6 Year Old & Migraines

Hi M.,

I had the same problem with my son. I have had other mothers tell me they had this problem with their child, as well.

Believe it or not, my pediatrician was NO help, just wanted to do brain scams. My sons ear, nose and throat doctor told me to do this...

Stop all dairy products and see what happens. Guess what?
We knew in days that was the problem. EVERY mother I have suggested this to, found it was the same problem for their child.

Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

Hi M.-your post could have been written by me about my son. He is also 6 and has been having headaches with light or sound sensitivity for several months or attacks of vomiting. It wasn't until his attack this week that we put it together that they could be migraines, which are on my side of the family. Thinking back about each episode (about 7 over 6 months), it seems to be brought on by motion, either the car/bus or amusement rides. And it isn't that he just has motion sickness, he's curled up on the couch begging us to turn the lights off and be quiet. He almost always has nausea and often vomits and then sleeps for several hours. Since you seem to be months ahead of us in this, has there been anything that has helped your son or have you found any other triggers? I hope he is doing well and feeling better!
J.

My doc told me to track any episodes for my son. Look for triggers - had a long day? just ate a certain food? too much stimulation (noise, light)? How often?

To treat, get them out of the environment, lie down with a cool cloth, low light and Motrin (used Meltaways/Tylenol but I think Motrin is better for this).

When you have enough empirical evidence, your doc can offer a more tailored treatment plan.

Good luck...my son doesn't get to the vomiting part but I suspect gets migraines from overstimulation. I can usually get him fixed up with relaxation, sometimes massage and a little help from meds.

Definitely keep a journal and possibly have his teach keep one as well. Get his eyes checked. Then when you go to the doctor those will be out of the way. Also we would give my son (who was 8)this combination on the onset of a headache. He needs to learn to get med right away and not let them get out of control as they are harder to control and then you get sick to your stomach. We would give him caffine (I kept Mountain Dew or Pepsi at the school), 2 baby aspirin (up to 4 if needed) and Tylenol. These are the basic ingredients in Excedrin, but we reduced the dose to fit an 8 year old and it worked better than the perscriptions. Sometimes just the caffine would be enough. He would take one and lie down for 10-15 minutes and then take step 2 and lie down again. I didn't want to over medicate him, but he wanted to get back to the classroom and not continue coming home often from school. I also had a fantastic school nurse/secretary that worked with me very closely. As he is now 12, if he feels a headache coming on he takes 1 Excedrin.

M. ~
My niece was diagnosed with migraines around that age, maybe younger. The pediatrician told her mom to give her motrin as soon as she noticed the headache. Unfortunately, kids display their headaches differently. You may need to teach your son how to recognize when one is coming so you can medicate before it's bad. I've had headaches/migraines most of my life...let him lay down, cool cloth on his head or over his eyes. Light hurts, so does noise, and vomitting is common. My son always layed down with a cool cloth on his eyes and took motrin.
good luck!
D.

Headaches can be a sign of serious problems. I would take him to the DR. right away. If there are no other problems (hopefully) I think the journal is a great idea. I also suffer from migraines and journalling may help you decifer the triggers.

Hello M.,

I also get migraines and my daughter has had them since around seven or eight years of age. They seem to be genetically linked. I agree with the others in that I would not wait to take your son to the doctor. But, in the meantime, definitely keep a journal to try and pinpoint triggers. For many kids that age, computer and television screens can set up some type of turmoil in the brain and cause migraines. I have also had some luck with taking extra magnesium, but I wouldn't assume that is OK for a child until checking with his doctor. Keep your son quiet and in a quiet, dark room, cold cloths and Aleve or Motrin until you can get him to a doctor. Good luck, M.!

Hi M.,
I get migranes and they are horrible, I can't even imagine a child enduring them. Poor little boy. I would call his pediatrician immediately I would not wait to journal about it as a way to find the trigger. I would want to get him relief along side finding what is causing them.
Let us know what you find.
M.

Migraines can be triggered by allergies to food and food additives. There is a great group of Chiropractor/Clinical Nutritionists in Grosse Pointe. Go to www.ahccenter.com and check out their website and testimonials. They have amazing results. It could be something simple that doesn't require a bunch of toxic drugs to control the symptoms, but to find the culprit and eliminate it. I had migraines when I was about 12. Our family was never a run to the doctor for every little thing family so I never really knew why I had them until I was older, did some reading and figured it was probably the puberty hormonal thing. I haven't had one in 40 years. In a little one it probably isn't hormonal. I would try the natural way first before going to the doctor and having a battery of tests. This group in Grosse Pointe is a very caring, hands on, talk to me group. The nutritional programs there are not covered by insurance. The Chiropractic is covered. It is not expensive. I would love to hear from you if you decide to go. I think you would be pleasantly surprised. Good Luck!!

I would call the doctor right away, however, I would also immediately eliminate all chemical cleaners in the house and be extremely careful about the food he is eating. I would only feed him all natural, home prepared foods. Lots of fresh vegetables, fruits etc and no junk food and elimiate sugar. THEN I would start journaling. Good luck...poor kid is really suffering.

I have had migraines since I was 12 and I am 26 now. I definately know how bad they are. I would get him to the doctors soon. I am sure they will tell you to keep a diary, but they can also check other things. I would make sure they actually try to find the cause and rule out anything serious. My neurologists just like to throw me different drugs. Please do not let them do that to your son.

What a major bummer M.,

It sounds like you have experience with migraines! Are you the one in your family, your husband? I am a sufferer, and my mother before me, and her mother, etc! I am no expert on children and migraine, but I have known a few people with children who suffer. Just to be on the safe side, I would make an appointment as soon as possible with your pediatrician, and make sure all family medical history is relayed. But in the meanwhile, definitely journal, you may be able to find the trigger, I am sure that they will probably have you journal. But because he is only 6, I would definitely take him in as soon as you can. I hope you can identify the trigger soon, and that there aren't many!

Lots of luck!
S. K

I would call the pediatrician and let them be aware. Ther could be something more going on. Thats not good. I know my son gets migranes every now and than. But not like that. I know chocolate doe it to him. Check and see what triggers them too. Good luck please let us know what happens.

Hi M.,

My son (age 6) was just diagnosed this fall with migraines as well. I wrote everything down each time he had an episode and never found correlations. Because we do not have a history of migraines in our family, he was sent to a neurologist. He had to have the scans and everything was fine. The Neurologist (who also suffers from migraines) told me that it is only a 1/3 of the cases that ever have food related triggers. I have noticed that my son gets them at school after gym class or if he is "stressed." What has helped him is keeping him hydrated at school. He takes his water bottle to school and drinks all day - this is the only thing that HE can do to control his migraines. The doctor told me that many things (other than food) can set off a migraine: lack of sleep, nutrition, hydration, stress (good and bad - even b-day parties), strenuous activity. My son has always been a perfectionist. And the dr. said many times good students get migraines. My son has started to understand when he's getting a migraine and will tell me immediately - we give him some ibuprofen and have him take a nap - usually that's all it takes for him. I hope this helps a little - I know it's hard to see them go through that!!

D.

M., YES, start a journal, what he eats, his sleep schedule, where he goes. AVOID the typical food triggers. caffine, chocolate, cheese, MSG. What are you doing for the headaches? Accupressure? Coke and an aspirin? I would set up an appt. with your reg Dr. and then with a specialist. B the time you have an appt. with a specialist it could be a month.
Good Luck. Any questions, I would love to help. K.
Suffered for 30 years, had a child also with Migraines, found his triggers. Yahoo!

My migraines started in 2nd grade. The first thing the Dr. told my parents was to limit certain types of foods. Processed meats such as lunch meat & smoked sausage/kielbasa, large amounts of pasta (especially mac& Cheese), And chocolate. Cutting back on those items helped alot. To this day i still have to be very careful of quantities or i still get the headaches.

I Definetly recommend getting him in to the doctor. There are many tests and such that they can do to help find the underlying cause. MRI's , CT's, and possibly just plain old bloodwork. As a home remedy, caffeine can be very helpful as can massage and a cool cloth on the back of the neck. I would certainly journal everything he eats and all of his activities...esp what he is doing at the onset of the migraine.

I pray for you to find the cause as it is a horrible thing to watch a child go through.

Blessings,
T.

Poor thing. My migraines started at 15 and I have both chronic headaches and treated occasional migraines now.

Yes, he's young, get him to the dr. so he can start being supervised for these. Keep a journal, you can have multiple triggers for these things. He may need to see a pediatric neurologist. I'm sure many folks can give you good suggestions of specialists. We liked Dr. Leber at Motts.

Get his eyes checked.. I can't even take my contacts out without getting a huge headache.

Good luck to him.

Mine started when I was in the 6th grade and then stopped in high school for about 15 years. I started getting them back again after I went off birth control pills and although I don't get them as severe I still get them. My triggers back then I think were certain types of food. I still will not eat any peanuts. These can be a huge trigger. Also I try to stay away from caffine and any food with msg. i would most definitely take him to the dr who should refer him to a neurologist just to rule out any thing else. I went thru these test a couple of times and they are not that bad. I was even tested for diabetes. I can't imagine what you are going thru my parents were a nervous wreck at that time. And I also worry that my children may start getting them. Please let us know what the outcome is.

Take him to a chiropractor, yes you can try & monitor things & it could be somewhat helpful. My son endured migranes about 4 - 5 x's a week & has been going to a chiropractor & now gets very minor headaches about once every 2 months. It's worth a try! Good Luck!

I am sure that you have already talked to his Dr about this but in case you havn't I would make an appointment asap. I don't want to scare you but my daughter, 5, lost one of her classmates last year to brain cancer and it all started with bad headaches.
If you have already check with his Dr then Journaling his day is a great idea.
I used to get bad headaches when I was a child and my dad would put his hands on either side of my head and gently squeeze it and it healped alot!
Blessings, K.