DUH!!!!

AAAAA · Jan 28, 2011 at 01:16 PM

I feel like an absolute idiot!

My daughter has been having debilitating migraines and has been referred to a neurologist. She’s been having daily headaches since the third grade. At the time the doctor suggested her eyes be re-checked (glasses since Kindergarden). Eye doctor said she had a light sensitivity. His plan of attack transition lenses and Tylenol.

Fast forward 12 years. (She’s now 21 years old)

We go through all family histories, brain tumors, epilepsy, etc. Doctor asks “have you ever had head trauma?”

Yes, climbed out of her crib and got a concussion at 2 years old.

Doctor says “I see in your file a dog attack.”

DUHHHHH!!!!!

OMG, she had 107 external stitches to her face and head. The dog gouged her skull and bruised her brain! Once it became apparent that it did not affect her cognitively I thought we were in the clear. It never even occurred to me that there would be any long term affects.

How stupid!

lynn P. · Jan 28, 2011 at 05:43 PM

(((AAAAA and daughter))) - firstly, you're certainly not stupid. I know you're a devoted mother like I am and we pride ourselves, with being in tune to our kids...but we don't have all the answers, so don't blame yourself for not knowing. I'm sorry your daughters had migraines for so long - this must be awful. Some people are plagued with migraines and they don't know why they get them. They also run in families sometimes too, so people don't look for a root cause because I don't think the medical profession knows enough about migraines.

Has your daughter had a CAT scan? I'm sure this question about head trauma, has opened up these bad memories for you. This is one of the reasons my daughter and I decided she should stop karate classes. Her instructor was too pushy with contact sparring and I was concerned with the head jarring. Doctors now know, that minor concussions during sports, can cause accumulative damage. Did the neurologist give any treatment options or tests?

AAAAA · Jan 28, 2011 at 07:10 PM

She had the MRI today and CAT is scheduled for Monday.

I feel so stupid. When she was young I accepted the answer “light sensitivity”. I did frequently question how healthy it was for her to take Tylenol so frequently. The word “migraine” did not enter the conversation until she was in High school. Even then I accepted that as a part of life. My mother and I both suffer from these debilitating headaches.

The neurologist is going through the motions, doing the appropriate tests and things but he too said “so if you’ve had headaches this long then you’re a headache person.” Like that is some form of an answer. In this day and age there is no other answer then it is just a fact of life.

I am happy that she’s finally agreed to eliminate all other possible causes (brain tumors, seizures etc that run in our family).

Since she was 17 she has been on nine different migraine medications. She absolutely doesn’t want “more” meds, just one that will work.

The appointment wasn’t a total loss at this point. She’s been on topamax for a few years. It was pretty helpful in the beginning but loss some effectiveness. Our new family doctor informed her that she was at the top of the dosage allowed. The neurologist adjusted her dosage and said that may have been the highest the doctor felt comfortable prescribing, but she’s now taking a quarter the dose that is customary for neurologists to prescribe. He equated it with giving an adult a baby aspirin.

He also let her know that there is an in patient treatment that has the possibility of breaking the headache cycle. A series of IV’s and shots administered in the hospital. The problem is just like antidepressants, these treatments are hit and miss. What works for me, may not do a thing for you. It’s all so frustrating.

Thank you very much for your supportive words. I still feel like an idiot for overlooking such an obvious cause. We get the results of the tests next month.

lynn P. · Jan 28, 2011 at 07:43 PM

Thanks for the reply AAAAA and I would be interested to know the results of the MRI and CAT scan. I agree it can be frustrating for patients and doctors when it comes to figuring out the source for headaches. The brain is so intricate and mysterious. It must be so hard see your daughter suffer in pain for so long and I hope she can find a successful treatment. I watched a PBS show called the Plastic Brain - I can't remember the name of the doctor but he has a well known book out. He believes that we can influence positive or negative changes to our brains depending on our lifestyles. I don't want to hear you calling yourself names though.

Perna · Jan 29, 2011 at 10:59 AM

I don't think you should be berating yourself quite so much

When children are very young; it's impossible to sort out what is going to cause a problem and what is normal, inherited, or whatever development! All the symptoms could mean a zillion different problems.

When I was 42, I started getting slight nausea and decided it was time to get glasses! I got glasses and it didn't really help. Took me over six months to realize that it was left over Meniere's Syndrome I'd had since I was 38! It just didn't show up conveniently and at any particular time and I hadn't had a bad attack for over a year. And I was an adult and had never had much wrong with me, ever, so it's not like I had as complicated a medical history as it sounds like your daughter might have had.

AAAAA · Jan 29, 2011 at 03:08 PM

Well that’s just it Perna, other than a couple of sinus infections as a child she’s been healthy as a horse. She’s maybe been on antibiotics twice in her life. So this should have stood out in my mind as a potential problem.

She unfortunately inherited an eye condition from her father, but because that was caught early and corrected with patching and glasses the long term effects are minimal. She’ll never have proper depth perception and will wear glasses or contacts for the rest of her life.

Our children did not hit the genetic lottery. Quite honestly if I knew then; what I know now I don’t know that I would have passed on these genes to another generation. The best I can do is educate them on proper nutrition, life-style choices, and proper medical care.

The only long term effects she’s had from the mauling (that I know of) is pain in the winter on the ear that was almost completely torn off. It seems so foolish that we all overlooked this for so long. Even our old family doctor that was an amazing doctor came to the natural conclusion that these headaches were most probably a genetic issue, and they still may be. I will be crushed if I discover that they are a result of scar tissue from the mauling. That will serve no purpose, because if that is the problem, there is really nothing they can do other than pain management.

Lynn – this does bring up old issues. The woman that was in charge of the vicious dog died a couple years ago. The dog actually belonged to her adult son. My FIL continues to socialize with this man! We stopped in on our way through, he knew we were coming and this man was sitting at his kitchen table drinking coffee!

Neither this man, nor his mother, ever apologized for what happened! Even though it was COURT ORDERED! We never pursued a civil case (which I regret) but during the criminal case the judge asked my daughter what she wanted. At SIX YEARS OLD she stood and said “I have gotten cards and letters from people I don’t even know telling me how sorry they are for what happened to me. I would like her to tell me she’s sorry.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom (except for the defendant).

My daughter is an extremely beautiful young woman. The first hospital that triaged her understood that these facial wounds had to be properly addressed and sent her on to the nearest hospital with a plastic surgeon on duty. Even though the wounds were very severe, the surgeon did an excellent job. The only time anyone even notices the scars is when she goes to a new hair dresser. The surgeon was gifted, but when you comb through her hair to part it for a cut it is obvious something horrible has happened.

But all of that aside, these people changed her life permanently and they should make amends. My FIL just doesn’t get it. The attack happened in his yard, he saw her, he is an EMT he treated her until the ambulance arrived. How do you overlook that and break bread with the man responsible for such destruction? AND AND AND as icing on the cake, a few years later the man had ANOTHER dog that was a biter that bit my nephew in my FIL’s yard!

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