Hello,

I have a 6 year old that I think may be having a form of CH.  The summer when my son was 4 he started having these terrible headaches that would only last about 5 to 15 minutes.  They were so bad he would bang and hit his head crying for them to stop.  They started out about 1 a week and then during the hottest part of the summer they got to be a couple a day.  Then when the weather started cooling off they seemed to cool off too.  During that summer we took him to the ER for one and they did a CT to see if he had hit his head and all was clear.  His doctor sent him to a headache clinic/specialist and we were glad that they may be able to fix the issue. Once the dr. evaluated him (touch your toes, walk this way....bla bla bla) he said that our son didn't need and MRI and that he was suffering from a-typical migraines.  A-typical because they didn't last very long.  The dr. gave him an adult RX for Zomig and said that give him one tab at the very onset of his headaches to deconstrict the vessels in his brain.  I'm not sure if they work or not, but we try.  Through the winter he doesn't have any headaches, but it is starting to warm up again and guess what....This week he has had 3.  They seem to be milder now or maybe it is just because he is older, but he hasn't beat his head in a while.  He had them last summer too.  I dread that summer even though it is So fun with t-ball and swimming and other activities because of these horrible headaches.  He doesn't seem to have any Migraine symptoms like light issues or anything else, but he doens't have the stuffy nose or the puffy eye either.  The headaches do however seem to always be over the same eye and on that temple side.  

Thanks for listening!  
God Bless!!!!

triptans for a 6 yr old?? Change doctors and get o2.

OMG...I read that Helen and my eyes popped out of my head, as I am sure yours did.

Ellie...Helen has a child with clusters and he's had them since he was 3.    Please find another Dr.  fast.  That is very bad advice.  Helens son can only use 02 to abort a headache.  

I'm sorry I couldn't type more last night - my hands were hurting alot and it took a lot of effort to type that much.

Triptans are not supposed to be diagnosed for under 16's. I've heard of some kids of 12 etc having them but NEVER a kid as young as six.
They are vaso constrictors.. that's a very dangerous thing to be treating such a small child with and frankly, any doctor who will treat a child in that sort of pain - which IS unusual for a child without wanting further investigations - should be struck off the medical register.

My own GP when I went to see him said that any child with severe head pain should see a neuro asap to rule out anything else. MY GP said it was not the norm which is a statement reiterated by every neuro I've seen for both myself AND Jasper. (We both have CH)

Chances are your child doesn't have CH. The length of attack and lack of autonomic symptoms suggest otherwise but the fact you're looking indicates you're not happy with the diagnosis to date. You NEED to see a HA specialist neuro and you NEED an MRI. If a Cat Scan was satisfactory then neuro's wouldn't use MRI's. Cat Scans have their use and as an additional tool are very useful. I had both when I was diagnosed but for Jasper at three, it was only an MRI that was considered good enough.

Did the doctor prescribe any preventative meds? Zomig is an abortive - it should only be used once an attack has started and NEVER as an "in case" option.

The fact you haven't mentioned any other meds also bothers me greatly. Whether your son has migraine or a different headache condition he should have meds to prevent them coming. Incidentally my other son has had migraines since a very young age. He has 2-3 "cycles" of migraines a year and nothing in between. It's not just CH that comes in "waves"

We are not doctors here, all we can do is share our experiences and it has to be said, we are expert patients!

Let us know how you get on

Helen