DD has been having really bad headaches/migraines for the past 6months. It got so bad i took her to the doctor and asked for CT scan etc as i was concerned.

There is a history of migraines in the family (mum and I suffer them).


I took DD for an eye exam (cleared no issues) the CT Scan (Cleared no issues).


Tonight she burst into tears cause she said she has had a bad headache all day, and she looked drained.

She is getting them every week, once twice if not 3 times a week.

She drinks mailny water as she's not big on juice, they don't have soft drinks (except once every few weeks when we get take away) She knows to keep hydrated.

They don't eat alot of sugar (junk food etc)........they do have chips, museli bars, lcm's etc for school lunch snacks.

I am thinking an allergy test????????


Any advise? I want to get help for her as she is so over them.

Chiropractor?

Or my other suggestion would be a physio/remedial massage in case she is getting tension headaches?

Maybe she is getting migraines. Given the family history that would be my first thought. What does her GP suggest?

I suffered this as a child also. They were so debilitating that I ended up on medication to reduce their frequency and severity. The doctor said it was likely I would grow out of them, which I did.
Mine were caused by trauma induced stress - is your DD suffering stress? Massage/chiro is a great start but I suggest a good heart to heart as well, just to make sure she is ok.
Poor little chick.

My brother used to get bad headaches and migraines when he was younger. He eventually grew out of them, but they would make him very sick. He would end up in bed for 24-48 hours.

My parents took him to a chiropractor which helped when nothing else did.

Is she getting enough sleep and eating well throughout the day?

I would definately try a GOOD chiropractor - maybe post in the State sections to find one where you live.
I suffered for the longest time with headaches and back pain, my son also had issues - I am a chiro convert!

It may be hormonal. My niece suffered a lot from headaches at the same age, and it cleared up when she started her periods.

Avoid the normal migraine triggers like dehydration, chocolate and caffeine, over tiredness. Wouldn't hurt to get her checked over by a kids chiropractor?

Any eye strain? Does she regularly play the computer or ds? I would ask for a blood test too, maybe she's deficient in something.

She goes to chiro once a month, more if needed as she's so active with swimming and acrobatics and dancing, that she has to go to get re-alined so to speak lol.

The GP said she thinks it's "runs in the family", and is eliminating stuff (eye test, Cat scan)

But the fact she is having them so often, i think it's time sto step up and get her some meds to ease. prevent them,

And i am thinikign an allgergy test.

I talk to her all the time, she dosn't seem stressed, but i'll keep asking!! She will usually tell me though if she has something worrying her.

They are aweful migrains as i suffer them myself and they knock me out for a day or 2. So i want to get a handle on these.

She was crynig cause she dosn't want to go to the sick bay " as she will miss out on her work".

uggg breaking my heart!

No she isn't a computer/DS/ipod type of kid...

I had her eyes tested 6 months ago, so i am going to get her re-tested in case!.

She said the headacheas across the top of her head and near the temples.

It may be beneficial to get a second opinion on an eye test - I had one at 11, but they failed to pick up my issues until I was 13/14 - as a result my schoolwork dropped - especially maths, spelling and sight reading dropped dramatically for those years.

Also definitely try an allergy test as well - if you are in Melbourne pm me and I will recommend someone to you.

My now 8yo DS was a sufferer of migraines - particularly in Year 1 of school (so 6yo).

They could come on quite suddenyl and would often result in tears - simply because he didn't know what to do with himself. As he had a few, he began to recognise early signs of a migraine approaching which meant we could treat it earlier, whereas the first few he would be vomiting before we realised how bad it really was.

We have a great GP that spoke to him about signs to look out for, how to speak to teachers at school and filled out medication forms so he has Neurofen at school at the first sign of a migraine.

Heat, dehydration, physical exhaustion and tiredness are some of his triggers, however, I mentioned Year 1 of school as he was quite stressed/anxious/unhappy that particular year of school. The past two years he has been a lot more settled and we haven't seen anywhere near as many migraines, so I do believe the stress/anxiety is a factor (for him).

I also suffered migraines very occasionally - I quickly worked out that my trigger is chocolate! I never eat a lot of chocolate, howver I did go through a period of eating quite a lot of chocolate in the evenings, and sure enough, the nights I did, I had a terrible migraine throughout the night/the next day. I have been told other common food triggers are citrus and cheese - do any of these fit the picture?

I sometimes have headaches that are caused I think by a build up of gluten in my system.

The only other thing that I can think of is enlarged turbinates in the nose which gave me very bad headaches but you said she's had a CT so I guess it cant be that.

Poor thing.

I am in Sydney so any recommendations on Doctors etc to go to, or allergy testing places.

I thought of a natropath...I'm really lost!!!

She has had blood tests also, but not for 12 months, so i might take her back for one of those!.

I wish i could take the migrains off her...

My headaches and infrequent (thank god) migraines are usually hormonal, happening around my cycle.

I had been blissfully headache free through my pregnancy and these past few months. I suspect my cycle is starting again as I had my very first headache this past week.

I just wonder if it is/could be coinciding with puberty for your daughter?

Your poor daughter...

I'm 24, and vividly remember when I first starting getting headaches & migraines at the age of 9. I used to be in so much pain I would hit my head against the wall to just "feel" something worse.

Like you, I have a distinct family history of migraines and headaches. If eye tests, CT scans and lifestyle/environmental factors have been ruled out I'd say she will most likely and unfortunately suffer from them throughout her life. I think it's quite common for symptoms to kick in between 9-12, given hormonal surges as puberty approaches.

A few things that have helped me over the years that may help her:

*Moving any electric paraphernalia from near the bed: lamps, phone chargers, radios etc
*Locate the power/circuit box in your house and make sure to avoid prolonged periods of time in rooms that are situated nearby
*Ice packs (if she can stand the sensation of cold) on where the pain is
*Invest in a good supportive pillow (lavender and peppermint oil sprayed on the pillowcase can work a treat and is in many herbal headache remedies)
*Headbands, hair ties and hair styles that pull your hair very tightly should be avoided
*Ruling out dental issues
*Regular massage/chiro sessions
*Avoiding dairy, particularly cheese at night time. Sounds strange but is a common trigger
*Medication - I've had some success with blood pressure medications which have proven benefits to migraine suffered. My mum also takes Imigran at the first sign of a migraine with a lot of success. I used it in high school but it was hard to get them to agree to let me use it on school grounds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatriptan)
*A sympathetic hug and excellent block out curtains

Good luck OP. I really feel for you and your daughter. It's awful to suffer from headaches and migraines regularly, but there are definitely things that can help make them more manageable. You just have to work out what works for you!

I don't have experiences with migraines - but if medical reasons are ruled out, then I would be looking at environmental factors.
Check out fed up.com.au

I have heard of a number of contributors to migraines. (As a PP said - they get them with a build up of gluten). It is more likely to be an intolerance or a build-up than an allergy. There are some pretty nasty things in very ordinary foods.

Hope you find the cause - maybe for all of you!

My DD has been getting migraines since she was 4yo. SHe very quickly learned how to recognise the very beginning of one and we immediately give her a large dose of nurofen (paediatrician recommended dose) and put her to bed. She sleeps for a couple of hours and 9 times out of 10 will wake up headache free and happy.

We had a ct scan, kept a headache diary, kept a food diary etc but were never able to pinpont any particular triggers. We were given the option to put her on preventative daily medication or treat them as they occured and we chose not to medicate her.

She is turning 11yo this week and has not had a migraine in a few months now. She has had headaches that we have got onto straight away, but migraines are now very few and far between.

She does wear reading glasses and has done since she was 6yo.

I suffer from migraines, get 2-3 a week, more and stronger if I don't keep my diet. I have had them as long as I can remember. I was told I would grow out of them.

I had all the tests, but it was an elimination diet that was the only real help, also acupuncture. I went to a chiropractor a few times, but I don't think it really helped.

Try and keep a food calendar. Stick it to the wall in the kitchen and write up what she is eating. Red cross for migraines, she can even scale them eg. one cross for head, two crosses for bed, three for throwing up. You might even start seeing connections there.

My food triggers are processed, unnatural foods, additives, caffeine, chocolate, MSG (and related chemicals), etc. I can usually have some combination of these, as long as it is for the evening meal, as by the time it hits, I'm already in bed, so going out with friends for dinner is possible.

I am noise, light and smell sensitive as well as keeping to a diet. Mondays are the worst for me, always have been - think half-relaxing weekend, then straight into work/school.

Good luck with her. If it is JUST migraines, then she will learn to cope so well that you won't even notice most of the time when she has them. My family thought I had grown out of them, but my husband knows when I have them.

I was hospitalized a lot as. A child for headaches and the final conclusion was I needed a psych as they couldn't find anything, until someone looked at my jaw and it was out of alignment which was giving me the headaches a plate at night and no more headaches! Ask the doctors to check everything not just eyes etc
Good luck!

I used to get them a lot when I was a kid, I have grown out of the frequency.
Massage really helps me.
That area for me (temples and top of head) is dehydration. She may be drinking enough water but is she getting the electrolytes in?

Teeth is the other thing I was thinking, as the PP mentioned.

Can she feel them building during the day, or do they just hit in like half an hour or so?

Poor darling! My 10yo gets migraines related to exercise. If she's feeling in the slightest bit headachy before a dance class or exercise she doses up on panadol. Early treatment / anticipation is the key for her, rather than letting the headache fully develop. Dh is a migrainer

I suffered with them terribly for 13 years, they were that bad i would get stroke like symptoms and was put on heart medication to try and stop them. I went to the dentist to have a root canal and i have had 1 migraine in over a year and i used to get the as regularly as your DD and sometimes up to 7 days a week.

My Dr also told me to take 2 panadol and 90mlg of asprin for migraines which did seem to help, perhaps speak to your GP and see if this would work for her.


I hope your poor DD gets over them very soon, it's not easy living with migraines.

I got migranes the 12 months leading up to my first period maybe this could be a cause.

Also take her to the dentist teeth issues and or jaw misalignment can cause migranes.

Ask her what is happening just before she gets them. If there is a trigger you may be able to identify in what situations tend to bring them on. Identifying the triggers may help her recognize when they start. Is there a particular time of day that the migranes tend to come on?

An OT assessment is my suggestion - it can't hurt and it's not an obvious first step either.

in the sense that [child] was coming home after school saying he felt like his brain was overheating, this was causing headaches (the short version of it) because of vestibular/midline/dominance issues (I don't know all the terms off-hand so there are more). His brain had to assess which hand/foot every single time for every task as just one example. So any wonder with it all put together his brain was 'fried'.
The headaches/migraines almost disappeared in term holidays (unless it was a day of intense reading/doing kinda thing) but came right back again when school began, especially at the end of the week or on a day where there was more stuff that his brain had to work extra hard on.

The child started seeing the OT completely separate to the migraine issues - his teacher picked up on a few things and recommended a good OT for assessment and it went from there, supported by the GP. Turns out that fixing up the 'wiring' or strengthening the weaker areas, meant his brain didn't have to fry itself out every day - in getting ready for each task was extra and then the task itself as well.
After regular OT the headaches/migraines are gone completely.

The child was also seen by the GP, a nuero paed (to rule out nasties) and had his eyes checked (and needed prescription glasses short term, now corrected) etc He's a bright, happy and extremely intelligent kid. Just some 'wiring' needed a hand is all.

There's so many 'it might be' that the only way is to rule them out step by step.

Good luck OP. It's not nice.

(from someone who knows migraines well)

Oranges is a trigger for some children and any long life orange juice or orange juice with more than 25% juice. Our DD is triggered by oranges, juice and the smell of orange oil, as in when oranges are peeled or essence in a an oil burner . She has classic migraine symptoms where she has disturbed vision first which then alerts her to take nurofen and panadol and then off to bed, the nausea, vomiting and then the pain still occur but the time frame is shortened dramitically if we act quickly.....it is a horrible thing to suffer from. All the best......

I suffered from terribly bad headaches when inwas younger, and was sent to several specialists who couldnt figure out what the issue was. I've since worked out that my headaches are primarily triggered by fruit juice. I'm guessing there is some kind of preServative in them I must be sensitive too as it's almost a HangOver tyPe feeling I get afterwards. The other thing that guarantees me a headache is having my longish hair up in a ponytail.

I got migraine type headaches around the same age. They stopped around age 12 or so I guess?

In regards to the eye test .. was it just with a regular optomertrist?
My DD2 was having sore eyes and "seeing colours", took her to an optomertrist for an eye test, which she passed easily.
My GP referred to an opthamologist.

Yes, she has a vision problem, and now has glasses. Basically, she was able to focus for the eye test, so passes. But her eyes are working incredibly hard to do that, resulting in massive eye strain.

I would have suggested approaching puberty as well. Mine are largely due to hormones as well (when I get my period I always get bad headaches).

I have also learnt a lot of what sets them off with regards to foods/drinks and try to avoid and my GP recommended taking painkillers as soon as the headache is mild to prevent it turning into one that knocks me for six.

I also find that after a migrane one I am extremely tense in shoulders so massage can help to relieve some of that as then the pain tends to go thru my neck and travel up giving me a headache as well for a few days after.

My migraines started at 10yrs too. Nearly 30yrs later they are still a big part of my life.

I ended up in hospital for a week 2yrs ago to get myself 'reset' with DHE IV Therapy (basically on a cocktail of drugs for the week).

Neuro also put me on an anti Tyrammine diet. I do notice the effects now when I deviate from the diet (like eating a choc chip hot cross bun 3 days this week put me in bed dead for the first time in 2yrs on Sunday)

http://www.headaches.org/education/Headach...et_for_Migraine


I was on preventors for migraine by the time I was 15 they were that bad (had 43 sick days one year off school).

Please keep any Doctor or naturopath recommendations off the boards. Please feel free to use the pm system.

I have edited a post to remove a Dr's name.

Thanks for your understanding,

Therese

Maybe you could try a different Chiropractor? I have been to a of different Chiropractor over the years because we move a lot and many have different methods and aren't as effective in some areas.

My DH is allergic to eggs and he gets very bad migraines if he eats them. Maybe there could be an allergy of some kind causing her migraines.

It could be her thyroid. As a teenager I suffered with migraines everyday for years and it was all due to my thyroid. It was was so bad that I would have have blackouts. I would get it checked out-just in case.

wow thanks so much ladies for your replies. I went to the GP today and she thinks it's "family related, as in her nan gets them i get them seh gets them"..

I'm still getting her eyes tested, and will be going to see a naturopath. The GP said there was no medication that she cuold give her until she was 12yrs old.

She dosn't drink juice......thyroid could be something to look into as it's also in the family!! poor darn kid!

I will keep you posted on how the naturopath goes.

As for the dental, do i just go to her normal dentist and mention her headaches to him?

I suffered with migraines quite frequently about a year or so before I started my periods. It was definitely a hormone related thing for me, and I didn't get them so much once I got my periods. Even now, I still get a headache the day before I get my period but only mildly these days.

Perhaps next time at Dr have her blood pressure checked .. My niece at 10 had headaches for months turn out one of her kidneys wasn't working as well as it should be , causing her blood pressure up , that caused the headaches .. worth asking good luck

If she is not too squemish, would she try acupuncture?

After years of physio, then on to a chiro - I've reached my final destination with a Chinese acupuncturist.... ah, bliss! No more tension in my shoulders, neck, or headaches.

I highly recommend looking into what effects preservatives, additives and food colourings might be having on her. I also recommend the fedup.com.au website and the failsafe elimination diet which someone else mentioned. It could well be a food intolerance for her - possibly sulphites but could be other preservatives or additives or even food colourings (or a combination of all). Sadly, our food contains a lot of additions that are bad for us. You could do the failsafe elimination with her and see how she goes on that. Unless the naturopath is specialised, she might not understand the preservative/additive angle fully and could miss this side of things.

It could also be a combination of lots of little things - hence the failsafe elimination would remove perfumed products and other items as well as food items. You'd be surprised how many additives are put in our food.

RE sulphites - muesli bars, potato products, dried apricots/apple, coconut, bread, soft drinks, many foods.. all have different levels of sulphites and it can add up during the day and suddenly make you react.