Child Migraines

[Laurel]

I have struggled with migraines since high school .

Most meds do not work for me and I have tried just about all of them .

What I did do was read this book ( http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heal...=9780761125662 ) , it was suggested by my Dr .

It was a bit tough to follow the routine the book details but , it has really helped .I thouigh the food elimination was too hard to try but it has helped . I have found what some of my triggers are ( they are not the common food ones )I especially liked the info about taking all the otc meds to try to help .
I have done much better since reading this book and take less meds to control the pain .

My mother also suffers and is sometimes hospitalized because of the severity of her migraines . She has had 2 botox treatments and it has greatly reduced the number of migraines .

That reminds me that my daughter also avoids certain foods. She found a list somewhere and experimented. Bananas is one for her.

[TwinKristi]

I read that book too and it's definitely helped me recognize my triggers!!!

[My3cents]

I get migraines around the time of my period and occasionally around ovulation. Only thing that touches them is a 20 oz Coke, a chocolate bar, and a double dose of Motrin. Usually then a nap to finish it off. I have found that inadequate sleep is one thing to turn those headaches into migraines.

Was he a colicky baby? I have read that children who are colicky are like, 10times more likely to be diagnosed with migraines when they get older, leading to a hypothesis that some colic is actually babies with migraines.

Food allergies can be a trigger too. My sister gets migraines from a combination of gluten and chocolate (she is usually gluten free but has a hard time sticing to it)

Poor guy, that's just awful. I would start a food journal and add in other things if you can, like amounts of sleep, or anything else you think could have an effect.

big reason I went vegetarian. It has made a difference for me but so has taking chocolate out of my life- stinks because I love it......do you know how hard it is to find things that don't have chocolate in them! UGH! I also watch the gluten too. Has made a big difference for me.

I was a colicky baby!

[My3cents]

exercise and sleep

bug your doctors to get answers. They don't often take headaches/migraines seriously. Chalk them up to everything else under the sun-

I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemies. They are horrible.

[Unregistered]

Children and migraines

I got my first migraine at about 6 or 7 years old and I've had them since then. My DD gets them too. When I was a little kid and I would get them, I wouldn't get any pain relief until I threw up My parents would give me childrens tylenol or motrin (or whatever was handy, really) and it never helped. It wasn't until I got much older that I discovered that caffeine worked wonders for taking the edge off of my migraines and that I needed to prevent them from happening rather than treat them after they happen.

Try out different things and ask the little guy questions about his headaches. You might find that caffeine could take the edge off or sleeping in a dark & quiet room might be helpful. You might be able to uncover any prodromes that he might have and if you can do that, you stand a better chance of effectively treating them.

[sharlan]

My dd took my grandson to the pediatric neurologist on Fri. My dd was a bit panicked because they made the appt so quickly.

After talking to my grandson and going over his records, the dr feels that he has probably had them since birth, but wasn't able to communicate what was going on until a few years ago.

His recommendation was to start with a CT, although he is positive that it's migraines. He told my dd that they were doing the right thing as it works for him - Motrin, super warm shower, and a Starbucks. He also gave them his personal cell to call whenever they are concerned.

He also said to ignore the DO who yelled at them for giving grandson Starbucks. He said that most parents know their child far better than a stranger who thinks they know everything, but in reality, doesn't. He suggested they find a new ped.

Grandson is insistent that the "head-ache dr" told him that he could eat all the candy he wants. Grandson is not a candy eater, never has been, so why he wants unlimited candy, I have no idea.

School district nurse called and told my dd that grandson needs to be seen by a dentist because kids' head-aches are caused by poor dental hygiene. Grandson goes to the dentist every 6 mos and brushes his teeth daily, he has no cavities as of Jan.

[e.j.]

Grandson is insistent that the "head-ache dr" told him that he could eat all the candy he wants. Grandson is not a candy eater, never has been, so why he wants unlimited candy, I have no idea.

Is it possible the dr. mentioned dark chocolate could help your grandson since the caffeine in the Starbucks coffee helps? Maybe he said your grandson could have all of the dark chocolate he wants and your grandson equated chocolate with candy of any kind?? I could see my own kids doing that when they were younger. Even if he isn't a candy eater, he may want it if he thinks it will help get rid of his migraines. They sound nasty!

My dd has suffered from migraines since she was young. As others have mentioned, her migraines do seem to be at least somewhat related to food allergies. She has stopped eating gluten, corn, peanuts, soy and sesame and her migraines have pretty much disappeared.

[sharlan]

Is it possible the dr. mentioned dark chocolate could help your grandson since the caffeine in the Starbucks coffee helps? Maybe he said your grandson could have all of the dark chocolate he wants and your grandson equated chocolate with candy of any kind?? I could see my own kids doing that when they were younger. Even if he isn't a candy eater, he may want it if he thinks it will help get rid of his migraines. They sound nasty!

My dd has suffered from migraines since she was young. As others have mentioned, her migraines do seem to be at least somewhat related to food allergies. She has stopped eating gluten, corn, peanuts, soy and sesame and her migraines have pretty much disappeared.

No, he was just wanting candy yesterday. His mom has never given him a lot of candy. His cousins love candy and eat quite a bit.

His migraines are brutal. It's horrible to watch a child lay on the floor and shake like he's having a seizure because he's in so much pain. Normally as soon as they realize that he's headed for a migraine, my dd takes him upstairs so I've never really seen what he does before 2 weeks ago. My dh freaks, which makes things worse.