Migraine in Children

I would like to hear of anyone's experience of childhood migraine either as a parent or a sufferer. My daughter has had migraines for 6 years now following an operation for a congenital heart defect. She gets her migraines every 4-6 weeks, they are accompanied by aura and now she is usually sick every time. Her best treatment is to go to bed and sleep them off.

How do you cope with this problem?

How old is she? The youngest I've seen is around 6. Probably about 10% of my migraine patients are 14-18 and I think the only reason it's not higher is because it's undiagnosed

What are your daughters sleeping patterns? Does she sleep well or wake in pain?

Thanks!

Hello there and welcome.

Migraine in kids is so hard to watch - my son started at 5 I started with classical at 12 (although suspect I had them since I was 5 too)

How old is she now?

You can grow out of migraine - but there is no pop a pill cure......... Migraine management is the best approach..... Migraines are triggered - so there will be something which tips her over the edge... Watch the video Pav did and that explains in an easy way how the body just takes to much stimuli and then tips to a migraine.

Here is a list of triggers - she WILL NOT have all of these and I would think twice about showing her the list as its very long - BUT it will give you an idea of the things to look out for.

http://migrainetalk.forumotion.co.uk/t330-types-of-triggers


The next step is to keep a diary and try and find what her triggers are........... I will be honest, its hard to do, but once you crack it you are half way there to avoid the trigger...... There are some good migraine doctors out there - but at this stage they will just give things which will try to abort the attack ie a Triptan.... she is not at chronic stage - which is when they start to give preventative meds - and I hope she NEVER gets to this stage.....

http://migrainetalk.forumotion.co.uk/t223-migraine-diaries - These are some examples of diaries - but you need to add in what she eats and does.... food can be a big trigger in kids...

Go through the list on triggers and see if anything stands out - then we can help with suggestions on how to manage them............

Hope this helps

Tee

Hello. Thank you for your suggestions. Cleo is 12 now and seems to be in quite a regular pattern with her migraine. They come 4-6 weeks and she is sick now most times. She does not tend to wake up with them. She wears glasses and they often start at school during the morning which may be triggerred by the strip lighting but saying that she can get them at home and at weekends.
We have just been to the City of London migraine clinic mainly to see if there is any medication we can use in an emergency eg at school. She has been prescribed a nasal spray and took preventative medicine only when she had an important school event. I think we understand now that it is the management of this condition that we are trying to master.
I will look at your links - I suspect there are a number of triggers. I am still interested that she got her first migraine after an Atrial Septum Defect (ASD) closure. Migraine was listed as a possible side effect 4-6 weeks after the op but they have continued as I mentioned ever since - that is 6 years now.
Generally if she is at home the best option is to let her go to bed and sleep and then she mainly awakes well. The headache has only persisted a few times.

Hello there

When they listed that migraine is a possible side effect of a ASD - did they say why?

This might not be linked at all as I Know nothing of ASD - but there has been shown to be a link with a PFO and migraine - PFO is a small hole in the heart.......I just wonder if they do any follow up after a ASD to see if there is a PFO........... its a long shot but thought I should mention it.

xx