My 10 Month Old Daughter Is Involuntary Moving Her Head from Side to Side

Well she is,shaking her head from side to side involuntary as they said. This has been going on for some months now. Her pediatrician requested this because he has never seen anything like this along with 2 other doctors.

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Well she is,shaking her head from side to side involuntary as they said. This has been going on for some months now. Her pediatrician requested this because he has never seen anything like this along with 2 other doctors.

Updated

Ty Suz.. Him and two other doctors. Hopefully its nothing serious.

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He ordered this not me... Idk why this is done like this. I wish I knew the answers.

i'm assuming your pediatrician saw enough of a concern to send her to a neurologist, yes?
strangers on the internet reading two lines from you won't be able to give you any better information than the doctor who knows her.
khairete
S.

It must be very scary to have a doctor tell you that they want to do a CAT scan on your baby. I can't give you any info about your baby, but I know of two similar scenarios that turned out fine, so maybe they will be helpful to you. First, my husband rocked his head a lot as a baby, particularly when he was trying to fall asleep. His mom and doctors were concerned and did several tests. A neurologist finally concluded that the rocking motion (looks like he is shaking his head no against the pillow while lying on his back) was just soothing. He said that the motion might trigger/stimulate the part of the brain responsible for falling asleep, hence why my husband did it to relax or as he tried to go to sleep. If he is very stressed, he still does it before sleep sometimes! When he was little, his doctors also had never seen the behavior before.

When my older son was about 6-9 months, he had a series of myoclonic seizures. These freaked me right out- he would be nursing, drifting off to sleep, then all of a sudden he would be nodding his head up and down and squeezing his mouth closed. It happened maybe 5-6 times total. Our ped said that it happens with kiddos under 2 and almost always goes away with no lasting issues. It is the same type of event that makes you feel like you are falling when you fall asleep and then jerk awake.

No idea what is going on with your daughter, but try not to panic, it could easily be just fine.

There's so little info here, it's hard to answer. What is the age of your daughter? What do you mean by "side to side"? How often, in response to what conditions, etc.? The "trying to stand" can occur anywhere from 8 months to 15 months or more, so what is it that you are asking? We can't just "if it's normal" without more info.

If she's getting a CT scan and seeing a neurologist, it sounds like you are on the right path, but also that it's not "normal" - why else would she be evaluated?

I'd say, if they want her evaluated, then yes, you should have enough concern to follow through with testing, but that you should not panic so much that you are paralyzed and not able to do what's necessary. My advice is to keep a detailed log book of tests, appointments, your questions, and other observations as you go along. You might think that "Of course, I'll never forget that comment" of "of course I'll remember the date of the scan" but that's just not true.

Good luck!

Good lord. Why is she getting a ct scan and seeing a neurologist for something that most kids do? Shaking their heads is fun! I am just curious how they would know it's involuntary.

If your doctor wants your child to get a cat scan and see a neurologist then obviously there is some kind of concern. What did your doctor say, WHY does s/he want your child to see a specialist? You should be asking him/her!!!

I'm sure the doctors have valid reasons and are seeing something that gives them reasons to investigate. I'm sure it's nothing to panic about, but enough to rule other things out. Hopefully in the end you will feel much better.

Way too little info to compare, but I did something like this when I was a baby- it turned out to be a vision problem. I'm sure she will be fine!! So hard not to worry, I know. Just ask questions like "what is it that you are looking for" and "what are you trying to rule out?" That will give you an idea of what they suspect...

Two of my children as babies went through phases of moving head side to side. I can remember them doing it in their cribs. It was when they were becoming more mobile. I thought (?) this was part of typical development. They also would do it when they were excited. They grew out of it.

We also have neurological conditions in my family - movement disorders. Cat scans are usually ordered early on just to rule out anything. They may not suspect anything serious whatsoever. It's sort of a precautionary step they do to begin with to make sure there is nothing underlying it.

Very typical to order one with a concern about movement. I know it's hard to wait but try not to be too concerned until you know more. I wish you the best :)

I don't understand why anyone would think we can help especially with such little information. There is no way anyone could tell if a 10 month old is shaking their head because they like that freaky feeling or they are possessed. So not sure how the pediatrician knows it is involuntary.

I am also a bit concerned that they are sending her for a cat scan before she sees a neurologist. Most times your insurance will not pay because a pediatrician cannot prescribe that on what he thinks. You have to have a valid reason for expensive tests, not just a hunch, ya know?

It does not sound like a seizure, it sounds like your pediatrician is scaring you for nothing. Lots of kids shake their heads, it is even more fun when you have long hair.

The fact the doctor doesn't see this as urgent is a good thing. However my daughter's doctor did not want my daughter to have a cat scan of her sinus's when she was 8yo because she didn't want her to receive so much radiation near her still developing brain. Since there is nothing you can do until you get more information, try not to worry.

FYI...crawling is not a milestone in development.