So, last week, the middle daughter (9 years old) starts getting headaches - every day, always around the same time. She complained before, but they always seemed to go away on their own. Now they were getting worse. Mrs. KVS had to take her home early from synagogue services last Saturday. She had a headache on Sunday and Monday as well. On Tuesday, we got a call from school that she was sick. By the time I got there, she was pale, nauseated, and in tears.
I got her over to the doctor, and after an exam he said it might be migraines. She’s only 9! He was scared as well, and he took her up to our opthomologist (and waited with her) to make sure there was no pressure change in her eyes. We have to call the doctor back tomorrow, but in the meantime we have to give her Tylenol every morning before school, and she has to have a snack every day at 10:30. We also have to keep Tylenol in school, and make arrangements for her to rest if she does get a headache.
On top of this, my oldest (11) may have hypertension. Her blood pressure was up the last two visits to the doctor, so now she has to see a pediatric nephrologist. Before she can see him/her, I have to take her next week for sonograms and a renal scan - and more blood tests. The doctor wants to watch her closely because I’ve been hypertensive since I was a kid, and I had a heart attack almost 6 years ago.
And to top it all off, I picked up a cabinet (on Sunday) that we special ordered from Home Depot. We uncrated it last night to install it, and it’s missing a door . . . and the door that’s on it is scratched.
I can’t wait for this weekend - it just has to get better than it’s been.
KVS, you might have her checked for an allergic reaction to something, especially since the headaches happen about the same time each day. I had a co-worker who started getting migraines as a child, and it was YEARS before she found out she was allergic to CORN and CORN PRODUCTS. In today’s foods, corn is EVERYWHERE. She still gets migraines from it, but fewer now, since she knows what to avoid. I’d never heard of such an allergy, but we’re fairly allergy-free in my family, so I don’t have much experience with allergies or allergy treatments.
May not help, but may be worth checking out. I’m slowly coming to the opinion that more and more modern ailments are the result of the foods we eat and what’s in them.
Good luck, and best wishes for things to get better.
I’m sorry to hear about your daughter, KVS. I got my first migraine when I was eight years old. It is one of my least pleasant memories. For me, they’re triggered by sudden bright light–so I started getting them every time I’d walk out of a dark building into bright sunlight. They’re also triggered by not eating regularly/a drop in blood sugar, so it’s good that the doctor is having your daughter have a snack mid-morning. Migraines are no fun. I don’t get them much anymore, but my sister does, and she’s had good luck with Imitrex (a prescription drug) and with Excedrin Migraine (OTC). Good luck, and I hope her headaches clear up soon!
I’m sorry. Migraines are often difficult to trace back to their source. My sister has suffered from them starting around 11 until now (she’s 21), but they did get better as she got older. They suspected it had something to do with her pituitary gland, as they started as she hit puberty and are subsiding now that she is done. No one is sure, though, and that is frustrating. She went through all the medications but nothing completely stopped them.
One thing that did help her was biofeedback. She learned how to slow her pulse and lower her blood pressure, and even lower her body temperature. This helped if she could sense one coming on.
I have had a few in my lifetime too, they are no fun. I hope you can find the trigger for your daughter so she can get some relief, and that it is not a sign of something more serious.
I started getting headaches when I was about that age. Always in the afternoon - with cold sweats, chills, nausea, etc. After much MUCH testing (I immediately barfed on my first skull x-ray - doc loved me ) they decided that it was a contact allergy. Not enough for itching etc. And after much weeding through what I came in contact with, and enduring the allergy elimination diet (week 1-rice, 2-protein, 3-dairy) turns out I had a milk allergy. My mom was being good-mom-make-kids-drink-milk Every Morning. And like clockwork, every afternoon I’d get a really bad headache. Took me off milk and slowly the headaches went away. Hope you find such a simple solution to this!!
Your poor kid - I didn’t start getting migraines until I was in my early 20s, but they are definitely harsh and not something anyone would wish on a kid. Definitely have her tested for allergies, as those can sometimes trigger it.
And I hope your other daughter feels better soon, too!
) they decided that it was a contact allergy. Not enough for itching etc. And after much weeding through what I came in contact with, and enduring the allergy elimination diet (week 1-rice, 2-protein, 3-dairy) turns out I had a milk allergy. My mom was being good-mom-make-kids-drink-milk Every Morning. And like clockwork, every afternoon I’d get a really bad headache. Took me off milk and slowly the headaches went away. Hope you find such a simple solution to this!!