Migraine in children

[malleymoo]

My 10 year old gets occasional migraine headaches. Whilst this was a surprise for me at first we seem to have managed them pretty well and now seem to be down to 2-3 bad episodes a year. Having had a particuarly broken nights sleep with her last night and then quite a nasty bout today Ive realised that the last 2 bouts of migraine also had a similar pattern- not able to sleep the night before( despite generally being an excellant sleeper) and rather unusual dreams or thoughts. Last night she said she couldnt stop herself thinking about random people she knows and comparing them ??? whilst she doesnt seem frightened by the dreams /she was rather fed up as she felt the thoughts were out of her control and felt like the ideas were racing around her head. I was just wondering if anyone else out there who has children with migraine or indeed had migraine as a child also has experienced this sort of sleep disturbance before an attack. My Gp hadnt mentioned this and not sure if it is really migraine related or just a co-incidence as in future when I have my 10 year old tossing and turning in my bed chattering about her random thoughts i might reach for the nurofen before jamming pillow over my head.

[little h]

Hello

poor thing, and poor you too - migraines aren't fun for anyone. I'm a long term migraine sufferer and mine started when I was 13 - when I started my periods. for many years they were definitely linked to those and girls do seem to be more prone to migraines partly for this reason - if your daugheter is starting puberty then this could be a real cause. If my period was late, I'd have a real stinker of a migraine and my mum often had to come and get me from school. It is worth watching for patterns to see if there's anything you can do to predict or prevent her attacks. Particular foods (cheese for example) can trigger attacks and also irregular sleep patterns - too much or too little - can do so too. Its not the same for everyone and can take time to learn how to manage attacks and spot when one is starting. With reference to the sleep, for me in recent years my attacks are prompted by a combination of lack of sleep, hunger, and stress. My vision is the first thing to go, and it may be you can help your daughter spot when she's getting an attack and then help her to manage it. She may stop getting migraines as quickly as they started.

Good luck, and if there's anything you want to ask feel free.

H

[GinaG3]

I too suffer migraine type headaches, but suffer more tension for long periods of time. I started to get headaches around 10/11 before starting my period just before I turned 12. From this point I started to have episodes of tension headaches maybe once or twice a year. These would only last a few days and not be very severe. There was no change and the headaches continued as normal until I got to 14 when my parents moved to another part of the country. The headaches kicked in full pelt at this point, I suffered possibly 5-6 episodes a year and found no analgesics would work to help calm the pain. At this point I started to see doctors, who could not give me a reason, explanation or any advice on pain relief. I continued to struggle on with episodes until I became pregnant in my late teens. I suffered probably 2 episodes, but they were awfully painful and drawn out episodes lasting 3-5 weeks at a time. After giving birth I started to suffer chronic episodes lasting up to 16 weeks an episode. I was breastfeeding at this point and still am, I haven't had an episode for around 2 months now.

Everything I have experienced from a young age with my headaches seem to be linked to around the age of puberty, the trigger, in my mind. Experiencing headaches in conjuction with hormone changes and also stress. Puberty cannot be helped obviously but if stress is involved slightly too that can. Let your daughter know she can confide in you with anything, school pressures, whatever it may be. Would it interest her to know the hormone changes, and what can be expected over the next few years if she doesn't already?

I would definitely say puberty plays a big part in headaches among young girls. I'm unsure what can be done by doctors.

Hope this helped a little or gave you a bit of insight. Good luck with it all.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

My daughter also suffers migraine but very rarely - about once a year. Her's is preceded by a loss of vision - the first time it happened we were on holiday in Devon and I freaked. She never had the dreams/restless nights that you describe.

With hindsight, it probably accounted for the acute stomach aches she used to have as a small child which were diagnosed as IBS at the time, but no diet seemed to help.

Both my parents suffer from migraines: dad's are preceded by wavy sight lines and mum's by uncontrollable vomiting so I'm hoping as she gets older that her symptoms don't get any worse.