What is going on with my 7 year old?? - Headaches & Migraines Message Board

4isenuf · 07-27-2001, 01:03 PM

My son is seven years old. Normal in every way. Two years ago he came down with what we thought was the stomach flu three days after starting kindergarten. He was fine and three days later threw up again, then was fine for a year. That was in Sept. The next summer he complained of headaches off and on all summer. We gave him Advil and they would go away. In August of the same summer we were at a Little League game, it was very hot. He was drinking a Gatorade. He complained of a headache and I did not have any advil. I left to go get some and when I got back he had vomited. He vomited six more times the next hour. The next day the vomiting had stopped but he had diarrhea and a headache. In Sept. (one month later) right after school started he had the same exact episode. One would think it was the stomach flu, but I have four kids and no one else got it either time. Fall, Winter, and Spring has gone by with no episode and we are now in July and just had another episode. So far no one else has gotten it. The routine seems to be during the summer when it is hot. This is the only time of year this happens to him. Any advice or info. anyone? Thank you.

Darianya · 07-27-2001, 03:25 PM

I'm no expert, but except for the diarrhea, it sounds like migraines to me. You should take him to a doctor, and possibly get a referral to see a pediatric neurologist. You may want to search the web for childhood migraines, too, that might give you some helpful information. I understand that certain minerals and vitamins (calcium, magnesium, one of the B vitamins) can help bring down severity, but I'd probably want to ask a specialist about that before giving anything more than a regular multivitamin to a child that young. Best of luck to both of you!

Darianya

4isenuf · 07-27-2001, 10:55 PM

Darianya, thank you for your response. I have been looking up migraines in children, and it sounds like it to me, too. Actually, I have read that children can have what they call abdominal migraines which can include diarrhea! What is so weird is that nobody in either side of our families has migraines. We have headaches but I don't think the kind of headaches I get are migraines. Mine are more tension related, however sometimes they get bad enough that light bothers me and I sometimes feel slightly nauseous. Nothing close to what other people experience, though. Thanks again for responding and I would like to hear others opinions as well!! Thanks, Janet

09-06-2001, 12:19 AM

Hi, I've had migraines all my life - since I was in a highchair. It started out much like you described - headaches, incredible vomitting (my mother took me to the emergency room because I wouldn't stop) and diahrrea. I don't think mine were summer month related, but when I was older, I was able to isolate some foods that were sure fire triggers. Chocolate was the biggest one, but it seemed that I needed a certain size dose of it before it was enough to make me sick. Later I became more sensitive (I don't eat it at all anymore).

You are very lucky that you are able to consider all of these possibilities so early on. My family had no idea what was going on and I wasn't officially diagnosed until high school. Hopefully you will be able to provide a lot of support for your son and be there to listen when he describes the symptoms. So many people don't realize how frustrating this sort of thing can be for children who are confused and not able to explain themselves thoroughly.

I didn't know what to tell my mom was wrong and my imagination was just like any other kid's, "Mommy, there are bugs eating the back of my eyeball..." WHAT?!

When I was little and had a migraine, I liked to lie down in a dark, quiet room, with a cool cloth on my head and to massage my abdomen which usually got cramps.

FYI, neither of my parents has bad migraines (they probably wouldn't have ever recognized them as such if it weren't for me), but they do get mild ones in which they are light and sound sensitive. In fact, these are the first symptoms to surface for me right after the pain begins. If it gets worse, then it goes on to nausea and eventually vomitting, but I'm usually able to stop them before that now - at least for the day.

So, talk to your doctor and check out his reactions to some of the common food triggers. It may be very easily resolved. I wish you and your family the best of luck and outcomes!