FaithManor Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 My cousin's son, age 12, has developed these. They've become incapacitating. He's lost quite a lot of weight and is showing signs of depression because of them, well, and the bullying. He attends public school His parents are divorced - very bad situation - and he lives with his grandma. His father is in prison, but parental rights were never severed by the state and so grandma cannot legally homeschool him since the father refuses to give consent. The bullies are making life miserable for him. The doctor has documented the problem as well as a pediatric gastroenterologist and they've all maintained he cannot attend school. The school refuses to accept his absences and they refuse to send a home bound teacher to the house - which they are legally required to do because the medical documentation has been submitted. The teacher has, several times, put him in front of the class and announced to his classmates that, "This student is a liar and fake. You see that I don't put up with kids who lie and fake to get out of school work. Don't be like him." (No joke - pretty much verbatim quote from the last time this happened.) The principal will not switch him to a different classroom nor discipline the teacher. B is in the hospital for 24 hrs. once per week usually, occasionally making it as long as two weeks, for pain meds and being rehydrated by iv's because his vomitting is so bad. My aunt, the grandma, is poor. She is on disability due to a horrible knee and back injury at work 10 years ago. Community legal aid will not help her because they say there is nothing that can be done against the school...they have the expensive corporate attorneys on their side and community legal says they just don't have the man power or money to go up against them. She's considering pulling him out of school to homeschool without prison dad's permission and hoping that the school district will be so glad to get rid of "a problem student" that they won't pursue a case against her for truancy. So A. Does anyone have experience with this disease and know of any remedies that will help? Outside of trying to avoid certain foods for him - which the doctors have been of no assistance with whatsoever; she's trying this on her own - and the iv., pain meds from the ER, no treatment plan has been offered. B. Is this something that may abate in adulthood or is he stuck with this for the rest of his life? Thoughts? Oh, and for what it is worth, I'm about ready to propose that all of the bullies in ever school in American be gathered together in one large herd, placed in a school called "The Prison", and let them feed on each other so the innocent may get on with their lives in peace and safety. B's teacher will be welcome to finish her career at "The Prison". Gah...I'm supposed to have compassion for all children, right???? Having a hard time drumming up any for the bullies. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Wow. What a horrendous story. Aren't abdominal migraines typically treated with migraine headache medicine? My son had a bout of this once, and that is what the ped told us they would try if they came back--the same stuff my husband uses for his migraine headaches. His have never come back, though, so we have never tried it. Also, how about acupuncture? A couple of times that my husband has had migraine headaches that wouldn't respond to heavy medication, acupuncture has worked. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 What a sad situation, and what a poor little child! I hope he can find not only the physical help he needs, but also the emotional help. I recommend a book called Heal Your Headache by David Buchholz. In fact, I can't recommend it highly enough! We are a family of migraines; my husband suffered from migraines daily for over 15 years, and the advice in this book took care of probably 85% of his headaches. It also greatly reduced the number of headaches in another daughter. (Unfortunately, we have not yet found all the triggers for yet another daughter who has them daily, but we are still trying!) Author Buchholz lays out many, many things that cause migraines, and he explains how there are the traditional headache migraines, but also abdominal migraines, fatigue migraines, and more. So, he will address your cousin's son's particular situation. The biggest thing the book focuses on are on are all the food triggers, and following the "headache diet" takes a lot of discipline, but is very worth it if it helps (as in my husband's case). Other things like weather aren't as controllable. Depending on what your relative's triggers are -- and there are so many possibilities -- he can gain a lot of control over them over time. Even things like regular sleep and eating patterns can help. He must be under a tremendous amount of stress right now, and of course that's a trigger too. Hopefully if things settle down emotionally for him, his migraines will improve a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) nm Edited September 20, 2013 by magnificent_baby omitted a word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 My daughter had these for years. We never found a miracle treatment. On the bright side she outgrew them by 14:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I have no idea what can be done, but this makes me so mad I could spit. Can she file for custody and try to get the dad's legal rights terminated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 What a horrible situation. I am so sorry for him. My 11 year old gets these. We have not found a trigger yet. But, when he FIRST starts to get one (and he can tell from the location and type of pain), he takes 2 - 3 Advil. It dulls the pain and he can function. Just this last Christmas, he had his first migraine - in the head. Poor kid. Luckily they haven't come back and he hasn't had an abdominal migraine in ages. I pray something works SOON for this poor child. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I think you would be contacting either the school superintendent (in a smaller school setting) or the head of special services (in a larger school setting) and demanding to know why an IEP hasn't been set up. I also think that this kid most likely has a GAL from the previous custody case...if the case is still open and he/she is still assigned I would call him/her up and see if she can get involved and lean on the school district as well. She's an advocate for the child... I would try cutting out all preservatives from his diet (especially nitrates) and I would also try a GFCF diet to see if any food allergies are at play. On the medical end of things, I'd see if they'd do a trial of valproic acid (it's in generic, it's cheap, and for some people it's effective) or of antidepressants... Both have shown some efficacy with abdominal migraines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I will be reading this thread with interest. My son just started these and is in the throes of one right now. :glare: It has not been a good morning for him. I cannot fathom a trigger since he woke up with this one. He has not even had is ADHD meds. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Thanks everyone! I'm going to get that book for her. It sounds like it will give her a lot of information. She is contacting the Friend of the Court and Guardian Ad Litem to see if she has more than temporary custody. Her daughter, a total mess, is not opposed to having B's father's rights terminated if social services or community legal aid can pursue it. They have no money for lawyers. I doubt they will get help in this regard. I cannot imagine government entities helping them terminate so she can pull him out of government schools! But, he is seeing a new neurologist today and my other aunt suggested that they make sure to get copies of the diagnosis and a statement from the doctor that B should not attend school at this time. Something strongly worded so the school district can't ignore it. I'd like to paint, "I'm a bully. Your tax dollars at work." on the side of the teacher's car - maybe it's a good thing they live out of state - but I'd probably get in a lot more trouble than the teacher ever will. :glare: Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Ds had them and outgrew them, we didn't go to the doctor, they always went away after he threw up.... The triggers were too long w/o food (and not enough good quality food, esp. protein), upsetting his schedule, not enough sleep. He got them every Friday because coop was on Thursday. No way could he have been to regular school, he would have missed too many days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 It sounds like he does need to get to a GI doc and probably have a neurology consult as well if he's having them that often. I'm surprised that they haven't yet put him on some kind of migraine preventative protocol, especially with episodes coming that frequently (every couple of months is more typical). My 11 year old had his first episode when he was 10 mo old, it took us until he was 5 until he was diagnosed, and he was still in the hospital once or twice a year for a few years after. During that time, he had a daily preventative medication (cyproheptadine), as well as Zofran to take at the beginning of an episode to try to head it off. Now that he goes 4-10 mo between episodes and hasn't been in the hospital in over 3 years, he just taked Excedrin migraine when he recognizes the aura starting, and zofran as needed if nausea starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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