Feels no pain (and a heart murmur too....)

[sunnyskies]

My DS is 9-1/2 months and seriously, feels almost no pain. Does not cry for shots (not since he was very little) and the last 3 times he had blood drawn (once was twice in the same toe) he did not even flinch. Today they did a cbc at his 9-month and he literally had no idea they pricked him.

The ped said this was actually something to be concerned about, as his pain threshold is so high, we could have trouble knowing if he was hurt badly. I have heard of this kind of disorder and it is very scary. We don't actually know if that is what is going on or if he just has a high threshold. Either way, we were told to keep a close eye on him.

Anyone else have a child with such a high pain tolerance? It makes me nervous. He also has a heart mumor that we need to get checked out by a cardiologist. I know it is likely nothing...I guess I am just feeling a little worried and wanted to check in with some other moms.....

[Anonymous]

I cannot comment on the pain threshhold. I will hope for the best for you.

My DD has a heart murmur. There are multiple types (mine has VSD) and the cardiologist should be able to tell you which kind, what precautions you need to take and whether you need to have anything done. THe fear is that if there is a hold in between the sides of the heart, oxygenated and deoxygenated blood will mix, which could mean they don't get enough oxygen pumped through the body.

In our case, it has been remarkably easy. She was diagnosed at birth with a small VSD (ventricular septal defect). 90% close by age 1, however our DD's did not. Her is small, however and has zero impact on her ability to do anything and the cardiologist has said it will not need to be surgically repaired. She is now 3.5 years and absolutely thriving.

Some kinds of heart murmurs require antibiotics before dental work and when you get deep cuts which could get infected. Otherwise, my DD can't scuba dive or become an astronaut. Those are her only limitations in life, which are fewer than most people in this world have!

If this was just diagnosed, I'm guessing your son hasn't shown signs of oxygen deprivation. I know it is scary to hear about. But heart murmurs are a common congenital defect. Many many healthy kids and adults walking around today have them.

Good luck to you all.

[Anonymous]

My four year old daughter sounds a lot like your son; she even had a heart murmur, too! She isn't bothered in the least by shots or blood draws at the dr.'s office. I've heard that fear makes a huge contribution to how much pain you feel. (Isn't that what they try to tell you in childbirth class? :lol I think, for whatever reason, she is just completely unafraid of needles, so the pain she feels is quite low. It's a different story if she trips and scrapes her knees or something--she cries as much as any kid--so I'm pretty sure we would know if she is seriously hurt. Pretty soon your son will be walking around and you'll get some data on how he responds to all sorts of painful occurrences. Try not to worry; at least in my daughter's case, high pain threshold at the doctor's office didn't also mean high pain threshold/not knowing she was hurt in other circumstances.

As for the heart murmur, my daughter saw Dr. Robin Doroshow, a pediatric cardiologist at Georgetown Hospital and we loved her. I wished she could be our regular pediactician, she was so cool.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your responses. I am doing my best to not worry about this stuff - particularly the heart murmur - until we have more info. I think the pain issue will sort itself out. Though it is kind of weird when he puts his fingers in my mouth and I bite down a little and he smiles. The harder I bite, the more he laughs! But we have to stop this little game because I do not want to teach him bad habits.

[Anonymous]

I have had a heart murmur since birth. I'm a 22 year old nanny now and doing great! I went though a lot of tests when I was growing up. Sometimes there is a lot of pain when I exercise or am just reading (it comes sudden, I haven't figured out if its something I do that causes it), and the best way to get rid of it is to grunt and push like you need to go to the bathroom. Sounds weird but it helps and makes you able to breath again. This only happens a few times a year now. I just thought I would throw that put there. I hope everything is okay!

[Anonymous]

My 7 year old son does not feel pain, nor can he sense hot and cold. He does not know when he has fractured a bone, would not know if he'd been burned. He has fallen asleep while having his forehead sutured by a surgeon at the hospital. His peripheral nervous system is underdeveloped due to a condition called Familial Dysautonomia. He has many other symptoms that you have not described in your child, so you are not dealing with FD, but you might want to look into conditions involving the peripheral nervous system, and have a consult with the neurology department at Children's Hospital.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to heartily second the mention of Dr. Robin Doroshow. Saw her for prenatal echocardiograms for DS; she and her staff are wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Thank you again! Particularly the poster mentioning the peripheral nervous system. How very, very scary. You must be very brave, as I can not imagine the fear you must feel every day. I will look into it more.

[Anonymous]

My DS had a VSD; his required surgery at 11 months. He's 2.5, we still have issues, but not necessarily because of the heart. The murmur was detected at birth.

I'd like to recommend Dr. Thomas Hougen, if you need another name. He has offices in DC & VA. He didn't operate (doesn't do surgery) but really watched my kid closely throughout the first 2 years (now we just see him once a year).

I'd also recommend NOT driving yourself crazy by googling, until you get to consult with someone.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Very interesting post in correlating heart murmurs and pain thresholds and I don't want to digress... but I also have a heart murmur (30 years old) and recently just gave birth to my DD without any drugs. Granted, it was not the most comfortable experience and I certainly wasn't feeling my best during the throes of labor, but I didn't think it was THAT bad so I attributed it to a higher pain threshold.


Good luck OP.

[Anonymous]

I'm a PP whose DD has a heart murmur. If you're still looking for cardiologists, you cannot go wrong with the entire group at Children's Hospital. They have outpatient clinics all over the area, and they really are some of the best in the country. We' seem to see someone different every time (not because they move you around, but because we only go once a year and I can never remember who we saw last time). we've liked them all.