pediatric migrains

[fruitcake]

My 7 year old has been having migrain for a couple of years now. I was hoping that as we cleaned up her diet this would get better. I'm not as strict with the kids as I am with myself since their daddy's not raw and there are things they want to eat with him but he's only home 2 days a week and only eats 1 meal a day on those 2 days so most of the time it's raw for them. Anyhow, here lately they seem to be getting worse even though her diets getting better. She's had 2 in the last three days. Right now she's got one she can't seem to get rid of and it's making her sick to her stomach. Any ideas?

[Sharon in Colorado]

What kind of diet did she have before she went raw?

[fruitcake]

Mostly vegetarian. Occasionally some meat if her dad was eating something that she liked on his day off. Lacto ovo vegetarian I should say. She doesn't like the taste of meat for the most part. Last year when she started kindergarten, I was pregnant, then I had a new born and we were so busy and I was so tired that our diet got pretty out of hand. We started eating too many processed foods and too many sweets. My husband brought home some M&M's a coulpe days ago and she had some so chocolate or sugar could be a trigger food, but there are days she has has migrains when she hasn't had anything like that. Detox maybe?

[Rawkinlocs]

How would you say your daughter's BM's are? Is she pretty regular (at least once or twice a day daily)?

The reason I ask is because, I personally used to get migraines and chronic "regular" headaches and I had some major bowel issues both as a child (bms weren't too frequent even then) and into adulthood due to a very poor diet. It was after getting my colon cleaned out of old "gunk" that my headache issue went away and eating raw helped KEEP them away!

Now, I know enemas may be a little too "weird" and invasive to administer to her, but if there is any other way to help her bowels move (that is IF she is not having regular ones and if you're absolutely positive that she doesn't have some impacted fecal matter from her previous diet even IF vegetarian -cooked, processed vegetarian food can be just as bad on the digestion as SAD food) I'd check into it and see if that would help her.

[fruitcake]

Funny you should say that. When she was 2 she developed a BIG problem with constipation. We had to take her to a specialist for about 2 years before we got her straightened out. Since then I've only made sure she was having at least 3 BM's a week which is what he dr. considered normal. That's really not so normal is it? I never would have associated it with a headache though, but it does make since. I'll start paying a little more attention to what's going on in that area. Thanks for the tip!

[Sharon in Colorado]

Yes, 3 BM's a week is not normal. Should be more like 3 a day, but it would be a more feasible goal to work on getting 1 a day to start.

I would just suggest lots of smoothies, fruit and water. Stay away from bread, meat and dairy which can be constipating. It does sound like constipation could be a factor.

[Apasaraw]

I may be way off base, but it sounds like if the constipation is a factor, she may be inducing the valsalva affect which raises BP a bit which gives you a headache. Ask your Dr. if this is a possiblity.

It's like when you hold your breath and push to go #2. ( if that makes sense.) It's the valsalva effect at work when you push, nothing happens and then you get dizzy or neck/headache. Little'uns need to be reminded to breathe normally in that situation while they read a nice book. ;)

Of course as the others say...fruit and water...

Hope she feels better very soon!

[Purl]

has she been checked for gluten/dairy intolerance? My ds gets migraines and since he went gluten and dairy free he hasn't had any. just my exp. even 1 bite can be a big problem...

[RowanC]

I had migraines from an early age.
What it took me 48 years to discover what that it was CHEMICAL SENSITIVITIES!

Try removing ALL SCENTS from the house.. .this means no perfume, no FEBREEZE, no scented dryer sheets, no scented plug ins, no scented soaps or hairspray or shampoos, NO SMOKING.

If this doesn't work after a week, then begin taking away other chemicals such as cleaning products. One terrible offender for me is scented dishsoap.

I think the headaches might clear up once you remove all the SCENT.
Poor kid.. I know exactly how this feels.

Also... for NOW...consider a massage therapist to get rid of the current episode....try a nice hot soak in the bathtub... try having her/him smell PURE rosemary leaves or essential oil or coffee beans! I keep a container of coffee beans in my bag because if I'm exposed to a scent and can get to the coffee fast enough, it overpowers the scent. If s/he will allow it, get some pure saline nose spray and wash out the nostrils... or teach him/her to use a neti pot to wash out the offending molecules.

Keep her/him away from the television set and computer screen for a couple of days... when you have a migraine, noise and LIGHT make it worse, and have his/her eyes checked. Vision problems can cause headache.

Diet of course is a consideration, but at this early age, it's more likely to be something in the immediate environment.

[fruitcake]

We don't have anything scented in the house. My hubby is sensitive to smells too, so I don't keep anything perfumy. I clean with vinegar. Normally we don't use soap, but she did get some bath gel for x-mas that's scented. I'll try sneaking that out of the tub and see if that helps.
I'll talk to the dr. about gluten and dairy. She's allergic to lots of things, but her allergist has never said anything about either of those. Her dad was allergic to wheat.
I get what your saying about the valsalva affect and I'll try to make sure that's not an issue.

Thanks everyone.

[Purl]

FWIW-I was told by the gastroenterologist that my twins were NOT allergic to milk. I took them off milk and they improved-so a test might not show what you are looking for. If you get a neg result (that there is no allergy) you might want to try your own exp and cut out dairy for 2 weeks, then gluten for 2 weeks (gluten is more than just wheat) and see if there is a change. HTH.

[gazel70]

I also had very bad headaches as a child and into adulthood. I do believe that many factors contribute and the best you can do is put as many odds in her favor as you can. Having regular BM's is very important (no less that one a day) bec. otherwise the food is rotting inside and her intestines are absorbing this toxic material. Something I do with my kids is we have smoothies everyday. My basic smoothie is orange, bannana and strawberry or apple, to this I add 2Tblsp of ground flax. The flax with all of the other fiber keeps us all going. My favorite is the same basic smothie with green juice as a base and lots of berries to mask the green flavor along with probiotics. As far as allergies go if it will not hurt her to remove something from her diet I would do it for about 2 wks and if she eats it again monitor her behavior. My son for the most part is raw at home except for brown rice and sweet potatoes, however, if he has any dairy he's a totally different child as far as his behavior. He's hypersensitive and he gets headaches.
I hope this helps good luck.

[Nimmanu]

Okay, I hope you forgive me if this sounds unkind, but honestly, you've got to keep them off of the processed sugar and chocolate. It really IS that bad. Caffiene in particular is quite hard on the body, particularly when you aren't having some every day.

Edit to add: Migraines are often one symptom of caffiene withdrawal. Studies have proven that ONE SINGLE DOSE, even a tiny dose can cause withdrawal symptoms.

Daddy needs to eat raw while he's at home. 1 raw meal a week won't kill him (okay, I misread... 2 raw meals a week won't, either! :p ).

[dreamrawalwz]

Food intolerances or allergies? I used to get migranes after certain foods.

[goodbeets]

How would you say your daughter's BM's are? Is she pretty regular (at least once or twice a day daily)?
Now, I know enemas may be a little too "weird" and invasive to administer to her, but if there is any other way to help her bowels move (that is IF she is not having regular ones and if you're absolutely positive that she doesn't have some impacted fecal matter from her previous diet even IF vegetarian -cooked, processed vegetarian food can be just as bad on the digestion as SAD food) I'd check into it and see if that would help her.

I notice that when my son is backed up he will aslo complein of headache. I know enemas work for me but I wonder about some of the cleansing products like Colonix? Maybe that would help and be less invasive than an enema might be. I think that company, and maybe others like it, has a fairly powerful fiber drink to keep one regular as well. They can be expensive but it sounds like it might be very worth it.

[Apasaraw]

Fruitcake, just checking in to see I you're little'un is feeling better...I do hope so.

[theresaann]

Dr. Fuhrman talks about this issue very well. He says detox and MASSIVE amounts of phytochemicals are needed-from raw, and he says SOME cooked, greens, and raw fruits. His website is: drfurhman.com. Dont' freak that I said the "c" word, I"m just sharing what he says.

He talks about a client he had in her early teens who healed very intense, chronic migraines. he said they can take longer than some illnesses, and absolute adherence to nutritional excellence is paramount. :)