12 year old with continuous headache for 16 months

[Sammumofthree]

In brief my DD has had a constant headache for 16 months, numerous scans, x-rays, blood tests and consultations have ruled out anything sinister but can give no clues as to the cause. An osteopath correctly identified that she had grown considerably over the last 18 months, found her pelvis, spine and neck slightly out of kilter and said that the headache was the body's response to this "stress" and would remain until she had stopped growing,poss another 2 years. The headache does not respond to any pain relief at all and gets worse if she gets any kind of infection. If we have to wait this out then we will but I'd hate to think we missed anything, has anyone come acroos this kind of thing before?

gosh how horrid for her :(

have you looked at the basics though... is she drinking enough water for example?
also, taking painkillers for prolonged periods can give you a headache- do you think that could be part of the problem?

i would consider seeing another osteopath though, or maybe specifically a cranial osteopath. did the one you saw before actually give any treatment to get her aligned properly again or just say it wouldn't help?

Has she had her eyes tested? Properly by a specialist optician? It make be she has something that is making reading harder such as irlen Meyers - I have just been diagnosed and it has solved my reading headaches, if she is doing more school studying it may only be showing now

Oh yes and you can get a paracetamol headache from taking it too often try swapping to aspirin

Do NOT swap to Aspirin - it shouldn't be taken by under 16s because of the risk of Reye's Syndrome, a potentially fatal condition assoiciated with Aspirin use in children.

We went through all the basics at the beginning, got her eyes, teeth and gas appliances tested. Tried early nights, lots of fresh air, limited tv, computer work etc Her diet is very good and she drinks plenty of water but we did try eliminating different foods. We stopped the pain killers early on for exactly the reason you stated and only use them to to reduce her temp ,period pains etc. We have tried homeopathy, bowen technique, a chiropractor and finally the cranial osteopath who has treated her although DD feels that the chiropractor was more effective and we may go back to her. We (us, GP and consultant) have also eliminated stress- she started at a Grammar sch last sept but loves every minute of it and is doing well. The headache started with an ear infection and I cant help feeling that this is the root cause but this has been dismissed by all the medics we have seen. She has had some relief from treatment provided by the chiropractor- we only went to the cranial osteopath as the chiropractor felt that she couldnt do any more for her. Both the chiropractor and osteopath re-align her each time but although stabilising the headache the treatment hasn't "cured" it....We/she will try anything except accupuncture!

Could it be linked to her sinuses? I had sinusitis last year at the end of a nasty cold/ear infection, and the resultant headache lasted bloody ages, about 6-7 weeks iirc.

Thinking back (waaaaay back) a friend at school had sinus problems due to weird nasal passages. Don't ask me how they were weird, it was ages ago! She suffered from loads of headaches. She saw an ENT specialist and there was an operation, think it pretty much solved the problem.

Sorry if you've already been down this route with your DD, I hope you find some answers and a permanent cure soon.

Sounds miserable for her. A friend (adult) suffered severe headaches for a few months and the cause was eventually found to be a filling that she had had, before the headaches started. Did DD have any dental treatment prior to onset?

You mention that it started with an ear infection - has she seen an ENT specialist?

Hope you get some answers soon.

Poor girl :( . has anyone suggested nueralgia ? That is an awful pain i've had it a few times and the times I've had it it never responded to any painkllers i went through 4 lots of antibiotics for sinus pain but nothing worked then someone mentioned nueralgia and thats what it was Maybe this is no use to you but its worth looking into > Hope you get some solution soon

Agree that it could be teeth related, so worth ruling out.

God, it sounds awful. I had loads and loads of headaches as a teen - apparently hormonal, and they vanished when I was about 15.

I don't know if I've imagined this, but I'm sure I remember someone taking the pill to balance out their hormones a bit when they were getting frequent headaches. She may be a bit young, but thought I would mention it.

Thankyou for all your suggestions. An x-ray ruled out sinus problems and our dentist confirmed that her teeth were all in order (she doen't have any filings, yet!). Her original consultant, whilst not ruling out hormones entirely, said that it was very unlikely as the headaches didn't behave like hormonal headaches in that they didn't vary when she was just before or on her period. Nueralgia sounds like something worth investigating, there are loads of nerves near the ear and a big one passes across the forehead which is where the headache is located. We havent seen an ENT consultant yet, that is my next suggestion to the GP who we are seeing next week....

I have a couple of freinds who suffer with nueralgia often and there pain is around the ear and up and around the head mine was in the face but like you say the are so many nerves there. Im not sure if you are into using tissue salts but the only thing that brought me relief was now hep sulp 8 by new era it doesnt work for everyone but maybe its worth a try you can get them from boots or any health shop. Hope shes better soon

Sorry its not herp sulph its MAG PHOS 8 By new era especially for nerve pain /neuralgia it doesnt work for everyone but maybe its worth a try you can get them from boots or any health shop. Hope shes better soon