It’s August, and lots of my patients getting ready to go off to college, either as freshmen or as sophomores, whose freshman year was spent at home doing college over zoom. It is an exciting and scary time for them (and their parents), especially with the continuing uncertainly of the Covid pandemic. I have had … Continue reading Off to college during the pandemic
Children and teens with headache and migraine have been affected in a variety of ways by these pandemic times. Thinking back, there has been a difference between last spring and this fall and the effect on my patients, particularly in the school environment. I will refer back to specific chapters in my book ‘Getting ahead … Continue reading Pandemic reflections
Getting Ahead of Pediatric Headaches: A comprehensive guide for Nurse Practitioners to manage headaches in children and adolescents I started my blog as a way to communicate to pediatric providers about the care of pediatric patients with all kinds of headaches. Over time, I decided to turn it into a book. I felt that the … Continue reading My book is available!!!
Nothing could be more pressing on the minds of all of us than the Covid 19 pandemic. Our clinic has been closed to live visits since March 16. We are now doing all virtual visits for both new evaluations and follow up visits. There has been plenty of institutional IT support and direction in these … Continue reading Managing headaches during the pandemic
It’s the tail end of the summer, and I have been spending a lot of time with my patients getting ready to go off to college for the first time. It is an exciting and scary time for them (and their parents). I have had a relationship with many of these kids for years, sometimes … Continue reading Going off to college with headaches!
It’s the very end of the school year, summer is fast approaching. What does that mean for pediatric headache providers? Hopefully there will be fewer distress calls. It also means numerous camp medication forms and 504 support letters for the fall. Importantly, there are less hectic days with more time to reflect on the general … Continue reading Headaches and summer
So it’s been a tough past month here in the headache program. And experience shows that this rough patch will continue for another month toward the end of the school year. This time of year triggers lots of stress for our patients, especially the high schoolers. Lots of stress = lots of headache = lots … Continue reading Self-Care and the Headache Provider
I am always looking for good resources for patients. I am particularly interested in books/articles which would be helpful for my patients who are ‘aging out’ of pediatric care. My young adults are getting ready to move on and would benefit from some adult-focused headache reference material. Some of my kids do need follow up … Continue reading Headache Book Reviews
Ever notice that your kids and teens with headache/migraine also have some other symptoms? Like sweaty hands and feet? Tremor? Lightheadedness and dizziness? Dilated pupils? Palpitations? Constipation or diarrhea? Gastric upset? Cold extremities? Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet? Fatigue? What’s up with that? Well, a wide variety of these findings are very … Continue reading Dysautonomia symptoms and headaches
Psychological factors are known to play a role in pediatric headache. We know that stress is the #1 trigger for migraine for people of all ages. We also know that stress is a contributor/cause of tension-type headaches (stress headaches). And finally we know that patients with constant/chronic headache often have increased pain and decreased functioning … Continue reading Psychology and headaches, part 1
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