like protein in the urine; wrong pH in the urine; two separate ambulance rides from ped's office to hospital for bronchiolitis for different kids; single umbilical artery; etc.) It's so extreme that the ped and I have a running joke about the weirdness of my kids' medical issues.

I hope your son feels better and that the doctors have some answers for you. I know how frustrating and scary it can be when you wonder if something serious is going on.

Does he have an ear infection or other inner-ear disturbance? Sinus infections can lead to ear problems, which can mess with balance.

An infection could also cause or contribute to vertigo.

Val

This would be very funny, if I didn't have to keep making these co-pays!
Ds has had his share of odd things, especially last year, it seemed like if it wasn't one thing, it was another. Lots of testing, eventually he is all fine. Part of it is he is a very very picky eater and so probably has reduced immunity when I am not just driving the fruits and veg. and vitamins.
He used to eat so much variety, relative to now.

Soup- I would ask about blood sugar issues if the doc's haven't already suggested it. I think I read somewhere if you have elevated blood sugar levels infections tend to linger longer/recur. Plus the dizzyness, exhaustion...could be something to look at. I certainly hope it's nothing major!

They tested it.... he had a blood test on friday. Yhey tested for blood sugar and his was good, had good eletria-lights... they were going to test for anemia, but the lab tech didn't store the blood properly. They also tested for mono and lyme disease, those tests aren't back yet.

I think it may be something with his ears.... he makes more ear wax then seems humanly possible....lol

((hugs)) to all, especially snowgirl - that sounds scary!

I know that asthma and allergies have been found to be more common in gifties. And I do wonder if some of the reason they are more common is that we notice more and complain more intensly.

I tend to get more 'colorful' symptoms, and have learned through experience to 'lighten up' when talking to medical doctors and try to duplicate 'what a ND person would say.' DS12 has always spent a good deal of time in the nurses office, and sometimes it's a way to get out of classroom dullness and sometimes more fiber in his diet really helps a lot! Everyone in our house has Asthma, Nasal Allergies. DS and I seem to have 'sensitive stomach and GI track' and I have acid reflux that makes me think I'm having a heart attack if I forget to take my purple pill. We also have 'empathy' symptoms, so that if one is sick, others may also.

If I didn't know 'how gifties naturally are' I would suspect that something was really wrong in this, but happily I just see it as 'the way we are.' OTOH, we've checked out everything just to be sure that the problems are nusance-grade rather than illnesses.

Best Wishes,
Grinity