Migraines in the tummy?

[Chris in VA]

Edited

 

Anyone have experience with migraines that present in the abdominal area?

Edited June 15, 2019 by Chris in VA
Rephrased to take out personal details

[Eos]

Yes, DD 14 had them - horrible!  She had them once a month for the year she was 12, basically instead of getting her real period.  She would spend about 20 hours crouched on the floor, writhing and moaning at intervals - it really reminded me of labor.  She would throw up 6 or more times and we would have to cancel all activities.  She would then be just fine the next day.  I took her to the FNP to see if it was appendix related, but got no diagnosis of anything.  Finally she had the whopper one where she threw up so much we had to take her to the ER.  They gave her a bag of fluids, did an abdominal ultrasound to check for...everything...gall bladder, cysts, etc, then were talking about a CT scan when by chance our family doctor ambled in and said, gee, this looks like a tummy migraine.  Huh?  So they gave her a suppository that ended the nausea (and a prescription for more in case of repeat) then home. I then took her to a DO and a homeopath, after which she immediately began having normal periods and no other tummy migraines.  I'd never heard of these, but after the diagnosis other women started telling me they had also had them.  Migraines definitely run in my family.

Edited June 12, 2019 by Harpymom

[PrincessMommy]

My nephew does.  From what my SIL has told me about it, there's been a lot of research in this area in the last several years.  

She's recommended this book to me for my own migraine problems 

https://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-David-Buchholz/dp/0761125663/

 

[gardenmom5]

1ds was diagnosed with abdominal migraine.  he was given  medication for migraines, as well as beta blockers.  as an aside - many neurologists hadn't heard of it.

in his case - it was actually a pinched nerve in his spine. once he was correctly diagnosed, he was able to be successfully treated without medication.

[J-rap]

We have really stubborn migraines in our family.  For one of our dd's, it started as abdominal migraines.  Over the years, it evolved into the more typical headache migraine.  Do migraines run in your family?  They're so often hereditary.  All of my kids tend to have hyper sensitive bodies/brains that react easily to the world around them.  For several, it often plays out as migraines.  

ETA:  I wanted to second the Heal Your Headache book above.  It really helped us understand migraines so much better.  Another really helpful book was Oliver Sacks book Migraine.   That one is not an easy read...reads more like a textbook.  But it really is fascinating.

Edited June 12, 2019 by J-rap

[TravelingChris]

Yes, I have had all sorts of types of migraines, unfornately.  I didn't get abdominal ones until after menopause

[Chris in VA]

edited--Can abdominal migraine pose as menstrual cramps

Edited June 15, 2019 by Chris in VA
rephrased for privacy

[mumto2]

@Chris in VA That sounds like me at your dd’s age.  BC greatly reduced my cramping and made me regular.  Ibuprofen never reduced  my pain from cramping, I had prescription meds.  I was told that I didn’t have endometriosis at that time but always wondering if my doc had a clue.  Fast forward a few years and I had severe endo.........the good thing as I understood it was my minipill probably slowed things down substantially but I would have liked to know.

[bluemongoose]

I did have abdominal migraines as a teen when I first started my period. It lasted for about 3 years and then just lessened to normal cramp levels. I would be completely fine and then my period would start. I would go very pale, be in intense pain, fetal position, throwing up, the runs, and feel basically like I was dying. I didn't know at the time it was called abdominal migraines, and my mother convinced the Dr I was being dramatic...so they didn't realise how bad it was. They did offer me the pill because I was irregular, but my mother didn't allow it, so I cannot say if that would have helped or not. I know Tylenol didn't touch it. That was what we had in the house for me to take.

[Farrar]

I get abdominal migraines sometimes. Mine aren't as severe as some peoples' and always go with headache pain. I had the one of the worst ones I've ever had a few weeks ago actually. I threw up several times. For me, the throwing up part is usually part of getting better - medication can make the head pain go away and then it's like my body can focus on the roiling in my belly instead and it gets worse. It's there before, but the head pain is too much to think about it, if that makes sense. Once I throw up, I usually begin to feel better, though shaky and a little out of it in that migraine way.

I also had terrible menstrual cramps in my youth. It never occurred to me that they could be abdominal migraines so that made me pause. But I'm pretty sure they weren't. I also had endometriosis and the pain was just completely different. Though obviously her issue could be different.