Migraine

My son, who turns 7 in December has been suffering with migraines for about a year. They used to come once 2-3 times per month, but over the last 10 weeks they have become more frequent. The neurologist put him on periactin. Started at 1/2 teaspoon at night, now its 1 teaspoon at night and 1/2 in the morning. Sometimes we "catch" the headache (he knows to go straight to the nurse) and it can be stopped with Motrin and Coca Cola (the neurologist added the coke for caffeine and cola syrup to calm his stomach). If it doesn’t work he gets picked up from school and the day is done, he needs to lie down in a dark cool room and often starts vomiting.

Thankfully he is a well-adjusted boy who loves to play and do all the typical things that children do. We are asked repeatedly if he is nervous or anxious, and he is ONLY anxious about the next headache.

The neurologist (who also had a child who suffered from migraines) is really understanding and has a lot of insight but it is nonetheless frustrating. She basically said its impossible to find a particular trigger, but we should make certain he is eating and sleeping regularly and to avoid MSG and Nitrites (hot dogs, processed meats etc.). A little time spent researching MSG and I found out its in A LOT OF FOOD!!! Under a lot of different names. Have other people had this issue? I am about ready to empty our snack cabinet because half of the stuff appear on a list of “these foods often contain MSG” that I found on line (who knew how many names there are for MSG). What do you all do about this? Is trace amounts what does it? Advice?

Hello Avi and welcome to you and your son! Our goal is to provide everyone with the information and support that we all need to manage our Migraines and/or headaches. To that end, we consider this a “safe harbor,” where nobody tries to sell us anything, and we all use “family-friendly” language so parents are comfortable letting their children read the forum with them.

Please take a few minutes to review our policies and guidelines along with the other information in the START HERE folder. For information about Migraines, a good article to begin with is Learning About Migraines - Where to Start.

I hate to hear when little ones are suffering, my heart goes out to you both. It sounds like his school is very understanding about his situation and that must help out a lot!

I'm going to give you a few links, including one for a Migraine Diary that you can track his triggers in and also a food trigger workbook that might also help:

• Common Migraine Triggers

• Your Migraine and Headache Diary

• Managing Migraine – Migraine Trigger Foods

I don't have any food triggers myself so I don't have any experience with MSG problems, but there are other members who run into the same issue as your son. Hopefully, they'll be along soon to share their stories with you.

Please keep us posted on how your son is doing, okay? And, if you have any other questions, just ask, that's what we're here for

Thanks for your response. We will look at the links you provided (my wife and I) later, I know she has been keeping a log over the last months would probably qualify as detail oriented as a NASA space launch log.

I had no idea kids could even get migraines.

Oh, I was clueless, too, to my son's migraines. It took him rocking back and forth in the fetal position on the bathroom floor and then immediately throwing up for me to finally catch a clue.

I just thought he was the stomache virus king - it took me, a "seasoned professional" with migraines, to finally figure it out.

Chocolate is the only trigger we've figured out for Nikoli. He's eaten Ramen noodles and beef jerky, both loaded with MSG, and he's had no problem.

MSG bothers me and I do know all the names it hides under. We've slowly switched our diet and now I cook almost completely from scratch to avoid it.

Nikoli takes 10mg of Inderal as a preventive - if you find the periactin not working, maybe you could talk to his MD about Inderal. Nikoli is 11 and has been on it a year - wish I had started it earlier.

Add a droolie welcome to Laura's welcome!

MSG can be a tough thing to avoid. It does hide in a lot of things, particularly processed foods, and it does go by all kinds of names. I think the only thing you can do other than stick with as many fresh foods as you can is to diligently read labels and know what to look for.

Periactin seems to be a very common med for doctors to try with kids as a preventative.

As for finding triggers, it's not always impossible. It can be difficult sometimes, especially with food triggers. There are ingredients that hide under different names, and since most foods are a combo of ingredients, that can make it trickier. But for the most part, identifying triggers is about looking for patterns. If you keep a migraine diary, and jot down things like what the weather's like on migraine days, and if sleep the nights before were disrupted, in time it becomes easier to figure some triggers out.

Our son Yoel is just turning 7 in 2 months, I'm not sure of the age limits of Inderal but will certainly inquire. I think we lucked out with our neuroligist (this is the 2nd one), the fact that she has a son who went through this gives her more insight, and she is on the phone with one of us twice a week in the evening checking in with us and responding to our questions (these conversation usually last 20-30 minutes and it is often hard to get that much time with the doctor {her evaluation lasted over an hour in the office!} and we trust her judgement. But I think we will be visiting those organic food stores etc.

We told our son that he may have an allergy to MSG and that is why many of his favorites (mostly snacks and school foods) are going to be eliminated over the next few months. I wasnt sure if we should present it as an allergy because we didnt want to scare him, but tons of his friends have allergies to milk, nuts, etc. so its a concept he is familliar with.

I certainly have a new found respect for migraine sufferers since I dont get them. My wife does, she usually lies down for a few hours and then comes back okay, but seeing through the eyes of a child has changed my perspective.

When he doesnt have a headache my son is the typical 6-7 year old whose energy never ceases to amaze me, and when he says, "I really want to go to the party but I'm just not up to it" it makes me take notice (he never said no to a birthday party till this past Saturday when he was in "post migraine statuse" i.e. exhausted)

we shall see

Hi Avi and Yoel! Welcome to the forums!
I totally hear ya about migraines in children. My heart goes out to you all! I have had migraines for years(I also get HM) and my youngest son TJ also gets them. He is 11 now, but has been diagnosed with Migraines for about 3 years now.

He just last week had his first status mig. He has been on an herbal supplement called Migrelief that his neuro put him on, and has Maxalt combined with ibuprofen for his abort. We have a new appt with his neuro on friday where they will probably put him on another preventative as well as change his abort meds.

Im really glad to hear you have a great neuro for your son! That is half the battle right there! My son has numerous food allergies, and things like sulfates will affect his migraines(IE injected meats) but he also goes into analfaxic shock with alot of the same foods that may trigger a mig so we avoid them anyway!

Some other triggers my son(and myself) have are storms coming in(weather) and flourescent lighting.

As far as the MSG, I have studied that too, and your best option is to make homemade snacks and treats. There are severl typs of tortilla chips that are all natural, no MSG and things like that. I cook mostly homemade and do lots of fresh fruits and veggies for my son. Due to both his food allergies and his migs! Another option is to get a food dehydrator and make your own dried fruit or fruit leathers, jerky etc. No reason your son cant give up fun snacks! Also visiting the health food store is a good idea, but DO watch out, and still read lables, cause even there there is a lot of msg foods.

Please excuse any typos, as Im coming off a Mig myself! Best of luck to you and your lil guy and your wife too! In a way I think its easier for kids to learn about handling migs when they are little. It is NO fun watching the lil guys suffer, but they learn from a young age how to recognize and avoid triggers, and how to deal with them. Sometimes I think thats easier learning as children then when adults start to get them if that makes scense? they make it a life habit, and they learn quicker!


Tawsha and TJ

Yoel is going to be tested for allergies, apparently one's allergic reaction can be a migraine - perhaps allergy not the best word but things he may be allergic to are more likely to cause migraines -that much I got.

We went to the health food store with a list of 'secret' names for MSG, we did okay, the regular grocery store DOES have some stuff that I thought would be off limits, but some of the soup mixes that we use in cooking are made MSG free. Obviously the best thing is for us to cook all fresh food, but we are going to be realistic about the lives we lead...birthday parties, playdates, vacations, etc. We arent even sure if MSG is the trigger.

Over the last month about 75% of his headaches are 'cut off' by motrin and coke (the soft drink) Its hard to tell if we are not catching the other ones soon enough or they just dont respond to the meds. One thing is clear, once it gets bad NOTHING provides relief until he falls asleep, although the vomiting has been reduced since we started giving him coke.

We have decided to try and run our lives as normally as we were and to cross every migraine bridge when we come to it...

Hi Avi!

Welcome to the forum!

I'm very sorry to hear your son is suffering. I remember my Migraines started around 13 - well, at least the ones with the headache phase. Before that I think I was getting Abdominal Migraines. I really feel for anyone who has to suffer with this disease, but especially children.

One of my comfort drinks when I have a Migraine is Coke Classic. Not only because of the caffeine, but also because the syrup helps calm my stomach. Plus, when I don't feel well is the only time I will allow myself to have soda. I love coke classic, but if I had it all the time, I would be as big as a house!

I am so happy to hear that you have found a doctor you can work with!

Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you.

Keep us posted, ok?

Thanks Eileen,

Yeah thats why he gets the coke, cola syrup for his stomach, caffeine for his headache--- cant wait till we get scolded by the dentist

Appreciate your help

Avi