Migraine

I was so impressed with my girl, I just have to brag a bit.

We traveled to Cincinnati this week for some testing and an appointment. On Thursday morning Emilia was scheduled for an MRI under sedation. When I went through her history with the Anesthesiologist (most of the same info I had given before scheduling) he was a bit concerned. Last time Emilia was sedated, they had to max her out on all the drugs available because they couldn't keep her under. Back and forth everyone went trying to decide what to do, anesthesia or sedation. Eventually it was agreed that they were going to go ahead with the sedation.

At the last minute one of the nurses suggested trying the MRI without anesthesia or sedation. She thought Emilia seemed like a calm and compliant child and it was worth a shot. Everyone agreed to try it out and then sedate her if they needed to. The meds were all ready as no one else thought a four year old would be able to stay still enough.

Well Emilia showed them all! She barely moved a muscle during the entire 1 hour and 15 minutes. I know part of it was because she was scared, but i was so proud of her. They even had to pull her out, inject the dye and slide her back into the tube again. When they were done with the test Emilia was able to walk out of there, no recovery required, and go swimming right away. It was great!

She did equally well with the EEG. She cooperated and did everything they asked. She whispered to the tech that she really wanted to be done now, but did do what was needed to finish the test.

By the time we got to the neurology appointment, she was no longer speaking to any doctors or nurses. She would do what they asked her to do, walking in a straight line, touching her nose, ect., but would not say a word.

There were some tears when we went to the lab to have blood drawn, but I can't say I blame her. After being poked and prodded and all that, a few tears seemed justified.

So all went well. The MRI came out well. The only new thing was some sort of sinus disease, but we are already seeing ENT in two weeks for existing hearing loss, so I will have him review the report. What a relief that there was nothing more!

It appears there were a few spikes on the EEG and that leaves the neuro team to think it is seizures. We will be weaning Emilia off her current migraine preventative as it is known to lower seizure thresholds. At the same time we will begin a new medication that should cover seizures as well as migraines. She will take Depakote sprinkle twice a day and see how things go.

The trip went well, but I am SO glad to be home!
Kim

Thanks for checking in with us, Kim. So glad that things went well at the HA clinic, both with Emilia and with her results.

I wish you the best of luck with the Depakote, that it will work for her without side effects.

I know we'd all love to hear how her ENT appointment goes, so please keep us updated?