my 4 yr old suffers migraines

hi, my 4 year old has just been diagnosed as suffering migraines, has only been told to give him paracetamol and ibuprofen, Dr said that he needs more 5 attacks before he can be referred to a pedatriction??? this sounds unfair to make him wait, and is ibuprofen and paracetamol the only thing i can give him? it seemed to help him a little bit but does not stop it, his school has refussed to administer anything if he has one in school hours, this seems unkind and cruel to make him suffer? i've never had migraines but i understand they are extremly painfull, does anyone know if i can appeal to the school to administer this medication should he need it? and is it normal to wait for a certain number of them before being referred? thanks

I'm so sorry your child is having to deal with these things so young. I had the same issue with my daughter in school. We had to have a doctor's note and the meds were kept in the office. She was a bit older (10) so could articulate what she needed better than a 4 year old so I don't know if the school would be willing to take the risk involved in giving medication a child that young. The risk if something went wrong with dosage or any other complication is not something the school district may want to take on.

Over the years, it was very frustrating trying to work with the educational system. My daughter ended up leaving traditional school and enrolling in Independent Study and did very well. I hope the school will work with you.

I would make an appointment with a pediatric neurologist who works with migraine patients anyway. Unless you have to have a referral I don't see why you should have to wait. Some doctors think the kids will out grow them and some do but not all. The earlier you can try to manage them the better it is.

Alli

hi ali,

thanks for your reply, it's a shame that schools seem so unwilling to help a child suffering in so much pain, i will definatly get an appointment with a pediatric neurologist as soon as possible, and hopefully between us we will be able to work with the school to find a way they can administer any medication required, sorry to hear you had to remove your daughter from main stream school, but glad she is doing so well. Did you manage to find out what triggers them on your daughter? I have yet to find what it is that triggers them on my son but hopeful i can.

Nicki

alli wrote:I would make an appointment with a pediatric neurologist who works with migraine patients anyway. Unless you have to have a referral I don't see why you should have to wait. Some doctors think the kids will out grow them and some do but not all. The earlier you can try to manage them the better it is.

I completely agree. The idea of waiting is ridiculous to me. I was diagnosed at about age 6, but back then there weren't any meds specifically for treating migraine, and I just had to suffer through them. There are other options for kids now. I also worry that not treating his attacks might lead him into chronic migraine status because we know that happens for some people when their attacks are left untreated.

If you do need a referral for insurance reasons or because the clinic requires one, don't be afraid to politely insist on getting one from his current doctor.

Here is a link to a list of headache clinics for children that is maintained by the Migraine Research Foundation:
http://www.migraineresearchfoundation.org/pdf/headache-centers-pediatric.pdf (Will download as a PDF)

Perhaps they would call you and let you give him the medicine if he gets a migraine in school? I am sure they dont want to have an ill child either.

My daughter also had problems when she was in elementary school. We saw a pediatric neurologist who put her on a medication that significantly reduced the problem for her. I cant remember what it was called, but I know it was an antihistamine of some sort. So there are good remedies out there. She also did very well with Excedrine Migraine.

Good luck.

I am so sorry about your little one suffering migraine at such a young age - sadly children do get migraines and they are often are ignored, or not believed.
So your boy is lucky to have such a considerate mother, and this is very important for his future general development and migraine treatment.

Paedaitric neurologist specialising in migraine is indeed your best bet - but not all neurlogists understand and treat migraine sufficiently, so check in advance.

You ask about triggers:
often with little children, migraine is cause by dehydration. Specially at school when the rooms get overheated, or during some intense physical activities.

So make sure that he always carries plenty of bottled water (this is best, sweet soda will not help) and teach him how to keep drinking thorugh the day.
Start this good habit at home, so you can observe himmaking sure that he drinks throughout the day.

Also make sure that his blood sugar levels do not drop suddenly, which can happen if he is not eaten, or after eating anything sweet like candy, or any food which is packed with too much sugar.
Make sure that he is not missing on meals, and that the gaps between his meals are not too great.

Dehydration, hunger and chocolate are some of the most common migraine triggers in children.
Hope this helos.
Please come back and let us know how he is getting on.

I your DR a regular General Practitioner? Around here most kids go to a pediatrician. I use my regular Dr that my husband and I go to, but for example, my sister's kids have all gone to a pediatrician. At least here you don't need a referral for a pediatrician, it is kind of the parents choice, and I am among the rare taking him to my regular DR. If you are talking a pediatric neurologist, then you probably need a referral.

Two of my sister's kids have migraines. They have both started around age 6 or 7. At that time really all they took was tylenol with codene. Now the older one takes Maxalt, in addition to the tylenol with codene.

I am so sorry this has to happen to your child. I am sure that being that young this is very frightening. One thing I would try to work on is descriptive terms, maybe trying to teach your son what words like stabbing, throbbing, aching pain differences are. It may help him feel a little in control if he is able to verbalize to you and the DR what he is feeling like. Good Luck and keep us posted. ( Oh BTW I know that somewhere on the Clevelanc Clinic Neuro Dept site there is some information about children and migraines. My DR printed it off for me a long time ago for my sister.)

I meant to share this the other day when I replied, but forgot. I have a friend who has written a book about living with pain from a child's perspective. Like me, she started having migraines as a child and wanted to do something to help kids living with this now. She's donating all proceeds to the Migraine Research Foundation.

Here's the link: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/my-secret/14677236

Hi,
I have suffered from migraines since I was 4 or 5 and I remember my mother leaving medication in the office with the school nurse for me (usually aspirin or tylenol) with no problems. I just went down to the office when i got a migraine, they knew I got them frequently and they gave me my medicine.
Unless you have a huge concern that the migraines are being triggered by a bigger problem I would not get overly concerned. It is hard to take that sometimes basic painkillers are the only option but it is what I had to deal with when I was in shcool. In highschool I did end up talking to my doctor more in depth about my migraines and getting an MRI, scans, tests, etc. and everything came up with that I can really just treat the symptoms, not cure them, just like I had been doing for years. I'm 20 now and living with migraines 1 to 2 times a week. I see my 5 year old niece starting to get them and it breaks my heart, but we have to accept that things happen. If you are really concerend, especially if migraines do not run in your family, then get your son checked out, but the answer you recieve may not be the one you like. Good luck and God bless!