anyone with a young dc on prophylaxis for migraines

[sundew]

DD2 who is 6 has suffered from migraines for the last year and is currently having an attack once every couple of weeks.

Last time we saw the consultant she was put on a stronger medication which works slightly better than the nurofen / calpol combination. However, she said we should seriously think about putting her on propylaxis - but I think this may mean beta-blockers which I'm not sure about at all.

The next hospital appointment is in August sio I do need to start thinking about what to do - I will speak to dd and ask biut without knowing all the side-effects of the meds it is difficult.

Anyone out there with any experience?

bump

shameless bump to try and get some help!

I would keep a diary of food/activity for a couple of months before going down the prophylaxis route, you may find that there are certain things which trigger an attack and if you can cut these out and they become less frequent, she may not need to take a regular medication for it.
some things you may find as triggers:
cheese
orange juice as fruit juice
orange flavoured cordials
strawberry milkshakes
red meat

I also found that thunderstorms and going to the cinema would trigger a migraine 100% of the time, but you will find different things trigger for different people. I was also much more susceptible when under stress, when taking exams I would go from one or so a month to one or sometimes two a week - I got through my GCSE's on co-codamol, anti emetics and sanomigran (daily preventative tablet)
I dont blame you for thinking long and hard about medication like this, its a big step and she is very young.

A couple of triggers for me are:
Bright sunlight
not enough to drink
not enough to eat
sleeping in later than usual
I am pregnant and can't take my usual preventative (amytriptaline) but I have found that coca-cola (full sugar) coupled with paracetamol has eased them if taken at the first signs. I know coke isn't ideal for a 6 year old but may be the lesser of two evils?

Thanks for this - we've been on holiday with almost daily migraines. I know tiredness is a trigger, excitement and chocolate. We've almost cut out chocolate but the tiredness and excitement thing is more difficult.

We are going to see the consultant in 10 days and are seriously thinking now about prophylaxis - I'm just concerned about possible side-effects.