conversion reaction

  My 15 year old scuba diving, snowboarding, anything else Extreme
  sports minded son had what he discribes as pressure behind his
  right eye the night of Jan 27th and at the pediatricians the next
  day we found he fell backwards with his eyes shut and could not
  walk a straight line. The MRI done immediatly was normal, the EEG
  was too.
     This got progressivly worse (Quicker with over doing) till he
  is now tutored - the school didn't want him injured. The main
  problem is he falls backwards when he stand staight or tries to
  walk - he does not feel dizzy and it isn't inner ear. Since his
  knees started to
  buckel he is in a wheelchair.-the nuerologist didn't want this
  but he isn't living with this. He sleeps 12 to 14 hours, has lost
  some cognitive ability, has headaches that 800 mg. ibeprohan
  doesn't touch, needs tagamet most meals, has weakness in his left
  side and a tremor in his right,and his right leg falls asleep.
     He takes a 5mg. dexadrine spansual for ADD (3 yrs.) and 150mg.
  Zoloft for depression (2 yrs.)
     He went scuba diving in Feb. and even snowboarding but he got
  so tired and got such headaches afterwards that he just had to
  stop.
     We are having a hard time accepting that this is in his head.
  The nurologist is well known and we think his psychiatrist is
  just going along. Is this a normal diagnosis? Should we be
  pushing for more help or just going to the psycologist as these
  two guys suggest?  Thankyou for your thoughts on the matter.

[HFHS.MD-AJ]

_
Marge,
I can understand your concern and frustration about your son's situation. With the information provided, its unclear if his symptoms (pressure behind the right eye, falling, difficulty walking, headaches, weakness, tremors, fatigue, and excessive sleep) are neurological, psychogenic/psychiatric, or a combination of both. Young depressed children may have symptoms that include multiple physical complaints, but this is an atypical presentation for psychiatric illness. However, some psychiatric illnesses, such as Conversion disorder could present this way.
It may be helpful to discuss your concerns with your son's neurologist and psychiatrist/psychologist for further clarification, or to seek a second opinion. You may also wish to refer to: Re: Conversion Disorder, posted by
HFHS.MD-TB on 2/22/99.
This response is for general information only. Always contact your physician for any health concerns.
Keywords: Conversion disorder, depression, psychogenic