Migraine Headaches?

Question

My thirteen year old duaghter has been getting quite severe Migraine headaches for the past year, I would rather not get her hooked on medication...Do you recomend a doctor or a chiropractor? Or anything else?

Answer 1

Personally my onset of migraines was at 12 and my parents also had the same concerns that you have about me taking medications, but please let me speak for your daughter a migraine is one of the most painful things that you will ever have to endure and if you leave it and you don't really do anything about them they will do nothing but continue to get worse. Honestly there are MANY different medications that she can take that will help her during a migraine but that is all, most actually have no properties that can get you addicted to them. The first medication that I was given was Midrin and I started on the lowest dose then as my body built a tolerance to it I gradually added, but that was over a period of a matter of 3-4 years. The medications for migraines are designed to help only when needed and that is all in most cases they do not need to be taken every day and your doctor will work with you and her to address all the concerns and find what is best for her, but please speaking from allot of experience other than doing some research of things that she should not eat i.e. nitrates (look on webmd for articles) think again about the option of what is known as a rescue medication for her for a migraine. For her honestly this is now a lifetime thing that she will have to live with and deal with, she needs to learn what causes her migraines if it is a food, being tired, stress or many other things, she needs to understand what a migraine is and what things to avoid. I am now 25 and my migraines have progressed over the years and I understand them and work with my doctors every time they change to find a new medication that will work. As a parent that will one day probably have a child (daughter) that will have migraines (as it is passed in the genes) I do understand your concern, but as a person that was once 13 and in allot of pain I ask you to talk with your doctor and see what they have to say.

Answer 2

It depends what is triggering the migraines. If you keep track of them, when they occur, what do they have in common, you may be able to make a fairly good guess. Opinions vary - food is not actually a common trigger, despite what people think. The most common is actually hormones, but only for women. As she is thirteen, and they are still a fairly recent occurrence, it may be linked to her menstrual cycle - for me, migraines are one of my 'normal' PMS symptons, which is far from pleasant. This is defintiely something to try and keep track of, because it may be preventable. Stress is another trigger, but migraines usually occur after the source of stress is removed. During stress, the adrenaline can suppress the symtoms, so you just get a tension headache. Light is also a trigger - is she staring at computer screens much? If so, check the refresh rate; a lower one could help. Does her classroom use whiteboads, is brightly lit, lots of blank surfaces? Probably not much you can do there.
Two major issues to check with your doctor: first, does your family have any history of epilepsy, and if your daughter is taking or may take birth control pills to regulate her period, is it safe or is she a stroke risk? Make sure SHE is aware of that fact, because teenage girls don't always like to discuss this with their mothers. I took the pill for seven years, developed frequent migraine headaches after one, and it was only at the end of those seven years another doctor asked me a few questions about my headaches, and told me that continuing to take the pill could kill me.
Anyway, this is mostly my own experience, but there is some more information available at the website I listed.

Answer 3

I started getting migraines with the onset of menses at 13--and I had them every month for about 6 years before I did anything about it. I tried all meds, all practices and as a last resort, tried acupuncture. Whether it was all in my head or not, they went away for 5 years after 2 sessions. Then they started again and I founnd the sessions to be less effective, but those 5 years were pure heaven. (I'm 35 now).

I have also found amitriptyline to be effective. It has been used as an anit-depressant in much higher doses, but I take 50mg/night as a migraine preventitive--it is an older medication, but I just tried it several months ago and found it to be effective. You may want to talk to your family physician, but migraine treatment without some form of medication is unlikely to help.

Answer 4

I have a feeling that if it were you and not your daugter getting the Migraines, you wouldn't have such a problem with using medication. Migraine headaches are no fun. The drug Imitrex is very effective against Migraines. It's available in pill and a fast acting injectable form. For severe Migraines, I would strongly recommend it.

Answer 5

I get cluster migraines. I start to get them by losing vision, my left eye goes blind and the pain is excruciating. I have particular medication to take that knocks me out. I'm generally back on my feet in 6-8 hours, but if I don't take anything I will be screaming for 12 hours. I take Naramig in combination with Codeine Forte. I find that an ice pack will sometimes help, but definitely have to be lying down in a dark room. I'll get a series of these over a period of six weeks, then won't get them for a few months. You should really see your GP about getting some stronger medication, because Tylenol never cuts it with me..

Answer 6

FEVERFEW!!! it's an herbal supplement that rescued me 10years ago...I was having them twice a month, & had jsut had a baby...couldn't crawl under the covers for a day or so to get rid of it anymore...so the hospital gave me Imitres...and promptly discovered I'm allergic to that....so talking to a friend, she told me about it & I started taking 1 capsule every day for the next 2 months...didn't have a single headache! Then it was almost 6 months before I got a vision disturbance (here it comes...) so I took another capsule & it went away, without ever exploding into a headache. Like I said, it's been over 10 years, & I've only had 1 mingrane since then, when I was out of town without my supply of feverfew.
Look for it at a healthfood store. No side effects that I've ever noticed & no drug interaction warnings either.

Answer 7

I would recommend seeing a doctor. I am a male and had the same problem at a younger age though. I was getting them constantly and didn't know why or what was causing them. They ended up doing a CT Scan of my brain. I not sure how they figured it out but the ended up diagnosing me as having depression. They put me on medicines for the depression and my headaches began to go away. I would recommend you take her to see a doctor and get on some meds or do some testing to see what could be causing them.

Answer 8

M y wife use to get them and ever since she started drinking this all natural product call Via Viente they have dissappeared.

Our health overall has improved and our energy level has sky rocketed.

Her allergies are almost a none factor and my health has turned for the better as well.

It just takes 2-3 ounces two times a day and this product taste basically like strong grape juice. Check it out for your little girl.

charlesmurphy.wowvia.com Click on the oppurtunity site and choose cutomer A, make sure you auto-ship your order.

Best results if you stick with it for 12 weeks.

Answer 9

I suffer from migraines . I would recommend going to the family doctor talking to them about her condition. They may send her to a neurologist and then you all can talk about it from there

Answer 10

there are other options than meds that are addictive they make medications that is strictly for migraines. like imitrex. its not a narcotic or maxalt which is in the same class as imitrex.