10-Year Old Daughter Having Migraines

I started having migraines at 14. They were horrible!!! I missed two weeks of school. It came out of the blue...I got out of a hot bath and BOOM I felt like my head was going to explode. My dad rushed me to the ER they pumped me full of pain meds which did nothing for me. I even heard the nurse say that a grown man would of been out like a light with as much meds that I had in me. The pain was just too much for me. They did a MRI and a Spinal Tap...from what I hear that is painful. I didnt feel a thing due to the amount of pain I was feeling in my skull. That has to tell you something!

The next day I started my period. The doctors said that the migraines were prob caused by hormonal changes going on in my body. To this day I often get migraines before my cycle starts. My doctor persribed me Cafergot which is 1% Ergotamine tartrate and 500 mg Caffeine, I would take two of these. This is for vascular migraines...

I later asked for something that would treat the pain and put me to sleep. I dont remember what he gave me...sorry. Treatment really depends on what type of migraine that she is having. Caffeine helps Vascular headaches but for others it can cause them. First find out what type of Migraines she is having...that is the first step for a treatment.

I now just take BC powder and drink a Pepsi or Excedrin Migraine. I take BC Powder because the onset of a migraine if I dont treat it early cause me to want to thow up so I am unable to swallow a pill. I drink on ave of 3 - 4 sodas a day I have become a Cafine addict. Believe me this is better than the 7 - 8 I used to drink. I tried to give it up when I was preg but the headaches started up...so I was alowed 2 sodas a day :-)

Word of advice if she has them now she will most likely have them for the rest of her life. Things that will triger a migraine: Long exposure to heat, Anything that will raise her blood pressure (running, getting angery, worring too much), not getting enough sleep, sleeping too much can do it too. And some days she may just wake up with one...this sucks!

When she starts to feel the headache come on treat it! DO NOT WAIT FOR IT TO GET WORSE BECAUSE IT WILL!!! Prevention is the key and treating a headache before it turns into a migraine.

Good luck...I feel her pain. Infact I did this morning.

I just wanted to leave a little info for you that I received when I was younger and has helped calm my migraines. I too was suffering from migraines at a early age and when I got pregnant tried to avoid getting them. Anyways I don't know if this is going to help but it is something for your daugther and you to think about. One of the doctors that I saw gave me a list of things to avoid eating, eating them causes migraines in some. Chocolate, pepperoni, various cheeses, caffine, there are more but these are the common ones that I remember off the top of my head. If I eat even a piece of the block cheddar cheese I get a severe migraine. Like most said give her the meds as soon as she is getting the migraines, I know when I am getting on when I sdee spots before my eyes(like when you take a pic), or the temple on the side of my head starts hurting. You could research or ask your doctor about the other stuff. Hope this helps!!

Have you tried taking her to a Chiropractor, I too get migrains and that god that I work at one, I have worked here for three years and I have not gotten one yet! I get adjusted two times a week. So try it and see if it works. Good luck

I hope the peds neuro did an MRI scan of the head and neck....both my kids were having sever headaches and both had a condition requiring surgery to treat but no more headaches........best of luck as I know how difficult it can be........

Hello,

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist and I can help your daughter as she's having the migraine.

Also, I am a distributor for Forever Living Products, (all-natural, all aloe-based health products), and with the right combination of a few products, we can keep these migraines down to a minimum or maybe even stop them completely.

So, if I can get your geographical address, I'd be happy to mail a brochure to you with all the aloe health products, or if you live in SA, TX, I can even drop-off the brochure in person. Please let me know, both about the massage and the aloe products.

Thank you,

D. P., LMT, CPT
Licensed Massage Therapist
Distributor/Forever Living Products
###-###-####
email: ____@____.com

I was ten when my migraines started. I can completely relate to your daughter.

Over the years I have been able to pinpoint triggers. Barometric pressure changes, aspartame, and hormones are just a few.

For me, chocolate and caffeine with Excedrin have helped keep pain manageable when I am not able to sleep it off. Massages have helped (foot especially-reflexology). When I get in a cycle of repeated migraines, the chiropractor has also helped.

Zomig didn't work for me. Midrin made me feel very spacey. I like Imitrex.

One other poster mentioned celiac. My mother has it. It is one of the most under diagnosed diseases. It can be tested with a simple blood test. If you need the name of a pediatric gastro doctor, Dr. Jack An at Medical City is wonderful!

Good luck to you both. I know this is not an easy road. I will keep your daughter in my prayers.

Mama, I feel your daughters pain! I started having migraines about the same age and they were frequent and debilitating till I was 18. My migraines magically disappeared within days of leaving my old high school. (I transferred to a different campus and finished my senionr year there, and no migraines for 8 weeks!) I had no idea at the time, but I was absolutely miserable and depressed at my school (and my parents had no idea either) There may be a major stressor in her life that is causing her body to react this way.

Also, she needs to be taking some sort of medication as SOON as she feels the migraine start, not days after. You get your body into a pain cycle and the headaches last longer and longer. Also, keep trying different medicines, there are about a bajillion different kinds out there for migraines, (zomig, zomig zmt, imitrex pills, imitrex nose spray, imitrex shots, axert, maxalt, relpax, etc etc) keep expirimenting till she finds one that works well and works consistently.

I would also recommend looking for a chiropractor who can adjust her back, because that can help as well!

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about anything! I've been seeing neurologists regulary since I was 13, and have been through a bajillion different tests, medications, and "treatments" to try and help these migraines.

I'm not a physician and I'm sharing a personal experience. My oldest daughter complained of migraines and our primary care physician suggested she see an ophthalmologist. After numerous tests (including two MRI's) she was diagnosed with Pseudotumor cerebri (aka: false tumor or PTC). Apparently her spinal fluid was building up around her brain, causing pressure on her optic nerves. The increased pressure caused her optic nerves to swell which resulted in migranes and blurred vision. My daughter is currently seeing a neuro-opthalmologist for PTC and recently had optic nerve sheath decompression surgery done on both eyes. I'm not sure why your daughter is having her experience, but I would suggest you have her eyes checked.

I too had migraines that started fairly young and always attributed them to hormones and genes (my mother has migraines). However, since I switched to a gluten-free diet over 4 years ago, I have not had a single migraine. I used to have at least one or more a month and they were severe and debilitating (occular ones even). You might want to consider having your daughter screened for celiac, particularly if you family is of Northern European descent. Here's an article discussing the relation to migraines:
http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/news/20030321/mi...
(you can find many more by going into pubmed and searching on "celiac" and "migraine").

Unfortunately, there's just not a huge push to screen for this disease in this country (although it's the most under-diagnosed genetic disorder), because there's no drug to cure it - it just takes a gluten-free diet for most folks to resolve the majority of their symptoms. Here's a basic overview of the disease and some other symptoms:
http://www.gluten.net/celiac.htm

Both my boys had lots of headaches when they were younger, but they rarely have them now that they too follow a gluten (and diary-free) diet.

My migraines started when I was this age as well. My problem was with my eyesight. Maybe you could get her vision checked out just to be sure.

Migraines really suck. I used to have them around my period and one year my doctor tried me on Zoloft for it and the headaches went away. You cannot take Zoloft and Imitrex or many other pain meds for headaches. I used to take Midrin and shots of Imitrex before the Zoloft.

A friend sees a neurologist for her migraines and she has a whole array of meds. The trick is always to take it before it really gets a foothold. You said the first few days she's okay and can go to school... are you giving her the meds then? I'd give them to her around the clock till she's clear.

FYI, my friend with all the meds got sick of them about 9 months ago and is now doing Botox in the scalp and she's been doing great. It is not paid for by insurance, and it's expensive, but it was taking so much out of her life she couldn't stand it anymore. Her neurologist does the shots for her.

I hope it's her hormones and that things settle down for her soon. I don't know if Zoloft would be the thing for her and like I said you CANNOT take other meds, like Imitrex and Zoloft together, so if the Zoloft didn't work and she got a headache your only option would be Advil/Aspirin/Tylenol or the ER and hope they give her a shot of morphine.

I had migraines when I was young also...in fact still do. If it is hormone related then maybe she could take the meds for now, and then after her period starts maybe you can take her off and see what happens. Perhaps she just needs to get past this "change" in her body.

Migraines are so disruptive. I am sure it is hard for you to see her hurt like that also. Just recently I had to have my momma come take care of me and my kids when I was hurting (and I am 35). So I feel her pain..no pun intended.

I hope you find a good solution. Good Luck!

M. L
www.WellnessStartsInTheHome.com
www.WorkingWithFamilies.com