Stress and sickness

I really don't like it when Monster Man is sick.  When he's sick, it's a whole new experience compared to what it is like when Angel Baby and Little Man are sick.  With Monster Man, even a slight cold can completely knock him out and make him miserable.

Take today, for example.  He started coughing a little last night, but it was nothing major.  In fact, it almost sounded like he was making himself cough, something he's done off and on in the past as one of his tics, so we just kind of ignored it.  This morning, he woke up feeling miserable.  What had started off as a fake-sounding cough last night had turned into a sore throat, headache, stomach ache, body aches, slight cough, and a low-grade fever.

I could barely get him down the stairs when I woke the kids up for school, let alone get him to get dressed.  Even though he knew he was staying home and that he needed to get ready for a trip to the doctor (I thought maybe he had strep throat since it was going around and his tonsils were rather large), it was still a battle to get him to get up and eat breakfast.

It didn't take long for Monster Man's body temp to start to rise.  While I couldn't find the thermometer to take his temperature (which isn't an easy task to begin with when he's ticcing), I could tell that he had gone from being a little warm to burning up.  It's not uncommon for Monster Man to spike a fever like that, and he has even been known to develop a fever when he is stressed out.  And Monster Man was definitely stressed out this morning.  He was convinced that he was majorly sick, and the stress not only added to the fever but also to the severity of his tics.  While in the waiting room at the doctor's office, he was so concerned that his head was shaking almost nonstop during our wait.  The head-shaking didn't slow down until he realized that he was going to get to see his usual pediatrician (who has recently returned from maternity leave).

The trip to the pediatrician's office revealed that he didn't have strep throat after all.  The doctor said his symptoms appeared to be viral.  Amazingly, once he realized that he was going to make it and that he didn't even need a prescription, his temperature started dropping.  By the time we walked back out to the car, he was even smiling and asking if we could go to the store.

It's become apparent to me that Monster Man is able to make himself sick whenever he gets worked up.  It's almost like the stress triggers his entire body to start acting up.  I don't really think that he knows he is doing, just that he gets himself so worked up that he makes himself sick (and not just the usual sick-to-the-stomach kind of sick that usually accompanies stress).

Hopefully we'll be able to find a way to help him cope with his stress without becoming so sick.

Time Change Rage

We had been doing so well in recent weeks that I'd thought we might be over Monster Man's anger issues.  Sure, he'd had his share of being upset over the things most kids get upset about - sibling rivalry, not getting his way, etc - but he still seemed to have gotten rid of the anger that tends to build up and then come barreling out of him almost in a fit of rage.

He didn't feel really well all weekend.  For the most part, he was fine.  He'd get upset about something and then start laying around.  Whenever he'd start laying down, upset, he'd spike a fever and start complaining of a headache and stomachache.  My hubby used to do the same thing as a child, kind of as a stress reaction, and it didn't take us long to figure out that was what was going on with Monster Man this weekend.  Once he got up and got moving, especially once he found something fun to do, his fever would drop and he'd be back to normal.

Between this and the time change, it was not much of a surprise that Monster Man was in such a bad mood this morning.  He had napped quite a bit over the weekend when he wasn't feeling well, but he could not seem to get to sleep last night when he was sent to bed for the night.  This morning, he dragged to get around and then had to be rushed to get out of the door before the bus arrived to pick him up.

He seemed to get upset over everything this morning.  I told him to make sure he got his jacket, he yelled that he knew and then glared at me.  I told him that he needed to make sure he had his backpack, he yelled that he already had it.  At one point, he got mad and sat on the steps because I told him not to stand with the front door open (didn't want him letting out the dog).  Then he refused to talk to me except to yell at me even more.  I was proud of him, though, because I saw him pick something up to throw it, and then he caught himself and put it down before he could act on impulse.

Unless you've seen Monster Man at his worse, or unless you've lived with someone with the same anger issues as Monster Man, you might easily pass it off as just being typical moodiness in a boy his age.  However, those who have experienced what I have with Monster Man realize that there is quite a difference between the two.

I am hoping he will be back to my happy little boy once he gets home from school today.