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dd (15) and increasing headaches - help, please

6 replies

DragonFire99 · 20/11/2018 16:07

DD is 15 and in Year 10. She's been having headaches on and off, often when she's concentrating hard, e.g. in physics/chemistry lessons. Had her eyes tested - all fine. Sometimes headache is accompanied by dizziness/nausea/light-headedness.

Now her headaches are almost every day. She came home early form school today because of one. She's worried there's something serious wrong with her. (She had counselling for anxiety earlier this year.)

Also, when she exercises she often gets an exertion headache - sharp pain thumping through her head at the speed of her pulse. Have tried getting her to drink more before exercising but this doesn't always help.

She's vegetarian, eats well and has a good, varied diet. She drinks enough water.

Her headaches are sometimes accompanied by an agonising - but brief - pain in her temple or the side of her head. Sometimes her neck is sore too.

I've taken her to the GP, who says stress headache. but they're happening more and more frequently. DD has just started her GCSE courses and I think school is putting too much pressure on her. She had loads of homework - 3 hours per night.

Could all this cause stress headaches? if so, how can she manage them? I don’t want the next two years going like this!

Any advice would be great. She has a good bedtime routine, no screens, etc. for at least an hour before bed, has a bath every eve, we do relaxing things together at weekends, she practises relaxing breathing, she can talk to me about her feelings…

OP posts:
Slavetominidictator · 20/11/2018 16:12

It sounds like migraine to me and is a pretty typical age to start them from what I understand. Can you keep a diary of her symptoms and possible triggers (some unavoidable like hormonal, some avoidable like specific stressors) and see if there are any patterns, then request that the GP either consider migraine or refer to a neurologist or headache clinic?

Trampire · 20/11/2018 16:36

Both me and my dd are very 'headachy'. My dd gets migraine. I get some form of headache nearly everyday in various ranges of pain. Mostly they're very mild but I get hormonal migraines that make me dizzy and sick that don't ease until my period.

I do think these sounds like migraines. There are all types - silent, ocular, cluster. Some are intense, some quite brief.

My dd is in Y9. We're currently waiting for a neurology appt at the end of December. This isn't really for headaches especially but something weirder (another thread!). What I mean is, ask for a referral now as it can take time to get seen, or yes see if there's a headache clinic you can visit,

I sure there's nothing seriously wrong with her, but do go back to the GP.

Trampire · 20/11/2018 16:37

Oh and I agree with Slave, the teenage years can be a trigger for migraine.

bruiser1 · 20/11/2018 16:48

Just a thought my daughter aged 17 had similar issues and was also very tired, the doctor did some blood tests and she was low on folic acid and vitamin D. She is now taking supplements and it has made a huge difference.

DragonFire99 · 20/11/2018 17:40

Ah, she's low on Vit D and is taking supplements but might be worth checking her Vit D levels again.

Had wondered about migraine but the GP said no...

We're keeping a diary.

Thanks.

OP posts:
ckc45d10 · 23/11/2018 20:05

That's wonderful to keep a diary so that you can review everything with your doctor. In addition, this is a nice research article that reviews various non-drug approaches: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13311-018-0623-6
It is better to also review these ideas with your doctor.

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