Migraines

[candle18]

Any advice welcome. My 11 yr old ds has had migraines for a few years. Sometimes if he takes ibuprofen right at the start it doesn’t come to much but the past week he’s had 2 that have lasted most of the day and he’s been sick as well. Have you found anything that works?

Candle- in honesty the start of adolescence often causes migraines to appear to worsen a they become more ‘adult’ in how they present. It is worth encouraging your son to learn to use a headache diary or migraine app as a diary will help his GP to begin to work out how to help him. DD found the liquid-tab form of ibuprofen worked better than ordinary tablets [age 11] She had to have additional pain relief as she got older. School kept some so she could ask when it was needed. The Migraine Trust is worth contacting too.

@triballeader Thanks, I did wonder if they might get a bit worse at this age. I’ll get some of the liquid tab ibuprofen, haven’t seen that. Can I ask what additional medication she was prescribed.

Look for the pharmacy own brand of liquid tab iburofen as its a lot cheaper than the brand leader. Speak to your GP and see if they are willing to prescribe this for migraine.

Once DD had filled in enough of a migraine diary for the GP to be sure it really was migraine she was prescribed migraleve - both types. She needed the one with the additional anti-emetic as she could throw up for England as soon as the aura began to ease.

By 14 she had sumatriptain- as it is possible to have this in a peadiatric amount BUT it is only prescribed after all other options have been looked at and the migraines are severe. Triptains are normally not prescribed until after 16. DD was having migraine 4 days per week and losing a lot of school. Her school kept a supply of her abortive drugs - check the medicines policy and if need be chat with school nurse service. She was also given a special pass so she could get to school later, leave early and if need be leave a lesson due to migraine.

She currently has liquidtab iburofen, soluable paracetmol [ means some has a chance to get in before she throws up] 30mg codeine [for if the pain is THAT bad] She gave up with sumatriptain as she did not see the point of taking a tablet just to throw it straight back again. Imigran nasal sprays made her threw up too.

She has found Old Jamaican Fiery Ginger Beer, the one WITH sugar in not sweetners, a helpful thing to sip after she has got past the throw up everything stage. If she can catch the start of a migraine she has found a high dose of iburofen piggy backed with a weak coffee then paractemol works better for her than the tablets that come with caffine in.

Covid kind of threw a spanner in the works as she was waiting to be seen by a specialist clinic and it got cancelled in April lasy year.

@triballeader, thanks so much for all this information, I spoke to the GP today so she said she would get some advice from paediatrics then get back to me. Sounds like a bit of trial and error to see what works best. Hope your dd’s migraines are improving.