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My 11yo daughter has started getting migraine headaches.

Posted: Sep 20, 2011

They actually started a couple of years ago. She gets them once in a while. I'd say she probably gets one every three months or so. They are pretty severe, make her cry. I've taken her to the ER before where she has had a CAT scan that was completely normal which prompted the diagnosis of migraines. So now I've been watching her for possible triggers. I get migraines occasional, but mine are completely hormonal and always happen around my period. Mine started when I was about 16 or 17 years old.

So tonight's headache was preceded by her eating some Lay's Salt and Vinegar chips. Other times she has eating Doritos and snacks similar to that which makes me wonder about MSG being a trigger. So I'm thinking I should limit those kinds of snacks.

Also I was wondering if they prescribe migraine meds to kids like Imitrex or Maxalt, etc.

;

The best thing to do is - long time CMA

[ In Reply To ..]
keep a headache diary. Keep track of what she eats, what activities she does, how she feels and when she has the headaches rate them on a pain scale of 1 to 10. Call and get an appt. with a neurologist, you will probably have to wait at least a month to get in to see a good one but keep the diary in the meantime, as they will ask you to do this anyway. Also in the diary, keep a record of anything that makes them better, i.e. ibuprofen, Excedrin Migraine, and sometimes caffeine helps, but can be a trigger too, so that one is a double edged sword. I am not really sure what they give kids nowadays but when I was a kid, my pediatrician would give me an injection of Demerol when I had a migraine and send me home to sleep for a day or two. Of course, that was a long, long time ago. (My son would tell you they would send me home to my cave and beware of the dinasours) The diary will be a very helpful tool for the neurologist and speed up an answer for her so she does not have to suffer. Good luck to you and her.

MSG - L&L

[ In Reply To ..]
It simply wouldn't hurt to eliminate MSG. I had headaches when I was young which quit when I left home. Mom was putting Accent (MSG) on a lot of food. Now I only get headaches when I have MSG, and they are terrible. Also for some reason, if you get headaches from MSG, you get them with Prilosec and Nexium.

I don't have the link but if you Google - anon2

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"other names for MSG" you'll be surprised.

Migraines at 11 years of age - anon

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These could be hormonal related as your daughter is nearing puberty. My daughter started with migraines at that age. My daughter had photophobia and pain that made her cry, too. Symptomatic relief with dark room helped. When start menstruating, they were worse and cyclical. She is now 22 and nothing she has tried helps except vicodin and no one wants to give it to her. If these headaches continue, insist upon treatment so that if they get worse (which I pray they do not)her doctor is fully invested in seeing she is pain free. By the way, my daughter took birth control pills in high school and they worked, but eventually they did not. She has had to go to Emergency Room for Demerol or whatever they give for the most severe headaches now at 22.

Excellent suggestions - anon

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Also keep track of when she goes to sleep, how many hours she sleeps, and if she stays asleep, snores, etc.

Migraines... - Barb

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are usuallly always related to a food. MSG is one but the biggest culprit is dairy, especially cheese. Medications are the worst thing in the world to start giving kids, especially when you can tweak their diet a lot easier. My neighbor, a grown man, has severe migraines. He's had test after test after test. He refuses to look at his diet. Some people just never learn.

This is not true, and that is coming from - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
someone with a certificate in nutrition ed from a "holistic" school in Boston AND a whole foods chef certificate. Diet can contribute, but migraines are usually multifactorial. I had hormonally triggered migraines with menses (3 days at onset and 2 days at end) and ovulation. For the past 12 yrs. Trigger point therapy eliminated 2 of them and reduced the severity of the 3rd, even though they were hormonal. Environmental mold allergy is another major contributor to migraines. Yet another cause is lack of exercise.

I hope your little one finds relief. It has got to be very difficult for you to see her in such pain. :(

It is true.... - Barb

[ In Reply To ..]
coming from physicians who have studied nutrition for over 30 years and treated patients with migraines. Your certificate is worthless compared to their experience. I'll trust their judgement and experience over yours any day. ; )

The jury is out on "diet" and migraines. The - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
so-called "holistic" and alternative med people have always seen diet as THE underlying factor in migraines and many other conditions. Conventional medicine knows that for some, there might be foods/food products that trigger hormonal responses that might lead to migraines. Migraine.com has info on this. As part of my internship, I worked for a neurologist who treats migraines, implementing whole foods as opposed to anything processed. This was not an RTC study but observational case-study. There were no improvements with 1) eliminating nonfood items, 2)refined sugars 3) common allergens - dairy, wheat, tree nuts, soy, eggs, fermented foods, gluten. My own migraine MD commented on foods and migraines and states there are few direct links. In fact, fasting is one major trigger for many, which causes a cascade of hormonal responses. Lack of sleep is another major cause. Reproductive hormone change is another major factor. Hormones are already shifting years before physical signs of puberty are apparent. Muscle trigger points, TMJ, malocclusion, injuries, in combination with hormonal changes are all implicated strongly in migraines.

There can be many reasons... - Barb

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for migraines but, as I said, the majority of causes are related to our diet. They just have to be discovered.

Medical research does not support that claim. - anon

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Pilot programs at Women and Brigham in MA, many, many case studies in both alternative and conventional medicine, including neurology and allergy and immunology, will not state that a majority are caused by diet. Even on a whole foods diet eliminating as many known dietary triggers, people still get migraines. Common trigger foods sometimes are craved (i.e. chocolate, booze) during times when estrogen falls (estrogen is a mood stabilizer and painkiller) but that doesn't mean the chocolate or the wine caused the migraine. Same with nitrites, aged cheeses, both usually packaged in dense fat or other micronutrients. Very few people will be lucky enough to stumble upon a definite food cause.

I know.... - Barb

[ In Reply To ..]
several doctors who would heartily disagree with you. The problem is that most people just do not want to give up the foods that are causing the migraines and would rather find something else to blame it on. I know my own daughter-in-law found that she would break out with acne really bad when she ate dairy products and even admitted that her face cleared up when she would do without but then decided that she couldn't do without cheese so started blaming her breakout on nuts which she happens to hate. Dietary triggers are hidden in lots of food under ingredients that are not recognizable. Medical research may not support that claim but medical research is also wrong a good majority of the time and doctors who have researched the causes and treated patients with success are the best proof, IMHO.

Which is why I decided to focus on a - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
education that specifically focuses on food and health, but you also say that education is worthless. Unfortunately, EXTENSIVE research by mainstream and CAM is not yielding solid evidence of a link. Of course, for some people, they might find dairy, for example, causes migraines and that's great, but they are the exception. What you're talking about is anecdotal reports.

Disagree with her or with the medical research? - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
.

migraines - doxiesmom

[ In Reply To ..]
There can be multiple causes of migraines. I have suffered with them since I was in high school and only got some relief after having a hysterectomy and BSO at 42. I still get them and going without food, enough sleep and stress will set one off. My daughter has had them since she was 10 and she has then at anytime during the month, but the worse ones are around her period and there isn't much that helps to prevent them completely, not even the triptans that are so popular. So saying they are all food related is only part of the picture. My 7-year-old granddaughter is already getting them.

Uh...a big problem with physicians is - nofood

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that they don't study nutrition, other than the Kreb's cycle. They still want everyone on low-fat diets. Where did you get the 30 years time frame from?

These doctors... - Barb

[ In Reply To ..]
I am referring to HAVE studied nutrition for over 20 years. They are not your "run-of-the-mill" doctors who took a 30-minute nutrition course in college. One conducted a 30-year study in China. Read the book, "The China Study" instead of knee-jerk disagreeing. Eveyone I know on a low-fat diet is healthier than the ones I know on a high-fat diet. By low fat, I'm referring to fruits, veggies, beans.....not processed food with the fat removed.

I've completed the program at Cornell related - anon

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the China study, which is why I stated what I did not as a knee jerk reaction. It is one of the studies you deemed worthless without even knowing what kind of certification I had.

Then... - Barb

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if what you say is true, you should be agreeing....not disagreeing. ; )

Not at all. Campbell wrote a pro-veganism - meagain

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propoganda piece and really pulled some strange conclusions out of the numbers he gathered. His conclusions on cholesterol, heart disease and cancer show little correlation to the very numbers he provides. You can read it right in his book. Very little of his 300+ book, in fact, it is something like 50 pages, is about the China Study itself. The China Study has some good information in it but he also misses a lot of his own good stuff. He also misses a lot of the problems with vegetable oils, wheat, gluten. He is a marketer. He does cruises, the cheesy Cornell certificate,books, seminars. He is not a scientist.

He banks on people not knowing how to read scientific research. If he was truly into the research, he would have published this and when questioned, would have worked to support his theories.

Just because a class "teaches" something - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
doesn't mean the content is fact and that students "should" agree with it. That is a logical fallacy. Heck, it's probably several. Appeal to authority comes to mind off the bat. His own facts do not support his own conclusions.

I've had migraines for 30 years and food is not my trigger. - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Here is a great link from the Mayo Clinic. It lists many many different triggers for migraines.

For me, it is most definitely not food. Same with my mother and my daughter. My PCP suffers from migraines and food is not his trigger either.

As I said... - Barb

[ In Reply To ..]
there can be other triggers but food is the cause in the majority of cases because there are those who will look for other factors instead of giving up what they like, even your PCP. ; )

You purport to know that my PCP did not look for other factors? - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
That's an absolutey absurd comment and assumption. You don't know my personal physician. And you certainly would not know if he has identified his trigger for migraine.

Unreal.

Food may be YOUR trigger, but to say it is it the "cause in the majority of cases" is simply untrue.

Basically you are accusing every migraine sufferer of bringing on their migraine because they "look for other factors instead of giving up what they like."

That is comical. Again, look at the Mayo Clinic link and you will see that there are many many triggers, and nowhere does it state that "food is the cause the majority of cases."

And yes, sometimes medication can be a lifesaver and a very good means of treatment for children and adults with migraine.

I have already said... - Barb

[ In Reply To ..]
there could be other causes. In fact, I think this is the third time now. ; )
But...doctors who have studied nutrition for many years and and treated many patients with migraines (without drugs) have found that most of the time, it's related to something we've eaten. My daughter has migraines and she thinks her's are related to light/sun; however, as humans, we weren't meant to live in a cave. In fact, we need the sun to survive so, having a migraine related to that would make our health worse if we avoided the sun entirely. Medication might help our symptoms but they don't ever cure us and they always make for more problems. Finding the answer is always the best course of action, even if it takes awhile instead of loading up on drugs. Our livers are not fond of them. ; ) That's my take.

It's always... - Barb

[ In Reply To ..]
a hoot to come to these boards and give some of you ladies something to stew and argue about. It's seems there is no room for other facts or opinions other than one's own. I usually don't state MY opinion but the opinions of doctors/researchers who I happen to believe, mostly because it seems to make the most sense to me. We all have our different sources who we happen to have faith in and believe what they promote and the "facts" really can be true or muddled depending on who's promoting those facts and for what reasons. Dr. Atkins' fans would fight to the death to defend their hero who told them fat (their favorite delicacy) was the best thing for them. He should have known...his arteries were full of it on autopsy (so it was reported). There are those who believe that eating fat and grease all day long is the healthiest thing a person can do while there are others who believe that fruits and veggies are the best...all this regardless of what researchers, scientists and doctors have proven to be "true" because one person's truth is another persons falsehood. Now, let the arrows start flying. LOL

So the child should suffer? - anontoo

[ In Reply To ..]
The problem with finding dietary triggers is that it takes a long time. It might be one ingredient, even in a natural food, that is the culprit. And the statement that giving a child medication is one of the worst things one can do is based in ignorance of how medications work, dosing, half-life, etc. As far as the neighbor goes, how on earth would you know what goes on behind his closed doors?

The child.... - Barb

[ In Reply To ..]
will suffer even more once she gets hooked on taking drugs for the rest of her life for a problem that can be cured without them. If it takes time, she will still be better off. That's the problem with our society today. We are a bunch of sickees who rely on drugs to cure us and they never do...and, in fact, usually cause even more problems and we want it fast. Doctors know this...it's too bad the rest of us can't figure it out. Who said I knew what went on behind closed doors? I'm just stating what is the general rule.

You just recently got on the alternative - overthat

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medicine bandwagon and likely in about 10-15 yrs will realize the short-comings of it.

For one, migraine sufferers don't get hooked on medication. They can usually do okay with migraine abortives that have a short half life in the body. The AltMed folks will have you believe this is all being stored in the liver and that you need to buy a liver cleanse. At the same time, they will tell you the body has the innate ability to heal itself. But you gotta buy their latest hepatoflush, colonic, drink, shake, milk thistle capsules or dandelions because that will keep them in business.

Secondly, it is not about you, it is about an 11-y/o child with migraines. Coming on and stirring the pot, which you take pleasure in believing you are doing, is not very kind. Belief medicine is not medicine, btw.

Thirdly, the Atkins diet is a compensatory diet that gets modified and does include fruits and vegetables. It is not meant for the long-term. The reason it works in the short term is because protein and fat prompt hormones to release stored sugars from cells, while carbohydrates prompt hormones to store glucose as fat. Atkins is compensatory for those with insulin resistance and early diabetes and it works for that.

There is an awful lot of evangelism, dogma, and rigidity in alt med, as you can see. Repent or suffer, right?

Migraine headaches - Pearl

[ In Reply To ..]
I started migraines when I was ten. My trigger was sunlight. For years I developed headaches when in the summer sun. Reflection off of oncoming traffic was also a trigger. Big hats, sunglasses, cold compresses or heat pads for treatment. Back in the day even my hairdryer would help.

If it was related to chips, she would get them - more

[ In Reply To ..]
more frequently, no? They're likely hormonal.

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