Is this a migraine?

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I'm worried about my dd. In the last 4 years she's had 3 of these "attacks."

 

They start off with her vision contracting. Then within an hour she gets a massive headache and starts vomiting.

 

I've asked all the usual mommy questions. But she doesn't seem to know of any connection between the events.

 

She doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs, and is very healthy. I'm wondering if some kind of food additive could trigger it?

[annabanana1992]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Get her help - these can be alleviated. I started getting them when I was 12 and it is the worst pain imaginable. DS8 is also a sufferer. We are both under the care of a neurologist and there are some effective medicines.

[abbeyej]

Yup, sounds just like a migraine to me.

 

There are all kinds of triggers it could be. Foods (chemical or natural), exhaustion, hormones, stress, environmental allergens...

 

I've gotten to the point where I can generally recognize one coming on. If I treat it *immediately*, it might never get that bad. Treating it means getting something to drink, maybe something with caffeine, a little bit of sugar, and ibuprofen, and lying down in the dark. Lights, screens, attempts at reading -- those things will make it *much* worse.

 

Eating well, getting good rest, and taking vitamins (B vitamins and magnesium seem to be especially important) help keep them at bay...

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

What causes them?

[Parabola]

I agree, totally sounds like migraines, and bad ones too.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will pass them on.

[Amy in Orlando]

That's a migraine! Sometimes they are cyclical - so keep track of her cycles and when the headaches seem to come on.

 

She might be able to sense them coming on, if she does caffeine and Excedrin Migraine might help. If they don't help, don't delay in seeing a doctor. Migraines are miserable in the themselves, but they can also change your whole life if you don't gain control over them.

 

I hope you can find a solution that works soon. There's nothing worse than a migraine, imo.

[Starr]

Yes! Poor Baby! I'd talk with the doctor if they get more frequent.

[Zelda]

As you can see, it sounds like migraines. The good news is that you can learn to live with migraines once they're identified. Best wishes.

[Catherine]

last night!! I thought we had somehow found the trigger and eliminated it, it's been so long. He is miserable, I felt awful for him. His started when he was 11 or 12, and for awhile happened at least every month. Finally, we got a prescription for oral Imitrex and it is a miracle drug. Soon after that, they stopped.

 

I hope your daughter won't have them long-term. Often, they are outgrown.

[Tree House Academy]

My 5 year old has had one migraine in his life. The most terrifying event to date with him. :( I hope your daughter can get some relief from these. My son was much younger, but he told me he couldn't see right. Then he said his forehead and "back head" hurt. I knew something was wrong, but then he just went lethargic on me and would not wake up. When I did get him to rouse, he would scream in pain and tell me he just needed to sleep. Bless him. He had to go through a CT scan and everything that night, but they determined it was a migraine as nothing else showed up. That was his one and only so far - hope it stays that way!

[In The Great White North]

You are lucky if you can find the "one" trigger. I have several, which as a mommy, I can't always avoid (like not enough sleep, loud noises, etc.) They can also be triggered by allergies, which are easy to check out (try a decongestant.)

 

When I was little, I would take half a dozen baby aspirin (don't try this at home) and go to bed til they went away - usually some time the next day. The room had to be dark and quiet and I made a little cocoon out of my covers. It made it more bearable. When I got a little older, I discovered caffeine helped. (I didn't drink soda, so I didn't discover this until I started on coffee.) A little wine can help too. And sometimes an ice pack.

 

Teachers and coaches have to be warned. Twice, I told the teacher I was going to be sick and my head hurt and Dr Teacher diagnosed me and said I would be fine. :glare: They didn't believe me until I puked on their floor!

 

The dr told me that unexplained vomiting in babies and toddlers was how migraines manifest early on. I think ds had them by age 2. Car-sickness also goes along with migraines. If your daughter did either, be sure to mention it when you see the doctor.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Thanks everyone! Dd is 23 and no longer at home. She had the first episode like this at 18, she had the 3rd day before yesterday. It was pretty bad. I will definitely be telling her all the helpful advice you have given me.

[Pata]

Like everyone else said it sounds like migraines. I suffered from these as a kid and here's a couple of things I learned. Have you had her vision checked? This helped me a bit, it turned out that I needed reading glasses, so reading too much would bring one on. Also there are lots of food trigggers, for me one was nutrasweet, the other was too much chocolate. To date, as long as I avoid these I haven't had a migraine in several years. The others I know of are citrus and nuts. I'm sure there are more, but I hope that this helps a bit!

[In The Great White North]

Another thing I forgot. Blood sugar highs and lows also seem to affect them. If I don't eat for a while, then have "pure" sugar (candy, cake, etc) it will bring one on. So will not eating for a long time. So will a low carb diet, if I get a tiny bit of carbs (takes care of cheating on the diet!)

 

Dehydration will also trigger it.

[Lorna in the boonies]

Chiming in late, but agreeing that it sounds exactly like a migraine.

 

I have come to see the auras as a good thing. When my vision starts to go, I know I've got about half an hour before the pain starts. I tell dh (or oldest dd, now that she's old enough) that I will be out of commission for a while, I take some Excedrin Migraine (or the Wal-Mart version), and I retreat to my bedroom (with a pillow over my head if it's daytime).

 

If I can do that immediately, I can usually stop a migraine in its tracks and can get up and continue my day once the aura leaves (in about 45 minutes or so) -- but if I can't (if I'm out in public when the aura starts, for example), then I'm in for a completely miserable time.

[Tracey in TX]

It sounds like a full blown migraine. Three in four years isn't very often, but you can get medicine which will stop a migraine when taken as soon as symptoms begin. Unlike the PP, Imitrex didn't work for me. Fioracet was the best, but left me feeling foggy. Toradol works wonders. It stops the migraine and feel relatively normal afterward.

Migraines tend to run in families. They can be caused by stress, hormones, foods.

Our first exchange student also got migraines. I would be able to tell the night before that she would have one the next morning. Her face was pain and eyes became sunken. This observation has helped DH notify me of a potential migraine, as well.

Discuss options with your doctor, so DC can be prepared the next time. It makes all the difference when you can stop the migraine before it becomes multi-sensory and vomiting begins.

[TeacherZee]

Definitely migraines I've had them since I was about 8. In my case I have so many triggers, not enough sleep, not enough fluids, stress, to much direct sun...and on and on it goes.

 

As several others have said the important thing is to treat the attacks asap. In my case I don't have so many vision problems but I know that a "normal" headache usually precedes a migraine so I ALWAYS treat a headache. Two Tylenol (or whatever your preferred painkiller is) at the first sign of a headache (or in her case the vision problems) and if I can swing it a short nap. And I also make sure I drink a glass or two of water.

 

I would also tell her to see her doctor to see if he can prescribe her proper migraine medication (I'm allergic to pretty much all of them but she probably won't be). My sister gets really good results with them (she has had migraines since she was about 8 too).

[cin]

I'm jealous that OTC stuff works for you guys! DH & I both get migraines and nothing but hte best for us :glare: . But I can't complain, we do have something that works. Zomig is our drug of choice. Usually within the hour the pain is gone. My triggers are sun, stress, and too long without food. DH's....do you have an hour?! MSG (and all the other names they use to disguise it) is a definite trigger, 45 minutes after he eats it, he's got a massive headache. Changes in sleep patterns, stress.

 

He also gets what they call a 'let-down' migraine. AFTER the stress is over: project finished, mom's diagnosis, 2 days after his dad was buried; any big, stressful event...once that is done, he gets an aura migraine. IF he treats it as soon as the visual stuff starts, he's ok. if he doesn't. LOOK OUT!

 

Light, sound and noise can trigger a migraine or make it worse. I get 'migraines' with little to no pain, but movement hurts my eyes. Like tv, movies, or sometimes even walking around the house. It's weird.

 

The medications, including caffeine are vaso-constrictors. They reduce the flow of blood to the brain. Not real sure how it helps, but it does, so I'm not complaining :001_smile:

 

There are a ton of triggers. Google Migraine triggers and you will find lists. Wines, cheeses, chocolate, noise, weather fronts, blinking lights (I cannot wear clothes that have certain types of stripes--it will give dh a migraine) preservatives (nitrates and nitrites, sulfates, etc) and the list goes one....

 

Even though she doesn't get them that often, they sound BAD, so I would have something on hand to alleviate that.

[JFSinIL]

Yes, that is a migraine, yes, a food additive could be a trigger - as cold needing to have vision checked (I get migraines when I need stronger lenses). My kid's pediatric neurologist has told me that migraines are as common in kids as in adults - they just do not get diagnosed as readily. Many kids can outgrow them. It is worth visiting a neurologist to get a quick check-up, and a prescription for either a preventative (my one son was on Depakote for several years as a migraine preventative) and/or something to take to stop a migraine - same son still has his Zomig handy, although he has not needed it in over a year (he is almost 17 now - ages 9 - 14ish were his bad migraine years).

 

The Zomig helped stop or reduce the pain/length of a migraine ONLY if ds could take one and lie down in a dark room as soon as he felt the weird feeling of a migraine creeping up on him. His triggers were the same as cin's - lack of food/drink (how can a growing boy forget to eat???!!!)

[kalanamak]

I'm worried about my dd. In the last 4 years she's had 3 of these "attacks."

 

 

Some women get them pre-men, and some get them at ovulation (midcycle). I got them pre-men, about 3 times a year, with red wine (every time), or with bananas (not predictably).

 

Personally, for my 4 or less per year, I did not take any meds for them. But then, I didn't take a tylenol until I was in my 40's. I did notice that they started up AFTER I quit having bad menstrual cramps, in my late 30's. For the 10 years prior I was taking 200mg motrin once a day for the 3 days before my flow, which very effectively lowered my cramps. Perhaps it medicated headaches as well.

 

If you do want to have something for those rare headaches, r*ctal indomethicin can be used. This circumvents the vomiting. HTH