difficult child - off to ER

[Sheila]

Poor baby!

Sounds as if the ER doctor was great!

My mother and sister have migraines. One's headache is triggered by the baramometer going up; the other one's is triggered by the barmometer going down.

Extreme anger and/or stress can also be a trigger for my mother. (Mom calls the anger her "firstname lastname fit." Her "fits" are rare and typically directed at my dad. lol

I hope difficult child gets some long-term relief. I had a migraine for 3 days last week. (Don't have a clue what my trigger is.) But I've never had one so severe that I had to go to the hospital ER. (I believe my mom has.)

 

[Kjs]

In response to some of the questions:

Tordol - I have had that and works well. ER doctor did say he would not prescribe that for home use due to stomach problems causing ulcers.

The other drug they were going to try next was Reglin (sp?). I have also had that in combination with tordol. We didn't need to go to a second drug as the tordel worked.

I DID have him try benadryl. ENT said his ear trouble was due to allergies (even though he has none that we know of) (and he has seen an allergist) Had the scratch test as well as blood test for food allergies. Regardless, I did have him try benadryl the previous day.

His headaches are not only at home, at school, mall, friends houses. he has called to come home from many places due to headaches. Today was one he just could not handle.

The sore muscles are normal and expected after this much pain.

ER doctor said Excedrin Migrane. Caffiene is good for headaches. Said to take TWO. difficult child is very good about waiting even longer than doctor says to wait. ER doctor said to take Tylenol #3 as last resort. But told him to take TWO. one wipes him out. Tylenol #3 usually makes MY headaches worse.

Imitrex does not work for me at all. I have tried that as well as all the other ones in that class. For me Fiorecette does the trick.

I have horrible headaches as well as my older son. Not as often as we use to but more than anyone else I know. I have a headache every day. just learn to live with it.

I specifically asked difficult child about lights, smells tastes today. He said no. none of that.

I will ask for lyme disease testing. My sister had that and was hospitalized years ago. Her problem was she couldn't walk. Had her legs in splints and was very sick. difficult child seems to be fine except for the headaches which totally wipe him out. Especially when they are bad and last weeks on end.
I don't know if his upset stomach was due to his headache, medication or something else. He drank a lot of gatorade when i got home with him. But I had to sleep so I can come back to work tonight. I do not know if he drank after that. husband is aware of the dehydration they pointed out.

Any more advice or suggestions will be appreciated. I will discuss all options and testing with pediatrician next week. So the more I have to discuss the better. Thanks

Well...Today (friday) is our anniversary. Wonder if husband will remember.

 

[gcvmom]

I am so sorry your difficult child is going through all this! How frustrating, how scary, how unbearably awful to have this going on. Hope you can get him in to the neuro to find a fix for this quickly.

Hope you and husband find some time to celebrate despite the chaos right now.

 

[susiestar]

Ask the pediatrician if he can take a beta blocker (like propranolol) or other migraine PREVENTATIVE.

Also ask for a trial of imitrex, maxalt, zomig or relpax if he will write a scrip for one. Another option is ergotamine containing medications used to treat migraines. These might also help you if you haven't tried them. Usually the ergotamine medications are used in people who don't get relief from the triptans.

I only mentioned the timing of the advil and the toradol because around here the ER docs don't ever tell you how long to wait after you leave to take another medication that they suggest. I DID have them tell me to take a large dose of aleve right after a dose of toradol. It was while I was a teen and I can remember how upset my mom was when we let the doctor know because it was such a no-no.

I hope you and the doctor can finally find something that helps with his headaches. This truly is not something a kid should keep having to go through!

 

[Kjs]

I am apprehensive about the neurologist. He really did nothing for us except charge outrageous prices.

He did prescribe topomax for about a year with no affect. That is when he said there was no need to return.

I am also concerned if any of these drugs stunt growth. He is already the smallest in his class height wise. Also I do not see any onset of puberty yet and all his friends have shot up and their voices have changed.

Then again wondering if the onset of puberty could be a cause of the frequent headaches.

But....in elementary school and ever since a very young age, sounds such as clock ticking, fire alarms, buzzers at fast food restaurants, flourescent lights flickering..all bothered him extremely. Sporting events he would stop and cover his ears near the end of quarters. He has also suffered headaches frequently during school for the past 3 years.

As far as Aleve..the ER doctor did suggest that. He also said if he takes that he would be stuck for 12 hours unable to take any other medication. So if it didn't work he was out of luck.

 

[Love the sunshine]

You may have mentioned this in one of your previous posts, but have they checked his thyroid? Are his hands always cold, by chance? Sometimes those are symptoms of a thyroid issue.

What about the pituitary gland? If it's enlarged, it can cause headaches, too.

I'm not a doctor (but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express once)

 

[TerryJ2]

Gosh, it does sound limited with-the neurologist. I'd be looking for a pediatric specialist in something else. I'll ask around and get some ideas.

 

[TerryJ2]

Happy Anniversary!!!

Don't wait for husband to remember. Remind him yourself. I've found it's easier to get flowers and gifts that way. Heh heh.

 

[1 Day At a Time]

Kjs,

I agree with LTS. I found myself wondering when you mentioned difficult child's size. I'm sure the ER doctor did lots of blood work. Certain elevated values can point to these kinds of glandular problems. That's how my pituitary tumor was found - the elevated levels in my blood and the MRI.

Of course, these issues may not be connected - some people have later growth spurts, and it's a completely normal thing. In my case I had too much growth hormone due to the tumor, and I started growing some more in my 30's. My ring size, shoe size, and hat size went up several sizes. I'm a little taller as well.... kind of scary, isn't it? I miss being able to find lots of shoe styles.

I only mention this, because it's an unusual medical condition and it's not the first thing a doctor would consider.

 

[Andy]

Is that a pediatric neurologist? I think I remember hearing (probably from this board) to make sure the neurologist was a pediatric neurologist. I would also think that pediatric anythings should be more child/youth friendly? How awful that yours stated no need to return when the problem was not solved. He should have referred you on.

My difficult child has been put on a preventive of gaterade and vitatmin B2. He gets 50 mg twice a day. When I asked the pediatrician neurologist about the high dosage now that he has not had a migrane for 6 months, (thought I may decrease the dosage) she said that B2 is water soluable. The body takes only what it needs and flushes out the rest - thus the yellow urine. I have a hard time finding it. Have found it in a GNC store in 100 mg caplets that I cut in half.

I know your difficult child needs a much stronger level of preventables than mine but thought I would mention it so if it is brought up, you will know that someone out here is using it for migranes.

How is difficult child now? Did you and husband do anything special for your anniversary?

 

[totoro]

I am so sorry. For your pain and his.
Has he tried Dexamethasone? My old Neurologist- Dr. Diamond who is one of the top Migraine/cluster/headache specialists in the country. (Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago) Had me use this as a PRN. I could only use it 1-2 a month. It is a steroid.
Mountain Climbers, like Everest, always bring a shot of "DEX" with them just in case of Brain Edema. I used Topamax, Bellamine? and DEX. I also had an anti-nausea.
I have been hospitalized a few times for my Migraines. One lasted 2 weeks straight.
I hope you figure something out soon.