Re: Alice and Wonderland Syndrome

Posted By Susan on June 14, 1999 at 10:11:34
My seven yr old son, Evan, has been experiencing visuals episodes since Jan 99 that cause everything in his field of vision to shrink.  The episodes last anywhere from 1 to 20 minutes.  He has no headaches or other pain.  The frequency increased to daily and multiple times a day.  The course of doctor visits ended with a neurologist who called it "Alice and Wonderland Syndrome" or retinal migranes (migraines) and we were told to monitor it and come back when he started getting headaches.  They would put him on preventive drugs at that point.  I took him to a chiropractor and we saw immediate changes in the pattern and our longest span without an episode went 19 days.  In the last 2 weeks, we have seen the episodes on the rise again.  I'm having a hard time taking comfort in the diagnosis and that I need to wait for him to get migraine headaches.  Do you know of other information on this.  Is there a posibility that something else is going on and we need to continue to look for the cause of these episodes.  The only test that was done was an EEG to rule out seizures.

Thanks,
Susan

[HFHS M.D.-NI]

Posted By hfhs md - NI on June 14, 1999 at 13:58:27
Retinal migranes (migraines) are usually associated with positive visual auras such as strobe lights for up to 30 minutes.  They can be associated with transient vision reduction also.  It is unusual for a 7 year old child to get retinal migranes (migraines).  
If he has not seen a pediatric ophthalmologist, I would recommend such a referral.  He should have a complete eye exam.  If retinal migranes (migraines) are the cause, the exam should otherwise be normal.
I am not sure how a chiropractor's examination or treatment would help retinal migranes (migraines) or any other eye problem.
This information is for educational purposes only.

[Susan__0__0]

Posted By Susan on June 14, 1999 at 17:13:00
The progession of tests for Evan included a pediatric ophthalmologist who found nothing wrong with his eyes.  The 2 months of daily occurances spurred me to try something ... instead of just wait for a migrain headache.  The indication of subluxation (sp?) in his neck and an immediate response to chiropractic adjustment which changed his whole pattern of occurances - to the point that we thought we would see this disappear, was encouraging.  It was very discouraging to see the frequency start returning despite the continued chiropractic adjustments.
The neurologist told me they typically diagnosed this symptom as migrain related if they have ruled out other things...process of elimination.  Should I be concerned that they have not ruled out all the other possibilities?  I'm very sensitive to a mis-diagnosis after losing my husband in 11/97 as a result of misdiagnozing primary liver cancer for 6 months as mere indigestion/GERD.
Thanks for you help.
Susan
  










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Re: Alice and Wonderland Syndrome HFHS MD - NI 6/14/1999
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Alice and Wonderland Syndrome Paul 8/11/1999
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