Stabbing headache after concussion

by michelle
(New Orleans, LA)

My 11 yr old son was involved in a bullying attack on him on 8/28/09. I never realized he had a concussion until 2 days later when he was having memory, headaches, and tiredness.

Saw our Pediatrician and he said keep him home for a week until all goes away. ok keep him home 1 week and having only memory problem so dr gets us an apt with pediatric neurologist. earliest is on 10/14/09. do an mri and ct normal. she sends us to concussion specialist and he said he needs to be on full restriction no phys ed, no recess, and 1/2 day school and tons of school work shortened.

ok now it's 2 months out and all has cleared up and his reaction time has improved on the IMPACT computer test, but now at 3 months he is having short popping, intense sharp pains that last anywhere from 3 seconds to 2 minutes. he said they appear in different areas of his head. he said the pain is bad. I have noticed that sometimes he will almost jumps as if he got a cold chill. and other times he sill grab his head in pain he can't move. sometimes they come several in a row and sometimes not. the doctor is puzzled and i am concerned.

Not sure if anyone has had this. oh i forgot he said sometimes he has the same pain in other parts of his body like his neck, legs, arms, fingers. any help?

Answer:

Hi Michelle,

I am glad that your son received what sounds like very appropriate and outstanding care for this head injury.

At times, 11 year olds do have difficulty telling us what exactly is wrong with them. They may confuse pain with tingling or "funny feelings". Symptoms like this that tend to come and go and are all over the body tend to be related to anxiety.

After having a bully attack him, then having a head injury and now to be pulled out of school may have caused some anxiety and self esteem problems. Only you as his mother can say whether or not you think this is true. Try to look at it from his point of view...being pulled from full school work and PE (although TOTALLY appropriate) just makes him stand out more and perhaps be subjected to more ridicule. He may think he did something wrong, even though he hasn't said this to you.

I must emphasize that the physicians did exactly what I would have recommended and have done for children in our practice. It is important to talk to your son about how he feels about what is going on.

If you feel this is the problem, please talk to the pediatrician or the headache specialist.

Good luck!
Mary Kay Betz MS RPA-C