Daughters Migraines
Hi there, I'm new to this website/forum and I'm here to hopefully gain some advice from other migraine sufferers or parents who have kids with migraines. My daughter is 12 years old and has suffered migraines with aura on and off since she was 8. She would generally get 4 or 5 migraines every month or 2 on average which, although she hated them, they were definitely manageable. She was commenced on pizotifen 0.5mg morning and night. Before christmas last year she had a cluster of daily migraines for 9 days and was started on propranolol 10mgs 4x daily. We've tried cutting out and reintroducing the 4 c's with no change. Since the beginning of the year things have deteriorated. She was having between 6-8 migraines a month and now the daily migraines have returned, we're on day 14 at the moment. The pediatrician has increased her night time pizotifen to 1mg and I have requested a CT brain scan.
When she gets her migraines they are very sudden onset with loss of vision from her right eye, we give paracetamol and imigran at this point, and that's her in a dark room for around 5 hours at a time.
She has missed nearly 3 weeks of school and is too frightened to leave the house in case she has an 'episode'. She hasn't seen friends and worries about her school work/social circle and is actually becoming quite down about it as am I. Just feel heart sorry for her and helpless.
If anyone has any advice/suggestions or similar problems please don't hesitate to get in touch.x
So sorry for your daughter's pain. While I am not knowledgeable enough to offer any suggestions, I wanted to let you know your post is being read.
I'm sorry your daughter is having such a rough time. Here's some information on treating migraine in children: https://migraine.com/blog/yes-kids-can-have-migraines/. Biofeedback is a non-drug treatment that's quite effective for children: https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/natural-remedies/biofeedback/.
A concern with anxiety about future migraine attacks is that the anxiety can fuel even more attacks. This isn't to say migraine is psychological, but the emotional stress can trigger attacks for some people. Biofeedback or neurofeedback could help with this and there are some other behavioral techniques that make coping with the migraine easier and, for some people, can reduce the frequency of attacks. Her doctor should be able to provide a referral to someone who can help with some or all of these techniques.
I wish you and your daughter all the best in finding an effective treatment. My migraines became chronic when I was 11, so I know how hard it can be. The good news is that she's already seeing a doctor who recognizes the severity of her attacks and is treating them accordingly. She's also very fortunate to have a parent fighting for her.
Kerrie
Awe, thank you for your lovely comment BayouTigress. Kerrie I've had a look at the links you've posted and there's some great information in there. I had never heard of Biofeedback before and will definitely look into that. As time goes on she is becoming increasingly anxious, upset and quite down and I agree that this added stress is not helping helping her. My sister is a physiotherapist and she's going to try some Acupressure on her tomorrow, so we'll see if that works.
The paediatrician has stopped her pizotifen and propranolol as they're not working and doesn't feel comfortable giving her more medication due to the side effects, so he has referred her to a specialist Headache Clinic at a large local children's hospital so it will be interesting to hear what they say. Her MRI scan is booked for next Friday so fingers crossed its normal.
I'm so sorry to hear that you have Chronic Migraines too. How did you manage when you were younger if you don't mind me asking?
Thank you so much for your response.
Nic40
