Does Anyone Have Any Tips for Coping With Migraines at 10 Years Old?
My son is 10 and a half and has been getting regular migraines since last May. Generally, he gets one every week or so but he has had 5 in the last 2 weeks. He gets it from me as I have chronic migraine. He gets head pain, heavy nausea, dizziness, and tummy pain. Occasionally he does vomit. We give him Nurofen and calpol but they don’t seem to help. Peppermints help with the nausea. We don’t want him to take preventatives because of the side effects. We know they are caused by stress, heat and not eating or drinking at the right time so we are trying to teach him how to live with the migraines and avoid triggers. Does anyone have any tips for coping with migraines at 10 years old? I have botox injections and use magnesium oil and take vitamin b supplements but children can’t do that. Thanks.
Hello SamanthaV, thank you for reaching out. I hear how much your son struggles with migraine. It is so hard on the mama heart, watching your child suffer and being unable to take away their pain. Your son it fortunate he has a mama who understands and is working hard to advocate for him. While they may not all resonate, I thought some of these articles we have about childhood migraine on the site might be of interest to you:
https://migraine.com/?s=childhood+migraine
Does your son have school accommodations for migraine? If not, this article might also be of interest:
https://migraine.com/blog/special-education-services-children-migraine/
I hope others in the community who are also parenting children with migraine will join in to share with you what is helping (or not helping!) to navigate migraine in their children. Please know we are always here to listen anytime you need support - as a migraine warrior yourself and as a parent. Wishing you a gentle day. ~Allyson (Migraine.com team)Hi there,
I am so sorry to hear about what your son is going through. My daughter started getting headaches and migraines around 5. At 7, her doctor finally requested an MRI. The resulted shouted she had something called a Chiari Malformation which explained her migraines and other issues. She has been under the care of a neurologist and we have seen improvement. It might be worth requesting an MRI to rule out Chiari or any other head related issue. My daughter now has MRIs twice a year to ensure things are stable. Sometimes people end up needing surgery, others do not. I hope this is helpful!Hi SamanthaV, I do have a son with migraines as well. Started definitively when he was 9 and was triggered by fragrance. I am in Canada and we are lucky enough to have a neurologist willing now to help with Botox as he is now 15. It is difficult. We did try preventatives and not one was worth the impact on him and his functioning. Patience, care, communication with the school and relentless medical advocacy are all needed. I am sorry to hear of his suffering and yours. We have decided to do online schooling as he got very tired and discouraged always trying to avoid the migraines and then having to catch up after each one. Message me if you would like any other thoughts, we just purchased the Cefaly from Costco and have not had a chance yet to see if it helps. All the best, Heather.
I have a nine year old with frequent migraines as well. She does take a preventative & we haven’t seen any side effects. I wanted to tell you though that she also takes 25 mg riboflavin & 200 mg coq10 daily at the recommendation of her pediatric neurologist. He is her 2nd doctor to recommend this, both from major Children’s hospitals. You might try these with your son. At her last appointment he was telling me about new research linking the attacks with electrolytes being off balance. He recommended trying to get 8-12 ounces of Gatorade down as quickly as possible when the migraine comes on. It seems like it may be helping. I hope something here is helpful to you guys.
