10 year old DD has permanent headache *UPDATED P3 Mycoplasma

Chana Miriam S

Thu, Jun 16 2022, 7:24 pm

My migraines resolved when I went low carb. Like used to have every day. I know folks won’t like this suggestion but it worked for me

amother

Papayawhip

Thu, Jun 16 2022, 8:09 pm

Does she sleep well at night? Sleep apnea?
Allergies?

amother

Peru

Thu, Jun 16 2022, 8:15 pm

Where are you located?
I have an amazing headache doctor

amother

Bone

Thu, Jun 16 2022, 8:15 pm

Have you been giving her pain meds to stop head pain? If yes, it could be she's having rebound headaches. Google it.

ddmom

Thu, Jun 16 2022, 11:39 pm

Amother Peru, I would love to know the name of your headache dr if it's near me. I'm in lakewood

amother

DarkRed

Thu, Jun 16 2022, 11:48 pm

Op,
Does she have a VM? Whatever it is, I would definitely get a second opinion to rule out headaches are not related.

https://www.mountsinai.org/pro.....stein

amother

Tealblue

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 12:02 am

Offshoot of the dental possibility - I have TMJ and that usually is the cause of my headaches.

amother

Yarrow

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 12:09 am

stress/anxiety tools and chiropractor. I can feel when I need adjusting (I get an unexplainable headache that's gone after my appointment)

amother

Peru

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 2:26 am

I live in Lakewood and have a headache doctor in Manhattan who changed my life. He sees kids also. Are you prepared to spend money out of pocket? He doesn’t accept any insurance.

shabbatiscoming

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 2:51 am

Make sure she is hydrated. When I dont drink enough, I get the worst headaches.
Also have a hotmone pannel done. Yes, I know she is only 10, but if hormones are out of wack, that can also cause headaches.

Chickensoupprof

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 2:56 am

I'm not a doctor, but I have often headaches due thight muscles and knotts in my neck, and shoulders, I'm now having physical therapy for tightness and knots in my cheek muscles and other face muscles.

invisiblecircus

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 3:53 am

Wow, thanks for all the replies Smile

I'll try to address all the questions.

I think stress, anxiety and dehydration can all be ruled out at this point.

Her diet is generally very good but it's possible that at school her lunches are a bit carb heavy because she often doesn't like the protein options she's given, then ends up filling up on carbs. At home this isn't a problem.

She sleeps well.

amother [ Red ] wrote:

Did the neurologist give her a diagnosis at all? My husband gets migraines. One of my kids gets tension headaches that the neurologist said will probably be rediagnosed as migraines when he gets older.

No diagnosis yet but she said it's not migraines which is clear from the type of headache.

amother [ Red ] wrote:

What is her diagnosis? Different types of headaches should be treated in different ways. Where is the pain stemming from, and does it radiate anywhere else? Is she sensitive to lights, noises, anything else? Do pain meds (tylenol, motrin) bring her any relief? Has the neurologist suggested any other pain meds to try?

The pain is in the centre of the top of her head, but inside. It doesn't radiate anywhere else. Not sensitve to lights or noise. It is a constant pain that never goes away, mild enough not to need pain meds usually but when given we don't think they help. We haven't been suggested any other pain meds.

amother [ Red ] wrote:

It seems like a bit of a cop-out to have her take magnesium for three months while in pain without giving her anything to manage her pain in the meantime. I'm taking magnesium right now and it does diddly squat for me, but at least I've been looking at other options in the meantime.

I agree about the magnesium. I'd not heard about it as a therapy for headaches before but having since read up on it seems that it can help reduce the frequency of migraines which has already been determined, she is not having. I am looking into other options. The only reason I haven't up till now is that we only got the MRI results last week and we saw the ophthalmologist yesterday so I wanted to see of those turned up anything before pursuing other avenues. Actually, every doctor we've spoken to about this was convinced it would be a problem with her vision, and I also considered this likely given that both my husband ang I both started wearing glasses at her age but now that that has been ruled out I'm looking into other options.

invisiblecircus

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 4:20 am

amother [ Natural ] wrote:

https://www.childrenshospitalvanderbilt.org/medical-conditions/developmental-venous-anomalies-dva

Quote:

Headache is the most common symptom, followed by seizures and abnormal sensation or movement.

I think its connected to the venous drainage anomoly.

I had already read the link you posted and when we saw the results of the MRI (before speaking to the neurologist again) that was my initial thought. So far, I just emailed the results to the neurologist and the pediatrician who discussed the results with a colleague who interprets MRI scans and both said it has no clinical significance and it's not the cause of the headaches. They did not offer further explanation as to why, but I will certainly ask when I get back to them with the ophthalmology results.

amother wrote:

Strep, Lyme, celiac, dairy intolerance, sinuses, mold, adrenals, electrolytes, blood sugar, and possibly a bunch of other reasons

How do you test for lyme? Strep, celiac and dairy intolerance have all been ruled out previously, not as part of the headache investigation. I don't think we tested for blood sugar, I'll ask about it but I would be surprised if that was the problem.
What do you mean by adrenals?

invisiblecircus

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 4:32 am

amother [ Natural ] wrote:

Another reason for sudden onset constant headache is concussion.

Does the headache get worse with reading learning or screentime?
Does it get better with cognitive rest?

It's not concussion.

It doesn't get worse with reading or screentime and does not get better with cognitive rest.

amother wrote:

mycoplasma.

She had this 4 years ago and for the two years following she had constant arthritis type pain in her legs. That stopped 2 years ago and she has had no further problems with that. I did mention this to the neurologist and shower her all the paperwork relating to that but she didn't mention any possible connection with the headache. I'll ask again about it.

We did a full blood count and tested TSH, vitamin B12, sodium, potassium, AST/GOT and ALT/GPT, all normal.

invisiblecircus

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 5:33 am

amother [ Peru ] wrote:

Where are you located?
I have an amazing headache doctor

Italy.

amother wrote:

Op,
Does she have a VM?

What's a VM?

slushiemom

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:27 am

Have you ruled out the headache being an adverse event from the Covid vaccine? If she's not vaccinated, obviously that wouldn't be the cause, but IF she was vaccinated in the time period before the headaches start, it might be worth looking into.

invisiblecircus

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:28 am

slushiemom wrote:

It started before she was vaccinated.

amother

Lilac

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:32 am

invisiblecircus wrote:

This sounds like lyme. (Headache, 2 years of arthritic pain etc.)
Don't know where you live but dr. Kohenbash in parcare (Williamsburg) will do a full lyme and other tick borne illnesses panel.

invisiblecircus

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:48 am

amother [ Lilac ] wrote:

This sounds like lyme. (Headache, 2 years of arthritic pain etc.)
Don't know where you live but dr. Kohenbash in parcare (Williamsburg) will do a full lyme and other tick borne illnesses panel.

I'm in Italy.

I've read about Lyme and to me it doesn't sound like it. The 2 years of arthritic pain started 4 years ago after a bout of pneumonia and finished 2 years ago. However, I'll ask the pediatrician about it, thanks Smile

amother

Coffee

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 8:56 am

invisiblecircus wrote:

Was the pneumonia caused by the bacteria mycoplasma pneumonia? It’s associated all over the literature with arthritis and is usually due to chronic persistent low level infection. This can be causing the headaches as well. If you’re not sure, ask your gp to run mycoplasma igm AND igg. They will likely dismiss elevated igg as past infection, but in reality it very often indicates chronic infection.