Migraines in young boys

Hey everyone,

I'd really appreciate some advice and any suggestions regarding migraines.. My 11 year old brother has been getting them for about the last 7 months, we've taken him to the docs several times and they have basically just said "Meh.. take these painkillers, nothing I can do, it's just a migraine." They have been getting more and more frequent in the last few months. After my mum basically told the doctor to shove the pain killers up his arse they agreed to do a head scan thingy, the results of which we are still waiting for..

My mum has been keeping a food diary thingy to see if any particular food might be triggering the migraines. The only thing we can see that he has eaten on all the days is dairy products, however on days that he hasn't had a migraine he has also had dairy products. So, either it is the dairy products and some days he's not effected by them (is that even possible??) or it's something else... *sigh*

I've heard and read that in girls around his age migraines due to hormones can be quite common but haven't been able to find anything conclusive that says the same of boys. Have any of you guys suffered from something like this? Know any good websites giving info on this?

Any advice would be really helpful since it's really very worrying :frown:

Reply 1

Angelgirl

Dairy products and caffeine are very common triggers for migraines, though sometimes food is nothing to do with them. Tell the doctor that painkillers aren't working and that you don't like having an 11yr old relying on painkillers so much. Ask to be referred to a paediatric neurologist for some decent tests and possibly preventative medicine. Having migraines in school with all those horrible lights isn't fun.

Reply 2

RetiredAccount89

ok, well firstly i would question whether they are actually migraines.
Keeping a food and migraine diary is an absolutely fantastic idea.

there are many things that can trigger migraines, such as dairy products and chocolate, but the key thing to remember is that when you eat these things you INCREASE the change of having a migraine.

THerefore you might havea migraine ona d ay when you have none of thes 'trigger foods', and liekwise you might not havea migraine ona day when you stuff yourself with these trigger foods.

Hope that helps some.

Reply 3

Sunofnight

There are lots of reasons for headaches so don't go assuming the worst, boys have hormones and go through puberty just like girls. All you can do really is what you are already doing and leave the rest to the doctors, I know you can't help it a lot but worrying too much won't get you anywhere you are doing the best you can.

Reply 4

mrs_matt_tuck

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/2500/2555.asp?index=9637&src=news

this site may give you some information. Do not worry too much, they are more common then people realise. There are also more triggers then food. So it could be something else that is triggering it.

Reply 5

Paeony

When I was younger - from the ages of about 11 to the age of about 18 - I used to suffer regularly from terrible migraines. They gradually decreased in frequency, and although I still get the odd one now but they're nowhere near as bad or frequent. There didn't seem to be anything that triggered them (although stress seemed to make them more frequent, might this be an issue with your brother?). My GP thought that it might be something to do with the muscles in my neck going into spasms and gave me ibuprofen, but they didn't really help, although Migraleve did.

Reply 6

arabellaweir

Thank you very much for your replies. I showed them to my mum and it has given us both a few ideas about it and advice and things so thank yooou! It's also a pain in the arse because it's interfering with his school work, his marks have slipped a bit which is a shame but hopefully he can catch up in the summer hols or something. Anyways, thanks again. xo

Reply 7

Tagit

A guess here... he is Lactose intolerant?

Reply 8

Luize

try noting how stressed he is each day, how much exposure to artificial lighting he has had, the amount of sugar and times he has it (sugar highs and lows tend to effect me), times he eats his meals/snacks, loud noises, computer screens/tv time.

There are many many things that can trigger a migraine. A lot of the time it will be a combination of them. I know that caffine triggers mine yet I had a glass of coke today and am fine. Yet if I was to have caffine, be on the computer for a long time, have central heating on and have a deadline coming up it's more likely I would get a migraine.

It isn't great to ever be relying on painkillers, but especially for headaches/migraines. taking them often and then not taking them can often cause another headache as well. Ask you doctor about other methods, preventative medicines or any changes to his lifestyle that might help. Maybe you should also ask for some more information on migraines, a Doctor will be able to help you more.

Reply 9

Fowler_no9

Migraines are due to a sudden drop in blood sugar level in the brain. What exactly causes this drop, is something of a moot point.
Various "triggers" have been identified, all of which increase the chances of an attack. (Even if the trigger (for example, milk) is a definite cause in an individual, it doesn't mean that every single time that person drinks milk they will have a migraine. It just increases the chances.)

The following are generally recognised triggers, with a few I myself have discovered (being a Migraine sufferer):

Dairy products, particularly Cheese. (Chedder cheese is the worst.)*

Chocolate*.

Caffeine*.

Aspartame*. (A.K.A. E951) An artificial sweetener found in most soft drinks. This is a very understated, yet potent cause of Migraines. Check the ingredients label of any soft drink you buy - there are very few without this menace. Fanta Ice Lemon, Fruit Twist, and Asda High Juice are 3 of the ones which definitely don't have it.

Red Wine*.

Lack of sleep.

Too much sleep.

Bright/flickering lights. (Wear shades when out in the Sun, and avoid watching TV in the dark.)

Hunger.

* - The chances of having a Migraine from these triggers is exponentially multiplied if you consume these products on an empty stomach. Ergo, if you have them straight after a meal, you're less likely to suffer ill effects.

The method of relief I have found most effective is to crush 2 paracetomol tablets into a fine powder (this way, they are much quicker to digest), and drink them with a carbonated, sugary drink. (To combat the blood-sugar drop.)

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING when administering any form of digestible pain relief is to do so within 20 minutes of the first signs of a Migraine. After this, your body ceases digestion, and any tablets you take will be ineffective.

Once you've done this, hot-foot it to a darkened, cool room and try to sleep.

Generally speaking, if you follow this guide, you should be able to minimise the effect your migraine has, and resume what you were doing previously within 30-60 minutes, depending on the severity of the attack.

I cannot stress enough, though, that prevention is better than cure, and you should avoid ALL triggers if at all possible, as scientific tests have proven that every Migraine you have damages your brain slightly, and leaves you more susceptible to further attacks.

Digressing to the opening query:

My attacks began at around 11 years old, and peaked at I would say, 14/15. Then they declined in line with my identifying my own triggers, to where I now have them very infrequently, going months at a time without them, provided I stick to my own guide.

I hope this helps any fellow sufferers.

Reply 10

ChemistBoy

I used to suffer from a condition know as 'cluster headaches' which are commonly confused with a standard migraine and are quite prevalent in young teenage and preteenage boys. The increase in frequency you have described sounds like it maybe cluster headaches. Do painkillers have much of an effect? I found that all I could do was go to sleep to get rid of the headache. As the attacks clustered together they also got more severe until I was actually losing the vision in one eye during attacks.

It took me a while to get diagnosed but I did eventually and I got treatment (sorry can't remember what it was) and I have only had one or two migraines in the following 12 years.

Reply 11

arabellaweir

Thanks for the replies everyone. Hopefully keeping him away from all the triggers as best as we possibly can will help him since I can't imagine suffering from migraines is any fun at all :frown: