Some news about Philip

I never posted it but some of you know that Philip has some health issues. We discovered he has a brain tumor. It is not what they call a "bad tumor". They did additional tests on Philip. They discovered the tumor is not doing anything. Right now they will just watch it. If it grows in the next 5 or 6 months they will remove it. They did find out Philip has a very low level of a stress hormone called Cortisol. I read the following about this problem...

problems for the low reactors. They have more trouble paying attention and their low cortisol levels seem to be associated with a failure of behavioral inhibitions. Many attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder children (ADHD) have unusually low cortisol levels.15,16

and I also read this...

Consistently low salivary levels of the stress hormone cortisol in boys aged 7 to 12 are associated with early onset and persistence of extremely aggressive behavior report researchers from the University of Chicago in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

So maybe we have found some key to helping our son. I am sorry I didn't post anything earlier about Philips tumor. I just did not want to shock or worry anyone until we had more to say. We basically found the tumor the same week Juergen lost his mother to brain tumors. We tried not to get too worried, but we are parents. We will need to continue the tests, but I'm hopeful that we may find help for our son. Thank you for your prayers.

Oh, I also just read...
The drug Ritalin may reduce the symptoms of many ADHD children by elevating cortisol levels. Ritalin is not the best treatment, but it could help.

Comments

caring for the garden said…

So are you/they proposing that Philip take the same drug (ritylin) as Thomas? I know Philip actually wanted to take it and thought these tests were for ATD. Maybe he (Philip) had the right answer - at least a stop gap answer - all along.

7:58 PM

Amy said…

I am so glad you finally got some answers! I hope that they will be able to help his ADHD. I know that would help your stress level!! Prayers for him still that his tumor doesn't grow and he stays healthy!!

11:00 PM

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