Is my daughter having migranes?

[ElaineJ]

Yesterday my dd7 and I were walking home from co-op and she seemed fine. When we got home, she suddenly said her head hurt really badly, but only on one side focused on the temple area. she has complained about these one sided headaches before, but this one seemed to get extra bad very quickly. she ended up on the sofa curled up in the fetal position and got nauseous, throwing up three times over the course of the next few hours. then she fell asleep. When I woke her up to check on her a few hours later, she said she felt better. This morning she woke up and seemed perfectly normal. I did some searching online to try to decide if I should visit the doctor and her symptoms sound like some descriptions of migranes. anyone with experience in this with a kid so young? Any suggestions?

 

ElaineJ

[Teresa in MO]

my dh was 5 when he started getting migraines. There is a family history. My dd was around 7 when she started getting them. Her symptoms were much like your dd's. I would watch the frequency of them and write down what happens each episode.

[*********]

Zee started getting migraines at six. His are in both temples, but other than that, his symptoms are identical to your dd. He has a prescription he takes when he gets one now. You may want to visit your ped. Ours referred us to a ped. neurologist who diagnosed ds.

 

Ds also gets a sunken, shadowed look to his eyes when his migraine is building. I get migraines too, so there may be a genetic component.

[Lovedtodeath]

It can be migraines. I got them at that age. It can be something more serious, so I would check it out.

[ElaineJ]

I didn't realize before this experience that kids could have migranes too. I feel so bad for her! It sounds like maybe I should take her to the doctor and have her evaluated even though she feels fine now? I'm just hoping we won't need to do a lot of tests because our insurance is not very good.

 

ElaineJ

[JFSinIL]

My kid's pediatric neurologist old me once that migraines are as common in kids as in adults - they just aren't looked for/treated as much as either the parents do not recognize them as migraines or the pediatricians do not think of them. I'd have a pediatric neuro check her out. Migraines are no fun!

One of my kids at age 9 started taking Depakote as a migraine preventative - he also had a supply of Zomig and would take one if a migraine started. He went from weekly to maybe once every few months while on Depakote.

 

By his late teens he was weaned off the Depakote - some kids outgrow migraines. He still has the Zomig....just in case.

[alpidarkomama]

That's what happened to my husband repeatedly as a child. Everyone kept telling him either a) it was the 24-hour flu or b) he was just faking/exaggerating. Thank G-d we finally figured it out when we were married! He suffered badly without realizing what they were for DECADES. :(

[Veritaserum]

Yes, it sounds like migraines. :( I get them. My second dd started getting them when she was 7. Her doc ordered an MRI (normal) and then referred us to a pediatric neurologist. She takes a daily preventative and has a rescue medication. Changing our diet has also helped. MSG is often hidden and it's a major trigger for migraines. Read Heal Your Headache by David Buchholz for a good overview on migraines, medications, and diet.

 

The combo of medication and diet reduced her frequency of migraines from 1-3 a week to 1-3 per 2 months. On days she didn't have migraines, she had mild to moderate headaches. Those are gone, too. :)

[Desert Rat]

It sounds like a migraine to me. That's how mine would manifest at that age. Throwing up always made me feel better and it seemed like the headache went away faster. I was seen by a neuro by 10. I would take her to the doctor just to be sure it's migraines and get her some meds.

Aw, I know what I went through and I feel bad for her.

As a note, my mom taught me yogic breathing patterns as a child to help cope with the pain and it helped a lot! I still use those breathing methods with my migraines. Also, visualization helps. This may sound silly but I visualize each inhaled breath wrapping around the pain in my head and each exhaled breath pulling it out. Cold (or warm) compresses help too. I can't stand the idea of warm but I know some people prefer it.

And it may help you to know that at your daughter's age I was getting migraines 2-3 times a month. In my teens, I had 1-2 a week. Now, at almost 40, I get 5-6 bad ones a year.

[*~Tina~*]

My dd's "migraines" turned out to be seizures.

 

Just throwing that out there, as we spent a year with the peditrician claiming she had migraines, while not doing any tests or further evaluation of her symptoms that might have revealed otherwise.

[Nestof3]

These are the symptoms Ben has. I've had headaches all my life.

 

I used to think they were linked to too much screen time, but I think not eating at regular intervals also contributes.

 

I used to think he got a stomach virus a lot, LOL.

 

Oh, he also grinds his teeth at night (just like his dad and me). ugh

[EarleneW]

That is what it sounds like. My daughter gets them too- she's 10. If we can catch it early with Ibuprophin and a bag of ice, she is usually ok quickly.

[Lovedtodeath]

It can also be a brain tumor. It is important to get the tests done... and even to insist on them if the doc doesn't.

[Nestof3]

It can also be a brain tumor. It is important to get the tests done... and even to insist on them if the doc doesn't.

 

Do you think a migraine a month could be a brain tumor? I can only imagine how many thousands of dollars we'd pay to have this checked out. He has no other symptoms at all.

[Veritaserum]

Do you think a migraine a month could be a brain tumor? I can only imagine how many thousands of dollars we'd pay to have this checked out. He has no other symptoms at all.

 

Keep a headache diary. When I saw that her headaches were increasing in frequency and severity. We did the MRI to rule out a tumor even though her symptoms were consistent with migraine.

[ElaineJ]

Seizures can manifest as a super bad headache too? How did you end up figuring out the problem? I hope she is doing well new.

 

ElaineJ

[Veritaserum]

Seizures can manifest as a super bad headache too? How did you end up figuring out the problem? I hope she is doing well new.

 

ElaineJ

 

EEG is what's commonly used to check for epilepsy (seizure disorder). I've had one and it is painless.

[ElaineJ]

Thanks for your input, everyone. From your collective experience, it does sound like a migrane. If it happens again I will take her to the doctor to get checked out. Thanks again,

 

ElaineJ

[Denisemomof4]

migraines are very strange and can present in so many different ways. It definitely sounds like your dd had a migraine, but I would take her to a ped neurologist. They will likely do an MRI just to make sure nothing else is going on, and I think this is necessary.

 

Dd11 started to get them when she was 6. Her first one had her writhing on the floor in pain, and it lasted for SIX DAYS!!!! :svengo: This is why I pulled her from school. She gets weird ones,too. She will have a migraine in her eye, where it feels like it's going to explode. She'll get ice pick migraines. These are horrible and it literally feels like someone's stabbing you in the brain with an ice pick. You can have migraine with aura, you can have aura and no migraine.

 

I'd definitely get your dd checked and do some reading on migraines. I was shocked at how differently they can present. Also, try to see if there is anything which triggers your dd's migraines. When you were walking home, was it bright and sunny outside? Was she wearing sunglasses? My dd's "eyeball migraines" happened on a bright sunny, snow covered day. I've heard that is a trigger for eyeball migraines. Bright light is also a trigger, as are flourescent lights and certain chemicals/foods. See if you can figure out which trigger your dd. You may or may not have success.

[*~Tina~*]

Seizures can manifest as a super bad headache too? How did you end up figuring out the problem? I hope she is doing well new.

 

ElaineJ

 

Depends on the type of seizure, but absolutely. And if you're not familiar with seizures you might not necessarily pick up on other symptoms that may be present. The duration of a seizure can be a little as a few seconds and the outward signs can be indiscernible if you don't know what you're looking for. Most people have little knowledge of the different seizures types and tend to only think of the "convulsive" ones, however, most seizure disorders are not the convulsive type. My dd has complex-partial seizures (partial meaning that they don't generally spread to the entire brain, but start and remain on one side or the other) She almost ALWAYS has an unbearable migraine level headache after a seizure - even those that last only a few seconds and have minimal observable symptoms. The harder, more intense the seizure and outward symptoms usually means the the worse her head hurts and the more it zaps her and knocks her out to sleep for a while.

 

We ended up finding out several years ago after a seizure generalized (spread to entire brain) causing full body convulsions. She then went limp and we could not awaken her, thus we ended up in the ER where they did a battery of tests. In hindsight, peculiar things had been going on for a while, but again, when you don't know what you're looking for, you just don't know how to put it all together!

 

She's in the smaller category of "refractory" seizures - meaning that we have not been able to get them controlled by medication or any other means we've investigated. So she still struggles.

Edited April 22, 2011 by *~Tina~*

[indigomama]

My migraines started at 8 years old. I was seen by a ped neurologist and given a CAT scan. No brain tumors and not seizures, for me. I was given medication. They stopped in frequency after a year, and I only got them sporadically.

I do get them very bad during pregnancy though.

 

ETA: Mine would go away after I threw up. Also, ibuprofen with some caffeine, even half a can of coke, would help tone it down from a migraine to a headache.

[HS Mom in NC]

My middle child (now 13) started having migraines when she was 9. I suggest you see a pediatric neurologist who will order an MRI to rule out some possible underlying causes and then help find the right rescue meds. There is a group of drugs to treat migraines-it takes time to find the right one. Our ped did the best he could, but migraines are a HUGE spectrum of causes (most are unidentified) and symptoms and really require a specialist.

 

It is very common for migraines to begin in the tween years and have a hormonal component. There is a generic factor for some people. Food, light, muscle tension, hormonal fluctuations, and a whole host of other things can trigger them. Our neuro also suggested chiropractic treatment in addition to rescue meds- it helps many of her patients. It helps my daughter.

[Dawn in Ohio]

My son starting getting migraines when he was 6. You've gotten a lot of good advice already. I just wanted to add that the main contributing factor for my son was inconsistent meal times, not eating enough, and going to bed hungry. Once we realized that, we were able to watch his eating more carefully and lower the number of migraines he experienced.

[*********]

migraines are very strange and can present in so many different ways. It definitely sounds like your dd had a migraine, but I would take her to a ped neurologist. They will likely do an MRI just to make sure nothing else is going on, and I think this is necessary.

 

Dd11 started to get them when she was 6. Her first one had her writhing on the floor in pain, and it lasted for SIX DAYS!!!! :svengo: This is why I pulled her from school. She gets weird ones,too. She will have a migraine in her eye, where it feels like it's going to explode. She'll get ice pick migraines. These are horrible and it literally feels like someone's stabbing you in the brain with an ice pick. You can have migraine with aura, you can have aura and no migraine.

 

I'd definitely get your dd checked and do some reading on migraines. I was shocked at how differently they can present. Also, try to see if there is anything which triggers your dd's migraines. When you were walking home, was it bright and sunny outside? Was she wearing sunglasses? My dd's "eyeball migraines" happened on a bright sunny, snow covered day. I've heard that is a trigger for eyeball migraines. Bright light is also a trigger, as are flourescent lights and certain chemicals/foods. See if you can figure out which trigger your dd. You may or may not have success.

 

Zee and I both suspect that bright sunshine or other lights can either trigger, if not horribly irritate, our migraines. Other than that, we've found no other for sure triggers for Zee; we suspect *possibly hazelnut, but it's just a suspicion.

 

My migraines are triggered by hormones; the first time I had them was when I was younger, around 20ish, and was on birth control pills for the first and only time. They triggered horrific migraines, and I had to discontinue them. I didn't get migraines again until being pregnant with Zee. They are much worse for me during pregnancy, but I also get about one a month during my cycle.

 

Also wanted to mention, like many pp's, ds had an MRI recommneded by his ped. neuro to rule out any other possible causes; it was clear. So we were fairly certain he had migraines, not something else.

 

ETA: Also worth mentioning:

 

Ds takes the same migraine rescue med that I take. Once his ped. neuro found out that I have migraines too, she asked what I take, and prescribed it for ds. We were lucky not to have to try multiple meds to find what works for him.

 

Like another poster's child, ds also gets frequent headaches that are NOT migraines. Since he is young, and kinda new to all of it, I found it helpful to ask him to rate his headache pain on a 1-10 scale to describe how bad it hurts. His 'regular' headaches usually rate a 3 or 4; a migraine is always at LEAST a 7, sometimes as high as 9. We've had trouble figuring out the cause of his regular headaches. I recently took him to a ped. opthamologist, who did a VERY thorough exam of his eyes. He could find nothing wrong at all, but did suggest that ds just may be more sensitive to irritation of his meninges (sp? basically, the lining of his brain), and therefore just has more 'pains in his head' than the less sensitive person may. I suspect he also gets sinus headaches; I've gotten them as a child, and there seems to be some sort of connection for me between sinus headaches and migraines. I frequently need to take sudafed along with my migraine med to totally alleviate the pain; taking it with a coke, as well as an ice pack, help as well.

Edited April 22, 2011 by bethanyniez