Abdominal migraine

Abdominal Migraine: an introduction

Abdominal migraine typically occurs in infants, toddlers, children and teens. Abdominal migraines usually happen in young people who will later suffer from migraine attacks. However, severe abdominal pain can occur with migraine attacks in adults as well. Sometimes they are called stomach migraines or migraines of the stomach.

Facts about abdominal migraine in children

Some studies estimate 1 percent to 4 percent of children suffer from abdominal migraine; while others say that about 10 percent of children experience recurrent abdominal pain at some point in childhood
Children with abdominal migraine usually have a family history of migraine

65 percent of cases of abdominal migraine or cyclic vomiting had a family migraine history (from a study of 5,848 patients in a pediatric neurology practice)
Patients with abdominal migraine usually have them go away on their own within two years
Females have abdominal migraines more often than men
About half of the people who have abdominal migraine also have migraine attacks with head pain
One study showed that only 1.5 percent of people who suffered from abdominal migraine as children continued to experience stomach pain during migraine attacks as adults
Another study showed that in seven to 10 years after children were diagnosed with abdominal migraine, 61 percent had absolutely no abdominal migraine symptoms
Children with abdominal migraine are more likely to have psychiatric issues, such as anxiety as adults
Children with abdominal migraine more often have a mother with migraine than those with migraines that cause head pain

Adult abdominal migraine

Abdominal migraine isn’t often diagnosed in adults. Therefore, when adult men and women experience the symptoms other syndromes or disorders are considered first, such as irritable bowel syndrome, reflux or lactose intolerance. As with other types of migraine, doctors typically rule out other disorders before diagnosing migraines. Sometimes it takes years for to correctly diagnose abdominal migraine in adults.

Abdominal migraine symptoms

Stomach pain that isn’t in one specific spot (non-localized pain)
Pain is described as dull or sore
Nausea
Vomiting
Loss of appetite
General malaise, overall discomfort, uneasiness
Often there is no head pain, just the stomach discomfort and pain
Symptoms completely go away between attacks

Abdominal migraine diagnosis

The International Headache Society defines abdominal migraine as having the following characteristics:

A. At least five attacks that have the criteria, B through D

B. Attacks of abdominal pain that lasts 1 to 72 hours, that are untreated or unsuccessfully treated

C. Abdominal pain that:

Occurs in the middle of the body, near the navel and not confined to one spot
Feels dull or sore
Is moderate or severe

D. During the abdominal pain at least two of the following:

Anorexia
Nausea
Vomiting
Pallor, paleness or lack of color in the face

E. Not caused by another disorder

Abdominal migraine triggers

Stress, positive or negative stress such as excitement before a family trip or worry over a school test
Car sickness
Fasting and skipping meals
Changes in sleep patterns
Exposure to flickering, glaring or bright lights
Exercise causes flare ups in some people
Certain foods trigger abdominal migraines such as:
- Chocolate
- Cheese
- Citrus fruits
- Chinese foods, particularly if it contains monosodium glutamate, MSG
- Preserved meats such as hot dogs and sausages
- Alcohol

As with all types of migraine, it is important to keep a migraine journal to record the how often symptoms occur, how long they last and to discover your own triggers.

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References

Aura Symptoms & types of vision changes, Migraine in the U.S.: Epi and patterns of health care use, Neurology Lipton 2002
Adult abdominal migraine; European Journal of Neurology; d'Onofrio 2006
Abdnominal migraine Evidence for Existence Pediatric Drugs Russel 2002