Jennie&Tim on 1/5/2008 at 03:13
We went to the pediatric neurologist last week, and she said his daily headache is indeed a migraine. So now he has a beta-blocker prescription, which seems to be working well; and the piece of paper to allow him to have an ibuprofen at school has been Filed With the Proper Authorities. They also have to have his own unopened bottle supplied to them, so that they can keep track of and count each individual pill. Seems like a lot of work to keep track of a simple OTC drug.
jtr7 on 1/5/2008 at 03:30
:(
An allergic response to something he may be ingesting or breathing has been ruled out?
Jennie&Tim on 1/5/2008 at 03:45
Allergy medicines don't work, and the migraine medicine does. Plus my husband has migraines too, and it does run in families.
AR Master on 1/5/2008 at 03:49
Ah yes, the migraine. I got my first when I was 12, I went blind during a piano lesson. Freaked the shit out of me. Turns out weird light angles and stress causes them- I go blind for an hour, then 3 hours of the Anvil Chorus in my head.
How lucky for him
BrokenArts on 1/5/2008 at 03:52
Same thing has been going on with my daughter, her school and the medicines that they CAN'T and WON'T give out to the kids.
She just had braces recently put on her teeth, its been painful at times. One morning she forgot to take her ibuprofen before school, she called me later, complaining of the pain, I had to drive down there to give her some ibuprofen, of course the nurse had to watch.
From now on, I told her to keep some on her, she's responsible enough, she's 13, OMG watch out! She'll OD on the shit........:tsktsk: that according to the schools these days.
I hope your son feels better.
jtr7 on 1/5/2008 at 04:05
Oh, sorry, I didn't mean those kinds of allergies. And I totally understand inherited conditions, having a few handed down to me myself. A more common example would be a migraine triggered by chocolate. I had a killer headache that came on after eating this one chocolate mousse dessert. I've never had a problem with chocolate allergies before, but this one lasted for two intense hours, and ibuprofen wouldn't dent it. The kinds of allergies involved wouldn't be helped with medicine, but with elimination of the culprit from the diet or environment. Outgassing from plastics, or paints, or scented products, etc., can cause a reaction, too. And yeah, testing can be an arduous drawn-out affair, but would remove the mystery, and give everybody more control over this part of their lives. So I don't blame you for wanting to go with simple relief.
It could be something that everybody eats and thinks nothing of it. You've heard of wheat gluten allergies and peanut allergies. Both don't respond to allergy medicine, and have very different primary symptoms. The wheat allergy can cause constant lethargy as the only problematic symptom, and the peanut allergy can cause the throat to swell shut, etc.
Any relief is welcome, for sure, but the possible elimination of pills and beauracracy may be better. No disrespect intended.:)
Jennie&Tim on 1/5/2008 at 04:46
Tim is feeling better with the preventative, it really worked for him, crossing my fingers that will continue. He was having daily headaches for an hour or more.
I understand about allergies and triggers, chocolate is one of my husband's triggers--fortunately he's not a big chocolate fan to begin with. Tim's headaches were not related to any specific food or environment; he'd have them at school, at home, out camping. They're often triggered by loud noise, but we haven't figured out anything else that sets them off. He doesn't show the other symptoms of a gluten sensitivity, one of his cousins has that so we had considered it. Fragrances don't seem to bother him, though he has a sensitive nose. He's not a lethargic kid in general either, if he lacks energy it's usually an illness.
AR, blindness would frighten me so much, I can't imagine that happening to a kid. Freaked out would be a mild description I think. Screaming meamies would be closer.
TBE on 1/5/2008 at 05:20
I started getting migraines at the age of 28, which is like weird, because they usually start in your youth. I suffered for the longest time without the proper medication. I tried Excedrin Migraine, which actually did do pretty good if I caught it coming. But if I didn't feel it coming, it was bad. Felt like a really bad hangover each time it happened.
Then someone pointed me to Imitrex. If you feel your migraines typically coming with some sort of aura, this I'm told is one of the best medicines to get rid of them. They usually just fade away for me now. This was only discovered by myself like 3 years ago, so I suffered for about 7 years without it.
I'd highly recommend trying Imitrex. Various mg doses, talk to your Dr.
My triggering mechanisms are alcohol, video games on the PC, and reading with my glasses on. These are typically some of my favorite things.:( I almost can't wear glasses anymore. I am wearing contact lenses about 18-20 hours a day, 7 days a week. If I take a day off for my eyes to rest, I have to just take an Imitrex at the beginning of the day just to stave it off.
SubJeff on 1/5/2008 at 07:43
OTC drugs can be just as, if not more, dangerous than prescription only drugs. Restricting simple analgesia for kids at school seems a bit overkill but in the school's defence ibuprofen is a pretty bad gastric irritant. I agree they take it too far when you have to go in to school to give your kid a painkiller, but if they are routinely expected to give something I certainly think they should keep tabs on it, if for self protection in this day and age of suing for everything under the sun.
TBE - have you considered that it's time to get new glasses? A significant proportion of people presenting to doctors with recurrent headaches have visual/prescription problems.
Quote:
You've heard of wheat gluten allergies and peanut allergies. Both don't respond to allergy medicine
Actually incorrect. It's the nature and severity of the allergy that alters the response to medication. Peanut allergies certainly do respond to allergy medicine - if they didn't there'd be a whole lot more dead people. Besides, "allergies" are not a neatly definable entity since there are many, many different pathophysiological reasons for them.
jtr7 on 1/5/2008 at 07:49
Absolutely.
Except the "severity" can be deceiving. I have the symptoms of seasonal allergies year-round, and I avoid taking medicine as much as possible. Regardless of severity, the medicine helps or it doesn't. I never know when, or to what extent. Sometimes I realise dehydration is making it worse, and so drinking more water is the first step.
