D1's Migraines are happening every single day

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Hi, I did post another thread a while ago about this, but I'm feeling a bit isolated and stressed.

Ds1 (13) has been trying various meds for his awful migraines since October. Right now he's been taking 40mg of Propranolol a day and he also has 5mg of Zolmitriptan nasal spray for when a migraine strikes. He has been on this concoction since the 24th November and he has had a migraine every day solidly since then. Sometimes the spray works, but not often. He has missed so much school as well, but I was able to get a letter from the doctor so that his absences can be authorised.

Has anybody else experienced their child suffering a migraine solidly every day for more than two weeks and did you eventually find something that works?

We are seeing the doctor again tonight and a specialist on Wednesday, but it's so horrible to see him suffering every single day and not be able to just take the pain away!

Thank you for replies Peridot1 and Justaboy.

Peridot1 The specialist he saw basically said the same thing -to give the meds time to work and then up them if necessary. He also said to stop the painkillers and zomig as that was not really helping.
He's off again today, but I am wondering if he has caught the bug that ds2 has had. I think I have it as well now!

I'm definitely going to have to sort something out with the school as it's clear now that these migraines are not going away even with the propranalol. I even considered just taking him out of school and home schooling, but I have no idea what is involved with that and I also work part time.

DS’s school were really helpful. His housemaster came to the house a couple of times to chat and keep in touch. Initially he came to see DS for himself I think - he mentioned that school had said they might have to report the absences and/or refer to social services. I kept his housemaster informed of every medical appointment or other therapy that we were trying so they knew we were trying to sort it.

We did get to a stage were DS wasn’t getting migraines but couldn’t make himself go back and I went to see his housemaster on the quiet and we tried to come up with a plan. It was just after this that DS asked himself to see the psychologist.

His teachers left work for him at reception and I popped in to collect it or they emailed stuff to him. I then took completed work back in.

He did quite well in his GCSEs considering!

It was quite funny as depending on the exam board the papers could be brought by the invigilator or had to be brought by a senior member of the school management team so we had deputy heads, departments heads and even the headmaster one day. They were all very supportive and encouraging and happy to see DS which really boosted him.

I do hope you get to the bottom of it all.

Grinding my teeth at night is what triggers my migraines. Worth asking the dentist to look at his teeth. I have a splint I wear at night which has got rid of mine almost completely.

Graffitiqueen I will ask the dentist about it at his next check-up, but I'm not sure he would wear a mouth guard? Are they quite bulky?

Peridot1 I think his head of house is going to ask his teachers to email him the work he has missed. I would definitely be happy to go and collect work and return it on his behalf. I am hoping that he will get some one on one time with the teachers at school to catch up.

I took him in this afternoon as he had perked up a lot by then and I spoke to his head of house. She came up with a plan and part of it is to arrange for him to speak to the careers advisor to help him decide what GCSE subjects he wants to do next year. This has been particularly stressful for him, so I am hoping it will make things a bit clearer in his mind.

I’ve mentioned this on another thread about migraines. My ds suddenly started having them and had ct scan and the meds you mention. Nothing worked until I asked for acupuncture.

Our doctor gave this once a week and the migraines just stopped after a few weeks. He also had a huge wart on his knees that the dr treated and this disappeared too.

I would really recommend giving it a go. Ds has about 12 sessions. At the time he was missing so much school.

My father had terrible migraines in the 70s until he discovered a little talked about leaflet on food triggers. Citrus, chocolate, cheese, caffeine, nuts and red wine were his triggers. Cut them out and no more migraines. This worked for me also when I developed migraines as an adult.
Have you also checked the neck area? Nerve issues/ muscle strain eg heavy school bag may also contribute to migraines. I do hope you manage to find the key to this for your child. Migraines are no fun. Good luck! 🌷

flissfloss65 I have asked if he would like to try it, but he is a bit scared of needles. I will ask him again though as a friend of mine had it for her fybro and it worked well for her. He has had a few back, neck and shoulder massages and he loved those.

Froglette16 Thank you. It's a painful process finding triggers isn't it?

@trackerqueen it’s not very bulky. I only wear it at night. I thought it would bother me but it really doesn’t.

As someone said, aspirin for under 16s is a complete no. I'm glad you have seen the specialist and they've advised less painkillers. It's really hard to cut down when the pain is so bad, but it does lead to a viscious cycle of migraines, more migraines and huge headaches in between.

It gets to the point where you don't know whether you are taking painkillers to kill a migraine, or to kill a headache that has come from the fact that you haven't taken painkillers. But you don't know that it's that which has caused the headache. It's torture. The only way to break the cycle is to ride out the headaches cold turkey until they break without painkillers.