Gabriel's Life Topic: headaches after exercise

ledmom on "headaches after exercise"

ledmom — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:22:46 +0000

Hi. I am not going to be very helpful, but just wanted you to know that you have lots of support "out there". My son is only two. He also had a cyst blocking in the posterior fossa region. A few weeks after the cyst was excised, he was shunted. I really do not know if he gets headaches, due to his young age. Honestly, he seems just as joyful and energetic (if not more) than his 2 siblings were at the same age. So I really do not believe that my son has headaches after exercise. Can the neurosurgeons conferenece? I saw that it was the neurologist who wants him medicated...did his various health professionals discuss together? That was very helpful in our son finally being shunted. Also, our son sees a pediatric opthomologist every 6 months to have an optic nerve check (looking for nerve damage or sign of pressure). We are sending you lots and lots of positive thoughts!!! Oh, Our son has a programmable medos shunt (we have had no problems *knock on wood*)...his settings are able to range from 0-20. He is set at average for his age.

cmmbk2182 on "headaches after exercise"

cmmbk2182 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:21:47 +0000

My son Kyle is still battling headaches. He had another revision in August but they just replaced the catheter. I wish they would have replaced the Strata valve. They have changed his settings from a 2 down to a 1 and now he is at 2.5. He still gets bad headaches after exertion or sports. He drinks plenty of fluid before and after. He saw a neurologist and they want to put him on Elavil. I hate to have him on medication when deep down I feel it is his shunt. We feel we are getting no where. If anybody has gone this through this, I would appreciated any feedback.

rupyoda on "headaches after exercise"

rupyoda — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:40:06 +0000

Headaches are nothing to take for granted. When shunt-dependent I got headaches and severe fatigue when dehydrated; so, I learned to over-hydrate before heavy physical activity or time in the heat and to stay hydrated under those conditions. With an ETV, dehydration seems to produce fatigue and a fever, but not headaches.

Still, take this issue to a neurologist or neurosurgeon to start.

lindarueb on "headaches after exercise"

lindarueb — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:25:23 +0000

My son just turn 10, and just been shunted in August. This time last year he started with headaches, not bad ones, but they were coming about every two weeks. My husband works for a hospital, and I ask him to get him in for a Cat Scan through his ER because I was so worried. His doctor thought his headaches were from allergies, I was not convinced. The Cat Scan showed a non cancerous cyst on his brain which was blocking his third ventical, and causing Hydrocephalus. They performed a endoscopic procedure to open the cyst, and open the third ventrical,. This operation failed, and he now has a shunt. He has been having problems after playing soccer. He gets headaches,and feels very tired. We have already taken him to the hospital because his headache got really bad, and he was dehydrated. The hospital thought he was getting to much flow, but by the next day after being entered,and on IV, he felt great,and they decided not to do surgery. He still is having problems after soccer, has anyone had any problems like this?

cmmbk2182 on "headaches after exercise"

cmmbk2182 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:22:29 +0000

We just got back from the ER last night with my son still having headaches after exercise. His head hurt so bad yesterday, he could not walk and had blurred vision. We live 2 hours from the hospital and by the time we got there, it had subsided. They did a CAT scan and it was normal (his always looks okay) and they usually find something wrong with the shunt in surgery. Anyway, they sent us home. It is very frustrating. He has a Medtronic Strata valve and I have been reading more and more with people having problems with them.

PMBlind on "headaches after exercise"

PMBlind — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:44:22 +0000

When I was in High School, I was in Track. This was before I was diagnosed with the Hydro. Of course I did have difficulties with my vison throughout my high school years.

Where I work, I do a lot of heavy moving of items such as pallets of Rocks, Salt, Fertilizers and other heavy items in the Garden shop where I work. I often feel drained after doing some of this work.

I had my shunt placed in August 1993. I have only had one revision and that was done in December 2003. I am currently 35 going to be 36 next month.

I usually keep a bottle of Tylenol or Ibuprofen in my locker for when I get headaches from either straining or from the bright lights or sunlight. My eyes have become sensitive to light since 2004. I wear sunglasses while at work.

Parisgirl on "headaches after exercise"

Parisgirl — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:21:18 +0000

First of all, I would recommend that you, cmmbk2182, have your son checked out ASAP. When it comes to people who have shunts, I have always thought it better to be safe than sorry.

I have dealt with headaches since I was 5. I was initially diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus at age 17 and shunted with a PS Medical VP (high pressure valve?) shunt. It is hard to say if my headaches increased or not with the shunting, but I know they did not get any better. I am now 34 years old and have had one revision due to overdrainage.

I continue to have pounding sensations that start in my temple areas and sometimes move to the top of my head. This occurs after any slight activity (including moving from sitting to standing, and climbing up stairs). I have always viewed this as a "headache" but I am now wondering if it isn't something else. I cannot play sports and never have been able to. It is almost like when my heart gets pumping, my blood vessels cannot handle the pressure.

Today (after another headache while at work), I started wondering: Does CSF production increase during physical activity and if so, perhaps my shunt cannot handle the extra "load."

Tonight I was doing some research on the 'net and found this bit of information from http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/vent.html in an article entitled, "Neuroscience for Kids":

When the CSF pressure is greater than the venous pressure, CSF will flow into the blood stream. However, the arachnoid villi act as "one way valves"...if the CSF pressure is less than the venous pressure, the arachnoid villi will NOT let blood pass into the ventricular system.

Does anyone know anything about venous pressure, what it is, how to tell what yours is, if it can be controlled, etc.? I am starting to wonder if I need to see a cardiologist!

Thanks in advance for any help...

LisaB on "headaches after exercise"

LisaB — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:15:20 +0000

My daughter is 11, and has been shunted since she was 3 weeks old.
I was told that people with hydrocephalus dehydrate quicker, so when exercising or in hot weather it's important to up the fluid intake. It's certainly helped my daughter. 9 times out of 10 if she has a sore head it's beacause she's dehydrated.

Jenn2314 on "headaches after exercise"

Jenn2314 — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:10:03 +0000

I was shunted at the age of 11. I was very active as a kid & throughout high school. I had that happen. I would definitely go get things checked out with your Neurosurgeon right away. Just to be sure there isn't something wrong with the shunt.

If all of that clears out & is okay.. If he is very athletic & talented & wants to continue to play/run competitively, there is special valve out there that is used for different situations like this. "On-Off Valve". It looks like & functions like any other valve, except you control it. I was around 17 years old when we tried this, so I am not sure who this would apply to or if all doctors use it.

How it went for me was: Basically, I overdrained to begin with. So while I was running I was over draining even more CSF, which caused blurred vission, passing out, headaches, & very fatigued.
When I was running I would click the button on the valve to turn it off. When I was done I knew I needed to drain csf again so I would squeeze it to unclamp the valve. There are 2 bubbles usually on any valve. The bigger one is used & when you feel you are overdraining, you push down, which turns the shunt off. Vise Versa. It sounds a little complicated, but it is easy once you get the hang of it. The reason this valve is so great is because you can manage it on your own, with how you feel.
I was having some other complications at that time, so it did not work for me. But they did tell me it has worked great for some of their patients. It's definitely not something for everyone, but just thought I'd let you know there are different things like that out there to try.
(I am not a medical expert, so I would definitely check with your Neurosurgeon.) But if you have any other questions feel free to email me at: JennBechard@gmail.com

Praying & hoping your son is okay!

cmmbk2182 on "headaches after exercise"

cmmbk2182 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:18:46 +0000

My son is 13. He has been shunted since 2 days old. He has had 10 revisions. He has a Strata programmable shunt. Lately after he finishes strenuous excercise (he is in track right now) he gets an excrutiating headache, blurred vision after he finishes. It last for about 10-15 minutes. I have a call into the neurosurgeon but have not heard back yet. I just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this. This has been going of for about four weeks.