upcoming neuro appointment ~ Need advice

Hello Everyone,

My almost 14 y/o daughter has transformed migraine. For the last year she has CDH 24/7 that varies in intensity. She also has daily

abdominal pain that at times is worse than the migraine. So, between the two she feels lousy most of the time. She has been

homeschooling for the past year because she wasn't feeling up to going in most days. She has recently been struggling with depression.

I am sure it is do to the chronic pain and isolation. Last summer she was taking Topomax. although it did not help her HA she lost

30lbs that she could not afford to lose. She has been off since September of last year but has been unable to gain weight back. People

who haven't seen her in a while are shocked at her appearence. 5'2" weighing 90lbs.


She has an upcoming pediatric neuro appoinment and I would love to get some advice. She has tried amatriptyline, nortriptyine,

fluoxetine, topamax, cyproheptadine. Massage, chiro, accupuncture, migraine elimination diet, counseling...

She is currently taking 40mg nortriptyline & 8 mg cyproheptadine. It is not clear wether she is getting any relief. Her HA in general is

lower on the pain scale than it was last fall...but not by much.

At her last appointment, the doctor was hesitant to change her medications because of her low body weight. Not wanting to give her

anything that would supress her appetite. But, what she is doing now is not effective.

Her doctors have been dead set against pain meds. Her only rescue is two aleve, two benedryl and a coffee drink...her neruo

suggested that. Not very effective and she only tries it when she's desperate. Is that common for doctors to refuse pain meds? How

do they expect her to manage life when she is always in constant pain? It's so frustrating!

Thanks for any suggestions,

Nicole'smom

Hi Nicole's mom,

So sorry to hear of her pain. My daughter struggled for 2 years with headaches her freshman and sophomore years. It really cut into her activities and school. So I know how frustrating it is.

Then we noticed an eye tooth come in on top of her other teeth. It turned out she had three impacted eye teeth below the surface that had never come in, and we never realized it. Her dentist (a real hot shot in the area) had totally missed it on her X-rays. We were so ticked off

Anyway, the oral surgeon pulled her baby teeth and she wore braces her last two years of high school, but we noticed there were no more headaches! So I realized the headaches had probably been from the impacted teeth all along.

So I don't know if that will help, but it's worth looking onto.

This, unfortunately, is rather typical, but can vary from dr. to dr. I am currently between neuros (long wait time) and my reg. dr is trying to help me. I'm allowed shots once every couple months if the pain is excruciating, and in May I was given 10 percocets to help me get through my daughter's graduation stuff. I was told there would be no more.

I know that there are others on here who have drs who will give them pain meds. I feel for the girl, and wish I had more answers. Just let her know that she is not alone!!

"freak"

I would recommend that you try a different doctor. I went through several just to get the right diagnosis.

What area do you live in? I can recommend some good ones in the SF Bay Area...