Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Mystery Diagnosis

I'm taking Mary to the doctor today. I feel fairly confident that her frequent vomiting is due to migraines. I used my own experience and my internet research to validate my diagnosis. Maybe I should pay myself the $20 it'll cost me to talk to Dr. Levin today.

The two most prevalent types of migraine are migraine with aura (formerly referred to as classic migraine) and migraine without aura (formerly referred to as common migraine). 

As a child and young adult I suffered from the "common" kind. It seems that Mary has "classic" migraines, which means that she has visual disturbances preceding the headache; she reports almost blacking out, sometimes "whiting" out, sometimes having blind spots, and sometimes seeing wavy lines. These happen about 30 minutes prior to the onset of pain. For her they also always include vomiting, which is why she's been sent home by the school nurse several days this school year already.

I will let you know how it goes. I'd assume he'll send her to a neurologist . . . but we'll see.


2 comments:

Aranne and Dan said...

I am so sorry to hear that she is dealing with this sort of thing and at such a young age... I had the same thing and continue to deal with it... I hope they can help her and most of all I hope she outgrows them which many people do. Good luck!

Angie said...

I'm assuming you're on your way to some help for Mary. I hope so. If you haven't found a neuro you like, I have one that I like and if he doesn't do kids, a friend has a peds neuro she likes that I can refer you to. I started having classic migraines when I was ten. I never grew out of them. I had a reprieve for about 4 years--between a few babies--but they are back with a vengeance now. I had a doctor in law school who said when he turned 70 he stopped getting the headache after the aura (wavy lines). My mom's migraines are starting to do that sometimes, she is 63. So maybe when Mary is joining AARP, things will get easier.

My neuro has given me good meds and vitamin/mineral cocktails to keep them mostly at bay. I have, unfortunately, found that the older I get the more symptoms I get (dysphasia--talking like you're drunk--is my least favorite), but I did outgrow the nausea once my body settled into puberty, around high school, I guess. There are many possible triggers. If you need someone to talk to about it, please call.