Abdominal Migraine and Treatment With Intravenous Valproic Acid

Abstract

Received May 19, 2005; revised October 5, 2005; accepted October 17, 2005. From the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Dept. of Pediatrics, Stanford Univ. School of Medicine; Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, CA. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Shaw, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Univ. School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94305-5719. e-mail: rjshaw@stanford.edu Copyright 2006 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine Abdominal migraine is a syndrome characterized by episodes of recurrent severe abdominal pain, nausea, and/or vomiting, that interferes with normal daily activities but with periods of wellness between episodes. Although there is widespread acceptance of the syndrome among practitioners, there is limited information regarding its treatment. Valproic acid (VPA), which is used for migraine prophylaxis has, on occasion, been used with apparent success in cases of abdominal migraine. This case report describes two patients with suspected acute abdominal migraine whose symptoms resolved with administration of intravenous (IV) valproic acid.