Migraines in children

[momshell7]

Just curious if anyone has any experience with a child having migraines. My son, who is 5, has had what I believe to be migraine headaches. He had one last week and he cried that his head hurt really bad. I gave him some tylenol and he fell asleep. It was almost bedtime and he was really getting tired when he first complained of the headache. He also said that his tummy hurt. I have some of those sea sick bands that you wear on your wrists so I put those on him and he said his tummy felt better. This past saturday Jeff and I celebrated our ten year anniversary(WHOO HOO!!! ) so the kids were at their grandparents for a few hours so we could go to dinner. When we got there to pick them up our little one was sleeping in the chair. When he woke up he started complaining of a headache. He was really whiny and I jsut figured it was because he was half asleep still. We got him home and he started to cry that his head hurt. I was in the kitchen getting his tylenol when he started crying saying he needed to lay down. We went to the bedroom and he laid down. Then said his tummy hurt and then before I even had time to react he got sick, on the way to the bathroom. After he got sick he felt better and said his tummy didnt' hurt anymore and his head felt better. He was fine all day sunday and is still fine now. I am thinking that is all sounds like migraines but he seems a little young to have them. Anyone have any experience similar to this? I am going to call his doctor today to see what they think.

Sorry for rambling, jsut being a worried mom

Michelle

 

[Ross]

Michelle I don't know. I used to have a long history of incapacitating headaches when I was small. I mean killers! They started suddenly when I was around 5 or so and lasted until I was about 11. After that, they went away and I've since had very few headaches at all, except the life types.

Most definately bring it up to the Doc. Mine could never find a thing wrong with me and insisted I was faking it. That hurt! My mom asked him how I could just throw up out of thin air if I were faking it? I'm glad that for once, she believed me and thought he was the jerk!

 

[geebee]

I had my first migraine at 7, complete with auoras (sp?). Used to call them "my sick headaches". Went through a lot of testing to rule out things like epilepsy and tumors, etc. All came back negative so they decided on migraine as the diagnosis.

It is uncommon for young-uns to have severe migraines but it does happen.

 

[PJmomrunner]

Both my kids tend to get what I think are migraines. I find that if they take ibuprofen when they first start feeling headache-y it doesn't progress to the tummy. My son's school lets him have access to a bottle of ibuprofen I sent in for him whenever he feels he needs it. My daughter had lots of migraines from about 4th grade on through 8th. For the last two years they have been greatly diminished.

My son also started having migraines in 4th grade. They were terrible in 7th grade (missed around 16 days of school! Had never missed more than 4 before). His headaches always seemed to be triggered by dehydration or bad smells. He is now an 8th grader and has not had a full-on migraine yet this school year (knocking wood), nor has he visited that bottle in the school office.

I am sending him with lunches from home, which I haven't done with him in the past--maybe makes a difference? I'm sure both kids had headaches when they were younger, but not with the frequency that adolescence brought (hormones???). At one point we were recording when my daughter got her migraines so that we could see if there was a pattern and perhaps an environmental allergy...there was not.

Your description of throwing up and/or sleeping it off hits home. I remember the same experience in my childhood and periodically in adulthood. It's no fun to experience and no fun to observe in ones child either. Try to get him in the habit of drinking water. It sure can't hurt and it might help. And see what the doctor says too. Good luck.

 

[Marguerite53]

could be

could be

Let us know what the doctor says. All 3 of my children have been plagued with headaches from time to time. The younger ones particularly from about 1st thru 3rd grade. Once it seemed to have been brought on by a bunny rabbit in the classroom. Other times it was them trading lunches and having meats laced with preservatives or MSG. Almost every time, with 2 of them, they would get pale, complain of the headache, throw up (watch for grey lips! that was always my clue to get them to the bathroom!), go to sleep, wake up afew hours later and be fine. Truly, truly it can just be factors in the environment. Pets, perfumes, detergents, foods. Good idea to keep a food diary. THink about any changes that might have occured in his environment before and after he started getting these. My oldest even had the auras. I remember finding him staring at a white wall when he was in 5th grade. When I asked him what was up he said he was watching the funny designs on the wall. Had I not had experience myself with migraines, I probably wouldn't have believed him!

They have all grown out of them or maybe have simply learned to avoid them or deal with them (they're 18, 20 and 23). They are careful what they eat and we avoid scented detergents and perfumed things. My oldest had dramatic recurrences in college, so much so that he convinced me he should see a neurologist. They went so far as to have an MRI. That turned up some weird anomoly which had nothing to do with headaches and was "more than likely just a benign variation from the norm". Great. well, anyway, some doctors will go crazy with tests. Go with your gut on this. Sometimes very important things get uncovered. If nothing comes up, please look into your child's diet and see if something could be changed there.

Don't ever hesitate to be a worried mom advocating for her child. You are the best!!

Marguerite

 

[momshell7]

Thanks for all the replies. I am calling the doctor in the morning. I volunteer at the school on Mondays so today was pretty hectic. I have noticed that my son has gotten his headaches when he was very tired. I don't remember the first time but the one on Saturday he was asleep and got work up and dozed off again only to get woke up. I was reading in a medical book that being tired can trigger a migraine so that may be the culpret. The boys doctor is awesome so I will feel better when I talk to him and get his opinion. I hold him largly responsible for my older son surviving when he was born and not expected to live so he has definatly earned my trust, and I trust no one!

I will update as soon as I talk to the dr. Thanks again everyone. I feel better hearing your experiences.

Michelle

 

[mntbiker]

Michelle,
If the headache is accompanied by stomach issues there is a good chance it is being caused by food. As Marguerite mentioned MSG is probably one of the most notable products that lead to migraines. MSG was the cause for my migraines as well. Here is a link and the rest of the website is interesting as well. Unfortunately children are not exempt from migraines.

http://www.headaches.org/consumer/topicsheets/msg.html

 

[PJmomrunner]

The gray lips thing reminds me (this is kind of gross, but a carpet-saving tip): teach him to take his pillow with him as he runs for the bathroom, if he doesn't make it you can wash the whole pillow. Much better than vomit on the carpet.

 

[momshell7]

Ok I talked to the doctor's office and this is what they say. They said that is it uncommon for kids that young to get migraines, but it is possible. They said it sounded like it could have been sinus related. They said to keep an eye on him and if it continues to bring him in. They can't confirm either way if it is migraines or not without seeing him. So for now, since he is acting ok I will just wait and see what happens. Hopefully nothing will happen!!

Thanks again for all the replies.

Michelle

 

[Ross]

Ok I talked to the doctor's office and this is what they say. They said that is it uncommon for kids that young to get migraines, but it is possible. They said it sounded like it could have been sinus related. They said to keep an eye on him and if it continues to bring him in. They can't confirm either way if it is migraines or not without seeing him. So for now, since he is acting ok I will just wait and see what happens. Hopefully nothing will happen!!

Thanks again for all the replies.

Michelle

If they continue and they still can find nothing, don't dismiss it. I suffered terribly because of them and they never could find anything wrong.

 

[momshell7]

If they continue and they still can find nothing, don't dismiss it. I suffered terribly because of them and they never could find anything wrong.

That is one thing I can guarantee. I will not let it go if it continues. When it comes to my kids I am the most anal person ever. I will take them to the dr fifty times a month if I think there is a problem. I also suffer from terrible headaches and I would never wish that on anyone, especially not my kids.

I drove Jeff completly insane when our first one was little. Every time he had a sniffle I was running to the doctor. I guess at least no one can accuse me of not paying attention or caring about my kids

 

[BAV Pt's daughter]

I too had migraines starting around that age. I would ask for a neurology consult for your child.

 

[aussigal]

I have had these as long as i can remember as well as 2 of my 3 kids...always good to check out and be paranoid about this stuff with the kiddies.

 

[Marguerite53]

a pillow?

a pillow?

Yeesh. PJ. A pillow?? Blehhh. Here's what I did. Buy some rubbermaid dishpans. Keep them in the closet with your bath towels. When the kids (I have 3) feel nauseous or whatever, send them to bed with the "bucket". They don't tip over, they're easy to hold, they catch everything that's aimed their way. Often I'll drape a damp washcloth over the side so they can wipe up. I don't know about your kids, but mine are repeat offenders!! Sometimes every hour or more!! That's alot of pillows!! Once there is little left in their tummy, they can stick with their comfy bed and thier bucket and get by without running to the bathroom, or worse yet, sleeping IN the bathroom!! One winter all 3 had the stomach flu at the same time and I just slept in the hallway, waiting!!

Anyway, by the time they were 7 or 8 they would go and get the buckets themselves before they went to bed if they felt queesy. Sometimes I would find the empty pan in the morning and we could talk about why they felt they had needed it. Sometimes it was stress. If they really got sick, I was always there during the events, but you just can't get there fast enough most times.

Michelle. Maybe it was sinus related. Kids' mucus membranes are always irritable. But, please let me recommend that you start keeping a food journal for your child. Just watch what he eats for a week or two. Be careful of Halloween and all the chocolate (a true trigger) and some of those fake flavorings. Even dye. Food coloring. Some reds are bad. Read up on Migraines and their triggers. Bright light can also bring on a headache. Does he wake up to sun blasting on a white wall anywhere? Does he have blue eyes and is sensitive to light or glares. Do you drive by a lake everyday which might have a strong glare? Windshields in traffic? His school bus?? Do you use those detergents with smells in them. Or softener sheets with scent. Have you recently switched soaps or detergents? FLoor cleaners? Had the upholstery cleaned? Is he visiting a new friend with a pet? You really can isolate these triggers for him. Nutrasweet is my worst. It gives me double vision. I NEVER use sugarless products, ever. Nor did my kids. We don't have flouride in the water, here in Oregon and all told I think only 4 cavities amongst the 3 of them. Not a big deal to stick with real sugar.

Okay, I'll get off my bandwagon. I just hate these headaches in my own kids and visual disturbancesare annoying, so I've really tried to figure them out.

Good luck. Keep plugging away at it!

Marguerite

 

[momshell7]

Even dye. Food coloring. Some reds are bad.

I know first had about how bad red dyes can be. My nine year old gets very hyper, wound up, etc when he has any red 40. He just acts terrible,very out of control after having even a small bit of red 40. It took a long time to get people to believe me about the red. My father-in-law didn't/doesn't believe me. He would knowingly give my son things with red 40 in them because he didn't believe me. My son's doctor said that his daughter breaks out into hives if she has red dyes.

Hopefully things will be ok with it all. I am definatly watching things.

Thanks again everyone for the replies.

Michelle

 

[JohnnyV_46]

Both of our daughters suffer terribly from Migraine headaches and both started around 5. We have a family history on both sides of the family. They put the girls thru numerous CT Scans and alot of other tests. Found nothing. My youngest daughter had a spinal tap at 14 because she had symptoms of "West Nile" virus. The hole in her spine never healed and she had terrible "Spinal tap headache" that lasted a couple months! We took her to one of the larger childrens hospitals in St.louis She's had 4 Blood patches in the last 2 years. She may end up having to have surgery because the hole just will not stay closed. She fell backwards two steps off of a Step Ladder the other day and landed on her butt...She said she wasn't hurt. The headaches are back. I'm taking her over tomorrow to see the Neurologist and she will probably end up needing another blood patch. Same problem George Clooney is having except his is leaking spinal fluid from his nose.

 

[PJmomrunner]

"Yeesh" back at ya, Marguerite...OF COURSE they sleep with some sort of dishpan if nausea is suspected. I thought that went without saying.

 

[momshell7]

Both of our daughters suffer terribly from Migraine headaches and both started around 5. We have a family history on both sides of the family. They put the girls thru numerous CT Scans and alot of other tests. Found nothing. My youngest daughter had a spinal tap at 14 because she had symptoms of "West Nile" virus. The hole in her spine never healed and she had terrible "Spinal tap headache" that lasted a couple months! We took her to one of the larger childrens hospitals in St.louis She's had 4 Blood patches in the last 2 years. She may end up having to have surgery because the hole just will not stay closed. She fell backwards two steps off of a Step Ladder the other day and landed on her butt...She said she wasn't hurt. The headaches are back. I'm taking her over tomorrow to see the Neurologist and she will probably end up needing another blood patch. Same problem George Clooney is having except his is leaking spinal fluid from his nose.

WOW, I hope your daughter starts feeling better. What a horrible thing to have to endure. Migraines are a horrible thing for anyone, but especially for children. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Michelle