Just curious to know if anyone has ever had issues with their young child experiencing horrible headaches and migraines?
We've seen the doctor a few times the past few months about this. We first found that he, my son Nicolas, needed glasses - so we got them. The headaches seemed to get better after that, but never completely went away. We went back to the doctor for a cough that wouldn't go away & turned out he has seasonal allergies, another issue that could cause these headaches, so we got & took the appropriate meds. Again, the headaches never completely went away.
We tried not wearing the glasses for a few days, thinking maybe those were giving him a problem, but again, another migraine.
Nicolas gets pain at the front of his head, forehead area & his eyes get sensitive to the lights. Sometimes his head hurts so badly that he throws up. The only thing that helps him is sleep. He just wants to close his eyes and go to bed.
Nicolas also has been diagnosed with ADHD over a year ago & takes adderall only on school days to help with his focusing for the school day. The medicine is needed and has helped. He is far behind in his reading level and works daily with a reading aid in school. He does well in all areas of school, except reading, its a huge struggle.
Nicolas is only having these migraines in the evening, never does he have them during the day. He stays very hydrated and eats well. He is a very athletic boy and is involved in many extra activities. He's a normal kid.
We saw a doctor just this morning, the doctor has ruled out the glasses causing the headaches, ruled out his ADHD and the adderall. We are scheduled for an MRI this week to have a scan of Nic's brain. And I am to start keeping a food journal & to pay close attention to what he's eating and drinking on the days that he has these headaches.
I am just curious to know from other Mom's if you have ever been through this with your young child, & what your story is.
Thanks so much.
My son has ADHD also. My son would get lots of bad headaches. We switched him to a transdermal patch medication (Daytrana) and his headaches have decreased significantly. It's a lot more expensive than the oral meds. but worth it for him.
My hubby had migraines as a child, around this age. His Dad used the pressure point on his hand (in the "webbed" area between index finger & thumb) to relieve the pain. (I recently had this dry socket issue after a wisdom tooth extraction, incredible pain & the pressure point was the only thing that gave relief) He also sat with his head against the dishwasher or dryer, while they ran. Not sure why that helped. Try the pressure point. You need to apply firm pressure for 3-5 minutes.
S., I had migraines for 30 years due to an undiagnosed hole in my heart.
My friend's daughter had a migraine that lasted for 3 years straight. Acupuncture is what finally cured hers.
Good luck and God bless,
Victoria
I had horrible headaches as a child. We went through all the same stuff you're going through (except I was not on any kind of medications) - glasses? no. Allergies? no. On and on it went. Then in high school I began getting horrible nose bleeds. Finally I was referred to an ENT, who figured out that I had a congenital problem with my sinuses. I was actually born without any kind of hole on the right side of my sinuses (that would allow the sinuses to drain on that side). So basically I had had a monster sinus infection probably my entire life. I had sinus surgery, and the problems went away! So, I would see if maybe he has severe sinus problems. It is not always obvious (i.e. I did not sound "nasally" nor did I have a runny nose or anything like that). I do remember almost always having headaches during certain seasons of the year (especially if it was about to rain - the pressure in my head would just be intense). Just something to think about...
My husband gets (and got as a child) terrible migraine headaches. He would also have visual disturbances called migraine with aura. Finally his eye doctor suggested a heart scan which revealed a small hole in his heart. There are many studies which suggest that certain small heart defects can lead to an increased rate of migraine headaches, so this might be something you want to check out, if for no other reason than to rule it out. The hole my husband has is small and is not open all the time. It did not restrict his growth or development as a child and does not create a murmur that is audible, so it was never detected when he was a child. Apparently, as many as 1/4 of the total population may have this opening between the upper two chambers of the heart and not know it. I see that another poster suggested this as well. Good luck!
My DH is definitely ADD and has gotten horrible migraines for years and when we went on the Feingold Program/Diet to help our daughter he found that his migraines went away. He discovered that like her, he is very sensitive to artificials and some preservatives. When he goes back to eatiing that stuff, he gets migraines again. Feingold changed our family, but especially my husband and daughter. See if it sounds familiar. It is well worth the effort.
H.
The food journal is a great idea. You may want to have him checked for TMJ when he sees his dentist as well. My clenching my jaws at night was a huge trigger for migraines.
My friend's 3 year old son gets migraines. Turns out he has Celiac disease and they have cut out all gluten. He now only gets migraines when he happens to have anything with gluten.
My son gets bad headaches just like you describe. He can be totally fine and bam, in pain. We thought it was related to a port he had in his chest but it was removed and still this pain. He can be totally fine all day and they only seem to come in the evening. He is not ADHD or anything like that. We had him checked for sinus infections and anything else. The only thing that seems to work for him is sleep. His specialist believes they are migraines. 50/50 chance he will grow out of them.
Myself, my younger brother, and a cousin all suffered from migranes when we were young kids. I remember when my cousin was ten he broke a picture frame over his head because he said he wanted to break his head open to relieve the pressure :(
My brother was put on a medication for his, that really worked, but it was probably 20 years ago, and I have no clue what it was.
My headaches were very sporadic, and we discovered they would actually occur after a "regular" headache didn't get taken care of. So the minute I felt a headache coming on, I had to take tylenol and go lay down (whether I was at home, school, wherever) in a dark, quiet room. Otherwise, I would be done for for days.
My mom actually got horrible headaches and migraines that she ended up finding were related to a sun allergy. Sun allergies are pretty rare, but I suppose it's a possibility!
Good luck mama!
Our youngest son also had migranines growing up and still has them now (as do I also - and he always says thanks to me for sharing with him). I do know that certain foods can trigger them such as chocolate, some cheeses, white wine (for me), MSG, also Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) and other artificial sweeteners. Just like your son, sleeping helped also dark rooms, so no TV, computers, or games as that just added to it.
As we both take prescription medication for our migraines, that might be the best way to go. I hope he is better soon.
I was that child (I am now 38). I have had migranes since I was 4 or 5. I get headaches with all sorts of root causes including two types of migranes, sinus, tension, and even atypical (what ever that means). I literally have to analyze every headache (this is a few times a week) to make sure I treat the right cause.
I have been tested, scanned, seen allergist, injected with radioactive dye more specialist, so on and so forth. I think the only thing absent is an MRI (note my age).
If you have any questions that you think I might be able to help with feel free to PM me.
I started having complicated migraines when i was 12 (and I also have ADHD). Lucky for you it sounds as if it's just plain old migraines. He may need to be on a preventative med and it seems like he'd be a candidate for imitrex or other non-narcotic migraine meds.. maybe not though, I'm no doctor. I know that I've seen specialists for the last 12 years and all we know is that when my hormones get crazy the migraines flare up. Good luck.. you may want to try watching what he eats a little closer, stay away from processed food (if you can) and MSG. MSG is a huge migraine culprit. Hopefully everything turns out good for you guys, you say he has issues with reading, it may be something with his eyes? Hopefully the brain scan gives you something (even if it's just that his brain is a-ok!).
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Does your son eat or drink anything that advertises sugar free? Or foods that have MSG? Even certain food dyes can cause headaches. Most food dyes used in the U.S. are banned in Europe. Try eliminating a few ingredients from his diet for a while to see if that helps. It's healthier anyway. Try giving him a teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar in about 6oz. of water with a little honey in it twice a day. Try going on Google & search for ingredients in food that cause headaches. Good luck.
My brother and I both suffered with headache issues during school days. Neither of us have ADHD but we both do have eye problems. His issues were far worse than mine. He would have such bad headaches that he would have to lay in a closet with no windows seal the bottom of the door with a blanket so no light could get through and put a cold wet cloth over his eyes. His problem was with the fluorescent lighting that the school used. There was also a mild mold issue in the building that seemed to bother no one else except my brother and me. (It was a very old school building that has since stopped being used as a school) I don't know how old the buildings are that your son goes to school , but if nothing else works you might think about those issues. And if it is the lighting, you might think about putting some light tinting on his glasses.
I know you said the doctor ruled out adderall...but it sounds like it's possible he is getting these severe headaches when he is "coming down" from his meds. I would also add to his journal if you have given him the adderall and/or the allergy medicine. Also sugar (natural or otherwise), carbs & caffeine in large amounts earlier in the day could be factors. Sorry I can't offer any adive on treating the headaches! Prayers for son Nic...J
My son nicholas, had his first sinusitous migraine at 10. He usually had about 3-4 a year. It is on th right side above his eyebrow and it makes him vomit and he has to have a phenegren and aleeve and sleep to get rid of it. His is brought on by clogged sinused. Does he have allergies? Nickos nose will be pouring and if it dries up immediately we know a headache is on the way. Scared me to death the first time it happened but we just deal with it now. Pedi said he should out grow it. Fingers crossed1
My son and I are both ADHD and we both get migraines. My son is *also* hypoglycemic and asthmatic... low blood sugar and low blood oxygen will trigger a migraine in him in NOTHING FLAT.
His worst year ever for migraines was K. They just don't get to eat regularly at school, so his blood sugar would do these crazy spikes. When we pulled him to start HS'ing (not because of the blood sugar issue, that's just a bonus that he gets to regulate himself), his headaches dropped by over 50%. When we started making sure he ate fortified cereal for breakfast, they dropped again. (Any fortified cereal helps, but for whatever reason Fruity Pebbles and similar just reeeeally agrees with his system. I honestly don't know if he just reacts really well with the dyes or if he eats more of it than healthier cereals).
Anyhow... (in our house)
Cereal for breakfast (and then a high protein brunch)
Eat every 3 hours (or every hour if he's being very active)
Make sure he uses his puffer (albuterol inhaler) when needed
Sunglasses in flat light
he's gone from 2-3 migraines a week to maybe once every month or two. Figuring out his triggers was the BEST thing for us, as well as the cereal trick. I don't know why cereal works better than vitamins, nor why junky cereal works better than regular cereal... but it works, and he's super active, so I don't question it.
I had migraines as a child and although there are many different types and causes I realize western medicine does not tend to look at symptoms wholistically (for most illnesses). As a grew older, although I also had sinus trouble and food allergies - my migraines would be mostly trigerred by stress and suppressed emotions. I found great treatment in acupuncture and doing Yoga. I was once able to stop a migraine that was starting by stopping everything and doing breath exercises. Then I went in for a sacro-cranial massage and the migraine never developed past the first stages (peripheral vision loss and blurring).
Hope that helps or maybe makes you try some new things. Good luck!!
