If you know about migraines in children can you please advise ?

[HowLongTillBedtime]

My ds 8 has just been diagnosed as suffering from migraines . He has had a headache for over three weeks now and on a scale of 1 to 10 it is mostly a 3 but peaks at 8 a few times most days .

I haven't really been given any advice other than looking for triggers and obviously avoiding them . No meds help him with the pain and I am feeling really sorry that I can't do anything for him.

He has had an MRI to rule out anything scary .

Thank you .

[upyourninja]

Hi there,

I feel terrible for your son

I was diagnosed with migraines at the same age and was given meds; probably a low dose of amitryptiline I think. I have subsequently by different GPs been diagnosed with cluster headaches, 'sport related' headaches, and a bunch of other stuff.

What I actually think is the problem after a lot of research is teeth grinding (bruxism) which I think is caused by my tongue tie, tongue thrust pattern, and possibly hypermobility.

Does he have a tongue tie of any description? You'll be hard pressed to find a GP who knows much about this but there are starting to be links shown and TT is a relatively simple thing to fix. I've ended up with jaw surgery to correct damage done by my teeth grinding and at the age of 30 I'm seriously thinking about having my TT snipped!

Other things which have helped in the past are rolling up a bath towel into a tight roll, and lying down on the floor with my neck over the roll and my head dipping back. It relieves a lot of tension.

I have also recently started trying muscle activation technique with my physio. There are spots on my jaw, under my ear, and on the side of my skull which, if pressed, immediately cause a migraine sensation for me. If you keep working on them they eventually relax and relieve tension which prevents the headaches.

Does any of that sound feasible or worth looking into for your son?

[upyourninja]

Oh and basic stuff - hydration is important. I never found a food trigger for me, except wine tannins which obviously aren't an issue in your son's case. In my case, only painkillers and a nap in a dark room will clear a migraine onset and only if caught early. Ibruprofen can cause withdrawal headaches if you take it for more than a few days - I prefer paracetamol.

My longest was three weeks so hopefully his will lift soon.

[HowLongTillBedtime]

Thank you , sorry I dissapeared . All of the above sounds worth a try for sure . I just feel so sorry for him .

I have a friend who does massage and she has offered to give him one to see if that helps .

Hydration is the thing I keep nagging him about .

I just feel like we have been told he has migraines and to bugger off and work it all out ourselves .

[upyourninja]

Yes, I'm afraid my experience is that the NHS will happily send you off with medication which doesn't work and that's as far as they are prepared to go.

A good sports physio has worked wonders for me but anything that treats pressure points/head, neck/spine, even acupuncture, may help him a bit.

If you check and he does have a tongue tie then there are people on here who can offer information.

[hoboken]

DS was diagnosed with migraines. Eating meals at regular intervals and making sure he had plenty of water helped. We found the problem was worse at weekends and during the holidays when our routine altered. After we went back to breakfast at 7.30, snack at 10, lunch at 12.30, snack at 3 and tea at 5.30 with a small snack later on the situation improved. I always carried a bottle of water and a snack when we were out. He would develop a sallow appearance shortly before the pain developed which helped us to manage the feeding/drinking.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

DD was diagnosed with migraines at a similar age she has particularly special ones with projectile vomiting. Stress is a massive trigger for her and also dehydration.
The first GP I saw was not very help 'just keep using calpol'.
I then saw a different GP in the practice who advised that NICE guidelines say more than two migraines in a month the child should be given preventative medication.
DD was started on pizotefen at 0.5mg once daily this wasn't giving enough control so it was increased to 0.5mg twice daily and now she has maybe one migraine every 3 months and stress is always the trigger.

[HowLongTillBedtime]

Thank you for all the advice and sorry you have the experience too . I am still not completely convinced he is suffering from migraines and I am keeping everything crossed it turns out to be a virus . Or am I being naive ?

If a tongue tie was at fault would that not have become an issue before now ?

He has had this headache constantly for so long now and I hate not being able to fix it .

[upyourninja]

Of course, it may not be tongue tie in his case. But it wouldn't necessarily have been an issue before - I had no problems with my neck and shoulders until my 20s but it seems to be a cumulative effect of tension from the ties, plus how muscles have developed (I did a lot of sport at uni and after).

Just another thing to check off the list really.