My daughter has been saying she can't swallow her food off and on. First it was a small piece of chicken, she would chew it for 15 minutes and say she can't swallow it. Then it was a piece of broccoli, she said the bushy part would get stuck in her throat, she was walking back and forth gettig upset saying I can't swallow it. I of course do not understand how she can not swallow it, so I say just chew it and swallow. After 20 minures she finally spits it out. Her appetite has not been good either. She now takes way too long to eat her meals. I give her a small bowl of cereal and I constatntly have to tell her to eat so she will not be late for school. Dinner she is the only one left at the table. She has not beem finishing her lunch at school either. Also, she pees a lot more than she ever did before. I seriously do not know she can pee that much. These are all new symptoms for her.
Some background, I am pretty sure she has always had some form of anxiety. When she was 2 she used to pick her hair and skin. She picked her skin so much she gave herself scars. It got better for a year or so then she would start picking her hair again. Currently she picks her hair but not too much. She has had trouble with math since kindergarten, and has developed math anxiety. She just started fifth grade at the upper elementary so a new school for her. She says she likes her teacher. She has never liked school. I took her to the pediatrician this morning and they did a urine test, strep throat test, checked her ears, nose, throat and found nothing. He says its anxiety and prescribed Atarax. He said its an antihistamine but it is also used to treat anxiety. I am not fond of putting my daughter on drugs so quickly. He said try it and call back early next week to see how she is doing. I am torn on if I should give it to her or not. What do you think I should do?
How about taking her to a psychiatrist who specializes in kids. I think it would help her to talk to someone weekly who is an expert. And they will give her tools to do herself when she is anxious.
I'm not against medication but I am curious why it was prescribed after one visit and one series of tests.
My daughter has anxiety and went through a really bad period when she was 11/12 years old. It also affected her eating and she actually lost weight. Her pediatrician CONSIDERED medication but wanted her to try therapy first. He also wanted her to come back in for regular follow up appointments during the therapy so he could monitor her weight and physical health.
The therapist worked wonders and my daughter never did need to go on medication.
So, if it was me, I would follow up with the doctor. Maybe he is concerned that her weight loss/general health is in such a bad state that she needs the immediate results that these drugs can sometimes provide. But I would still ask for a referral to a therapist who deals with anxiety in children, because this is something your daughter will probably be dealing with off and on for the rest of her life.
Also look for a book called "Helping Your Anxious Child." LOTS of practical tips for parents and other family members dealing with kids like this.
What really stood out for me, is that you said she is 9 and in 5th grade? She must be a very young 5th grader. I mean, my son just turned 9 in August, we did red-shirt him, but he is only in 3rd grade but could be in 4th. My step daughter is 10.5 and just started 5th grade this year. I don't understand how this is possible. I can understand why she's having trouble in school with math, and she has anxiety. My niece has a September birthday and my sister put her in school in CA when she was 4 turning 5. She struggled with school and anxiety through 3rd or 4th grade. Everything was a battle and my sister regretted the decision that she made. At that time, they moved to another state, and she decided that she had a fresh start. She put her back in 3rd grade instead of 4th. No one knew because it was a new school, new friends. She finally started doing better and has ever since. She's 16 and in high school now. Could she just be out of her element?
ETA: My daughter was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and Atarax was not even an option that our psychiatrist gave us. If I were you, I'd consult with one BEFORE giving that to your daughter.
I think you should take her to a pediatric psychiatrist. Pediatricians do not have the training to handle psychiatric disorders. I'm surprised that your ped even "diagnosed" anxiety and prescribed something. Our pedi referred our daughter to a psych when she showed symptoms of anxiety disorder.
Psychiatrists have all kinds of evaluation tools, and they can give you a course of action and answer all the questions that you have. They know the risks, and can give you options.
Okay...this sounds like something that can happen when two things are present, anxiety and anxiety-triggered reflux. It could also just be reflux on its own. It's called Globus Hystericus. I'm not kidding and this is real. It is a condition that is usually triggered by stress or intense anxiety and it causes you to feel like a huge lump is stuck in your throat. You drink and eat but the lump is still there. It's awful and it feels like you perpetually have a ball of something stuck in there. What happens is that excess stomach acid backs up into the esophagus and irritates the lining of it. The esophagus swells in response to the irritated tissues and causes this strange sensation to occur. Once it happens, it tends to be off and on for awhile until things get bad enough where it seems to just stay like this all the time. The only way to diagnose this is to talk to your pediatrician about the possibility of your daughter having this Globus sensation and the likelihood that it is caused by anxiety-driven acid reflux. It is more common than you think. If she tells you that it feels like a lump in her throat and difficulty swallowing at times, it could very well be this. The treatment is two-fold. You treat the acid reflux with either Zantac or Pepcid, which are pretty benign and also affordable. This brings the acid out of the esophagus and stops the irritation. That might be all she needs. You do have to work on the anxiety as well or other things plus this will keep popping up and stemming from anxious behavior. I will say that Atarax is going to turn your child into a walking zombie. It makes them sooooo sleepy! I used to take it back in the early 90's when it was used as an antihistamine. I had to stop because I couldn't stay awake! You could try it and see if it helps but my guess is that it will make her totally lethargic and very sleepy. Look up my suggestion of Globus Hystericus ....it's sounding pretty textbook to me.
Our son is being treated for an eating disorder right now. He also is very picky about foods and used to take up to three hours to eat. He reached the point where his weight was just too low and finally got ED treatment.
In addition to meeting with an ED therapist, pediatrician and nutritionist, he's been put on Zoloft to treat the anxiety related to food and Seroquel, an anti-psychotic that's to help with his repetitive negative thoughts about food. We were really against adding a strong med like Seroquel but Kaiser insisted it was critical. We were especially hesitant, since our son already takes medication for ADHD. They were right, though. The medication has made a huge difference. He's eating faster and a wider range of foods. He's also a whole lot hungrier and is eating more. We're learning that medication can be extremely important to the treatment process.
It sounds like the doctor is suggesting a very mild medication if it's just an antihistimine. I would give it a try.
Anxiety is a tough one to fix otherwise. We really did try the therapy route first and everything in our power to get our son to lose his anxiety associated with food. It just didn't happen.
She is 9 in 5th grade??? My son will be 11 in a few weeks and is in 5th grade. That could be part of the problem. It might be worth it to think about holding her back a grade for her sense of well being. Yes, it sounds like anxiety and I would not hesitate giving a child an antihistamine and I would look into talk therapy for her, as well.
I agree strongly with Nikki's advice. A pediatric psychiatrist would have better knowledge of options and may allow you to follow up with some counseling for your daughter. The poor girl is obviously suffering. If you do a search on the Atarax, it is only meant for short-term use but the side effects do seem minimal.
That said, doctors do have their 'go to' medications and something else may be better suited for her.
Anxiety is very difficult for children to overcome on their own. Therapy may help her be able to slowly change her thinking/reactions to stressful or upsetting events and help to build resilience. Medication may be able to help her so that she can eat, which is what you are wanting to attend to for now-- just getting her to eat is so important. It's worth both getting that second opinion immediately. Personally, if the wait to talk to a pediatric psychiatrist is long, consider using the drug for the short term.
I agree with the moms who recommend seeing a pediatric psychiatrist and ruling anxiety-induced acid reflux. I may have that anxiety-induced acid reflux. You know how sometimes kids and adults can get an upset stomach before a test? Might be what's going on. Good luck. I'm sure that your daughter will find comfort just knowing that you are taking care of her and her needs. I hope that goes a long way toward helping her feel better.
You need to try something, because your daughter needs to eat. I have heard of people developing a fear of swallowing food, and it sounds like that's what your daughter has.
Your daughter clearly has a high level of anxiety. Try the drug -- you need to fix this. If this drug doesn't work, try something else or see a specialist until something works.
Good luck.
p.s. -- Reading Nikki's response below -- yes, you should probably see a pediatric psychiatrist. This is pretty serious.
