DD12 with migraine...need advise Dr Hive

[Mynyel]

She has had a headache since she woke up. I am thinking migraine. I get them myself.

 

How much Ibuprofen can I give her? She has had 4 already in the last 4 hours and it hasn't dented it.

 

I take double that in the same amount of time but I am not 12 (12.5 really) either.

 

Any advise?? This is the first time she has had this!

[EarleneW]

The only thing that works for me is a heavy dose of that and a bag of crushed ice on my head in a dark quite room.

[mooooom]

it's the caffeine, but I also usually get naseous and it helps w/ that as well.

[Tap]

I believe that children 12 and up are dosed according to adult standards. The max per day of ibuprofen is 3200mg. The OTC pills are 200mg, so 8 tablets max in any 24 hour period is the limit.

 

Rx strength is 400, 600 and/or 800mg tablets. Doses over 800 at one time are generally not used due to GI issues and that it doesn't get more effective for pain relief over that. She definitely doesn't want to get GI issues with a headache.

 

There are a few things you can add to the Ibuprofen to make it work a little better. Caffeine (strong tea/coffee with sweetener can make it more palatable to a child), calcium (tums are Calcium Carbonate in chewable form), and you can add Tylenol up to 4000mg per day also.

[In The Great White North]

I wouldn't give her any more - it's obviously not working. Motrin works for ds; Tylenol works for dd and Zomig works for me. :001_smile: The dr said to take Aleve with the Zomig. So maybe try the Tylenol or Aleve next.

 

A decongestant helps all of us.

 

Mint oil on the temples sometimes helps.

 

Caffeine usually helps me.

 

Ice, cold dark room and pretending to sleep sometimes help (or

at least make it bearable.)

 

Calcium and/or magnesium help some people.

 

 

Make sure she eats and drinks something anyway, or it could get worse.

[Lisa in Jax]

I know I sound like a broken record about this... ;)

 

See if GABA is appropriate for your situation. It's an over-the-counter supplement that can work wonders on migraines that are caused by high glutamate. Most people don't know what causes their migraines, so the only way to find out if it's a glutamate issue is to try GABA if it's not contraindicated in your situation.

 

I don't get migraines often, but when I feel the auras starting, I can avert a migraine if I take GABA immediately. I'm not on any medications, though, so there's no concern about reactions. Before trying GABA, be sure to clear it with a doc or pharmacist if you have any health concerns are on any meds.

 

Hope it helps!

 

Lisa

[EppieJ]

Hopefully, she's feeling better by now - just wanted to add a couple of thoughts. One, I would suggest in the future asking your ped or a med info hotline for proper dosage rather than the good people here. Although we mean well, we are not medical professionals (most of us).

 

Second, take note of her caffeine intake. I know that "everybody" says caffeine helps headaches, but let me share with you my own experience. Caffeine causes headaches. My mom for years would get migraines and controlled them using Excedrin (packed with caffeine). It got to the point where she would take Excedrin every night before going to bed or she would wake up with a migraine. Turns out it was the caffeine in the Excedrin which was causing the problem - a rebound effect of sorts. You might liken it to withdrawal symptoms. I'm the same way. I've never been a big caffeine user so it was pretty easy for me to pinpoint. Have a latte` and within two days have a migraine. Hmmm. I quit caffeine (and my stressful job) and have gone from having at least one migraine a month to having one every couple of years or so.

 

Just some food for thought....

[Tress]

:iagree:with Eppie.

 

Caffeine is only helpful with migraines (or light asthma attacks), *if* you are not used to drinking caffeine (coffee, tea, cola).

 

Other thing to consider, if these migraines repeat: does she eat a lot of chocolate? I always loved chocolate, ate it a lot...but in my teens I started to get migraines, caused by the chocolate. So now I can't eat chocolate any more :crying:, except when I'm pregnant :D......apparently it is something hormonal.

[memmerrill]

She has had a headache since she woke up. I am thinking migraine. I get them myself.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. I've struggled with migraines since I was about 10 or 11, myself. What do you do for your migraines? Ibuprofen? If not, I was just thinking that what works for you may work for her. Have you thought to give acupuncture a try? It's been helpful for me. Also, my sister has to take excedrin for her migraines, as other otc remedies don't work. Then there's also the Rx triptans like Relpax that are for acute treatment. Best wishes for headache free days!

[jvenice]

I hope by now she is better. I am praying for the both of you though b/c I know how bad migraines and chronic headaches can be. No one knows until they have them. I have had meningitis and I get headaches sometimes that rival those...

 

Caffeine helps, so does ice. See a neuro if she has more. OTC is not going to cut it and she needs (you need to keep) something on hand in case one comes on.

[MamaT]

Rachel - You have gotten a lot of good advice. My youngest son has chronic migraines. The neurologist told us that boys usually outgrow them at puberty and girls migraine's usually begin at puberty. I hope this is a one-time thing for your dd.

 

Excedrin Migraine will work sometimes, but my neuro said they are not good if you have chronic migraines because they can cause rebound headaches. I would try that this time. My ds had a migraine last night. It seems to work the same whether he takes his precription meds (he takes Amerge at the onset of his migraines) or not - he is not better until he throws up and goes to sleep.

 

Praying for your dd.

[jvenice]

:iagree: Excedrin Migraine can work sometimes. Ibuprofen is generally useless. When I said ice earlier, I meant an ice pack...the blue kind.

[Lolly]

I hope she is feeling better. 12 seems to be the common age for migraines to pop up in girls. The good news is that most all the girls I've known who start having them at that age grow out of them when their hormones start leveling out. Good luck in finding what works for her. For my dd, it was ibuprofen taken with a Coke followed by a nice long nap in a dark room. If that didn't work, throwing up always was followed by a deep sleep. If she can learn to recognize the signs that one is coming, she may be able to get to sleep before it really hits. My dd was always glad when she could take medicine and get to bed before the pain came on. She noticed visual changes and a tingling in her hands as her sign to hurry up to bed.

[Once Again]

As someone who has had migraines since childhood, do NOT give her caffeine.

[hsbaby]

I had migraines as a child...starting at 2 yrs. old! Fortunately I have outgrown them...well, I only get maybe one a year. It's funny though, I know most people recommend ice for your head, but for me that made it worse! I remember the school nurses used to put ice packs on my head and it was torture! My mom used to put HOT rags on my head (over my eyes and forehead). I would just lay in a dark room with loose clothing....and, of course, a bowl nearby:) No OTC meds worked for me as I was usually throwing up too much. Anyway, just thought i'd throw that out there about the hot rags. It is still the only thing that provides any relief for me when I have a migraine. You may want to give it a try if ice packs aren't helping.

[HS Mom in NC]

My middle daughter, now 12, has had migraines since she was 9. They cause temporary paralysis in her face or an extremity and she vomits for 6 hours in addition to dealing with the pain.

 

I advise you see a Pediatric Neurologist. Peds are not qualified to deal with it. We wasted 2 years with the ped who was trying, but has no specialized training in headaches. Ped. Neuros. deal with headaches all day long and have several classes of drugs to deal with them. If what your daughter is experiencing is really a migraine, over the counter drugs will not even begin to deal with the pain.

 

A huge numbers of factors (spinal alignment, hormones, food allergies, sun sensitivity, tumors, nerve damage, vascular issues, both good and bad stress, etc. etc. etc.) can can trigger migraines. Different people respond differently to the groups of medications used to treat the pain and the groups of medicines used to prevent the headaches.

 

Our Ped. Neuro. also recommends her patients see a chiropractor after a brain scan has indicated there are no structural or other problems that cannot be treated with chiropractics.

 

My daughter has a neck that is curved forward rather than backward and it appears to put pressure on the bones, nerves, and muscles in her neck which is a big factor. After 6 weeks of intensive work with the chiro, he taught her a series of daily exercises to keep things aligned better. She now sees him every 2-3 months for a treatment. She has gone from having migraines a couple of times a month to one about every 3-4 months.

 

Midrin is the only drug so far that helps her. It is a combo drug with a sleep aid, an anti-nausea, and a pain med in it. When she gets her signal (loss of feeling in her face, a hand, or foot) she takes it. It makes her sleepy for 6-8 hours, but reduces the vomiting from about 10 times an hour for 6 hours to once an hour for a couple of hours.

[newbie]

I have been having headaches and eating jalapenos. It works , that and the tapping method(kinda off the wall.)

 

I think the jalapenos have capsazin. I dont know if your dd will like it but it works on me.

[Jane Elliot]

Dh and about half my dc suffer from severe migraines (vomitting, tingling and numb limbs, vision changes). A few years ago we found that for our family these were mainly caused by MSG, sulfites, and peanuts. You might want to do some research on food triggers.

 

When they do get a migraine we use prescription migraine meds.

[cin]

A few years ago we found that for our family these were mainly caused by MSG, sulfites, and peanuts. You might want to do some research on food triggers.

 

 

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree: Yup! DH gets migraines alot. He has several food triggers, including MSG and some sulfites. He cannot drink red wine, and has to be careful with aged cheeses. He also gets headaches with drastic barometric changes. I get hormonal migraines 2 days a month. I also get them if I get too hungry.

 

We both use Zomig. It knocks those suckers out of the park in less than an hour, usually! Caffeine also helps, if it's not a bad migraine. DH gets aura migraines once in awhile. We call it a letdown migraine. It comes after something stressful is completed; a project at work, testing of DD, MIL got moved into her assisted living, etc. Those, he takes a zomig and something else to help with the post-migraine pain.

 

There are many triggers for migraines. What I would recommend is keeping a headache journal, if they continue, so you can see what's happening. IF they are happening every 28-30 days, then you can probably assume they are hormonal. If they are happening after she eats hotdogs, then there's something in the hotdogs she's allergic too, etc.