Childhood Migraines

What is an Abdominal Migraine?

Did you know that many children are misdiagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

when actually they may be dealing with Abdominal Migraines?

Did you know that Abdomial Migraines mainly affect children ages 4-9 years of age?

Did you know that Abdominal Migraines are often precursors Migraines?

Did you know that it is possible for young children to deal with both Abdominal Migraines and Migraines at an early age?

Some of the symptoms of Abdominal Migraines are:

stomach pain that is non-localized

nausea

vomiting

loss of appetite

generally feeling yucky

stomach pain comes and goes between attacks

After several years of battling undiagnosed abdominal migraines as well as migraines my now 9 year old daughter is finally getting the treatment that she needed so many years ago. Around the age of 5 she began dealing with severe abdominal pain that would come and go. To complicate matters she does have severe GI complications so diagnosing abdominal migraines was not all that easy. Around age 5 she also began dealing with what she called "eyebrow pain" because that is where her headaches concentrated. We sought out held at our local Children's Hospital's Pain Management Clinic where they pretty much dismissed the pain to chronic disease since she deals with multiple health issues. So pretty much a we don't know answer. Later, they called it psychological and said it was all in her head. As a mom I knew that what she was dealing with was real! The pain was real! Both the abdominal and the head pain! We could not find a Neurologist to accept her due to insurance or because of her complex health issues. The system had FALIED her. As a mom I was heartbroken. That was until late last year when we found an amazing Neurologist who took her case. At the first appointment after listening to her issues he said he knew exactly what was wrong. He said, "Yes, it was in her head because she was dealing with migraines!" He also said that she most likely was also dealing with abdominal migraines outside of her other GI issues. He was livid that she had been dismissed for so many years and had been made to suffer. Over the past months her Neurologist has changed her life. Her MIGRAINES are now under control!! With daily maintenance medication and breakthrough medication she is finally no longer dealing with the debilitating effects of migraines. It is amazing the strides that she has made academically since then as well. 

Before diagnosis my daughter dealt with:

concentration issues 

reading 

 academics overall

meltdowns

low self-esteem

frustration

low confidence

fatigue

headaches with schoolwork

medical providers labeled her "unmotivated"

 worsening of her Sensory Integration 

Since getting to a therapeutic dosage:

academic explosion 

Sensory issues have improved

more confident 

LOVES reading

feels in control of her migraines because she knows that she can make them go away!