My sister is 14 and she lives with me. She's been having really bad headaches for weeks now. I took her to the doctor last week and they said she had migraines so they gave her some medicine to take that is suppose to help. Well its been over a week now and she's still had the headaches really bad. I dont know what I should do to help her. I dont know if its stress or what?? We've tried the meds the doctor gave, massages, letting the warm shower water hit her neck, sleeping with a cold rag and a warm rag on her head and nothing is seeming to work!!
Have you had her eyes tested lately? I used to get migraines when I needed new glasses?
Is she getting close to having her period? My daughter got migraines the week before hers.
I would take her back to the doc and let them know the meds aren't working.
A few thoughts on this:
1. Periods (hormones)
2. High pertension.
3. Eyes.
4. Stress
Once the pressure of an ill family member was gone, I was able to do away with the migraines.
Have her doctor check for these things as well.
The other S.
I would say get a second opinion. Both my sister and I had migraines as teenagers, and they never lasted that long. I would think that if she isn't getting any relief from the drugs, then maybe migraines isn't the answer.
Take her back to the doctor.
Watch her diet, many cannot have onions, garlic, msg, artificial preservatives, nitrites, nitrates, caffeine, milk, wheat
Make sure she wears sunglasses or if she wears glasses get her Transitions.
Make sure she is eating 3-5 meals a day, little meals, and healthy, even just a granola bar or apple in the midmorning and right after school. No skipping breakfast.
Does she also get nauseous? Lights bother her, noises, smells? Poor thing. My son's were triggered by changes in light, so going into an aquarium was a trigger, tv in a dark room, going from inside to outside in the sunshine. My friend's daughter's are triggered by foods.
Hope she starts feeling better very soon
I would check what shes eating.
I took my daughter in for headaches she only 8. The dr said that we needed to keep a log of what shes eating, when she gets them, how long they last and her behavior when she gets them. she thinks hers might be food related.
There are many reasons for migraines. Eventually she will figure out the triggers.
I have a ton of migraines, but I am now on beta blockers so I am not always aware.
Call the doctors office and let them know what is going on..
Maybe these meds are just not working for her.
One problem with chronic migraines is that you get so stressed about having one you can bring one on just with the stress.
L., I hope she gets better.
It sounds like the doctor just jumped to the "migraine" diagnosis without a lot of thought. Did the doctor ask her about whether these headaches have triggers like lights, alteration in light, loud sound, eating or drinking certain things, being in school, etc? Did the doctor get any details from her about when they occur and if there is any pattern to them? Did he ask about her eating and drinking habits (especially caffeine and sugars)? If not, you need to find a doctor who will give her a better and more thorough workup and ask all these questions and more. This could be migraines but it could be other things as well.
Be sure she is well hydrated with water all the time; have her eliminate caffeine (gradually if she consumes a lot of it!); find out what stress there is in her life -- if she is living with you I assume there are not parents in the immediate picture; are there family stresses or school problems going on? All that needs to be investigated before they throw medications at her that might not be right for this. Ask the doctor to refer you to someone else, possibly a specialist. If migraine treatment does not work, she needs doctors who will be willing to order scans or do other investigation, and who don't make assumptions. She should not have to suffer like this.
Unfortunately I myself suffer from migraines also. I'm 33 but these started after I had my first child 7 years ago and i'm still trying to find out how to stop them from happening. My best advice is to keep trying and find a good neurologist to go to. There are so many triggers to a migraine it's hard to pinpoint just one. They could be hormonal also (if she just started her period?) you might want to talk to the neurologist about that as well. They really should do some more testing before they just give you medicine. But in all honesty it's all trial and error. I take a preventative migraine medicine at night to try and stop them from starting, it's called tramadol, it's an anti-seizure medication, I guess seizure's also work in the brain the same way a migraine does. But when I do get one the only thing that ever takes it away is a migraine medication like imitrix or maxalt...something like that. Good luck and God Bless....i'm sorry to hear that at such a young age she is getting these and I do hope after more research you can find some relief!
Among the other things that the moms mentioned below, she could be grinding her teeth, which can definitely cause headaches (speaking from experience here). Your dentist will be able to take a look at her teeth to check for 'wear' spots.
I had terrible migranes when I was a teen. I was never diagnosed with anything but, I noticed as an adult I would get headaches that were more mild but felt the same. I attributed them to allergies and hormones. The only thing that ever helped (which I hated doing when I was younger) was to take advil (2) once I felt even a twinge of pain.
As an adult I swear by the advil liquid gels. I take 2 of them and it seems to help out. If you wait until it's a full blown headache then it's too late and you have to sleep it off.
I hope she feels better! Headaches can be debilitating.
Take care
Sorry if someone's already said this (I don't read all the responses) but I would get a second opinion. Especially if the doctor didn't do any tests. I would think an MRI or some kind of test should be done to rule out anything serious.
I would also consider taking her to an eye doctor. Maybe she needs glasses. I know that was a reason for my headaches in the ninth grade.
Then, after ruling out any medical reasons, I would think it could be triggered by something she eats. There are so many foods that we don't realize can trigger headaches and other symptoms. Does she eat processed foods or caffeine? Unfortunately, the list is endless!!!
Good luck!!!
When i used to sneak too much caffiene (at her age) i would get migraines. Maybe that could be it?
Mine were food related when I was that age, I don't get them anymore (thank the goddess). Definitely keep a food log, cured meats, nuts, chocolate, and caffeine were all on my "do not eat" list. Figuring out her triggers may take some time. If the meds aren't working, she may need to try something else. Ice on the back of the neck used to help mine, heat made them worse. I also used to grind my teeth which would start a chain reaction of grinding-tension headache-migraine. Massage from a trained professional will help alleviate these, I had to go through 6 weeks of deep tissue massage three times a week to finally loosen up my neck muscles after years of stress headaches in my teens.
I really feel for your sister :( Migraines are awful, but they were especially awful in my teens because I missed out on so much because of them. I hope she finds some relief soon.
All that said :) I agree that these may not be migraines, she may have cluster headaches, tension headaches or any number of things. If what you are trying does not work, go back to the doctor.
