Question for fellow parents?

Question

Every few months or so my son (now 10) has a strange episode where he'll suddenly get a bad headache, go white as a sheet and cold and clammy, then throw up a couple of times. Then he'll fall asleep for a while and be back to normal when he wakes up.

This has been happening for at least the last five years, and I have spoken to doctors, who are not concerned. But I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this with their child?

By the way, he is completely lucid throughout, not like a fit or anything.

Brilliant advice from everyone. Thank you. I will take him back to the doctor and insist that they investigate - it's clearly not normal.

Answer 1

Oh, I can help you here! It sounds like a classic migraine. It's odd the doctors didn't pick up on it. The only thing missing is the "aura" - ask your son if he kind of sees funny lights in his eyes when the pain comes on, also ask if his eyes and behind his eyes hurt. My son (now 15), gets these rarely now, so there is hope for you that it'll lessen. He began showing the symptoms as you describe - first he sees the aura, then a huge pain in his head (starts crying sometimes because it's so bad), so I put a cold cloth on his head and give him ibuprofen, yes, he goes white - and always feels much better after he throws up a few times. He needs to then go in a dark room, have a sleep and he's okay after that.
Once I had described all these to a dr., then a pediatrician, they diagnosed these as classic migraine, and if he responded well to ibuprofen, that was the best to use. Now, what's interesting, was since kindergarten, my son had been having "stomach aches" - we went to dr. after dr. , he had tests, etc. and nothing was wrong. In hindsight, the pediatrician said these were the migraines being made manifest through a different part of the body - he was too young to explain that his head was hurting him.
Now at age 10 or so, he was getting them every few months - almost always in the morning when he woke up - like 20 minutes after waking he could tell if it was coming or not, and know not to go to school. Only once it happened at school, and I went to get him. They have lessened remarkably (and that happened to a nephew of mine as well), he carries ibuprofen in his backpack, and can take it well before the migraine is full blown. The "good" part is if they have this as kids, they won't as adults, though it is really so very hard to see them go through such pain. Wish you both luck!

Answer 2

Yes its a migraine .........they are evil, i suffered bad with them as a child. At the onset of my migraine i would get slight blurred vision or would see black spots.Then i would go "as white as a sheet" then an almighty headache,then throw up for an hour or so. it would last about 10 - 15 hours with me and would still feel awful the following day. When i was 13 yrs old they started and i had one about once a week for over two years. now 20 yrs later i rarely get them.
Certain things can spark a migraine like lighting or certain foods.
your doctor will make you write everything your child eats if he also suspects a migraine.

Answer 3

My son also started having these symptoms about the age of starting puberty. The doctors told me is was common because of hormonal influxes but as he got older and still had the intense headaches and fell asleep afterwrads they thought they might be migranies or cluster headaches and did a CT scan on his head which showed no signs of any abnormalities. So.....just keep a supply of tylenol on hand for his headaches and ask your doctors about migraines or culster headaches. Mine son is now 21 stillhas headaches occasionally but doesn't vomit anymore. Thank goodness, he's An Army Airborne Paratrooper lol. Good luck.

Answer 4

It sounds a lot like childhood migraine. Here is a paragraph from a site about childhood migraine:

"Migraine is a headache condition that comes back again and again. Ten percent of children get migraines, and an even higher percentage of teenagers have them. These headaches are very painful and throbbing, and children who have them often look ill and pale. Relief is usually linked with sleep. Doctors focus on ruling out other serious diseases or conditions when they first examine migraineurs (people who have migraines). Treatment consists of finding and avoiding trigger factors in the environment, giving immediate pain relief, and taking preventive drugs."

This sounds a lot like what you talked about. Here is the site. I hope it has something helpful for you!
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/migraine_headache_in_children/article_em.htm

Answer 5

i havnt experienced this myself,but i have worked with children with epilepsy,it sound like he is having some sort seizure! there are about 200 different types of epilepsy some r bad (like the ones you see on tv) but some r un-noticable,some people have "peti-mal" episodes which they can just seem to look vacant for a few seconds then go back to normal,sometimes you can hardly notcie them..
i would take him back to the drs and get a 2nd opinion!
if you dont agree take him to the hospital,even if it is not epilepsy,he is still doing this for a reason so dont give up until you get an answer you happy with.
goodluck! will think of you and your son!

Answer 6

You should get a second opinion. Your doctor should run tests to rule out seizure activity. If your son is having migraines they can also diagnose that. Your son should not have to suffer just because the doctors don't want to go the extra mile.

Answer 7

I have twin boys who are about to turn 12. One of my sons, has for the past few years had periods of similar symptoms; headaches, nausea, vomiting etc. At first I thought that they may have been migraines; however, I was told by their doctor that young boys (actually males period) to not get "migraines" but do get very similar episodes right before they go through a growth spurt. Could this be your sons case... maybe.

Answer 8

when I was a child I experienced the same symptoms exactly I was diagnosed about four years after the problem arrived they claimed that my blood sugar would drop for no apparent reason they treated me for type two diabetes until I was 17 I quit the insulin shots and have learned how to control my sugar with diet they also mentioned that some people don't always show the signs of diabetes when first tested .

Answer 9

Sounds like migraines. the first one I remember getting I was 5 years-old. I would vomit. Sometimes they would last 3-7 days. I would have the doctor check him the next time he gets one. I'm not sure if there are any prescriptions for kids with migraines, but it would be worth looking into if it helps him.

Answer 10

Have you our any one in your family suffered from migraines?You may want to check into this, Did you know that they can be brought on by many reasons and not only adults suffer them. Also keep trying Dr's. until you find one willing to actually listen to you. I have a 6 year old who is very very active,I took him to 8 doctors, 7 of which wanted to put him on meds for ADHD. I new that was not his problem,it was the 8th who suggested that mabey he had a low tolerance for processed sugars. We had him tested changed his diet,and vola he is till active yes but not climbing the walls.