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Advice on cheering up sick pre-teens and teens


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I have three children and my youngest two are who I am writing about. My middle child (14yo girl) is awaiting surgery on her shoulder and has been having a non-stop headache since the day after Thanksgiving. She is finally seeing a neurologist this Thursday. She has become more apathetic and very discouraged about the lack of relief from pain. I am really at a loss on how to encourage her. I was encouraging her about her doctor visit which was supposed to be yesterday but that Doctor had a death in the family and wouldn;t be able to see her for another month. So I called the insurance and insisted that they find me a new doctor. I hope he will give her something on Thursday to rid her of this headache but even I am getting morose about this. Then my youngesst turns out to have an abnormality on her femur and now we need an MRI and another consult with a pediatric orthopedist for her. If she has one thing, they won't have to do anything else. If it is another thing they suspect could be wrong, they will have to do an invasive procedure but it would be a same day thing and then she would be fine. If it is cancer, I don't really know what they will do. If you have read this far, can you give suggestions for making the mood in a house lighter with sick children? Even if number three is completely fine, number two's headache are putting a big damper on everyone's mood.

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I'm so sorry, Christina. There is nothing worse than watching our children suffer and not being able to do anything about it to fix in immediately. You all are in my prayers.

 

Don't know if this works in your house (and it's probably not a long term solution) but food, favorite foods, pre junk or dazzling cakes and cookies often help when illnesses strike here. Sometimes movies, sometimes just getting to do something that is considered "special" on an ordinary day. And sometimes I just look up any "natural cure that can apply to a situation and say with authority, that this might help. I think Mom's TLC is the best along with some way to bring in humor!! Laughing has a power to relieve pain!! Rent some hilarious movies maybe? I know the situation is serious but you are so right that you guys need some relief if only momentary. Anything that will take your mind off of the situation? WIsh I could be of more help. I can relate to relentless headaches and only wanting to sleep. May God bring you some relief!

 

Mary

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I have had frequent headaches in the past. Mine are typically due to food intolerances, so I can often prevent them now by avoiding triggers. However, there are still situations in which I can't avoid everything and have to deal with a major headache.

 

If she hasn't tried it already, I would definitely recommend Exedrin Migraine (two pills) with a little food in the morning. I have tried many OTC remedies and avoided this one because I have used ibuprophen, aspirin and caffeine in conjunction before. However, a doctor who gets frequent headaches says there seems to be something about this combination that really works. I tried it for the first time yesterday and, sure enough, it seems to work better than anything else I have experimented with.

 

Exercise sometimes helps my headaches (not always). If you have a treadmill or some other way to stimulate her metabolism, I would definitely have her do that on a daily or almost daily basis. With a headache there is a tendency to lie around a lot, and the metabolism definitely takes a hit. Just having blood pumping more vigorously through the system can elevate mood, making the headache more tolerable even if it doesn't go away entirely. Part of the problem with having a headache is that it is harder to have any fun, to laugh, etc. You have to look for ways to distract the mind from the pain and generate some endorphins. I would definitely look for comedy DVDs from the library or movie rental store, as laughing generates endorphins too.

 

Has she been taking a lot of OTC medications? If so, there can be a rebound headache from taking them.

 

Here is my favorite book for headache relief: Heal Your Headache . Your library may have it.

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