June 10, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Moreno Valley, California, USA:
My daughter has been suffering with headaches for the last two years which the doctors have originally diagnosed as migraines. She starts vomiting, has a stomachache, and then the headache kicks in. I’ve watched her diet and have cut out all ‘trigger’ foods. She is under the care of a neurologist who prescribed medication, and it worked for a while, but then the headaches started happening again four to five days out of the week. She is now on a low level of an antidepressant, and it too worked for a while, but now we’re back to four to five days of headaches per week.
I’ve asked about the possibility of diabetes but got the shrug. We keep going through medicines, she’s not getting better, and I don’t know what to do. By the way, no blood work was ever done on her. Someone, anyone — help. What is the possibility this is diabetes?
Answer:
This does not sound like typical diabetes but this would be easy to check with some urine and blood work. It could be vascular or migraine-type headaches. I would go back and work more with the neurologists perhaps get another opinion from another neurology group as there are many in your area with whom you might consult. Sometimes CAT scan scans, MRI scans and EEGs help sort this out. Sometimes you just need to try different medicines. Some of the classical anti-seizure medications also will work. You describe a lot of headaches, and I would continue to ask these questions of the neurology specialists.
SB
