Migraine - SIght test and Optomap all normal. Now what?

[boble1]

Hi

My DD (12) has started having migraines, every 4 - 8 weeks with vomiting. She had one today as well as numbness in her lip that moved to her fingers. Weirdly, only during times when there has been no school. They've been since the summer holiday. Twice during this time, once in the half term holiday and then today.

Me, my husband and eldest DD all suffer with migraines, as well as grandparents and other family members.

I have taken her to the optician and paid to have the new Optomap eye scan. The optometrist was happy that the tests were normal.

She was quite assured that nothing sinister is going on.

Should I still take DD to the GP? What would the GP do?

I know they would say to go for an eye test but I thought I'd do this first.

Thank you xx

Gps can prescribe tablets that help prevent migraines. You can keep a diary of when they happen and see if anything seems to trigger them e.g eating certain foods.

Thank you.

I suppose I'm asking how certain can she be that there is nothing sinister going on?

xx

Why would they only happen during times when there is no school?

Husband thinks it's a coincidence.

Menstrual connection?

Sorry I was picking up on the 4-8 week thing rather than the no school there.

It could be cycle related

@changeforprivacy

Ah yes, never thought of that, although she hasn't started her period yet but I suppose it could be hormonal.

Thank you

I would still take her to the GP. They can prescribe medication to reduce the impact of a migraine when it happens, and/or prescribe prophylactic medication to stop them happening (though personally I'd only go down the prophylactic route if they're seriously impacting her life).

Getting things in record and starting to learn about medication now will be truest helpful if she is still having them when serious exams like GCSEs come round. It is worrying heading in to exam periods not knowing whether a migraine will occur but knowing you're unable to relieve it if it does happen. The more control you have before that time the better.

Yes definitely see the GP, sorry I should have said that. DD suffered awful menstrual migraines. Not every month but sometimes they were so bad she would pass out with the pain. She once had a blackout on the toilet and I took her to OOH and that's when they suggested it may be related.

She doesn't get them now but she is an adult and he the contraceptive implant. She was given the pill when she was 14/15 to try and help but she was horrendous at taking them so still had the odd migraine.

Oh yes, I will still take her. Poor thing vomited for about 4 hours!

I have been recording what she eats, one time she had extra mature cheese and some chocolate and yesterday she had a chocolate pudding and her advent calendar Lindt chocolate this morning.

Definitely overtired too.

I get migraines started sporadically around the times I got my period and got intensely worse when I went on the pill around age 18.

Modifying my diet helped a lot as well as always having migraleave to take at the first sign of an attack.

My eldest started having migraines a while ago, also after starting her periods.

There are food triggers to avoid, and hormonal ones (I haven’t taken any form of hormonal contraception for years) that can also increase sensitivity.

I read a study a long time ago that suggested that the true cause of migraines were due to a very very small almost undetectable hole in the heart. The pain and auras that come from migraines is of due to the dilation and constricting of blood vessels. Certain foods we eat those particularly high in Tyramine like aged cheeses, pork, ripe fruit, nuts etc have this effect on blood vessels. I found monosodium glutamate to be a big trigger for me, often found in many crisps, Chinese food, some gravy’s. I’m always careful to read the label of things.

If you have a look around on the Internet there is some good info you can get around food triggers. It took me years to find out about the Tyramine and for a long time was still eating things that triggered me.

I still get migraines now but they are no longer as bad as they used to be, I frequently used to end up in hospital. Avoiding certain foods has worked well for me, unfortunately I can’t rule out my hormonal triggers. Since lots of your family including yourself suffer you might already know everything I’ve said, but I thought it worthwhile to mention in case not. I hope things improve for your daughter.

Oh I also meant to mention with regards to the timings of her migraines, when she’s off school is she going to bed later or sleeping in later? Disruption to the sleep cycle can cause attacks, including sleeping to much or not sleeping enough.

Also if stress is a factor, I tend to be fine during stressful periods, it’s when the stress has abated when I will tend to get a migraine. If she’s more relaxed during school holidays or outside school times the same could be true for her.

You could (if suitable for your DD) buy OTC Migraleave meantime, they have an anti sickness in the pink pills which may help.

I had hormonal migraines from 14 to about 22, and again when pregnant. We didn't initially like them to hormones because I didn't start my period until 16, and even then the migraines didn't coincide with periods particularly. It's only with hindsight that I can see them coinciding with hormonal years rather than days of the months.

Thank you all.

She is getting moody, so I suppose this is hormones too!

Would anyone have any idea how reassured I could be that her sight test and Optomap are normal? I did ask about the optic nerve and she said it was wonderfully healthy and she can tell a lot from the scan.

I've had awful times with elder DD and her migraines - we landed in A &E a couple of years ago as she had lost her vision during an attack. They called the stroke team down. It was absolutely terrifying and told us to come back if her sight did not return the next day - thankfully it came back the same day.

I asked our GP to refer us to a neurologist and he said no and her vision loss is normal with a migraine, etc.

So yes, you can still have some kind of tumour without disc swelling and in the absence of any visual field defect. (It’s unusual though)
But, the type of headaches that accompany tumours wouldn’t come on every 6-8 weeks, they’d be more constant.
Yes, you should definitely consult your GP ax they can prescribe something to prevent/reduce the symptoms.

@underneaththeash

Thank you so much for replying - I appreciate it.

Weirdly enough, my son started having migraines and vomiting during the summer holiday too!

I get migraines as does my dd.
She tends to get them through stress, so school time is more likely. She also gets cluster migraines, so currently is on beta blockers, something beginning with a p! They do send her zombie like for the first week, and very tired for the second, but after that work well.

My triggers are quite varied.
I have the usual:
Hormones
Stress
Hunger
Dehydration
Feather pillows.
Those are the most common for me.

After that:
A shock that makes me jump. Like my alarm going off when I'm deeply asleep will almost always set one off.
A very quick adrenalin rush as a shock: Like turning the corner to home and seeing a fire engine looking like they're dealing with our house.
Very deep sleep. I do typically have one first day of the holidays, when I sleep really deeply and long.
Sleeping with a light shining into my room. I have to have black out blinds in the summer as the sun goes straight through the curtains. Even the tiniest gap in the black out can set it off on a bright day.
Flashing bright light: Sun between trees when driving it the most typical
A bright light sideways onto one eye. So if say I was sitting in a talk and the sun came in down a side window and onto one side of my face, that would set it off. Directly onto the front of my face doesn't in the same way.

@Witchend

Oh, thank you for replying - I'm sorry to hear you and your DD suffer and you have so many triggers.

Did your DD see a neurologist?

I have booked a GP appointment for Thursday.

xx

boble1
DD hasn't seen a neurologist, she had eye tests and some other tests, but the conclusion was that they were fairly standard migraines. As she responded to her medication they decided they didn't need to put her through other tests.

Ds did have an MRI but that was because he had 2 very bad migraines out of the blue and other potential issues. I suspect he reacts to hedrin, as both his really bad ones were after having nit treatment. He gets migraines very rarely.

I'm quite lucky in the my migraines aren't bad as they can be. I normally get enough warning to take painkillers which stops or reduces about 90%. The remaining 10% almost always go with a full dose of co-odermol which I can get over the counter. Even the really bad ones are not as horrendous as other people's. Lying down in a darkened room for a few hours is best.

Probably the thing I find hardest is I describe a migraine as being like a bad graze. It hurts horrendously at the time, but then it clears to a dull ache. However if you knock it again it's immediately dreadful again.
I find that. After a migraine, I have about 24-48 hours of feeling tender. If I hit a trigger again then I will get a much worse one.

Hi

I took DD to the GP and told her about the eye tests and she looked at the diary I had made.

She said they are migraines, and certain triggers can set them off. She explained that DD probably has the gene for them as most of the family suffer. She said it's like a half filled glass - add some triggers and boom - the glass overflows and you have a migraine.

Might be her age as they seem to have been 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 5 weeks apart.

I know DD is very anxious - she and myself are having awful issues with my eldest DD, constantly picking on us and making our lives Hell. Ive had to pick DD up from school after dropping her off as she has been so upset about the nastiness from her sister. I know stress is a major trigger for me.

Also, DD has a phobia about medication, she always has done. We are trying to work on it. She can't swallow Calpol, brings it straight back up. We tried a tablet and again, she was sick after trying to swallow it. We are going to start with strawberry jelly which she says tastes like Calpol!

I used to get migraines every time I was on leave from work, even with being on daily medication. Worked out it was due to change in my routine - eg stayed up later, slept in longer, didn't eat at the same times. Now when I'm off I'm boring and stick to the same routine and it doesn't bother me as much.

boble1

Dd1 couldn't swallow ibroprofen. I think it got phycological so she was so sure she was going to bring it back, her gag reflex was working before she swallowed it.
Eventually I gave her some in orange juice, and only told her 24 hours later (I had discussed with her doing it, just not when and she'd been happy with that) That seemed to help.

However I've also had success on getting her to take tablets. We started with mini smarties, and she struggled, so we tried the mini refresher type sweets in quarters. Once she'd managed those, she managed the smarties.

The other thing is that I take dissolvable tablets when I have a migraine as I can't get tablets down me for the nausea.

@Witchend

The GP told us that citrus can be a trigger.

Both her and my DS 10 never had been able to take Calpol, they both bring it up.

Ive seen you can buy ibuprofen melts, lemon flavour? Calpol melts are a no no too.

We will deffo practice with sweets.

@jamburglar I do think a change in routine is an issue - how awful still getting migraines while on daily medication.

Oh, husband has to stick to regular bedtimes and getting up times otherwise he ends up with migraines too!

@underneaththeash

Hi, I took my DD to see a private paediatrician and he said it certainly sounds like migraines.

He gave her a thorough neuro exam, she started giggling when he hit her knees with the hammer, lol.

He looked in her eyes and said something about Drusen?

He is referring her to the eye department in the hospital.

I can't understand why he would see that when she had her Optomap 2 weeks ago and everything was fine.

I have phoned the opticians and spoke to the optometrist and she said she is 100% sure there is nothing wrong and whatever he did see, was relevant to her age (12)? She said the optic nerve looked great, no swelling.

Can you please explain this to me? I'm so worried and totally don't understand what it going on.

xx