Pediatric Stroke

[MilanMiller]

It has been discovered from an MRI that my 13 year old daughter has had a stroke.  Her only symptoms are headache, dizziness, and nausea.  The headacheas are what brought us to the doctor who ordered the MRI.  When the MRI showed signs of a stroke, she sent us to a neurologist.  The neurologist seemed to think the stroke was "old" and occured before she was born, or as an infant because other than the "migraines" she suffered no symptoms.  He feel the migraines are brought on by puberty and non related to the stroke.  The stroke occured in the cerebullum.  To prove his theory he sent her for a CT scan and said that it was to prove the stroke was old because a CT scan would only show "new bleeds".  The CT scan came back and says the same thing as the MRI but the neurologist says again he still feels that this is an "old bleed" and the migraines are non-related and we should worry about it.  All we need to do is treat the migraines and she will be fine.  These headaches my daughter is experiencing are horrible.  They make her nausous and dizzy and they come from the back of her head as she describes them.  We are at a lost as to what to do next.  Her pediatrician is looking for another neurolgist to get a second opinion and feels further testing should be done.  Can you clarify the symtoms of cerebellum strokes?  And can they determine from the MRI or the CT scan that it is indeed an "old" stroke and possibly happened before she was born?  How do they determine this?

[MP767]

by M. P

Do not worry about the MRI that showed your daughter had a CVA and try to enjoy the life with her as she is a normal person because believe me SHE IS, sometimes our though seems
to have a deep effect in our lifes, including mind and human body also and it is not good for us, you might want to look into the possiblility to see an alternative medicine doctor (ND ) I know  the fact that is your daughter might makes you be more worry but think that health care providers are not perfect and sometimes make mistakes plus health care providers sometimes make you more worry than you already are and God Almighty is the Only One that has the Power to Do Miracles . HAVE FAITH , PRAY TO GOD AND GOD WILL LISTEN TO YOU AND WILL DO A MIRACLE TO YOUR DAUGHTER, do not listen to the negative. I work in the medical field but Iam the witness that God's Power is Amaizing and Iam absolutely sure about what the human being are no able to do for God Is Easy to Do. One day years ago I was a mother very worry about her daughter's health and your case kind of remind me what was my own life @ that point till one day one old doctor who had a very strong faith and saw my daughter told me: Mother be patient and have faith in God and he will do a miracle that we doctors can not do to your little daughter. The very same day I went home more confident and I listen to that old doctor beautilful words  and weeks later I saw with my own eyes the Strong Power of the Creator of this World.God changed my little daughter's health forever and the same thing could happen to your daughter too, just God knows the reason of what happen in our life and the purpose.

[stillkickin242]

  Your daughter may have migraines, but the fact that she has had one stroke would make me worry about why that happened and why she is having neurological symptoms.  Basically, your doctor may end up being right, but I think you may want to get second and third opinions first.
  At the very least your daughter should be tested for a PFO (paten foramen ovale) which is a small hole in the heart that causes many pediatric strokes and be tested for blood clotting disorders.  The test for a PFO is a really simple procedure and very important if that was what caused your daughters stroke.  I had TIA's misdiagnosed as migraines for a long time before I had a few strokes when I was 18.  A PFO was the cause of my strokes and it was an easy fix I wish I knew about before I had the strokes.
  Don't worry too much, but also don't stop being persistent until you get answers!
  Good Luck!

[LGroom]

Others have mentioned getting an MRA (arteries), but hopefully they have also done an MRV (veins).  My daughter woke up one morning (she's 5) horribly dizzy, vomiting, couldn't walk without almost falling down.  She had venous clots and injury to the left cerebellum.  Her MRA was totally normal.  She has done 4 months of blood thinner shots and you would never know she ever had this problem.  

Hopefully you have more answers at this time and your daughter is doing well.
Lisa

[MilanMiller]

Does anyone know what this means?  This is from my daughter's echocardigram.  


Left Atrium:
There is evidence of an intra-atrial septal aneurysm

[joesi]

"Frustrating" is an understatement. We are all use to dealing with bad service at a resturant or store. No big deal. We just move on. However, when bad service has to deal with the health of a loved one, it's much more difficult to just "move on". As humans, we become more emotionally involved. Pain and suffering plays a big part and we become annoyed when some "professionals" seem to care MORE about how much money they can make than about using their GOD given intellect to truely help. I have no answers nor do I think any one or group who have the power to make a change are willing to step forward.
The only suggestion I have is to seek help from the likes of Duke in Raleigh, North Carolina or other such type of hospital that deals with cutting edge medical research. You might get lucky and find a young doctor interested more in helping with human suffering. Now, if you wanted to purchase a car, a pizza or even get a haircut, I have several people I could recommend. I am sad to say I have no specific recommendations to help you in your situation.
I truely wish you much luck and if you do find someone, let ME know.

[MilanMiller]

She has had an MRA which has come back fine.  The MRI and CT scan have been the only abnormal tests which both show lesions in both sides of the cerebellum.  Believe me, I'm trying to learn as much as I can and figure out what is going on.  It seems to me that the doctors aren't very concerned because Anna is completely fine except for the migraines and other symptoms.  I'm the one pushing for more test and information.  One thing I would like is for the next neurologist we meet with to view the MRI and CT scans himself / herself.  This last doctor did not and only went by the radiologist report.  I'm not a doctor, but that seems wrong.  If I were a physcian, I would want to study the actual images for myself before I made my own diagnosis and not base it on someone else opinion.  I believe the first problem here is that we were sent to a doctor that is not very thorough.  He seemed very quick to jump to a conclusion and did not offer much information and left us with more questions than answers.  The difficult part is finding the right doctor.  I've called several places and none will take appointments without prior conversation with her pediatrician.  It's very frustrating but I will keep pressing.  Thanks for your help, I appreciate it. If you know of any good doctors you would recomend, I would appreciate that also.  We live in the midsouth and are willing to travel anywhere to get the right help.  

[joesi]

I keep suggesting to you to get her a MRA. There's a difference as compared to just a MRI. You might like to read up on them and about a Cat Scan.
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angiomr&bhcp=1
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodyct

Simply ask intelligent and straight forward questions. If they say it's an "old bleed", ask them to show you how they arrived at that conculsion. A good doctor can explain anything so that the average adult will understand it. Try to stay away from asking emotional questions that are likely impossible to answer like, will she ever get better, etc, etc. Most doctors will give you only a 15 minute appointment. Use that time wisely. Do a little research yourself ahead of time. Get informed. Search the internet. I've given you two web sites above to start with. Step up and take some control. You are the mother of your 13 year old daughter. She's depending on you for guidance and help. Think of it this way, how did your doctor become a doctor? He/she wasn't born with the knowlege. They had to learn it. They had to read. They had to study. Spend a few hours on the internet. You'll be happy you did. Once you've gained a little general knowlege and understanding, THEN develope some questions that are specific to your daughters condition. Remember when your daughter first asked you about where babies came from? She was probably real young and you probably didn't go into very much detail. Why? Because you knew she didn't possess sufficient knowlege to fully understand it all. She probably walked away a little confused by your answers. Today, because she has had time to study and learned, she should be more capable of understanding... and you are no different.

[MilanMiller]

We are in the US and have excellent health insurance.  Can an MRI or CT Scan determine whether or not the stroke is an "old" bleed?  What questions should we ask the doctor?

[joesi]

I think you're on the right track by seeking another opinion. Perhaps in another hospital that specializes in strokes and in a different city. Do not ignore the previous CT Scan and MRI results. You might want to suggest a MRA next time. Move forward. Ringing in her ears may or may not be related.
Are you in the U.S. and do you have health insurance?

[MilanMiller]

I've been assuming the same thing and hoping that it is related to puberty.  She has not started her cycle yet and these awful headaches have been going on since May.  I wouldn't worry so much about the headaches except that we got back the MRI which has shown lesions on both sides of her cerebellum.  The CAT Scan has shown the same thing put the neurologist is not doing any further testing.  We're trying to get in to see another neurologist for a 2nd opinion, but it is a 4 week wait for the office visit.  The odd thing to me is I think I would have seen some type of symptom when the stroke occured.  
She also complains of having "ringing in her ears".  What could that be from?

[joesi]

As I read this, I remembered when my daughter was that age. She suffered with headache, dizziness, and nausea. It was also about the same time she began her menstrual cycles. Her doctor put her on the "pill" and she improved dramatically. Just a thought.
A CAT Scan can "see" brain swelling which typically occurs right after a hemorrhagic stroke. If she had a stroke some time ago, one would assume the swelling has subsided. Perhaps you might want to have a MRA done which will "see" more of the brains vascular structures as compared to a MRI and "see" if there are any aneurysms. Again, just a thought.