When it rains it pours
 

I take care of my sons dad who has diabetes and recently lost his leg due to complications. I also have a son at home who is type 1 diabetic and is an active heroin addict. As you can imagine its a full time job. But what brings me here today is my other son who lives with me also. Hes almost 30 and for a while now I have had increasing anxiety over things Iv been noticing about him. Hes the kind of child who doesnt make a big fuss and unless you make it a point to go to him and check in on him he slips through the cracks so to speak so when these little oddities began to build up I realized something isnt right. But I had no clue of where to turn with this information to get advice until someone turned me on to this site.
We live in a rual desert area with a small medical clinic and a practitioner who sees the locals. I know how it would go if I took him into the clinic. I know it is bigger than what they could do for me so im asking for some possible suggestions. My son has been changing and seems to be getting worse. It started out first with the way he walked. It isnt the same as it use to be . Its like he is unbalanced and awkward. Then he began complaining that he was having a hard time hearing . We did have his ears checked but nothing showed that would explain the hearing problem. His speech was the next thing that became obvious to me he began slurring to the point i would have to ask him to repeat. himself which he would tell me that the words didnt want to come out how he meant to say them. Now im worried. Then the other day he told me his hand has been doing some crazy stuff like one finger will start going up and down all by itself and he cant control it. Or his whole hand begins to shake on its own like tremors. This even scared him. His handwritting has gotten so bad that it looks as if he was in kindergarten again. It makes me think hes losing cordination somehow. If anything im describing rings:confused: a bell with anyone that might be able to give me an idea of what might be going on with him? Im at loss on where to turn to find some answers and im worried sick about him.

Hi Candy4339,

It sounds as if you know the local practitioner, but if that person is qualified to practice medicine, maybe some preliminary investigation of your son's condition can be done at that local clinic? Sometimes rural MDs are excellent, and this one might surprise you with some good ideas.

Your son needs medical attention. If you become aware that he's taking some drug that might be affecting him in the way you describe, I'd say that a doctor needs to be consulted. If it turns out to be a drug, he could try stopping the drug--and maybe the symptoms will go away.

The chances are that he'll be referred to a neurologist or other specialist, and he may need to travel some distance for that purpose, but I hope you'll encourage him to do that.

You have a lot on your plate. I hope that you can find some answers for your son's problems.

Thank you
 

The problem with our clinic is there is no doctor only a practitioner and is he even qualified to give us a referral? If my son needs to see a specialist then i suppose the clinic will have to be where we go first.
As far as any kind of drugs I know for a fact he isnt into anything like that. He has watched his older brothers life and health go down hill on his drug addiction and it tears him up. He has worked as a security gaurd for over 10 years and they drug test all the time randomly he has never tested dirty. So im sure its something more. Hes not one to think about having himself checked out unless I push him to make an appointment he probably would never be seen so ill take your advice and take him to the clinic and see what happens after that. Thank you for your concern.

Just a postscript: When I mentioned drugs, I meant any drug, not just drugs like heroin. Most drugs can have a vast number of side effects. Many of the side effects are rare but your son just might be one of those people who react badly to a drug that seems safe enough for most people.

When he gets to a medical professional, it would be helpful if he could describe the hand tremors, asking himself how often they happen.Does anything seem to trigger them? How long do they last, or are they constant?