Migraine relief for 11 year old

[HowBizxarre]

Dd11 has recently started her periods ( 2nd cycle ) and she has got a horrific migraine. I've just gone upstairs as she was being quiet and she's lay in bed sobbing saying the lights / even her breathing is hurting. She had a paracetamol around 3 hours ago for period pain. For now I've put a cold damp flannel on the back of her neck and ice on the front

Migraines are really common in my family, my mum/ sister and I all suffer from them

My mum and sister both had scans for their migraines ( can't remember which type ) and nothing untoward came back and it was just put down to genetics

I don't want my DD suffering like we have, mine can get so bad that I'd happily choose death over continuing with the pain,

What can I do for her? I don't want her to go on the pill ( I can't have it as it causes adverse reactions )

I feel terrible for her, she's autistic and has a really high pain tolerance so to see her sobbing like this is awful. I feel really helpless and guilty,

Honestly this bad I would take her to A and E. This is not normal and needs investigating properly. It may be she needs to go on medication - but no way would I let her have gone through today without a GP appointment.

For my migraines. I take beta blockers and a blood thinner. I stopped my periods for 20 years as I couldn’t cope.

I was determined as well that no daughter of mine would be fobbed off that heavy periods or period pain was normal. Or that paracetamol would make it all ok / it didn’t. My daughter started her periods and it was awful fortunately the GP agreed with me and she stopped them - continuous pill.

Paracetamol, ibuprofen and a bag of frozen peas (on my head) are the only things that ever help.

But, it sounds pretty serious.

I agree..... I get migraines. Paracetamol on its own does nothing.
You need the big guns..... ibruprofen, Co codamol or migraleve. I would get pharmacy advice given her age.
Cool room with the lights off too.
They make you feel rotten.

I havnt left her all day , about 10 minutes befofe i posted this, she was being quiet so I went up to check on her, that's when she's said her head is really hurting/ about the lights / her breathing

All the females on my side of the family experience migraines this way + more symptons ( I occasionally vomit with how painful mine can be ) My mum and sister both had investigations/ scans and nothing untoward was found, just said it was a hereditary thing

I was/am going to ring the GP tomorrow, I don't want her to suffer like me and the women in my family have, I was just seeing if anyone had any advice on how I could help her more right now as I cannot give her any pain relief due to the paracetamol she had earlier

As in the normal pill? How old was your daughter?

I've read online that the pill.might be offered as an option, I'm slightly worried about this as it didn't agree with me, gave me a skin reaction and made my migraines worse ( although I understand it might affect dd differently )

But I do want to get her help for future migraines, I dread getting one, it wipes me out for days after it's like being hungover

I'm slightly alarmed at posters saying it sounds serious 🙈 all the females in my family have these shmptons when they have migraines, it's fairly normal in my family.... but I don't want it to be DD's normal

I do actually have some neurofen migraine pain tablets..... but they say their for 12+ . I've considered giving her one of these when the paracetamol time runs out..... as kids come in all shapes and sizes and she is the same size as some 12 year olds..... but I havnt as she isn't 12 and I wouldn't want to cause her any harm

I find these helpful (although I see they get mixed reviews)

https://amzn.eu/d/089wx0uO

Or pinch the bit of skin between her thumb and forefinger.

Another thing to try is if she puts her hands into a bowl of water as hot as she can bear. Maybe not something you'd want to try on a young teen though.

All of these are better if the migraine is just starting though.

Had a similar experience with my daughter and my gp prescribed a triptan for her. Was technically off label as licensed for 12+ but after me describing my history and the family history, they did let her have them.

I never take paracetamol as it does nothing for me either, I use neurfen migraine pain but it says 12+ on there and DD has only just turned 11 ( but she is the same size as some 12 year olds )

Pharmacy is a good shout and I'll be able to get to them quicker than a GP ( I'll ring up tomorrow but I know for a fact they won't see her tomorrow )

They do make you feel rotten. This is why I feel so bad for her, for her to be sobbing like that too

She's got potatoes slices / ice wrapped in a tshirt on her head atm,

It never even entered my mind that DD would get migraines like us ( I genuinely forget migraines exist until I'm having one 🙈 )

Of course this isn’t any good for right now but could help for future cycles

I've had migraines since I was about her age, my mum has never had one and she didn't really take them seriously.

If she can tolerate painkillers, then give her more paracetamol and ibuprofen together, and give her something cool to put on the back of her neck and also her forehead. That helps me and might help her. Then a cool room but with a duvet she can throw on and off (sorry I know you probably know all this being a sufferer yourself!). I would try the Neurofen, she's close enough to 12 imo, esp as she's started her periods.

Be aware that my migraine nurse told me that past a certain point, there's no point taking medication because your body just stops the digestion. However - I have found that dissolvable paracetamol helps as there's no digestion involved. A small glass with some effervescent ones and a little bit of squash to upgrade the taste is good.

Poor baby though, migraines are awful. Mine are pretty well controlled now but I am suffering more and more when I do get one. I vomited the last time which I haven't done for over 20 years, and that was alcohol induced!

I'll happily give that a try for her, I've never seen those before

Funnily enough, if I press very hard on both sides of the back of my neck I can temporarily make the migraine pain go away...... I didn't want to try it on DD though

No it was good info thank you, I'm going to really push for the GP to give her somthing for in the future

She very rarely cries over physical pain, I've just gone and checked on her and she sounds like she's almost asleep, she said the ice has really helped with the pain ( she sounds really groggy )

Poor thing, mine started at a bit older but they are horrible. My dad and his brother get them but mine are hormonal which is a bit ironic I feel.
I find some sugar helps (boiled sweets don't take too much digestion) and caffeine, if I can keep anything down, sometimes I can't.

One of mine suffered migraines from a very early age. They took Pizotifen which is a beta blocker and never really suffered again and has now pretty much grown out of it in adulthood. Taking a prophylactic meant not missing as much school as they had been. It was transformative.

People who havnt experienced them just don't understand how bad they can be. In the midst of a severe migraine I really would happily choose death over continuing with the pain.

Your right about digestion turning off and now you've said it,

One of my main symptons ( that I never recognise until the migraine starts and then I'm like damn it ) is that when a migraine is brewing I become so hungry I can't stop eating. When I vomit it's literally all the food I ate, exactly how it went in

DD has been starving all day which is unusual for her -

I completely forgot about a cool room - I'll turn her fan on for her

Dissolvable paracetamol with squash is a good shout thank you for that idea, I'd of never if thought of that for her ( I'm ngl I completely forgot dissolvable paracetamol even existed )

I've noticed I mainly get mine these days if I don't sleep well for a few days, I'm very strict with my own bedtime nowadays though 😅

Can she take nurofen for kids? Alternate that with paracetamol.
Plenty of fluids, and make sure she eats something small.
Salty fries and cola! Also hot (as hot as she can manage) water on her feet from the shower or in a bowl. This helps reduce blood flow from the head.
It’s so rotten to see your kids in so much pain, but you’re doing everything right. I hope she is more comfortable soon

My dd was referred to paediatrics.
She was given an ECG which showed no issues and she was prescribed Sumatriptan as a nasal spray.

The contraceptive pill wasn't even mentioned as an option.

My middle son had husband first migraine a few months. He thought he was dying. I reassured him that I get them, my dad had then until he turned 60 and my grandmother had them

They are rotten, i feel for your daughter and you seeing her suffer. I gave my son ibruprofen and paracetamol alternating. Luckily he slept it off.

I had this, it’s more common than you think. The only thing that stopped it was Botox, which they will give to teens for this reason - not sure about age 11 though. The trip drugs might take the edge off

Oh that’s awful, your poor DD. I don’t know anything about migraines in this age group but maybe Migraine Trust have some helpful info.

Tho sounds so similar to my ten year old. They were debilitating and so frequent. We went to a cranial osteopath, she had four sessions with her and hasn’t had one since. This was about two months ago and she was having them several times a week. Maybe worth trying one for your child too?

Sympathy from me. I get horrendous migraines, vomiting and flashing lights, terrible headache. I have tried everything, and the only really effective thing is triptans, taken as soon as an aura starts.
A pharmacy might be able to give you some as an emergency measure, but you really need to be see a doctor to confirm diagnosis and get a prescription.

You can give her ibuprofen that’s what nurofen is.
But I’d see GP if it’s a regular thing