|
|
Post by pretzels on Oct 28, 2014 15:11:26 GMT
My DD will be 13 in two months. For the past couple of years, she has gotten pretty bad headaches off and on. Sometimes, she will have three in six months. Other times, she'll go almost a year. Sometimes she has nausea with the headaches, but she rarely vomits. She does not see auras or spots or anything like that, and she says that she can't feel them coming on. Sometimes they're so severe that she cries; other times, they're not.
I picked her up at school today because she had a headache and nausea. I noticed this morning she was spending a lot of time in the bathroom, but when I said something about it, she didn't mention that she felt like she was going to vomit. She was also very quiet this morning, but I figured it was because her brother and I were going head-to-head over his algebra 2 grade. Her first-period teacher is a friend, and she texted me this morning that she had sent Katie to the nurse, but they sent her back (because she didn't have a fever and hadn't vomited), but that she looked miserable.
She's resting in her totally dark room and I gave her an ibuprofen. I'm not sure if the ibuprofen actually works or if it's just that she gets over the headache eventually. There is a family history of migraines. Her paternal aunt used to carry an epi-pen-type device so she could give herself a shot in the thigh when she felt one coming on. Her paternal grandfather also has severe headaches, although I'm not sure he's ever been officially diagnosed with migraines.
Is there any kind of testing her doctor can do? I think they're hormonal, personally. If she's going to get one, it seems to be a week or so from when she gets her period. But not every month or even every other month. She is a pretty picky eater, so her basic "menu" doesn't really change from month to month, so I don't think food is a trigger. She does wear glasses, and is due for a check-up, so I'm going to make an appointment with her eye doctor for this weekend. She gets enough sleep, is active and drinks plenty of water. She's had her period for about two years.
The last time I spoke to her pediatrician about them, he said he could prescribe a med for her, but it really only worked if she could take it right when she felt a headache coming on. She says that she really can't tell, though, so I'm not sure if these particular meds will even work.
I'm calling her doctor to make an appointment; I just need to know what to ask and what to expect and what to be prepared to answer.
|
|
grinningcat
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,663
Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
|
Post by grinningcat on Oct 28, 2014 15:38:05 GMT
At that age (though I started much earlier), I had to keep track of everything I ate, the weather, any possible triggers and then I was eventually put through attempting to find a drug that works (not all people can use the same drug because people don't react the same). Even if she's a picky eater, it could be a combination of that triggering and other things (like hormones). What may not trigger on one day could trigger on another (for example, some days I can drink coffee and be fine. Other days not so much). Having an out of date eye prescription definitely doesn't help. Weather is a huge trigger for some people, as is light, sound and smell. But it may not be the same trigger each time. My last two migraines were triggered completely differently.
She needs to get her eyes updated and start keeping track of daily life and get into a regimen of drugs. There are drugs that are for acute symptoms (when she feels it coming on, and even though she says she doesn't feel it, she does but doesn't realise it, you really have to listen to your body. Sometimes I don't feel it coming but I get more sensitive to light or sound or smell) and there are drugs to take daily that help mitigate them overall.
Meat was a huge trigger for me, something you wouldn't think would be an issue because I'd eaten it so often and never tested positive for allergy. But when I went veg, my migraines cut more than in half. Not saying that she could go veg but just addressing that her diet hasn't changed.
Hope this rambling makes sense.
|
|
calgal08
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,519
Jun 27, 2014 15:43:46 GMT
|
Post by calgal08 on Oct 28, 2014 16:02:30 GMT
I've had migraines since I was 3. Pain so bad I couldn't walk, vomiting, loss of vision, etc. I really don't know if there's a test, but stress and food can be triggers. As a child I couldn't eat chocolate or citrus fruit. Also, her age might be a factor. I'm actually taking my 11 year old ds to the pediatrician today because the last couple of weeks he's complained of headaches almost every day. I remember being about 15(ish) and having constant headaches, not migraines, but bad headaches.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:17:50 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2014 17:48:29 GMT
My son started with migraines in the 8th grade. His vision gets wonky so he knows they're coming. It's very very common for migraines to start up at that age -- all those hormonal changes in young teen bodies. And yes, there's a genetic component in addition to the hormonal one.
DS takes an alleve, a drink of coca cola, and lies in a dark room. He hasn't really needed any stronger medication.
When it first happened, his pediatrician examined him and sent him to an ophthalmologist. They wanted to rule out eye issues with his visual auras. There wasn't a specific test, but the pediatrician talked to him for a long time before diagnosing.
ETA: he can also tell they're coming when bright lights start to bother him. That's usually the clue that he needs to lie down before his vision goes blurry.
|
|
AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,129 
|
Post by AllieC on Oct 28, 2014 23:26:49 GMT
As a chronic migraine sufferer I urge you to go to the doctor and talk about treatment options. They will usually prescribe a Triptan drug which you can take when you feel one coming one, they are incrediblly effective for most people. Do some researching on migraines and I'm sure with more knowledge your daughter will start to be able to identify when she has one coming on. If you look at "migraine prodromes" there will be some ideas of things you may not have thought of. With myself, I get an agitated feeling and noise really annoys me. I know then to really be on alert to take my meds as soon as I feel any progression. My 17 year old has been getting them since she was about 11 and is now on a preventer (propanolol) which has been great for reducing hers to only occasional. She also has Triptans to take as an abortive. I sent a letter to her school letting them know and that if she needed to take medication she had to take it "now". They are happy for her to leave the class or she can carry them in her pencil case. Hormones are a very common cause for migraines and they used to be my worst ones. I could pinpoint them moment almost my period was starting as my head would start to thump. Good luck with it, the sooner you can really understand them and gets some good treatment options the better. PS: I now have Botx and it has been life changing for me. I have gone from 10+ a month to maybe 1 every 6 weeks  |
|
|
|
Post by marysue63 on Oct 28, 2014 23:53:04 GMT
I've had migraines since I was in 3rd grade, and my 13 DD has them too. It will take a while but eventually she will know what triggers them. For me, when I was young it was if I didn't have any protein, or the sulfates in hotdogs. So I wouldn't let myself get starving hungry, and I made sure I ate a balanced diet. Now it's more linked to hormones. With my daughter we still aren't sure, she hasn't had them enough to know.
I remember my dr prescribed a suppository (like 40 years ago) and I REFUSED to take them, I would rather suffer through the headache. So he gave me a prescription for Fiorinal which is a barbiturate with caffeine. I used that for YEARS and when I asked about switching to one of the newer meds he said if the Fiorinal works then why change, so that is still what I take. Thankfully I can sense them pretty easily now and can take some extra strength excederin and many times that will do the trick.
So I would go back to the dr and ask for a different kind of medication that she doesn't have to take early on. Eventually she may be able to switch to that kind of medication when she is more familiar with the triggers and the early signs, but there is no reason not to have a good pain killer ready in case she needs it.
|
|
marimoose
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,282
|
Post by marimoose on Oct 29, 2014 0:02:34 GMT
My daughter began getting them at 13 and they were awful! Her vision would go all wonky, vomiting, and she would lose her speech and recovering from one took days. Loud noises and bright lights, particularly in a movie theater, would bring one on. She took imitex and that helped. The good news is that she has seemingly outgrown them at age 18. She still gets headaches but nothing as severe as the immobilizing ones of previous years. She is always on alert, watching for signs, prepared to lie down in the dark if it feels like a wave building but as I said, she has been good this year. When she had her first migraine it was terrifying for both her and I.
As others have mentioned it would be wise for her to track her life to see if there is a common element that brings them on. Diet often plays a role too. My daughter's boyfriend gets totally debilitating migraines and always has meds on him. There is a strong history of them in his family. He has discovered that many of his are directly related to diet, specifically food additives and he now reads all labels. If I drink iced tea from restaurants I get a whopper of a headache.
Good luck AND I hope she outgrows them.
|
|
|
|
Post by flanz on Oct 29, 2014 0:03:55 GMT
OUr daughter started getting migraines right aroudn the time she started menstruating, at age 12. It took several of these horrible episodes before she learned to recognize that one was about to hit her. Then a 40 mg. Relpx worked well to sort of nip it in the bud. She'd still throw up and feel awful pain and be very sensitive to light and sound, but the Relpax made her fall asleep and when she woke up several hours later feeling MUCH better. Good luck - please go see a neurologist asap.
|
|
