Migraines

[Deena in GA]

My 13 yo son is having what are apparently migraines. Last year they were manifesting themselves as dizziness that incapacitated him for days at a time. We saw a number of doctors and had an MRI done as well as some other tests. The pediatric neurologist (only one in town) that we ended up with diagnosed him with migraines and said they would probably turn into the headache variety. He refused to prescribe something for him though because by the time we saw him my son hadn't had any problems in a few weeks. He said that when he started having problems again that he (the doc) would want to run more tests.

Well, my son didn't have any more problems until this month (a year from the last doctor visit). He spent five days in bed before Christmas with a headache and nausea and is back like that again today. Says he feels fine as long as he's laying down, but as soon as he tries to get up his head starts killing him.

Because we're strapped financially and our insurance is changing as of Jan !, I can't really afford to take him to the neurologist or any other doctor right now. I prefer alternative solutions anyway. Does anyone have any ideas on what we can try to help him?

 

[ARUBI]

Just a suggestion, make sure he doesn't have any chocolate, or anything with chocolate in it.

 

[summerthyme]

Deena- I know this is going to sound nuts, but consider taking him to a chiropractor... preferably one you trust, or who friends will recommend based on their experience.

If he is truly having migraines, it probably won't help. But headaches and their accompanying symptoms are funny things, and can be referred pain from the neck or spinal cord, especially in an active person.

Alternative (herbal) medicine has some remedies which work, but not as instant pain relief. Feverfew is the one most people swear by, but it has to be either fresh leaf or freeze dried. Simple drying de-activates the principles which work.

Most people find good results in chewing or swallowing whole 1-3 small fresh leaves daily, and many have reported that this has prevented them from developing migraines for months and years at a time. These are people who were struggling with several headaches per month or even more often. The other potential problem with the fresh feverfew is that it can irritate or cause blisters in the mouth. I think that if I needed to try taking it, I'd place fresh leaves in a capsule and take them that way.

Arubi's suggestion is a good one- there are foods which act as "migraine triggers" for many people, and chocolate is reputed to be one of the worst. From "herbmed", they say this about food triggers:

"Food triggers are common, and can be nearly anything. Some of the most frequent food triggers are anything aged, canned, cured, pickled or processed or that contain tyramine or nitrites. Aged cheese, bananas, caffeine, chicken livers, MSG, alcohol (especially red wine,) yeast products (including bread), chocolate, red meat, shellfish are common, but the list is extensive and individual. Try eliminating these first. If that doesn't work, see if you are sensitive to citrus, lentils, nuts, any kind of green beans or peas, vinegar or yogurt. "

Do you have a natural foods store or herb store near you? A combination of meadowsweet and/or willow, plus passionflower, Wood Betony and valerian *may* help. Chamomile and peppermint, or ginger, may help the nausea.

I suspect there are probably combination products available that have most of these in them, possibly labeled for sleep aids? (I don't suffer from migraines - I've had two in my life, both while I was pregnant and that was enough!- and when I use herbal medicines I generally mix up my own, so I'm not certain what's available)

I hope you can find something that helps It's a shame he's so miserable and I know it makes you feel terrible.

Summerthyme

 

[Deena in GA]

Thanks for the advice! I did wonder if it was an allergy of some kind triggering this - especially food. In fact, this morning I started writing down everything he ate yesterday and today. I'm going to keep a diary of sorts of what he eats and does and how he feels.

Summerthyme, he is very active - eats, sleeps and breathes soccer. So this is very upsetting to him. These spells have been absolutely incapacitating him. A chiropractor is the one kind of doctor I haven't had him at yet, lol. Sounds like we might need to try one. We did take him to an orthopedist when all of this started up as he also, at the same time, developed a problem in his chestbone. They decided it wasn't connected with the dizziness, etc. though.

 

[Brooks]

From what I have read about chocolate, it may not be a trigger at all. Rather, it may be there is something about the migraine or pre-migraine episode that triggers a desire to eat chocolate. At any rate, the controlled studies were not coming up with the expected correlation.

However, it's an excellent idea to explore what might be bringing them on, and foods are often implicated. For me, the biggest factors were either too much sleep or too little.

Meanwhile, I had to turn to a homeopath to knock them way down on a permanent basis. No side effects, but it might take a while to find the right remedy.

 

[Deborah]

Deena, does he get numbness in his arm? My daughter did when she got migraines and someone told me it could lead to a stroke. I heard once of a 14 year old having a stroke. It seems unbelievable.

 

[summerthyme]

Deena- SOCCER!! (whapping myself upside the head, for just realizing what you wrote)...

Soccer (which all my kids played and loved) is implicated in more head and neck injuries in kids than any other sport! Heading the ball puts a lot of stress on the neck and shoulders, to say nothing of the chances of actually causing minor- repeated- concussions.

My second son got clobbered on the temple by a ball directly off the foot of another player in high school, and dropped like a stone, completely unconscious. His idiotic coach put him back in the game as soon as he could stand, but later that day, he was disoriented and dizzy and nauseous. And had headaches for weeks.

Post Concussion syndrome is something I've got far too much experience with, thanks to my youngest son. But also second son, who played football and sustained several concussions- very minor ones, but as we found out from doctors and reading, every one "adds on" to the previous ones.

Are you noticing any personality type changes in your son-- anger, irritability, apathy? The problem is, of course, at 13, those can all be "normal" changes due to adolescence. But they also can be signs that he's got some irritable, or healing, brain cells.

And don't think that a clear CT scan or MRI is a guarantee that he never was concussed or isn't suffering from something PCS now. A lot depends on whether or not he's a "bleeder" -bruises easily- or not. My youngest fell 25 feet off a rope swing, landing flat on his face on hardwood floor in our haymow. He - in what we believe to be true miracle- showed NO fractures by the time the ambulance got him to the ER, although both I and the EMT's felt "crunchy" bones in his upper jaw and face when we examined him. The CT was clear, but he suffered absence seizures for weeks afterward, until we finally got to a doctor who understood what was going on. This kid DOES NOT bruise- he didn't even get black eyes from the fall!! For that matter, he severed the tendons holding his kneecap on (his only other injury) and that didn't bruise, either. Since a CT scan or MRI shows bleeding (bruising) in the brain, they didn't show any real damage. An MRI 2 months later showed calcifications which they said were scarring from the injury, though.

Anyway- I'd say a chiropractor is definitely a good idea. And absolutely mention that he play soccer! You might want to discuss these issues with his coach, or a good sports medicine specialist, and see if they suggest exercises to strengthen his neck... the chiropractor might have ideas on that as well.

This may not have anything at all to do with his headaches of course- it's always possible they are migraines and unrelated. But... wanna bet?

Summerthyme

 

[fruit loop]

Various causes

Brooks: food allergies are a common cause of migraines. Chocolate, red wine, and aged cheeses are common culprits. Apparently it's the cocoa in the chocolate that causes this. White chocolate doesn't seem to bother people.

Deborah, during a migraine the blood vessels in the brain are constricted. This causes the slurred speech and temporary paralysis. During a stroke, blood flow to the brain is impeded or a vessel burst entirely. yes, there is an increased risk of stroke to migraine sufferers.

Summerthyme: I've always wondered about the head injury angle. I was beaten over the head with a hammer when I was four (by another kid who was retarded and I'm sure didn't really understand he was hurting me). That's the side of my head where I get the migraines, but back in the 60s there were no MRIs, etc. All they did was tell me I had a concussion but no skull fracture.

A lot of famous people suffered from migraines, including General Robert E. Lee and George Bush. Bush even signed a health proclamation saying chronic migraines are a disability since people miss so much work time because of them.

I've found the herb FEVERFEW to be helpful with migraine pain

 

[Deborah]

Deborah, during a migraine the blood vessels in the brain are constricted. This causes the slurred speech and temporary paralysis. During a stroke, blood flow to the brain is impeded or a vessel burst entirely. yes, there is an increased risk of stroke to migraine sufferers.

That makes sense. She did have slurred speech also and couldn't see well.

 

[Deena in GA]

Wow! Lots of good ideas and info here!

Summerthyme, after reading your post I did have a discussion with Joey about being hit in the head. He remembers a time two or three years ago when he was hit by a soccer ball that had just be kicked very hard. Still remembers it very clearly. Said that's the only really hard hit he's had. That would put it before he started having these problems so that's a definite possibility.

My oldest daughter and my oldest granddaughter both have migraines routinely, but they are the "normal" migraines. Knowing that is why I tended to think it's migraines, especially after the neurologist diagnosed him last year with migraines. No one ever asked about hits to the head though! And I never thought about it. Looking back, it seems ridiculous that someone didn't think of this.

As far as any personality changes - the only thing we've noticed is that very typical adolescent tendancy to hibernate in his room talking to his friends on the phone. Other than that, he's a great kid. Always has been.

Thanks everybody for the advice!

 

[summerthyme]

Deena- the reason I mentioned a chiropractor (which isn't something I generally believe in, aside from their obvious worth in back and muscle problems) is from our experience with the same kid this summer.

He had a bad car wreck, flipping his heavy Buick Regal 3 times and slamming into a stump, which broke off 12" roots and was pushed 10 feet out into a field by the force of the crash. His seatbelt broke, and although he managed to call me on his cell phone to say he'd had a wreck and was hurt, by the time we got there 5 minutes later, he was unconscious and seizing. He was air-lifted to the nearest trauma center in a coma, and yet again, had no visible brain injuries on the MRI or CT scans, and in another miracle, he walked out of the hospital 4 days later after spending 3 days in the trauma ICU. The neurosurgeons kept saying they didn't understand it...

I expected a repeat of the whole post concussion thing, and to a certain extent it was, but oddly enough, nowhere near as bad as after he had that fall. BUT... he'd get hit with headaches so severe that he'd be laying on the floor, retching with nausea, too dizzy to stand and saying he wish he'd died in the wreck.

A neurologist (we have horrible quality doctors in our local area, unfortunately- one effect of living in a rural, economically depressed area) noticed he had a lot of muscle spasms in his neck (pressing on one spot *instantly* triggered a headache) but prescribed a bunch of stuff, including an anti depressant. Since he nearly died a month after the wreck from a rare and extremely severe drug reaction to an anti seizure med they'd put him on "just in case", the idea of taking more drugs wasn't something he- or I- wanted to consider.

When I realized that his neck was probably involved in the problem, I got him to a chiropractor we trust. The doc, after reviewing his x-rays and CT scans, showed us that his C1 vertebra (the one at the very base of the skull) was dislocated, and of course, he had a severe case of whiplash as well. The kid is truly fortunate to be alive and not paralyzed.

Anyway, I took him in 3 times a week for 2 weeks and twice a week for another month, but after the first week, the headaches vanished and he's only had 2 since (this was in September). He'd been having them daily, so apparently that was the problem. He probably should be following up with periodic visits, but he's feeling well enough that he just wants to get back to college and he's sick of doctors to the point that he never wants to see one again! But he agrees that the chiropractor saved his sanity.

"Heading" a soccer ball can put tremendous shock and stress on the neck vertebra and muscles. It's at least possible this is some of your son's problem.

I hope you find the solution!

Summerthyme

 

[Ruckmanite]

MSG

Deena,

I've suffered from them for years. I mean piercing headaches that make you throw up. At 13, I ate aspirin often.

Many years ago, I had one of those frozen salizbury steak smothered with gravy things and the next morning had a ripping headache. Figured it to be chronic sinus problems.

By trial and error, I found out that it is MSG, or monosodium glutamate, the "flavor enhancer". It, and it's cousins, are neurotoxins and cause major headaches to those sensitive.

Here's a tough, but efficient test. Give him a lunch of Cambells Chicken Noodle Soup, and a big bowl nacho cheese Doritos. If he's got a headache in an hour or so, then that may be one of the culprits.

I've had to go pretty natural for a diet. If it is out of a box, it is bad news for me.

Tuna, canned soup, Ramen soup, Doritos, Cheetos, Snack Crakers (any kind like Chicken-in-a-Biscuit), barbeque sauce, gravy, instant potatoes, chili mix, canned chili, corned beef, breaded shrimp, pudding (man I really miss that stuff), ice cream, chinese food, sausage (loaded with the stuff), Taco Bell anything, Gyros, chicken broth, Hamburger Helper(instant migraine in a box), any flavored potato chip, salsa (unless homemade), chicken patties, coffee creamer, Chips Ahoy, and ketchup (that one really hurt) to name but a few.

The catch all for the artificial junk is that mystery ingredient "natural flavors".
This might be a start to a cure. It was for me. I eliminated this stuff and more, and it has helped my headaches immensely.

Good luck and may God bless you and your son. I know what he is going through.

 

[cipher]

Try supplementing Calcium & Magnesium. Many people see their migraines relieved by supplementing these.

And definitely avoid the MSG, and artificial sweeteners. Both cause migraines in sensitive people.

======================
From:
http://www.newtreatments.org/doc/WisdomExperience/138

Update May 5th 2004
Migraines seem to be correlated to magnesium deficiency:

From: www.sims.berkeley.edu/~hearst/papers/acl99/acl99-tdm.html
''For example, when investigating causes of migraine headaches, he extracted various pieces of evidence from titles of articles in the biomedical literature. Some of these clues can be paraphrased as follows:

stress is associated with migraines
stress can lead to loss of magnesium
calcium channel blockers prevent some migraines
magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker
spreading cortical depression (SCD) is implicated in some migraines
high leveles of magnesium inhibit SCD
migraine patients have high platelet aggregability
magnesium can suppress platelet aggregability

These clues suggest that magnesium deficiency may play a role in some kinds of migraine headache; a hypothesis which did not exist in the literature at the time Swanson found these links. The hypothesis has to be tested via non-textual means, but the important point is that a new, potentially plausible medical hypothesis was derived from a combination of text fragments and the explorer's medical expertise. (According to swanson91, subsequent study found support for the magnesium-migraine hypothesis Ramadan et al.1989.)''

Low brain magnesium in migraine, Ramadan 1989.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=2584000

Association of headaches and the metals, Donma O, 2002.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12666820

There are many more pages online, just check Google, search on Magnesium + Migrane

Best of luck. Tell us how he does, ok?

 

[Mail Lady]

Perhaps??

Well, my son didn't have any more problems until this month (a year from the last doctor visit). He spent five days in bed before Christmas with a headache and nausea and is back like that again today. Says he feels fine as long as he's laying down, but as soon as he tries to get up his head starts killing him.

I'm going to keep a diary of sorts ...

Just a thought here.... you stated he was incapacitated before Christmas, before the big quake in the Indian Ocean. Could he possibly be an earth sensitive? You also stated he is feeling like that again today. The sensitives on Jim Berkland's site are also sensing another large earthquake. When keeping your diary, maybe you should also research if any huge earthquakes occur immediately after one of his spells.

 

[NC Susan]

Try the dentist.

When my daughter developed migranes, it was because her wisdom teeth were pushing out.

No doctor could figure it out. They Just handed her prescription after prescription and were planning some brain scans if improvement didnt occur soon.

When she went to a scheduled six month dental check-up the dentist assured us that migranes are very common with "teething". Sure enough, the teeth pushed thru, and that was the end of her migranes.

So many opinions and really good advise on this subject, that If and when you do get answers about the headaches, please let all of us know what the cause was.

 

[Deena in GA]

Try the dentist.

So many opinions and really good advise on this subject, that If and when you do get answers about the headaches, please let all of us know what the cause was.

Susan is right - so many opinions and good advise! Thank you all! This is a lot to try to process and keep up with, but I'm trying.

By the night (Dec 28) that I originally posted this the migraine was gone and he hasn't had another one since. Tonight after supper, though, he mentioned that every time he eats butter peas his lip swells. Huh?! He had never mentioned that before but when I questioned him he said it always does it and he just never thought anything about it. So obviously there is a tendency to food allergies. We've been talking about all the different thoughts and he is paying a lot more attention himself now to what is going on with his body and what he eats and does. This is a good thing!

I'll let y'all know if/when we figure this all out.

 

[NC Susan]

Susan is right - so many opinions and good advise! Thank you all! This is a lot to try to process and keep up with, but I'm trying.

By the night (Dec 28) that I originally posted this the migraine was gone and he hasn't had another one since. Tonight after supper, though, he mentioned that every time he eats butter peas his lip swells. Huh?! He had never mentioned that before but when I questioned him he said it always does it and he just never thought anything about it. So obviously there is a tendency to food allergies. We've been talking about all the different thoughts and he is paying a lot more attention himself now to what is going on with his body and what he eats and does. This is a good thing!

I'll let y'all know if/when we figure this all out.

Wow, now that is curious.

Is it butter, or margarine??

my daughter Diane lips swell from pineapple. And catfish. - not the fish itself, but the seafood breading the fish is battered with............but we havent fine tuned the breading down to spices or filler ingredients yet.

I also just read today that folks who are allergic to peanuts were the babies that were bottle fed soy milk instead of regular formula.

 

[Deena in GA]

Actually it's neither butter nor margarine. Butter peas are like a small lima bean - that's the closest description I can think of. It's just what we call them down here, but I don't know why, lol. Btw, there's no other food that causes a problem as far as we know.