Migraine

Anybody out there ever heard of the diagnosis "Trauma Induced Migraine?" My good friend's son (age 4) just came back from the children's ER with this diagnosis.

He hit his head hard while playing last nite and woke thhis morn throwing up. LOTs of head pain. CT scan was negative. THey gave him nausea meds and IV fluids. He came home sTill throwing up and definitely not himself (tired, veery quiet, very flat).

I'm wondering if this diagnosis is real--and if his mom neeeds to watch him fo r future mig trouble...

THanks for any input!

jenny

Gee, Jenny,

That's a new one on me! I'd be awfully tempted to ask if a neurologist was consulted, and just how much experience the radiologist who read the CT scan has.

But, I worked in research labs at Medical University of South Carolina for 16 years and my sister is an MD. So, I ask lots of questions. "Paternalistic" and "patronizing" doctors get themselves fired VERY quickly.

Rebecca, the Island Mama (battening down the hatches for Hannah)

So...the ER doc diagnosed the boy with Migraine and said that this attack was triggered by trauma?

How weird. Never heard of it before.

Are they completely sure he's not got a concussion?

Thanks for your responses, Rebecca and MW!

I would've thought "concussion" woiuld be the diagnosis, too. But the doc told her he felt certain it was migraine! She even showed me her discharge papers and the diagnosis says "Trauma Induced MIgraine."

REbecca, You're right--it'd be smart to ask a few more questions (who read the CT, did a neurologist see him, etc.). Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), my friend has 4 very healthy kids--I don't think she's even been to an eR with them before! I'm sure she didn't ask many questions...

I'll have to suggest these things to her!

jenny

Jenny,
Does your friend know the basics to watch for with her son? Change in conscieness, watching his pupils to make sure they are the same size and react the same to light?

I too have never heard of migraine due to trauma. You get a major HA when you get a concusion and you throw up. Any parent who has had kids in contact sports knows that.

I think I would want to go to my pedicitrian for f/u today. I'd be concerned about being given the wrong medications for him. At the very least I'd want to talk to my own pedicatrian. The doctor probably already has a copy of the ER report or can get access to it along with the CT results

Take care,

Cindy

There's such a thing as "post-traumatic headaches," some of which will have the characteristics of migraines. Generally, doctors treat them in a similar manner to migraines if they have more of the characteristics of migraines, and treat them more like TTH if they have more characteristics of TTH. Which doesn't make the head pain itself either migraine or TTH.

Thanks for all of the innfo, Cindy and NUt!

I reminded my friend about all of the concussion warning signs. The ER doc hadn't mentioned ANY of thatt!

I also told her to be sure to get a follow-up. She took her son to his regular doc this morning. I haven't heaard anything yet. BUt I've been sick in bed most of the day and haven't heard much...

Nut, Thank you for the "post traumatic headache" info. I'm gonna take a look at some info abbout that now.

YOu guys are terrific!

jenny

Hi jennyc,

I don't believe this diagnosis is real, nor is it found in the International Headache Society Classification of Headache Disorders II. Rather, Acute post-traumatic headache attributed to moderate (or severe) head injury is.

Here is the Diagnostic criteria for Acute post-traumatic headache:
A. Headache, no typical characteristics known, fulfilling criteria C and D


B. Head trauma with at least one of the following:
1. loss of consciousness for >30 minutes
2. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) <13
3. post-traumatic amnesia for >48 hours
4. imaging demonstration of a traumatic brain lesion (cerebral haematoma, intracerebral
and/or subarachnoid haemorrhage, brain contusion and/or skull fracture)

C. Headache develops within 7 days after head trauma or after
regaining consciousness following head trauma

D. One or other of the following:
1. headache resolves within 3 months after head trauma
2. headache persists but 3 months have not yet passed since head trauma

Clearly, the child needs a real doctor, a second opinion at least. My post traumatic headache has lasted for 12 years and counting..... the sooner he gets the right treatment (a Migraine/headache specialist) the better off he will be.

Nancy,

Thank you so much for the info! I knew that diagnosis sounded suspicious!!!

My friend's son had a return of the pain/vomiting last night. His mom is just beside herself!

She called the closest pediatric HA specialist and they're seeing him later this week.

His name is Joe--keep him in your thoughts/prayers, guys! 4 is too little to deal with misery like that!

jenny

Poor little guy....

HELP!!!

I am a 38 year old woman. Last April, I got hit in the head with one of those rubbermaid dumpsters at my parents house(i was throwing some trash in it and the latch gave way and closed on my head. I did not black out, but I saw stars for sure. I was flat on the ground. When I got up I could not walk straight and felt like I was going to throw up. My parents took me to the ER where I was told I had a concussion and whiplash. Had headaches for a week or two and then they were gone.

Then in the beginning of August, I hit my head again (not that hard) on the wall going up our stairs in our home. I got all the same symptoms as back in April, which was strange since I did not really hit my head all that hard. Had a headache for a few days and then I was fine.

Now comes labor day. I went on a old wooden roller coaster with my husband. The first drop I got a stabbing pain in my front right side of my head. The stabbing pain did not stop until I got off the ride. When I got off the ride, I was having horrible headaches and felt all the same concussion symptoms. But this time the headaches were extremely bad.

It is now Nov 3rd. I still have the headaches. I have been to my primary doctor and 2 neurologists. I have had MRI's of the brain and neck and MRA's of the head and neck, as well as an x-ray of my neck. If have been on naproxen, butal-apap-caff tabs, divalproex and amnitriptiline. Each one having their own side effects.

IF I don’t take any medications, I can't function at all. I tried it a few weeks ago to go off everything and the pain in my head was so bad, I could not get out of bed (not easy when you have 2 small kids at home). My top front teeth were numb, I got some numbness down to my left hand, my ears hurt, I could turn my head from side to side. The headaches were so bad I almost went to the ER, but I was told they would send me home and tell me to go see a neurologist.

Right now I am back on the amnitriptiline, as well as a natural concoction of Migra-Eeze, Magnesium, Complete B-complex, and 5-HTP (which I stopped because it was giving me stomach pains). It does help somewhat, but the headaches are by no means gone. The Neurologist says they are Trauma Induced Migraines. He said that next week he is going to start me on a 1-week steriod pack to see if that helps.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Is so, please help!!!

Suzanne

Suzanne,

My doctor told me it was similar to shaken baby syndrome, but it was shaken head syndrome. Because I have had several car accidents with concussions, as well as doing things like riding rollar coasters, white water rafting and zip-lining at 55 miles an hour and then coming to an abrupt stop, my brain just keeps getting jostled! He felt that these issues were related to my increase in migraines and told me that I needed to refrain from things like rollar coasters and ziplining.

He never said they were trauma induced migraines - just that it was another part of the picture that contributed to the growth of my migraines.

Cyn

Hello Suzanne and welcome to our forum family! Our goal is to provide everyone with the information and support that we all need to manage our Migraines and/or headaches. To that end, we consider this a “safe harbor,” where nobody tries to sell us anything, and we all use “family-friendly” language so parents are comfortable letting their children read the forum with them.

Please take a few minutes to review our policies and guidelines along with the other information in the START HERE folder. For information about Migraines, a good article to begin with is Learning About Migraines - Where to Start.

Reading your story reminded me of Nancy Bonk's story:

My Social Security Disability Journey

Nancy is our Community Manager and she's out of town right now but she'll be back late next week. I'll give her a heads up on your post and she can give you a better answer but in the meantime, you can take a look at her story.

Welcome again! I look forward to seeing you around the forum

Hi, Suzanne, and welcome!

Is there a reason the neurologist is waiting until next week to start the steroid pack to see if it helps and gives you any relief? Did he mention a possible conflict with something else you might be taking? It just kind of seems a little strange to me that if there aren't any contraindications with the dose pack that they wouldn't start right away?

How about the scans and tests you've had. Numbness often indicates a nerve that's pinched or impinged. Has the neuro mentioned anything about looking more deeply to see if a compromised nerve can be found?

I know first hand that trauma can affect migraines. I had a bad chiropractic experience a few years back that goobered up my neck, and now that I've got an excellent chiropractor helping me to work at getting it straightened out I've really noticed what an impact it has on my migraines. When my neck is feeling particularly snarly and aggravated, I trigger a lot easier, and the migraine tends to dig in deeper. When I'm in a good stretch, and my neck feels better and behaves itself, I don't trigger nearly as bad.

I suspect that carnival rides wouldn't be so friendly to my neck and head anymore. I don't know this for sure, since I haven't been on a carnival ride since sometime B.G. (Before Gooberage). My sister, who was my ride buddy, lives in another state now, so I've never tested my limits A.G. (After Gooberage). It's probably just as well.

One thing you might want to consider if the neuro's ideas don't pan out is the idea of seeing an actual headache specialist. A true specialist might be better able to address your needs, since they focus only on headaches, as opposed to seizures and MS, and all kinds of other things general neurologists tend to specialize in. If you would like to see it, we've got a link of patient-recommended specialists Right Here.

Welcome to MyMigraineConnection!

I'm so sorry to hear about your head pain, and although your neurologist may be a fine doctor, if he isn’t able to help you, it may well be time to consult a Migraine and headache specialist. It’s important to note that neurologists aren’t necessarily Migraine and headache specialists. Take a look at the article Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special? If you need help finding a Migraine specialist, check our listing of Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists

For some people seeing a specialists makes all the difference in the world. They treat Migraines and headache disorders all day, every day and are the experts. Neurologists treat so many different conditions, like MS, epilepsy and stroke it is hard for them to be experts in one area. Does that make sense?

Don't Ignore Head Trauma and Headaches is a pod cast that may be helpful for you. Let me know what you think.