Is this Migraine?

[macwoozy]

Twice in the past 4 days, my ds has suffered from extreme headaches/pain around the eyes. 15 minutes before the pain he complains of visual disturbances although he has difficulty explaining how his eyes are actually affected. After an hour or so after the headache he falls into a deep sleep, it is very unusual for my ds to sleep during the day as he's normally so hyper. He often has headaches but nothing like this.

I have taken him to see a doctor, he briefly checked for neurological signs, but all seemed OK. Mentioned it could be focal migraines. Just wondered if any of you have experienced similar. I'm abit concerned that he's had two attacks in the past 4 days.

[3littlefrogs]

It sounds like it. What has he been doing over the last few days? Is he spending a lot of time looking at a screen, or could he have eyestrain, or be stressed/overtired?

However - you mention that he has often had headaches in the past.

How old is he?

Have you had his eyes tested?

[macwoozy]

He's 10 years old. He wears glasses so has regular eye tests. No, he's not overly tired/stressed, and it doesn't seem to be related to screens.

I just hope this is not going to be a regular thing, because the pain seems so severe.

[Lucyintheskywithdiazepam]

I used to get migraines just like you describe at the same age as your DS only I would vomit as well (visual distrubance, then vomit, then sleep). They stopped after a few years and I've not had one since.

[3littlefrogs]

I think this merits more investigation TBH. I would be concerned about a ten year old who had a history of "often having headaches".

What does his optician say?

[Blackduck]

Sounds ike migraine. Visual disturbance can be whirling ring of lights out of corner of the eye or can't see out of corner of eye. I used to have about an hour of pai, sometimes be sick and then sleep. Has he had too much chocolate, butter or cheese recently - all can be triggers, as can stress, being over tired. I would get his eyes checked though.

[macwoozy]

He's due to see his optician in the next few weeks, last appt was about 6 months ago. He prescribed him stronger glasses and I presumed at the time it was down to ds needing new glasses. I wonder if he needs stronger glasses again. Problem is, he's constantly taken them off and won't wear them more than a few hours at the time. Mmm.. I wonder if he needs new glasses again. Could this cause a Migraine attack do you think?

[evenkeel]

Migraines can be caused or exacerbated by bright/flashing lights and other visual triggers, OP. But whether not wearing his glasses enough could be at fault, I'm not sure. I'd definitely take him to the GP to get this checked out, as well as revisiting the optician, as it does sound very much like migraines.

FWIW, I speak with some experience as I suffered very badly from them all through childhood - my mum reckons I was having them even before I could speak. I largely grew out of them in my 20's and have them only v rarely now....you do need to get to the bottom of this, of course. Best of luck and I hope he's not suffering too badly - it's a rotten thing to have.

[arionater]

The aura, severe headache and then deep sleep does sound pretty textbook for a migraine. Definitely see the GP again because there are drugs you can take at the first sign of an 'aura' (when he says his vision has gone funny) to stop the migraine developing fully. I'm not sure what the situation is with children taking them, but I definitely took them as a teenager. Not wearing glasses/taking them on and off is the sort of thing that would have triggered a migraine for me as a teenager/young adult though I get them very rarely now.

If his school term started again this last week, could he be finding it stressful for some reason? Or does he have a lot of chocolate left over from Christmas he's been eating? Caffeine can also be a trigger - if he's just started trying tea or coffee, or has been drinking Coke at school when he doesn't usually or something, that could be contributing.

[Sarahlou8]

My DS is 10 and was diagnosed with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome 4 years ago, it's a type of migraine and causes severe sickness.

My doctor said children grow out of this stage, however it pre-disposes them to adult migraine, which seems to be what is happening to him now. He has severe headaches, sleeps, feels sick and generally takes two days to recover.

He was on Pizotifen up until recently (which unfortunately isnt without side effects). He was weaned off it about 6 months ago as his migraines improved, but the headaches are returning much too regularly so he may have to go back on it.

Has your doctor suggested any treatment?

[macwoozy]

Couldn't reply earlier, sometimes have problems getting on the internet. Thanks for all your advice

Sounds like there are a fair few triggers with migraine, and I'll certainly keep a look out for them. Interestingly he was looking at a very bright flashing light about 15 minutes before the first attack, but nothing out of the ordinary with the 2nd one. No caffeine, stress etc.

I will certainly ask about medication if this continues as I've not been given any advice as to how to prevent them.

[Pterosaur]

I found this thread while searching for info on childhood migraine. My DD (13) was taken ill at school this week after taking her glasses off (loose lens - coincidentally, she was due to have new lenses put in that afternoon following an eye test) at the beginning of a PE lesson in a brightly-lit hall. She was playing badminton, and looking upwards at the shuttlecock, started to feel odd. When she put her specs back on at the end, her head exploded with pain, she felt sick, lost peripheral vision, and saw white lights in front of her eyes. She also lost feeling in her tongue, on her lips and in her fingers, and when I collected her from school, her speech was becoming slurred.

I took her to A&E, where she vomited and slept for the next several hours between examinations, and gradually recovered. The numbness in her extremities was eventually discovered to be caused by hyperventilation, as she was so frightened (she had another attack in A&E while being examined, which was alleviated by breathing into a paper bag). The speech problem was caused by her numb tongue. The other symptoms were diagnosed as a migraine. She was observed overnight, and rehydrated on a drip.

I'm hoping that this was a one-off caused by taking her glasses off in a brightly-lit environment, but the only advice given at the hospital was that she should take a painkiller immediately if she started to feel a migraine coming on in future. She's now had her glasses fixed with the new lenses.

I'd be grateful if anyone has any further suggestions for helping her avoid further attacks; I also thought the point about the bright lights might be of interest to macwoozy, if she's still looking.