Migraine

I kept a food diary for 2 weeks. He tends to eat the same things because he is somewhat of a picky eater. Peanut butter everyday, ketchup on dinner food. He is mostly a meat eater. I have to remind him of the carbs and he always eats some veggie (even if he doesn't like them- 1 pea for every year of his age= 8 peas)

He had 2 migraines over that 2 week time and they both happened on nights he was going somewhere. The first time a Phila Flyers hockey game with my brother and his family. The second a Phila Phantoms hockey game with us (parents and siblings).

He also gets quite a few stomach aches along the way too. This morning he woke up and said his stomach hurt. He tried to go to the bathroom but nothing. He went back to sleep for a 1/2 hour and now he is fine. Do stomach aches go along with the Migraines???

I know I need to do something to relax. The rational side of me knows that there is nothing I can do until I get the test. The other side of me is freaking out. It goes back and forth on which side is winning.

Gotta go, my 4 year old daughter has a fever. My 6 year old son was sick all last week- ear infection, cough, fever. Gotta love winter in NJ. Warm one day, freezing the next. Thank you for being there.

Just in case you were wondering, I go with Burnsie because I am a PE teacher and that is what my male co workers call me!

Cheryl in NJ

Children, in particular, may experience what are known as "abdominal migraines." Please see this article for more information:

Abdominal Migraine - The Basics

Be sure to let the doctor know about his stomach aches.

For adults as well as children, nausea and vomiting are common migraine symptoms.

Hang in there! You'll make it through this.

Hey, that's my son! Too funny.

quote:

He tends to eat the same things because he is somewhat of a picky eater. Peanut butter everyday, ketchup on dinner food.

Cheryl, one of our other members (Megs, aka nutmegan) wrote an excellent entry on her blog about the relaxation techniques she uses. Maybe one of them can help you? They do take some practice but are so worth it. You can find her entry HERE.

I would also add that lavender aromatherapy is very helpful for calming anxiety, and often for reducing head pain as well.

Thanks for the idea. I will check it out. He didn't have a headache today but, a couple of bouts of stomach pain. His stomach hurt when he woke up for about 15-20 minutes. It hurt again when he got to his game 12pm (he didn't have to go to the bathroom). He complained 2 more times today. Just now (7:30pm) he said his stomach hurt, he went to the bathroom this time and said he felt like he was going to throw up. I asked if he usually feels like that when he complains of his stomach hurting and he said no.

I don't know. I think that sounds like the abdominal migraine. Anyway, it sounds better to me than the headache migraines. I was really happy that he didn't have a headache today. It is so stressful.

His b-day is Tuesday (turns 8) and I havn't even planned anything because I don't want him to get a migraine and his party ruined. I might try a little surprise party since he won't know maybe the stress won't get to him!

Daughter now has a 102.5 fever. The sickness that my other son had all last week has moved to her. Hope it doesn't last as long. ahhhh!


Cheryl in NJ

I am glad you found this site. There are many caring people here. My daughter is 6 and began with migraines at age 4. She had no choice but to go on preventatives as she quickly escalated to chronic migraines and then on to status migrainous. This past summer she had her regime changed to Nadolol (a blood pressure med for some) and it has been great for her (she has been able to get off some other meds which had less desirable side effects). She is doing much better at this time than she did the year before at the same time. Spring tends to be her worst times. Please don't fear the preventatives. I know it is scary to give young children medicine, but my daughter truly had no quality of life without them. She also had a CT and later an MRI, so you'll probably end up with an MRI anyway even if you got the CT first. My daughter was sedated for it, and while I was nervous, it went really well and was a nonentity looking back.

I understand your fear about your son and waiting to know. At one point early in Lauren's disease we were convinced she had a brain tumor since that is what she looked like to us. It won't help for me to say that your son sounds like a fairly typical migraine case. Lauren's doctor has us working to treat her migraines during the "prodrone" phase with ibuprofen and that has made a huge differance in her not developing full blown migraines. As your son begins to learn his early warning signs, he will often be able to head them off before they turn into full blown migraines. Having said that, 2-3 migraines a week is too many and I am not surprised that the doctor wants a preventative vs such frequent ibuprofen dosages. My daughter also takes a tryptan when she gets a migraine (past prodrome phase) and she is quickly much better. She sees a pediatric migrine specialist, and it has been great. She has her life back. Good luck to you and your son We will be hoping that you both get through this ok, and continue to post and vent when ever you need to!!
Lynn

Thank you so much for letting me know about your daughter. This site has brought me much comfort. I was just sending an email to my son's teacher to update her on his condition. He had 3 migraines this week. I say migraines but, only one got to full blown status since I got the Motrin in him right away with the other two. The Neurologist didn't have any Motrin so by the time we got home he was full blown. Vomiting and all.

I wish I understood all the lingo you used about your daughter's stages of migraines. But it sounds to me as if your saying the same thing. If you get the meds soon enough the migraines don't go all the way.

As crazy as it sounds, it makes me feel a little better when it gets full blown because then I feel more confident that they are migraines. I know that sounds bad but, right now the reassurance of the full blown migraine is all I have. Thank you so much again for letting me know about your daughter. I don't know anyone who has a child this young with migraines other than here.

Cheryl in NJ

I hope both kids are feeling back up to spiff soon, Cheryl. Big, scaly droolie hugs for them both!

Cheryl, here's an article that will help you understand what Mom of Sufferer was saying about the phases of her daughter's migraines:

Anatomy of a Migraine

Hello, thank you for the link. David doesn't seem to go thru all the phases. He never mentions the Aura. I never had one either. He has had a headache all day. He woke up with a small fever 100.1. His sister also has a fever so I know there is something in the house.

I am trying not to give him motrin for the headache. I gave him tylenol instead hoping it would help and his headache is getting worse now. I thought if I could keep him off motrin for a couple of days and give him tylenol it would help with that rebound headache. How long do you have to be off Motrin to affect the rebound headaches? Thank you

Cheryl

There's no set time for being off a med to end the rebound effect. Each person's body is different. For most people, they can take a med two or three times a week without going into rebound. Once in Medication Overuse Headache, however, it can take quite a while to end the rebound effect. Consult your son's doctor for advice about his individual situation.

Cheryl ~

Rebound is a tricky thing. Some people take quite a bit of the offending med to launch into a rebound situation, but others are sensitive to only need one dose to set things off. Considering that the Tylenol made David's headache worse, I'd wonder if it was me if that wasn't the rebound culprit.

As for how long it takes to break the rebound cycle, that varies by individual. Most of those of us that have been there and gotten out of rebound report a minimum of three to four weeks, but it can be longer for some people. Personally, it took me about three-and-a-half weeks to get out, and then I gave things a couple of more insurance weeks past when I knew it was smooshed for good. After, I was very, very cautious with how often I tried Excedrin again. The first few days are pretty rough when you withdraw the offending med. It often gets worse before it gets better. But there's nothing in this brainbucket journey that's been more worth the effort for me.

As for the aura, most people don't experience it. The last percentage I recall was that only 20% of us experience aura.

I wish I had some handy advice to pass along, but being new to this web site...I am in the learning stages. I just wanted to say Im sorry you and your son are having to go through this. I am a mother of two girls (13 mo and 11 wks, I guess Im in the learning stages of parenthood as well ) but being a migraine sufferer, I constantly fear one of my girls will be afflicted with this disorder! Its so hard when one of them is feeling punky! Being a mom you just want to FIX IT!
I just wanted to give you support, and wish you and your son well! I hope both of your children are feeling better soon!!

Burnsie -

First of all, welcome, and thanks for being such a great and loving Mom! I am a worrier, too, and anything that might be wrong with my children makes me completely nuts at times. But Nutcracker has a very good point and you need to keep yourself serene enough to get through the next few weeks. (And even after the MRI, though you won't have to worry about that any more, you may not have all the answers you want.)

People here have given you lots of great links and information. If you'd like to try some basic relaxation exercises I have some up on my blog, so feel free to visit Here.

Hang in there! Take care of you, too!

- Megs

You guys are the best! So supportive and you seem to know exactly what to say. Today is David's 8th birthday. Poor boy, he is sick with a fever, ear infection, cold. You know the winter stuff. On top of that I came home to take him to the Dr and before we went he had hit is head and was feeling dizzy and had a headache. He just wanted to sleep on the way to the DR's.

The Dr thought he didn't hit his head hard enough to cause a concussion. Just monitor him. So now he has a different headache than the one he usually gets!!

I didn't think about the tylenol causing the headache yesterday. I assumed he was sick and because he had a headache and I didn't give him motrin that it just kept getting worse and worse until it was a migraine. I gave in and gave him some Motrin, he took a nap and when he woke up it felt better.

The Dr today suggested he get an EEG to check for seizures to be causing the headaches. She said he is very young to be getting Migraines. I pointed out the strong family history and the fact that my husband's cousin (who is the nurse at the Dr's office) her son starting getting migraines at 3. I know there is a distance with the cousin factor but, my husband's mother and her father are brother and sister. To me that shows the family history of a young age for migraines. Not sure if any of you guys had done an EEG with your kids.

I was tempted to take David to get a CAT scan for banging his head just to get the CAT scan snuck in for the Migraine factor. Oh, well
back to taking care of the kiddies. Thanks again

Cheryl
Ps Funkeediva. My boys are 16 months apart so I know well how rough it is with a toddler and an infant. Get lots of rest. I had 3 kids in 3 1/2 years- no wonder I am mentally and physically drained!!