Migraines in children..... never fun to deal with.

Having a husband with a traumatic brain injury I am very familiar with migraines, triggers, and how to get through the pain. But when it comes to your children it is a whole new ball game. Per the Migraine Research Foundation nearly 1 in 4 U.S. households includes someone with migraine. Amazingly, 12% of the population – including children – suffers from migraine. 18% of American women, 6% of men, and 10% of children experience migraines.

My fifteen-year-old son has been battling migraines on and off for the last six years. We've had MRI scans, blood work done, and more over the years. Everything comes back normal (and I am happy for that) and we are told he just suffers from migraines. I've NEVER liked that answer. I want a reason and a treatment plan, I don't want to be left hanging, wondering what I can do to help my son. We received a referral to a pediatric neurologist and had an appointment scheduled for the end of July but we were lucky and asked if we wanted to come in for a last-minute cancelation appointment. So, two week we went to see a new neurologist with the hope we can find relief from his almost daily migraines. His medications he takes at the onset have stopped working and he is just miserable.

We spoke with a resident and he was amazing. We found his migraines are classic migraines, sadly something he will probably have to deal with for some time. We then spoke with the Neurologist who decided to get an EKG to rule out any heart issue that could be raising his blood pressure (he also suffers from dizzy spells).  The office arranged for the test to be completed that day with the pediatric cardiologist across the hall. The EKG was a simple test and luckily showed no abnormalities. Before we went to that appointment we came up with a treatment plan to help relieve some of his almost daily migraines. He is now on a daily preventative as well as an as needed migraine medication. This is a different medication he was on before now, as well as a slightly higher dose.

I am so happy to say after being on his daily preventative meds for two weeks his migraines have lessened and his as needed meds have easily helped with whatever migraines that have popped up. He has not missed a day of school since starting his medication, before he was missing at least a day a week.  I hope one day he can live a life off medication, but until now I am sop happy and relieved he is able to have a relatively normal life, migraine free.