Question: Son with 2-week tension headache... neuro? How long?
Answer:
Full Question:
My son has recently developed his first
"tension headache". It has lasted 2 weeks. The physicians in the ER, where he
has gone 3 times in those 2 weeks, did a CAT scan and a spinal tap...both came
back negative. My son thinks he is having a "melt down"...it is the last week of
his college career at U of Michigan. He can't take his exams. He can hardly sit
up. Part of this was due to the spinal tap...but he says he has symptoms of a
"tension headache" as well. The ER doctors want him to see a neurologist. WHAT
can a neurologist do for him? Medicine? Are there any treatments that do not
involve drugs ? and HOW LONG will this headache go on? THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Karleen.
Answer:
Dear Karleen;
Your son really does need to be seeing a doctor outside of the ER, a doctor who is in a better position to do a full medical history and perhaps a more complete examination. A neurologist can perform a more complete neurological exam than most ER doctors, and should be able to give him a firm diagnosis and help him with a plan for treatment. What a neurologist can do for him depends on what the diagnosis is. Depending on that, there may well be some nonpharmaceutal alternatives such as biofeedback, relaxation techniques, or massage therapy. Without knowing what's causing this headache, it's impossible to predict its duration.
Good luck,
Teri Robert and John Claude Krusz
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Published April 24, 2006
