Doctor's visit for headaches?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Dd9 has these headaches. They are bad enough to put her in tears. If I were to take her to the Dr. for these, does she have to be having one at the time? Or is it ok to just take her in and describe the symptoms?

[Dobela]

I would keep a detailed log for a short time documenting what was happening before each one, where the pain is, and so on. Thta will help determine if the headache is allergy, migraine, tension, fatigue, or something else. Or it may be enough information for you to find triggers, eliminate triggers, and reduce headaches without seeing the doctor.

[Starr]

She doesn't have to be having one at the time. A good description will do. Poor baby.

[Tylianna]

Triggers for my dd and I are not eating regularly, missing out on sleep, allergies and certain smells.

 

If my dd is disturbed while she is sleeping at night, it is almost guaranteed that she will have a headache in the morning. But, what I called headaches are really migraines. Sometimes she throws up from it. But, I know she is starting to get one when she acts crabby and covers one eye with her hand, or holds the side of her head.

 

Dr. only said to make sure she gets regular sleep, does not skip a meal, and takes medicine at the FIRST sign of a migraine or headache.

[JennyD]

Oh, poor dear. I actually just made an appointment with a headache clinic for DH, who has suffered from migraines since he was a child. Acupuncture helped tremendously for a while but recently they have been coming fast and furious again. Anyway, they told me over the phone that it was irrelevant whether he had a headache the day of the appointment of not (although I'm worried that if he has one that day he will be unable to physically get there) but they recommended keeping a headache diary beforehand.

 

Hope your girl feels better soon. And good for you for addressing it. DH's parents meant well, but they didn't believe that children could get migraines, and it didn't do DH any favors, to say the least.

[elegantlion]

The first thing I would rule out is the need for glasses. I was about that age when I started having headaches. Turns out I needed glasses, cleared up the headaches.

[Denisemomof4]

no, she doesn't need to have one at the time. Like a pp said, I would keep a log of the headaches, and also log what she eats, how much sleep, how much WATER, what she was doing before it came on. Dehydration is a HUGE headache trigger.

 

Do her headaches pound? Does light bother her? Sounds? Does she see blinking lights or have her sight or hearing altered in anyway before the headache comes on? This would be called an aura.

[Imprimis]

I'm sorry to hear she's suffering from headaches, Jean. I know how horrible it is to see your child in pain. My eldest has severe headaches, too, and has been diagnosed with migraines.

 

Let the physician know what type of pain it is--throbbing? steady? dull?--and where it is exactly---front of head? top? one-sided?

 

Also, note if there is any pattern to the headaches---after eating a particular food, after being exposed to a particular odor or scent, when she doesn't get enough rest or water, etc.

 

My daughter's are related to her cycle, but she has many triggers---cigarette smoke (if we walk through people smoking outside of stores, etc.), lack of rest, heavy cologne smells, certain foods.

 

Hope your daughter is feeling better soon!

[Jean in Newcastle]

The first thing I would rule out is the need for glasses. I was about that age when I started having headaches. Turns out I needed glasses, cleared up the headaches.

 

She has glasses. We just had another eye exam, today and her glasses are still the right prescription.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would keep a detailed log for a short time documenting what was happening before each one, where the pain is, and so on. Thta will help determine if the headache is allergy, migraine, tension, fatigue, or something else. Or it may be enough information for you to find triggers, eliminate triggers, and reduce headaches without seeing the doctor.

 

She doesn't have to be having one at the time. A good description will do. Poor baby.

 

Oh, poor dear. I actually just made an appointment with a headache clinic for DH, who has suffered from migraines since he was a child. Acupuncture helped tremendously for a while but recently they have been coming fast and furious again. Anyway, they told me over the phone that it was irrelevant whether he had a headache the day of the appointment of not (although I'm worried that if he has one that day he will be unable to physically get there) but they recommended keeping a headache diary beforehand.

 

Hope your girl feels better soon. And good for you for addressing it. DH's parents meant well, but they didn't believe that children could get migraines, and it didn't do DH any favors, to say the least.

 

no, she doesn't need to have one at the time. Like a pp said, I would keep a log of the headaches, and also log what she eats, how much sleep, how much WATER, what she was doing before it came on. Dehydration is a HUGE headache trigger.

 

Do her headaches pound? Does light bother her? Sounds? Does she see blinking lights or have her sight or hearing altered in anyway before the headache comes on? This would be called an aura.

 

I'm sorry to hear she's suffering from headaches, Jean. I know how horrible it is to see your child in pain. My eldest has severe headaches, too, and has been diagnosed with migraines.

 

Let the physician know what type of pain it is--throbbing? steady? dull?--and where it is exactly---front of head? top? one-sided?

 

Also, note if there is any pattern to the headaches---after eating a particular food, after being exposed to a particular odor or scent, when she doesn't get enough rest or water, etc.

 

My daughter's are related to her cycle, but she has many triggers---cigarette smoke (if we walk through people smoking outside of stores, etc.), lack of rest, heavy cologne smells, certain foods.

 

Hope your daughter is feeling better soon!

 

I will start to keep a log. So far, we have suspected that it might be dehydration related. Getting this kid to drink is a chore to say the least! It doesn't seem to be food related.

[Veritaserum]

Poor kid. :( My dd8 gets migraines. We did blood tests and an MRI to make sure that's all it was. Our family doc referred us to a pediatric neurologist. With a combination of diet changes (cutting out all the hidden MSG helped a TON), frequent meals, and preventative medication, she rarely gets a true migraine anymore. When she does get one we have a rescue med (Imitrex nasal spray). Heal Your Headaches by Dr. David Buchholz is great.

[Mom0012]

I took my daughter to the neurologist because she was having so many headaches. She did not have to be having one at the time. She gave us a chart where I was to mark a 1 to 3 for the intensity of the headache for a couple of months each time she had one. I wasn't supposed to ask her about her head, just mark it on the chart when she came and told me. She also had an MRI.

 

For us, it turned out that the headaches may have been a combination of things. My daughter is farsighted and we were told to just have her wear her glasses when she was doing any kind of reading. The next year we went back and her vision was worse, so the eye doctor wanted her to wear them most of the day. The headaches drastically improved to the point that I put the chart away after a couple of months, thinking the problem was solved.

 

However, about the same time, she hit the year mark for her allergy shots and really seemed to improve in that area as well. As we entered November, I took her off the last of her allergy medications. She was fine for a while and then the headaches began to return on a daily basis. She's back on the meds and I haven't heard any complaints about headaches again. We'll see what happens in the spring when her allergies are at their worst.

 

I hope you find out what is triggering your daughter's headaches. It is miserable to watch your child suffer and not be able to do anything about it.:grouphug:

 

Lisa

[nancy in nj]

Hi Jean,

 

My daughter's 1st symptoms of chemical sensitivity were headaches which started at age 9/10. Do you have a fragrance-free/chemical free home? It is fairly common for people to get headaches from fragrances, candles and household products. Does you daughter use scented lotions or similar products?

 

Is there any work being done in your neighborhood that could be generating environmental concerns (such as someone running a generator that is sending fumes into your home)?

 

Nancy

[lovetobehome]

I had major headaches and migraines for about 8 years before I finally followed the no msg plan. I have not had ANY headaches in a long, long time....I used to have them about 3 days of every week, it was terrible. Really, there is a lot to the msg thing. Here is a list of msg ingredients. http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html

Until I got serious about eliminating everything with these ingredients, I still had problems. You can't just eliminate things that say MSG. I was stubborn and did not think msg could possibly cause this problem, as the headaches didn't necessarily come the same day I ate the offending food. It took me a long time to be willing to change my eating habits, but it is SO WORTH IT. Iwish I had done it years ago!

Good luck, I hope this helps!

Oh, if you google MSG MYTH or MSG HIDDEN INGREDIENTS you will find much.

[Mommyof4ks]

Sometimes it is odd allergies that can set off headaches. I have one son that gets headaches when he bananas and another son gets them around those plug in air freshener things. Keep looking for things in your house or places you go that might be triggers. The doctor will likely ask you to do that too, which is how we figured out my kiddos triggers. Good luck, it is tricky finding those triggers.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Hi Jean,

 

My daughter's 1st symptoms of chemical sensitivity were headaches which started at age 9/10. Do you have a fragrance-free/chemical free home? It is fairly common for people to get headaches from fragrances, candles and household products. Does you daughter use scented lotions or similar products?

 

Is there any work being done in your neighborhood that could be generating environmental concerns (such as someone running a generator that is sending fumes into your home)?

 

Nancy

 

We do have a fragrance free home and an almost chemical free home. I do not buy scented products. I do know that she sneezes and sneezes every time we walk by a cosmetics/perfume counter at the department store, though!

[unsinkable]

I get headaches when the barometric pressure is falling or low.

[specialmama]

I will start to keep a log. So far, we have suspected that it might be dehydration related. Getting this kid to drink is a chore to say the least! It doesn't seem to be food related.

 

There are so many triggers. I was hospitalized for 3 weeks when I was 9 because I had horrible migraines from the age of 7 till now. Here are all of my triggers:

THE SUN, PMS and the first few days of my cycle, the barometric pressure, weather changes, florescent lighting, high pitched sounds that others don't even notice, too much background noise (I've learned to hyper-focus and can effectively ignore background noise but that was 20 years in the making and has it's drawbacks LOL), chocolate, caffeine, ironically not enough chocolate or caffeine :tongue_smilie: , artificial sweeteners, preservatives, any pressure on my head from glasses that don't fit right to hats or barrettes that are too heavy/tight, brushing my hair, shaking my head, any bump to my head (even a light bump for a kid throwing a pillow will do it), jumping, yelling, loud noises, strong smells, chemical smells, red food dye, consuming MSG, laughing too hard, sleeping in a room that is not dark enough (I need pitch black every second), too much screen time, reading without my glasses. Two big triggers I recently discovered are crying and holding my bladder for too long.

It's a long, long list that has taken years to figure out. I'm 36 and just discovered the bladder and crying thing within the last 2 years. I've gone for all the tests you can possibly go for, and all I can say is that log has to be terribly explicit. It's a matter of writing everything down, every day. Each time she has a headache, ask her to show you exactly where it is and what it feels like. Explain words like pounding, dull, sharp, and include if she is sensitive to light during an episode or if she's had balance or visual disturbances prior to the onset. All of this will help the dr. in an accurate dx.