Migraine Help for Young Son

I would get him to a neurologist immediately! Honestly, that is not a normal thing for a child, and should not be ignored. One thing that you could look into, not that I am saying this is what is wrong, just that it could be, is something called Arnold Chiari Malformations. My younger sister was recently diagnosed with this, and the main complaint she had was severe migraine type headaches, with dizziness. It took her years to get a good diagnosis, but finally they discovered the problem. So, find a great neurologist, and dont stop until someone gives you a reason for his suffering..it really is not something that he should have to live with at his young age. Ohh, I can only imagine how you must feel for him. Let us know how it goes! ~A.~

L.,
My heart goes out to your son. i suffered from migraines for decades. I won't go into my whole story, but it turned out mine were from an undiagnosed hole in my heart. My murmur was undetectable. It was found through a trans-esophageal cardiogram.
Shaklee supplements also helped me tremendously.
VIctoria

I had migraines beginning as a pre-teen and finally got them under control when I was pregnant with #1 due to seeing a chiropractor for a lower back issue.

When I was in college and grad school I used to get them terribly during finals and I never put it together with my jaw hurting/popping too. Stress brought it on for me.

I began seeing a chiropractor when I was pregnant with my son (who is now 6yrs too), because I was having issues with siatica. Because I was pregnant, I couldn't take meds for the migrains and told my chiro about it. He asked if I had a history of grinding my teeth or TMJ - and yes, as it turns out, the migrains started the same year I was diagnosed with TMJ as a kid! He treated the jaw issue and gave me a night guard to wear so I don't grind my teeth and I haven't had a migraine in 6 years!!!!!

When I was young, nothing was approved for kids (imitrex, etc), so we did this: have him sit on the side of the bathtub, put his feet in and fill up the water to his ankles with the hottest water he can stand. All the while, put an ice-cold rag on the back of his neck. Have him sit there for 5-10 minutes and it will subside. Repeat as necessary.

Hope this helps. my Chiropractor is James Heptig at Willow Bend Chiropractic in west Plano ###-###-####.

You have been given all kinds of advice so I am sure your head is spinning now. We had our children food intolerance tested through Immuno Labs with Dr. Bain in Frisco. She is a pedi but she emphasizes nutrition A LOT. I remember when we were watching the demo video a testimony on there mentioned that a guy was suffering from migraines that were never given a reason despite multiple doctors and such. It ended up being a sensitivity to cinnamon. The hard thing is that with an intolerance, the symptom could take up to 4 days to appear, so it is really impossible to track the foods down to the detail of a spice over a four day period and know what caused that migraine at that moment. Just wanted to share that testimony in case it was something that simple that a blood test could detect. Immuno Labs is apparently top notch in reliability of results, Dr. Bain is also using Genova Labs too. I would just make sure the lab had a GREAT reputation so that you could depend on the results being accurate.

Both of my kids have Arnold Chiari Malformation 1 - both had terrible headaches. Please go to Cook Children's in Ft Worth and see Dr Acosta...not all neuros are the same and few understand this condition.....a simple MRI is really all that is required to diagnose but so very many are not up to date on this condition and don't know what they are looking at.....after surgery in 2003, both of mine are doing well.......this is not a condition to ignore......my heart goes out to you seeing your child in so much pain....

I would request an MRI and/or CAT Scan just to be on the safe side. I watched a 4 yr old little girl that started having migraines and headaches. Her mom took her in and they found a tumor in her brain.

I just want you to understand how serious this CAN be. Good luck to you and I hope your little more feels better soon.

God Bless,

Eliyah

My migraines seem to come on when fronts move in. Mine have been terrible with that big cold front moving down this week, but seem to have subsided the last two days. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the barametric pressure. Maybe that's a trigger for him also.

My son had some migraines when he was 9, triggered by lack of sleep and cigarette smoke. Not fun when you're traveling in Europe and there's no such thing as a "non-smoking" rental car! We got relief for him with loads of ibuprofin and later, acupuncture treatments to get rid of his food and environmental allergies. This took care of the classic headache/nausea symptoms, but later he had "opthalmic" migraines, where he would get big black spots in his field of vision, but no headache. Our eye doctor prescribed glasses for him, and that seemed to do the trick. Dr. Jennifer at Vision Works in Frisco, don't remember her last name...our acupuncturist is Dr. Steve Homoky at Coit & Spring Creek ###-###-####). No needles are used on kids, so no worries. Good luck!

Does he drink enough water? My migraines are sometimes triggered by dehydration. Also, a chiropractor will definitely help and another poster suggested TMJ. I suggest you look at all of these things. I have multiple triggers for my migraines and now that I know what they are, I can control them fairly well. A friend in college also showed me a pressure point on my hand (between the thumb and index finger) that helps relieve the pain when massaged. Try looking online for reflexology points on the hand to find the right spot - this always helps me when my husband rubs it.

There is a SOT chiropractic teacher at Parker College. I would make an appointment straight away. SOT works on the bones in the head and jaw & hip. This was the only treatment thaat helped my migraines.. other then getting the medicine in me quick enough. The problem came when I didn't do that & I would cry and hold my head in agony... I also couldn't see or walk straight etc. SOT would literally take it away with no medicine if I had the treament during my attack.. I went went weekly for a few times... let me know if you are interested in his number.

My son also had migraines as a little guy, but we didn't know until he was much older and he could better describe them what was going on. I know you are feeling very helpless right now. This does not have to mean something terrible is wrong, but I agree you need to go to a neurologist. My son did not have migraines as frequently as your son until he hit high school. In the beginning I am sure it was only when he ate hot dogs. You probably know foods can be a trigger. When we figured out what was going on we went to a neurologist and he gave us a medication that would melt under his tongue (because of the nausea he was unable to keep down something you had to swallow). In his teens he went on a daily med as prevention. By the time he was a senior in high school he had outgrown the migraines. I do think a neurologist is in order. If Roy Elterman at Medical City will take new patients I strongly recommend him. But I am a more "natural" gal now and have learned magnesium can really help. Find out from your neurologist (when you chose one) how much magnesium would be appropriate for a 4 year old. My sister cured a lifetime of migraines by upping her magnesium. You can google to see the studies on just this.
Best of Luck L.. I know how hard this is for you.
P.

Hi L., I have had them forever, they run in my family. I think the first thing you should start with would be to go to a Neurologist to make sure there's nothing wrong, I'm sure there isn't but you need to make sure, they'd probably do an MRI and an EEG. The best thing that works for me is Anacin (anything with Aspirin). My mother's the same way. We also use Imitrex for when they get bad. I have the throwing up which your son you said has, so I use the nose sprays. We also use Topamax, but I'm not sure if they'd give that to a young kid, it's actually for Seizures. I don't think it's uncommon for kids to have headaches, but if they're affecting his life, it needs to be taken care of. If you need to know about meds, side effects, procedures, etc., let me know.