Ethan got his first migraine. He was at school and suddenly saw a flash of bright light and lost the peripheral vision in his left eye for about ten minutes. I took him home, and he suddenly felt nauseous and had a terrible headache.
So I rushed him to his doctor. I was afraid he had a brain tumor. Or something.
The doctor said he doesn't have a brain tumor. Just a migraine. But that we should see a neurologist anyway.
The neurologist agreed with the primary-care doctor: no brain tumor. Just a migraine. Take Motrin.
I'm not a panicky parent. If anything, I'm a little too slow to react to potential medical situations. My standard response to vomiting, fever, whatever, is to sleep on it and see how he feels in the morning.
This one panicked me a little bit, even though I didn't say that to Ethan. He picks up on everything.
I hate to see Ethan or Samuel in pain. And it just stresses me out to ponder the negative possibilities of--you know, anything. I just want to form a protective cocoon around them so that they are immune from sickness and pain for the rest of their lives. In the words of Woody Allen (in a scene from Annie Hall), "Boy, if life were only like this."
Did the doctor suspect any link to computer screen time? I think the glare and motion and duration share some causal effect, though if the doctors aren't talking about it, who am I to say? I get about two mild migraines/year, always beginning with zig-zag peripheral vision and followed by a very dull ache, usually of short duration. But I always suspect the screen, if I haven't blinked sufficiently, rotated my neck sufficiently, or taken enough breaks.
ReplyDeleteThere is an herb called feverfew specifically for migraines, if you want to investigate and not have to compromise other aspects of Ethan's health with Motrin.
Hope his symptoms have stopped.
Contributors: 1. Family history. 2. Fatigue/lack of sleep. 3. Stress. 4. Diet. 5. Lack of exercise. 6. Nobody knows.
ReplyDeleteHow much do you TALK about me?? Like 2/3 of your blog is about me!
ReplyDelete