Migraines in children?

[Jackie in NE]

My dd, age 12, has headaches that come on very suddenly. Just this evening as she was eating her dinner, a headache came on. She couldn't finish her dinner, which included some of her favorite foods, and had to lie down on the couch. She thought she might get sick to her stomach, but didn't. She is cool to the touch, pale, and when I turned off the lights, she said that it helped. Does this sound like a migraine? She gets these from time to time, and then often recovers after an hour or two, or after a night's sleep.

 

I would appreciate the benefit of your experience..... :bigear:

 

Cheers, Jackie

[Emilylou]

I had migraines as a kid- sounds like it might be migraines. I always would feel better after I got sick.

I had them even as a little kid but they did get worst when I started my period. Hormonial migraines are terrible. :(

 

Hope she feels better-

[texasmama]

It could be. I had my first migraine at the age of 12. It was brought on by hormones, I believe. It would be a good idea to have her evaluted by a doctor.

[Joyofsixreboot]

It could be. I've had them since I was a kid and two of my kids do. Can she tell when she's going to get one? Any specific triggers? Can be a food or even just being over tired? Is it one side of her head? I'd take her to the doc. The feeling sick and darkness making it better are suspicious and they truly are terrible.

[micheller1]

some of my kids, as well as myself, get migraines as well and that sounds like them. the dark helps and usually throwing helps:001_huh:

one of my daughters started getting them when she was about three :(

Another one of my daughters gets them frequently around her cycle.

Sometimes taking an excedrin migraine at onset helps. If you wait too long to take something, it will be useless.

Michelle

[Jackie in NE]

It could be. I've had them since I was a kid and two of my kids do. Can she tell when she's going to get one? Any specific triggers? Can be a food or even just being over tired? Is it one side of her head? I'd take her to the doc. The feeling sick and darkness making it better are suspicious and they truly are terrible.

 

Thanks. Yes, it is on one side of her head, just over her eye. She has not started her period yet, but I know she is close.... Is there anything a doctor can do? I always thought that people with migraines just kind of had to suffer through them... So sorry to hear of all you migraine sufferers out there. :crying:

[Amira]

Agreeing with the others. My 9yos has been getting migraines for six years. I think it's worth a trip to the doctor; we were lucky to find a medication that made a huge difference for my son about four years ago. We've also been able to figure out some of what triggers his migraines and we are able to manage them better now. Throwing up helps my son too because he's finally able to sleep afterwards.

 

I'm sorry for your daughter. Migraines are awful.

[texasmama]

Thanks. Yes, it is on one side of her head, just over her eye. She has not started her period yet, but I know she is close.... Is there anything a doctor can do? I always thought that people with migraines just kind of had to suffer through them... So sorry to hear of all you migraine sufferers out there. :crying:

 

I take Imitrex at the onset of a migraine. There are many medications available to help migraine sufferers. I have no idea what meds are given to kids. It needs to be diagnosed initially by a neurologist, just to rule out other issues. They are horrible, but my life has been so much better since I found Imitrex.

[EppieJ]

I love Imitrex! Sorry, just had to say that.

 

My mom and I both are susceptible to migraines. She would take Excedrin to control them. It got to the point where she would have to 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 that was perpetuating the problem. I'm the same way. I took caffeine out of my diet (and quit my stressful job!) and have rarely had migraines since then (I mean rarely. I think I've had maybe 5 in the last 15 yrs.)

 

Most migraine sufferers will tell you that caffeine helps their headaches. For me, it turned out to be a major cause. (Can we say rebound headache?) I tell you this so you can look for a pattern. For me, I never used a lot of caffeine and it was easy for me to determine that it was a cause because I could drink a latte or something and within two days would have a migraine.

 

I would agree that you should check with her dr. just to confirm migraine and rule out anything else.

 

Good luck! :grouphug:

[Nestof3]

Ben gets what I believe to be migraines. He gets a bad headache, complains of the light and noise bothering him, and then he throws up.

 

I've had headaches all my life. I feel bad for him. I've wondered if I should tell his pediatrician, but because he never gets anything worse than a cold, I never end up taking him to the doctor. He doesn't get them often, but when he does, it's bad.

 

He also grinds his teeth like I do.

[Laura Corin]

I had migraines as a teenager. Being physically sick actually helped me to get over the headache. Does she have visual disturbances - flashing lights, etc.? Those are characteristic of migraine.

 

For me, migraines are hormonal. I had them as a teenager, then they went away. They recurred when I was pregnant with Calvin - but not with Hobbes, for some reason.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Lolly]

Sounds like it. She will probably get so that she can feel them coming on. As soon as she does; let her drop everything, take some medicine, and go to bed. Consider the day done. She probably won't be worth anything until the next day.

[clementine]

I have 2 friends who had dealt with this with their daughters. One was 13 years old, one was 11. They tried doctors and several medications, nothing worked. Kind of as a 'last resort' they tried the chiropractor. Both girls were helped tremendously! The headaches didn't go away completely, but the frequency and the severity were lessoned considerably. You might want to give that a try.

[hmdavis02]

Sounds like a migraine to me, absolutely. There are many good medications out there, but many of them have potentially ugly side-effects, as well. Ask your daughter if she has any warning signs that a headache is coming... Sometimes, migraines come with an "aura" that precipitates the actual head pain, often including visual disturbances. For me, I will be uncontrollably irritable about 12 hours before a migraine, and will sometimes get a sensation in my head on the left side behind my eye (where my migraines are) that is not painful but warns that one is coming. Hard to describe...

 

Anyway my point is that if she has a warning, she may be able to take something and head it off (no pun intended). Some of my tricks include eating some protein with a little caffiene (tea works) will help. I also use large doses of magnesium (I have a liquid mineral supplement), as migraine sufferers have been found to have low magnesium levels just before and during a migraine for some reason. Failing those, I take naproxen. If all else comes to naught, I will take Imitrex.

 

I would encourage you to help your daughter "track" her headaches and to see her doctor. Sometimes you can identify "triggers" if you have a record of what happened or what she ate, etc. just before the migraine. If the headaches are bad, a drug like Imitrex or Maxalt can be incredible. Personally, I do not take them unless nothing else works because I have known the "1 in 10,000" person (in the fine print of the medications) who had a dangerous reaction, although such reactions are very rare. For me, taking the medicine is much better than losing 2-5 days to a migraine. Try this link for info on how to track the migraines. Hope this helps!

[MamaT]

My 12yo son has had migraines since he was three. Most migraine medications can only be taken by adults, but there is one that kids can take called Amerge. If my son takes it right when he feels the migraine coming on, it lessens the severity. His neurologist told us that boys usually outgrow them at puberty and girls usually have onset of migraines at puberty.

[Veritaserum]

Sounds likely. I get migraines and so does my 8yo dd.

[Remudamom]

I didn't read all the replies, so you might already know this. Most of mine got migraines around that age, doc said it's a puberty thing. One would see spots, one would throw up.......they outgrew most of them, and now in their teens and early 20s can tell what triggers them and avoid them altogether.