<p>First off let me state we do have a Dr visit scheduled for tomorrow.
A brief history- My youngest is a high school freshman. She is bright but school does not come easily to her. She had a hard time learning to read but tutored with a Lindamood Bell specialist and is now reading above grade level and likes reading. Math is hard.
She has complained about not being able to focus for about 3 yrs now. She thinks she has ADD. She is not hyperactive. I don’t totally disagree with her. Up till now she has done well in school. Last year we noticed a trend in all her classes. She does her homework, listens and is an attentive student. Studies for exams but her exam grades were consistantly d’s and F’s. Her end of the year report card grades were good due to her class performance and that her teachers including homework in the final grades.
Last year she complained of headaches most days. The Dr did an MRI but found nothing. They thought maybe migraines. We started her on a diet that included protein in the morning and lots of liquids. It seemed to help with the headaches.
This summer she started complaining again of not being able to read due to “going blind” and headache. She went from reading about 20 books in june and july to not even finishing 1 in august. She says she can’t focus. We went to the eye dr. He recommended reading glasses. She can now read longer without the blurry vision but still hasn’t regained focus.
School has once again started and she is having headaches again and memory problems. She said she looked at her spanish words and she could not recall even how to count to 10. Spanish has not been her strong point but it seems excessive. She also took an english test and said that the meaning of some words she just could not recall. She also tested poorly on the math placement. She feels like in math and spanish she is seeing things for the first time even though she knows it is review.
Yesterday she felt a headache coming on at school. She went riding and then to physical therapy. She said while her arm was being worked on she was reading her textbook with glasses and went “blind”. Then an intense headache came on. She felt so bad that we had to cancel an appt she had after physical therapy. She came home and went to bed. She still feels the headache this morning when she moves. She went to school anyway.
She is not depressed nor stressed about school. She is not one to worry about grades. She does say she feels she is working harder then she thinks she needs to be. She thinks it is ADD.
I don’t know if there is more then one thing going on. Before the headache last night I was going to go the psychologist route and do the Ldisability and ADD testing. Now I am thinking she might be experiencing migraines. Or maybe more then one thing is going on. The lack of focus was a concern to her before the headaches began.
We go to the Dr in the morning but does anyone have experience with migraines. Also how did your child handle school. I know with the type she had last night she can not even open a book to get homework done.
She also rides and jumps horses. She can’t recall any falls this summer.
She also had Mono last spring.</p>
<p>I get migraines infrequently- usually associated with my periods- ( gods little joke apparently- why would I want to have a baby @ 50?), but I have been taking niacin which helps with the headaches and my arthritis ( and asthma)
[Diagnose-Me:</a> Treatment: Vitamin B3 (Niacin)](<a href=“http://www.diagnose-me.com/treat/T120793.html]Diagnose-Me:”>Vitamin B3 (Niacin) - Information; Why it is Recommended)</p>
<p>Melatonin also helps with headaches- but I think your D should see a neurologist those symptoms sound pretty severe.</p>
<p>I get migraines, and lose my vision (in one eye, and only one spot) prior to the headache starting. Then I get an excruciating headache, complete with inability to tolerate noise, touch, or sound. Then I throw up, and my headache fades. I’ve gone through 3 unmedicated child-births and 2 kidney stones, and my headaches are up there with them, pain-wise – but thankfully much shorter than the others!</p>
<p>Now that I know what is happening, I can take my medicine right away and head off the worst of it. I actually am fascinated by standing in front of a mirror, moving my hand up and down and watching it “disappear” as it moves into my blind spot. Very strange.</p>
<p>That said, it sounds like a complete workup is indicated. I wouldn’t cancel the psych eval. Migraines have a multitude of triggers, including stress. At least you have the MRI to reassure you she doesn’t have a brain tumor.</p>
<p>I am starting to believe that mine might be at least partially due to my teeth clenching, which I do much more when I am stressed.</p>
<p>By the way, my D is/was ADD without the H. She was never medicated (not that we’re against medication, but she had other reasons for the doctors to be reluctant to medicate), and we learned together how to cope with it behaviorally.</p>
<p>I’m not a doc so take this with a huge grain of salt, but I’m guessing there’s more than one thing going on here.</p>
<p>It sounds like she’s getting migraines. (I had horrible, debilitating migraines throughout my teens and into my mid-20s. It’s NOT pretty. The good news is they have far better medication these days!)</p>
<p>But it also sounds like she has some form of ADD. And perhaps some other neurological issues.</p>
<p>I would have her thoroughly examined by a neurologist and a learning disabilities specialist. </p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>Have you ruled out diabetes? Has her blood been tested? The inability to concentrate and retain knowledge and the fuzzy vision make me wonder there is any chance it is diabetes and the headaches are something extra. It sounds like you’ve been to a lot of doctors and they’ve investigated all of the other physical possibilities, but, just a thought.</p>
<p>I also started getting migraines at about her age. There were times in my life when they were constant, and times when I had fewer. It has taken me over 30 years to figure out that when I take care of myself, I get fewer migraines. By this I mean sleep well, eat meals on time and healthy meals (although not too healthy, if I lack fat or salt, I get migraines) and especially, drink plenty of fluids. Seriously…if I am somewhere where I can’t get plenty of fluids, I WILL have a migraine the next day.</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought about diabetes. Both my parents were diabetic. My Dad was juvenile onset but my Mom was late in life. What I had been told quite a number of years ago was that my children had no greater risk then others since diabetes was passed down through the mother’s side.
Our visit tomorrow is with her family Dr.
3bm103- I have been stressing the fluids. I think it helps.
Adding to the whole equation is she has been dealing with wrist problems following a broken bone last spring. The break has healed but she is still having pain. The MRI of the wrist shows a cyst but no tendon or ligament damage. So she has been having to fit in hand therapy and today a visit to the ortho specialist to see where we go next with the wrist. Hand therapy has not helped much. First use after much rest and therapy resulted in putting the wrist right back where she started.
With all the this no wonder I don’t know what to make for dinner.
Would love some advice on meds for migraines and also diet changes.</p>
<p>I had had typical migraines for years. Twenty years ago I began having episodes of “unclear” thinking (for lack of a better term), would feel dizzy, then I often would have symptoms of almost like a panic attack. When this happened, I could not think how to use a phone book, had difficulty remembering how to fill out a check, etc–really simply tasks. </p>
<p>After being told by a GP that I just needed Prozac and a psychiatrist telling me that I had an anxiety disorder, I saw a neurologist. He said it was most probably a form of migraine, even though I had no headache with it. He had me take my migraine med when I felt these symptoms and lo and behold, in twenty minutes it would be gone!!! He explained that depending on what area of the brain was being affected by the migraine, the symptoms could be vastly different.</p>
<p>One friend of mine would awaken with partial paralysis on one side of her body–ended up being migraine.</p>
<p>Good luck and seek some input from various sources.</p>
<p>Some ADD medications are prescribed for situations where there are more than migraine symptoms - you should discuss this with your doctor. There is also though to be a link between migraine and bipolar disorder. You could do a search for articles, but some will be too technical for the lay person. You might like the site [Attention</a> Deficit Disorder | ADHD Symptoms, Medication, Treatment, Diagnosis, Parenting ADD Children and More: Information from ADDitude](<a href=“http://www.additudemag.com/]Attention”>http://www.additudemag.com/) with useful information on ADD.</p>
<p>It’s good that you’re taking her to the doctor tomorrow. Mention the history of diabetes in the family. Also, do you live in an area where ticks are prevalent? Has she ever been tested for Lymes Disease? It might be another thing to bring up to the doctor.</p>
<p>I strongly suggest both that you read A Mind At A Time by Mel Levine, and find an exceptional educational neuropsychologist for two days of testing which will produce a wealth of information about the way your child’s brain functions (strengths and weaknesses, and a possible diagnosis).</p>
<p>As for migraines, one of my children had severe ones and Dorothy Rapps’ book on allergy elimination diets was helpful. An allergy specialist will be helpful only to a limited extent, as food allergies are most solidly diagnosed by elimination. The Feingold Association is another good site to check out for allergy information. Our home is now migraine-free - difficult to believe but true. Once the allergens were identified, academic issues were resolved.</p>
<p>Environmental allergies can also be a culprit (classrooms reeking of Fantastik smell, for example).</p>
<p>My 19 year old niece has been getting migraines almost monthly since age 3-1/2. We didn’t know little ones could get migraines until she was diagnosed. She would get a sudden onset, blinding headache and become hysterical. Someone would have to lay on her bed with her and rub her back for anywhere from 1-3 hours while the poor baby just moaned. She would eventually throw up and then fall asleep for several hours. Vomiting was always the turning point. She would feel much better when she woke up but would take another day to really feel 100%. </p>
<p>She still gets them but they are now more infrequent and once she got older she knew how to recognize the symptoms and was able to manage them much better. She has found Excedrin Migraine to be the most effective, even better than the prescription meds from her doc. I think they started out at the pediatrician who then referred them to a pediatric neurologist. Good luck.</p>
<p>My cousin’s boyfriend was a very active athlete… and he started to not feel well, over a period of time…I forget the actual symptoms, but, the net result was a brain aneurysm which was not found in time…after 3 days in the hospital, a nurse noticed spots on the bottom of his feet…they recognized it as symptom of an aneurysm and they rushed him into surgery but it was too late. I don’t tell you to frighten you but just to throw it out in case it is something that imperative and hidden. So, I am glad you have a doctor’s appointment to pursue a total eval…good luck…</p>
<p>^ Anyone with younger children who get headaches and vomiting (or even just sudden onset vomiting) should check out The Cyclical Vomiting Association (assuming first that head scans are clear and medical doctors can find no other cause).</p>
<p>In children, migraines often present as vomiting. It has something to do with a seratonin imbalance in the stomach. I had no idea that there was seratonin in our stomachs (with this problem there is also a predisposition towards a seratonin imbalance in the brain). Usually with puberty, the symptoms transfer to the more typical head pain migraine. Abdominal migraines are very real. I am not a doctor, so please excuse the quality of my summary. It is derived from conversations with a neurologist.</p>
<p>The way to solve (or better, to manage) the vomiting problem usually involves the identification of environmental or ingested allergens.</p>
<p>Even though I am a pediatric nurse practitioner, please don’t construe this to mean I am attempting to treat your daughter, but please, get her to a neurologist!</p>
<p>Eye strain would not cause the symptoms you’ve described. If she is taking triptans for her migraines more than 1-2 times per week, the medications may be causing the headaches - a rebound effect.</p>
<p>I’ve seen too many kids with the same symptoms end up with brain tumors. </p>
<p>Is your daughter over-weight? There is a condition called pseudo-tumor cerebri which causes intense headaches, and is treated by essentially draining off excess spinal fluid via a ‘spinal tap’ or lumbar puncture. This is NOT a cancerous condition. </p>
<p>That said, my own 17 year old daughter has migraines and ADHD, for which she takes Vyvanse. What an incredible difference this has made - from low 70’s to 88; but I too ‘blow her off’ when she complains. Your daughter’s ADD would not be a cause of her symptoms.</p>
<p>It is scary - but if you notice any symptoms like stumbling, weakness of muscles, loss of urinary/bowel control, etc. - see an MD immediately!</p>
<p>Keep us informed.</p>
<p>We went to the Dr this morning. The dr thinks more then one thing is going on. She has referred us to a neurologist. The Dr is pretty sure she is having migraine headaches.
My D had headaches last year that were not as severe and we did an MRI at the time so we are pretty sure that we are not dealing with a brain tumor. We changed her diet and they seemed to get somewhat better till this summer.
The Dr is also feeling like there could be ADD but they would not account for the vision issues. What I was not as clear till the Dr started asking questions is that the vision problem is often followed by headache.
The other strong indicator of migraine is that the headache is still here 2 days later not as bad but still there.
Until we see the neurologist we are going to pick up some excederin migraine and have a bottle at school as well as home and to take it as soon as she feels it coming on. Since by the time the headache is here it is too late.</p>
<p>I also experience very infrequent migraines. I have learned not to eat nuts where I can’t be sure there fresh, ditto peanut butter. I don’t avoid them at all, I just have to be sure they’re not old. Bright light bouncing into my eyes can also set it off. I experience the visual disturbance/blind spot enlargement preceding the headache.</p>
<p>It took a long time to figure out the nut thing only having a couple of migraines year. And they started back in high school. My mother kept trying to connect it with menses, it was not connected.</p>
<p>I have been a migraine sufferer for 25 years. My son and daughter also get them as well. I have had the blurry vision before the onset of headaches but my kids have not. Other than those related to having periods, two things have been the biggest triggers for me: heat/direct sun and certain foods. My heat induced migraines are some of the worst. I always have to wear a hat and stay hydrated. As far as food triggers, it’s a long list: any alcohol (especially wine), processed lunchmeats and cheeses, dark chocolate, raw onions. My son’s biggest trigger was milk on an empty stomach. He got migraines almost every morning at school. When we cut out milk at breakfast and switched to juice they stopped. And of course, taking imitrex has been my salvation. Ibuprofen and excedrin stopped helping long ago. Good luck - migraines are horrible to experience but there’s a lot of ways to control them.</p>
<p>Again, remember this is message board information from a stranger, but a friend who is a neurologist told me years ago that when I start a cluster of headaches to take Motrin every 8 hours 'round the clock. Continue for (can’t remember for sure) I think about 5 days–even if you don’t presently have a headache. At that time, he said studies showed that it could help break the cycle. Again this was early eighties… but if she tolerates Ibprofen well, it might not hurt to try.</p>
<p>I like Amerge-it’s like Imitrex, but longer acting-good for women with hormonal/menstrual migraines. Also, with ADD it is harder to focus and concentrate and the individual has to work harder-that could, I suppose, bring on more migraines as well. Does your daughter get enough sleep?</p>