Non compliant teenagers

I know that this is a common problem in children who have chronic health issues, but its just occurring to me quite how non compliant Dougie is with all this ITP stuff. I was talking to my sister earlier and basically, anything sensible he could do to keep himself safe, he isn't doing - no modifications to his lifestyle, taking no notice of activity restrictions, no medic alert, no nothing. He seems to have got more reckless to me since the rituximab stuff has clearly failed. I caught him climbing a tree the other day, the same day that I had earlier seen him heading footballs.

I honestly don't know what to do, other than to wait until something happens and hope its not too serious and that it scares him into behaving. Its not that I want to stop him doing everything but I would like him to be around to celebrate when he finally grows out of ITP! I am usually quite chilled about ITP so I think he is really pushing the boundaries too far at the moment.

Any ideas?

Sorry, I can't help as my daughter is only 6, but I do quite often have to remind her about wearing a helmet for bikes and scooters. Today she told me that she didn't want to so, I asked her if she wanted to have her friend to play in the afternoon or would she rather spend the time at hospital if she hit her head. Straight away she told me she wanted to put her helmet on.

I hope you win the battle soon.

I always feel like a terrible parent when I come on here, like I am too laid back about the whole thing as other people seem to restrict a lot more than we do. My daughter was climbing a tree this morning and although I was worried I let her do it. Hannah's counts are always under 25 but her consultant told us that we don't need to resistrict her from doing anything. From reading on here though, it does appear that other consultants give different information?

My boy, Zach was diagnosed in Dec 2012. He is 15. He loves the "contact" sports. I am too worrying about how I am going to keep him safe now that the warm weather is coming. I have told him he must wear a helmet and be smart. He refuses to wear a helmet so I told him he will be doing a lot of walking this summer. He is constantly rough housing with his brother. Last week he was riding a motor scooter while his brother and cousins were trying to hit him with tennis balls! He also says he is not wearing a id bracelet. I am hoping the dr can talk so sense into him when we go in 2 weeks. Good luck!
How old is your son and when was he diagnosed?

Grasshopper, I agree, UK doctors and therefore UK parents do seem substantially less panicked about ITP than elsewhere. Thats got to be a good thing! I wonder if my current lack of "laid back" about the whole thing is because of rituximab - I had to be persuaded that the risks of leaving him with a low count were greater than the risks of the rituximab, and now that hasn't worked, then logically, the same risks that I didn't recognise before must be still there (make sense?).

Ktaruba, your son sounds very like mine! I wonder if it is just a teenage boy thing; they tend not to recognise risk very well anyway do they? Dougie is 14 1/2 and has had ITP since he was 10. He is naturally sporty and his nature is that he is one of life's risk-takers - not a particularly good mix for someone with ITP. I laughed when I saw your comment about the bike helmet - I've always had a rule, no helmet, no bike....... and the bike has spent a lot of time padlocked in the garage over the last year or so!

I'm late to this conversation but piping in (my other, non-ITP daughter has been taking up ALL my bandwidith lately!! :woohoo: )

Ali, I'm glad the most recent post is that Dougie isn't showing any symptoms but that said if you, of all ITP moms, are feeling anxious then, well..... I'm sure Dougie is pushing that envelope.

I'm afraid I can't be of much help here, although i agree it's probably similar to other teens iwth chronic illnesses -- I think of kids with diabetes who often aren't great at the self-care piece. (Lots of teens aren't really -- I think of my 15 year old not getting enough sleep and not washing her face despite bloody zits. Silly things in the scheme of things, but....) It's easier to let a kid hit the wall with lack of sleep and zits. I feel for you and wish I had an answer!

Our problem is sort of the opposite: Mia's response to ITP was to withdraw physically and now, even with the success of the rituxan, to still stay physically withdrawn. I'm hoping time will help her build confidence that she is truly in remission and can get back in the "game." What I DO know is that it won't happen if Mom pushes for it! Ah, teens: anything I say is flat out wrong so I work on keeping my mouth shut!

ITP is really hard and there's some "collateral damage," I guess.