Hi All,
I have a question...my MIL recently found out that my stepson's mom, who is a PA (Physician's Assistant) has been giving her son (my stepson, he is 19y/o and lives with us) shots of something in his neck for his headaches. She gives him these shots while at her house. I have no idea what is in the shots? My MIL is freaking out and has asked me to try to figure out what is going on.
A little background: No one gets along with the ex-wife. She only communicates with me, through e-mail and only when she must. She does not feel the need to keep us in the loop about anything reguarding the boys and any and all information we get from her we have to drag out of her, she does not volunteer any information. This stepson has had many, many health issues...including Migraines, Colitis and Connective Tissue Dissorder (?) which is a form of arthritis I believe. When he came to live with us almost 2 years ago, he was dependant on Benedryl to put him to sleep, when I asked about it, he said it was OK and that his Mom told him to take it to help him sleep? This kid has been on some form of medicine for one thing or another from the moment I met him when he was just 5y/o. He has had many things wrong with him according to the mom...everything from being allergic to milk, senseative to sugar, ADHD (she tried to get him diagnosed with ADHD for 4 yrs but all the Dr.'s and all his teachers disagreed with her assesment and filled out all the paperwork stating so, so nothing ever came of it)...all of which just mysteriously went away and we heard nothing more about any of it. The Mom has been treating her son for the last few years out of her home and at her work place which is a Doctors Clininc...the mom has only been a PA for 3 years now and she has (coincidentally) all the same conditions as the stepson, or so she claims but she does not take the serious medicine that my stepson does for his colitis. When he first started getting sick last summer the Mom was in charge of treating him and she basically did nothing besides tell him it was colitis but that 'she had it too and that it wasn't a big deal' and that was it....he kept getting sicker and sicker and went to her office like 2 dozen times in 4 months but nothing was done...eventually stepson was so ill (bloody stools that eventually turned to nothing but blood) he passed out at a friends house and they rushed him to the ER and the attending physician gave me and my husband an ear full about neglecteing his health...he chewed us up one side and down the other for not taking any action to help him, when we infomed him that his Mom the PA was taking care of him he asked for her name and the name of the Doctor she works for and called them and chewed them out as well...it was a very scary situation all around at my stepson ended up spending almost 3 weeks in the hospital!
I like to think that the Mom has the best interest of her child in mind at all times but her actions say otherwise. Now this latest news that the mom has been giving him shots in the neck at her house has got my husbands parents both very worried! I do not even know where to start. Is it even legal for her to be doing this from her house? Does this sound abnormal to anyone else? I just do not know what, if anything, I am supposed to do about it?
Help!?
NOT at DR or a PA, just a mom, however this sounds like Munchausen Syndrome that the mother suffers from, I think that is what it is called. I would talk to the divorce lawyer or any other lawyer you have access to and discuss this, no she should not be treating her own child. It does not appear to be illegal, however you see the care he has gotten in the past.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchausen_syndrome
Sorry you are having to deal with this. Here are some quick answers:
1. Every medical visit and prescription must be accurately documented in a medical chart. It is legal for her to administer medications essentially anywhere so long as the visit and prescription are accurately recorded. As a parent/guardian of a minor, you could request those charts. Unfortunately, your stepson is 19 and a legal adult. You can't control what happens to him medically unless he is found to be incompetent to make his own medical decisions. He may have consented to the medication.
2. A PA is not licensed to practice independently. Every prescription she writes is actually written under the license of her supervising MD. Every medical decision she makes is the responsibility of the supervising MD. Sounds like this MD is already aware that she is treating her own son outside of guidelines and hasn't remedied the situation. That's malpractice on his part. Now, if she is practicing independently without keeping her supervising MD appropriately aware, she is violating the terms of her license as well. Despite the fact that your son is legally independent, you can make complaints against these types of violations to the medical board in your state against the MD and the PA. The medical board can then investigate your claim and review your stepson's medical records. The complaint doesn't have to come from the patient themselves in this type of case.
This sounds like Baron Von Munchausen by Proxy Syndrom. This is disorder is characterized by the parent always making the child sick or claming he is sick to get attention.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/munchausen.html
An allergy or sensitivity to MSG could answer many of his symtoms migrains, colitis, upset stomache, feeling drowsey, achey ect are also symtoms or reactions to MSG. But it is sooooo much more dramatic to say he has all of these diseases. It's time for your stepson to get into a good doctor, I would call the ER doc for a referral, and get a real diagnosis. He should also get a court order to have his Mom no longer medicate him.
I am not a doctor or PA but I am a holistic healer and a Mom and I just happen to have a sensitivity to MSG.
I agree with ReverendRuby it could be Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy that was my first thought upon reading your question. I would advise your son to also see a different doctor and get another opinion someone that he can be open and honest with. Perhaps he may even want to if possible get a hold of one of the syringes his mom uses on him and have it analyzed to see what is being injected if he doesn't know already. If necessary there is also the option of getting legal council if it is deemed necessary for the safety and wellbeing of all involved.
I have had extreme migraines for over 25 years. For a while I had a doctor that gave "trigger point" injections in my neck and shoulders to loosen up/release the muscles because they stressed me out so much. It had lidocaine and something else (can't remember). Nothing narcotic or anything to make me loopy but it relieved the tension so I could get over the migraines quicker.
He's 19, talk with him! If the mom has been a PA for three years and he has lived with you for two years yet was bleeding from his rectum less than a year ago, I would have intervened. Period.
In California a practitioner can prescribe to a family member, My sister-in-law is a physician and the pharmacist always looks a little confused when our names match up.
Good luck!
why isn't his dad/your husband worried? and why don't you take him to a dr on your own time and ask what is going on?
with just the info you shared, it sounds like a manchausin by proxy (sp?) case. the kid needs help-and he may need some counseling. this is nuts.
So I am no doc or PA but I think this sounds like the mom has munchousins and he has it by proxy. (who knows how to spell that!) you have to protect that child. that doc who chewed you out can be a witness in court. gather the evidence you need and fight her.
Complicating matters is the fact that your step son is 19 years old. You have no right to his protected health information unless he gives you permission and access. What does he say? Does he know what medications they are for what they're for?
Anyone can give someone injections. You don't need a license or certificate of any kind to give your child or other family member insulin, for instance.
I have a friend who gives her husband hormone injections. The medicine and the syringes are prescribed by his physician. She works at a grocery store, has no medical training. It's not illegal for her to give her husband the shots at home.
As someone else mentioned, a PA prescribes medication under the practicing physician's license number.
At this point, you don't even know what she's injecting him with so there's no way to know if it's legal or it isn't.
For what it's worth, people give injections at home all the time.
I don't know what you can do about it either, but like I said, what does your step son say?
You need to empower your stepson to be the adult that he is and take charge of his own medical care. He is 19, why is he seeing his mother for his healthcare? I could understand if we were talking about a cold, but he really should have his own physician, whith whom he can talk about any and all concerns regarding his body - even embarrassing ones.
Check your state licensing laws whether it is considered illegal in your state to prescribe medication or otherwise treat close family members. It is usually considered unethical (and at least unprofessional) to provide healthcare for close family members, unless it is an emergency or no other access to healthcare is available.
Ultimately is comes down to the fact that the young man is and adult and should be empowered to cut the medical apron strings.
Good luck.
My M.D. husband used to give me trigger point injections in a musle knot to loosen up the muscle where I carried tension in the shoulder neck area. All it is is sterile saline and somtimes also litocane. Maybe thats what it is.
This "boy" is 19. Has he asked his mother what is in those injections? Or checked himself? If not, he needs to before the next injection is given. I also recommend taking him to a totally separate doctor for a complete workup and see what the doc finds. If it turns out that your stepson is fine, then charges of endangerment can be brought against his mother. If he does have issues, let the doc decide what steps to take in his treatment. His mother needs to stop diagnosing/medicating him. She's not a doctor. I'm glad to know that he lives with you. Protect him.
Best of luck to you.
she may be giving him Imitrex, it's for migraines. I had an old boyfriend that had this prescribed and I would give it to him, it came in a single dose and it looked like a fat pen, you only needed to press a button. It was simple and seemed painless, but it was a shot. So, maybe it's that? But, it still needs to be prescribed to him, for it to be legal.
I am a PA and have been one for over 12 years. It is not medically ethical for PA or a Doctor to treat their own family. I will rarely even write my family members a prescription. She could be putting her licence on the line. Not sure what she is injecting into his neck??? Maybe Botox or a trigger point injection. It is not legal for her to inject at the home. She has to stay within the scope of her supervising doctor's practice. Maybe her supervising doc gave her a order to do this. I would get a copy of his medical records. Her child needs to see someone other than his Mom. He needs to see a neurologist and a gastroenterologist. He needs help and not from his Mom.
Good luck.
I was also thinking along the lines of Jane, in that it could just be a saline type injection to loosen the nerves or unblock them. migraines are sometimes a result of a stretched or blocked nerve in the neck.
but even if this is what's going on, she should be telling his father about it and communicating openly. BOTH parents need to be on the same page for this kids' health. a PA would KNOW THAT.
im concerned about his colitis though.
this can be dangerous and he needs to be on an alternative diet to clear up intestinal inflamation - which COULD be the trigger for all his other health problems including migraines.
check out: http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/index.htm
Do you mean 9 or 19 years old?
Call CPS. You have enough of an initial basis from the past health issue to know that you can't trust her word..do not feel guilty.
Good luck and I will pray for your family
