Migraines triggered by sinus
 

Hi y'all,
My dd has had migraines since she was 2. Eventually she also was dx with chronic sinus infections, and we whittled them down enough to pinpoint some dietary triggers.

With meds (elavil) she has been pretty much symptom free for almost a year...and we were weaning her off the meds (yay)

She developed a cold just before we were going to lower the dosage again; so we've delayed it. The cold turned into a sinus infection; which we think we've treated successfully (she's not very snuffly, and not draining obviously)

However, a week off the antibiotics and she's still getting daily headaches!

Could a sinus infection have triggered the migraines to recur? Or is it more likely still the sinus issue?

I hate to cross examine her too closely or she gets self conscious and says its nothing or decides she's dying. :rolleyes:

Anyways...I don't think its the meds, because she'd been steady for more than 3 mos before the cold. It doesn't seem to be dietary, or dehydration. Or stress. Any other ideas? I hate to up the dosage if thats not necessary (the med does cause some mood fluctuations which concern me, though not as much as the chronic pain did)

headaches
 

This may be of no real help at all, your post caught my eye. I have had what I thought were sinus headaches and infections, etc, since 20's, and just found out at 47 that they have been migraines! IF you type in the google bar, sinus/migraine it has articles on how people have gone for years thinking their migraine was a sinus infection. Funny, though the only thing that took mine away was the antibiotic Biaxin. Later found out it has anti inflamatory effects. I even had sinus surgery! Apparently there are all types of migraines which I am just learning about. And have not had one yet to need meds, but am working on that with a neurologist. You think after like 5 cat scans someone might have caught it? Well my PCP finally did. Wow. Good luck ! Last time I did have a cold with globs of yellow mucus I did not have a headache! Very complicated.

mold hypersensitivity
 

That sounds like mold hypersensitivity. It happens to a lot of people but its rarely recognized.

I get terrible headaches and fatigue when I get exposed to mold. Even amounts that I can't smell. Just being in many stores can trigger it. I also now have several other conditions that get triggered by mold exposure. Its the result of living in a very moldy building for a long time. (no, I don't anymore) Cholestyramine has been a life saver for me. I was going down. I'm still very sick but so much better than I was a year ago when I first found this out.

Some people get much sicker from mold than others. Also, we each have a finite amount of coping with these things than others and when its used up, then you are in trouble. You get sick at the drop of a hat. Thats where I'm at right now, so I do my best to avoid mold.

Cholestyramine removes mold toxins from recirculating from liver to bile to intestines and back into the bloodstream again. They can build up a lot of toxicity and it causes all sorts of problems. Headaches. Vertigo. Nausea, Ringing in the ears. Extreme fatigue.

She may also have a problem with fungal colonization of her nasal cavity which is also not uncommon. They have nasal antifungal sprays that can help this but first she needs to get a culture done of her nasal secretions to verify thats what it is. But its happening a lot.

IF this is what is happening to her she needs a good doctor. And there are very, very few doctors who understand this issue because its so political.

It also sometimes takes a Cscan or Mri to see a sinus infection.

So you maybe on to something about that too. I would definately
get her to a doctor and have it checked out. But realizing that
you still might not have answers, I think I"d suggest they try
a round of antibiotics if there is even a slight chance.

I have a son that has migraines, that the sinus caused a continuous and
the only way they found the sinus, was that he had a MRI to rule out
things, and it found the sinus infection. ANd he was in bed all the time.

Donna

I often get sinus headaches that turn into full blown migraines. Coincidence? Not sure...

Re: Sinus vs. Migraine
 

Hi,

I have dealt a lot with the sinus/migraine issue in dealing with my own headchaches. However, I am not a doctor, and this is for informational purposes only.

Basically, about five years ago, they found that what many people had attributed to sinus headache was largely migraine, about 85%. So treating headache as a headache is the first line of defense.

On the other hand, if migraine treatments do not help (in my case) then there are rare cases where sinus anomalies, such as septal spurs, contact points (between septum and turbinates) etc, can cause pain. Typically, sinus infections to not cause long lasting pain.

In my case, I had one area of pain that was caused by contact points that lay there happily touching for years until they were irritated by living in a rural area with pesticides and molds in the air.

I think it would be easy for a sinus infection to trigger migraines. However, if they are ongoing every day, she may wish to check for medication rebound issues. If one takes tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen, triptans, etc. every day, one can end up with these medication, or drug induced rebound headaches. These headaches typically vary in area on the head.

Finally, I did find that my headaches were worsened by my holding tension in my facial muscles, and that I needed to remember to keep my face relaxed.

I also read on these boards once about a woman who swam every day, and had chronic headaches. When she rinsed her sinuses with saline after swimming each day, she finally had the solution. So, like the previous poster suggested, sensitivity to airborne particles or chemicals can cause "sinus" headaches.

Hope this helps. Its nice of you to take an interest in her health. However, she may know more than you think!

Lara

Thanks everyone...I just popped in to update.

We saw her neurologist, who wanted to boost her meds back up to her maintenance dose (double what she was taking, total of 20 mg? 2 pills, anyway, whatever the measurement) That triggered massive migraines and meltdowns. I dropped the med for a couple of days and she rapidly improved. I put her back on 1 pill, its been over a week and she's doing well. Her sinuses started draining more, so I'm back to the sinus suspect. She's barely 9; so its hard to know what's going on and how much control to give her. My plan is to stay at 1 pill and see if her headaches recurr or if this sinus drainage solves the issue. If not, I'll boost her by half pills. Whats frustrating me is the dr keeps telling me that what I am witnessing is rare. The pills don't effect her right away, they seem to have cumulative effect. But, I'veread this is a common problem in kids because their livers don't filter the same way. Grrr!!! Anyways...I *really* feel the sunuses are having an impact. I also have an odd feeling we should be lowering the dose, not raising it. But I'm not sure what to base that on (other than I do want her off, I don't like the effects of changing the dosage. Makes me wonder about long term effects, yk?)

And I'm trying to learn more about the mold sensitivity. I've often wondered if there were a mold allergy, based on when the headaches are worst.