Aa
Headaches & More.....Please Help Me :(
Hi, my 16 year old son has been having headaches starting about +6 months ago. It started to get frequent as each month went by. One time it was so bad he threw up. We took him to his pediatrician. It was not the flu, it was not an ear infection, blood tests came back normal, blood pressure good. Now he's having a hard time with balance (gets up losing his balance & walking, seeming the need to hold himself up by holding the wall), and that is getting worse as each week goes by. His headaches are described as all around his head throbbing. Now he's sleeping more than usual and his eyes are not looking the same as before. His short term memory is kinda getting bad; not sure if that has to do with being a teenager or not. I tell him something and he'll ask me 30 seconds later what I asked him to do again. He'll forget to close the gate/door, leaves things behind, these things may seem simple, but he never use to do this before. He's not depressed and he doesn't have any stress. Should I take him to a neurologist or is this a typical teenager physical phase in life thing? Even his step mom noticed he's "different" physically (eyes, balance, headaches, etc.). Am I too paranoid or should I see a neurologist? Please help me!
I am so glad to hear that he is doing good! :)
I know what it is like to live in the hospital during chemo sessions...
My husband found out he had Testicular Cancer in January 2004, 1 month after I found out I was pregnant with our little girl.... I slept in the window seat at the hospital while he went through 4 rounds of chemo at 1 week on - 2 week off intervals, by the time he was done in June 2004 I was 8 months pregnant.
I think the worst part is not being able to do anything for your son but be there, but I can definitely say it does get better. I know that it will be hard, but make sure that you don't have too many people coming to the hospital to see him because overstimulation can make the recovery process longer, guess that is why it is usually only 2 visitors at a time ...When I had my AVM Brain surgery, I was so bored in the hospital that I wanted everyone to be there when I wasn't sleeping....only problem with that is I found myself over doing it, and by the time I realized...I didn't want to hurt anyones feelings. Lets just say it has taken well over the 8 weeks they told me and I am still in recovery 2 years later, probably part of my own doing. I went home after 7 days and I slept alot or the first week, but I had a 2yr. old by that time and I wanted to get back to doing the things my way. My husband had to learn how to take care of the house and when I seen everything, I over did it big time!
I am not trying to tell you what to do or anything, just been there in his shoes as far as the surgery goes.
He is really lucky to have a mom like you that is going to be there, and he will definitely remember that! At his age it isn't so cool to be close to mom, Even if you were close before, it is going to be much different now. :)
I will be praying for you and your son daily. I am also really sorry to hear about the loss of your Daughter.
I believe that everything will be ok, you have been through enough. There is light at the end of the tunnel again, if you look at it. You are already treating the problem...just a month ago you posted about his symptoms, and now you are in recovery for surgery. see it is already getting brighter! :)
Well it is late, keep me posted and God Bless You and your Son!
I know what it is like to live in the hospital during chemo sessions...
My husband found out he had Testicular Cancer in January 2004, 1 month after I found out I was pregnant with our little girl.... I slept in the window seat at the hospital while he went through 4 rounds of chemo at 1 week on - 2 week off intervals, by the time he was done in June 2004 I was 8 months pregnant.
I think the worst part is not being able to do anything for your son but be there, but I can definitely say it does get better. I know that it will be hard, but make sure that you don't have too many people coming to the hospital to see him because overstimulation can make the recovery process longer, guess that is why it is usually only 2 visitors at a time ...When I had my AVM Brain surgery, I was so bored in the hospital that I wanted everyone to be there when I wasn't sleeping....only problem with that is I found myself over doing it, and by the time I realized...I didn't want to hurt anyones feelings. Lets just say it has taken well over the 8 weeks they told me and I am still in recovery 2 years later, probably part of my own doing. I went home after 7 days and I slept alot or the first week, but I had a 2yr. old by that time and I wanted to get back to doing the things my way. My husband had to learn how to take care of the house and when I seen everything, I over did it big time!
I am not trying to tell you what to do or anything, just been there in his shoes as far as the surgery goes.
He is really lucky to have a mom like you that is going to be there, and he will definitely remember that! At his age it isn't so cool to be close to mom, Even if you were close before, it is going to be much different now. :)
I will be praying for you and your son daily. I am also really sorry to hear about the loss of your Daughter.
I believe that everything will be ok, you have been through enough. There is light at the end of the tunnel again, if you look at it. You are already treating the problem...just a month ago you posted about his symptoms, and now you are in recovery for surgery. see it is already getting brighter! :)
Well it is late, keep me posted and God Bless You and your Son!
Hi Angela,
Unfortunately as I type this, I am sitting in the hospital sitting next to my son who was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma. His brain tumor was the size of a man's fist. It has spreaded to his spine. He is recovering from the brain surgery and is doing pretty well. He will start chemo and radiation therapy in a few days. He still needs lots of rehab to gain his strength and balance. His vision is bad, but hopefully will get better in time. If not, corrective surgery is possible but not till later down the road. We will probably be here for another 2 months and after that will be outpatient therapy for chemo every 3 weeks.
I am a hospital mom again.... my 5 month old daughter was born with a very rare heart condition.... she died in my arms 3 years ago. So this is much harder for me to deal with because I was just finding some light from the darkness I experienced 3 years ago. We are at a very good hospital in Los Angeles (rated 9 in the nation in pediatrics).
Unfortunately as I type this, I am sitting in the hospital sitting next to my son who was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma. His brain tumor was the size of a man's fist. It has spreaded to his spine. He is recovering from the brain surgery and is doing pretty well. He will start chemo and radiation therapy in a few days. He still needs lots of rehab to gain his strength and balance. His vision is bad, but hopefully will get better in time. If not, corrective surgery is possible but not till later down the road. We will probably be here for another 2 months and after that will be outpatient therapy for chemo every 3 weeks.
I am a hospital mom again.... my 5 month old daughter was born with a very rare heart condition.... she died in my arms 3 years ago. So this is much harder for me to deal with because I was just finding some light from the darkness I experienced 3 years ago. We are at a very good hospital in Los Angeles (rated 9 in the nation in pediatrics).
I hope that you have already gone to a neurologist.
In July of 2006, After a 5 day headache, short term memory loss and Nausea/ vomiting. I ended up at the Emergency room. After a ton of tests including a spinal for meningitis, I was told to go home and that I just had a migraine.
I was at first misdiagnosed, and then told that I was ok. Thank God my family physician said that it didn't sound right and sent me to another neurologist. I ended up at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MICH. I had a AVM Malformation diagnosis and after I talked to the best Neurosurgeon (in my opinion), I ended up having surgery in November of 2006 because it had already started to bleed. I am here today because of a second opinion, make sure that you get all the tests including a MRI with and without contrast, a CT Scan, and Angiogram. I totally agree with Ashley on this one! I have all kinds of problems due to the bleed, still short term memory loss and headaches, but I am still here to be with my husband and now 4 yr. old daughter . Make sure that you push and push until you get results! God bless and if you need any more info, let me know!
Angela
In July of 2006, After a 5 day headache, short term memory loss and Nausea/ vomiting. I ended up at the Emergency room. After a ton of tests including a spinal for meningitis, I was told to go home and that I just had a migraine.
I was at first misdiagnosed, and then told that I was ok. Thank God my family physician said that it didn't sound right and sent me to another neurologist. I ended up at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MICH. I had a AVM Malformation diagnosis and after I talked to the best Neurosurgeon (in my opinion), I ended up having surgery in November of 2006 because it had already started to bleed. I am here today because of a second opinion, make sure that you get all the tests including a MRI with and without contrast, a CT Scan, and Angiogram. I totally agree with Ashley on this one! I have all kinds of problems due to the bleed, still short term memory loss and headaches, but I am still here to be with my husband and now 4 yr. old daughter . Make sure that you push and push until you get results! God bless and if you need any more info, let me know!
Angela
I am a 19 year old girl that had an AVM bleed in my brain last year. Since this happened I have heard stories of how other AVMs happened. The most frequent way others find out they have one is by having bad headaches and slower short term memory. An AVM is a tangle of blood vessles that someone is born with (a lot of people live there whole life with and don't know it). It can occur anywhere in the body where blood vessels are. Ihave heard mainly the brain or spinal cord. Me and my mother think you should take him to a neurologist ASAP! My AVM is so small they can't see it on an MRI so they have to an Angiogram to see it. So we think you should go to a neurologist and request a MRI, a CT scan and an Angiogram. I not saying he DOES have an AVM. I am saying that as a teen there IS something wrong! Best of luck!--Ashley
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Neurology Community
Top Neurology Answerers
Allentown, PA
ON
Queensland, Australia
Queen Creek, AZ
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease
