LONG!--Headache/migraine pain in daughter

[Raw Buddha]

I've been posting on another thread and decided it would be best to start a new one. My daughter has been suffering with horrible head and pressure pain for now 17 days! I've brought her to the doctor 3 times already with no relief for her pain or diagnosis. Originally the docs thought she had a either strep or a sinus infection so gave me amoxicillin (antibiotic). The strep test came back negative so I waited to give her the antibiotics, but she was in so much pain that I felt I couldn't wait any longer. (I also had been giving her homeopathic pain killers and then Advil in the interim in hopes it would help.) Neither the antibiotics nor painkillers helped.

I went to WF and bought some homeopathic sinus relief pills (sinusalia: belladonna 3X, sanquinaria canadenais 3x, spigella anthelmia 3x) and tried using a saline solution. Nothing helped and I strongly believed it actually wasn't a sinus infection. Brought her back again to the doc, they put her on a different antibiotic (Augmentin) and a steroid nasal spray. I never used the steroid spray because I'm too nervous about the use of steroids even though the docs kept telling me it was safe as a topical. Anyway, she had an allergic reaction to the Augmentin, where her throat started to swell up and she said she couldn't breath. This all calmed down within 45 minutes or so, but her throat "felt funny" for the next 2 days.

I brought her back to the docs, asked for a blood test--apparently her labs came back normal. Doc told me to just keep giving her Advil, even though I told her Advil hurts/upsets her stomach. The doc called me the following morning and told me to bring her to the ER for a CT scan to rule out a tumor! We spent yesterday at the ER in Boston. Her CT scan came back normal--thankfully--and she was diagnosed as having a migraine. But for 17 days? They didn't give her any medication to relieve her pain--so she is still suffering, just told us to continue with the Advil. I see the doc in followup on Tuesday.

(I'm now wondering if this nonstop headache is hormone related? She just got her 1st period last month, was due to get her 2nd period somewhat around the time the headache presented but never got her period--still hasn't. The docs poo-pooed my theory, until the ER doc who said it might be that, but again, no relief for her head pain yet. BTW: She is 11.5, very slender--74 pounds at the most--so I was surprised that she even got her 1st period so early. Anyone else ever experience this headache with first year of menses or have a daughter that did?)

Any suggestions on how to help her? At WF, I bought some migraine relief stuff:
Hylands' Migraine Headache Relief: Glonoinum 12 x; belladonna 6x; gelseminum 6x; nux vomica 6x; iris versicolor 6x; sanguinaria canadensis 6x
(didn't work)
Also tried:
B&T Migraide: cyclamen europaem 3x, cimicifuga racemosa 3x, gelsemium semperivirens 3x, iris versicolor 2x, sanguinaria canadensis 2x
(didn't work either)

Sorry this is so long...........just wanted to give some background for those of you who didn't read my posts on the other thread. Thank you for any help.

M
p.s. Anyone live in the Boston and/or Southern NH area that has a naturopath, homeopath and/or osteopath that they love and can recommend?

[shashibala]

I think it could be hormone related. These hormonal changes are very powerful. My sister developed a seizure disorder when she got her period which continues to this day and she is 39!
As for dietary supports, I would eliminate all dairy. It tends to make hormonal issues worse and causes congestion. Congestion and thick mucous can make any headache worse. Does she drink plenty of water? That might help.
You want things that thin the mucous and relax blood vessels. Lemon water with a tiny bit of cayenne pepper helps, if she can stand it.

Some ideas: ginger tea, peppermint tea, peppermint essential oil sniffed and rubbed on temples, the herb feverfew

I wish you the best and I hope for relief for your daughter!

[appifanie]

hi - i don't know if there's a follow up thread but wanted to see how your poor daughter is! i have a headache myself right now (fun migraines) so i'm not processing your whole message well so no specific comments/whatever right now.

[juliebove]

Migraines can last for 17 days. Thankfully I haven't had any that do, but they can last a long time.

If she is really having migraines, you need to see if you can ferret out the cause. Sometimes the cause can not be found. In my case, one cause was GERD meds. All of them caused crushing migraines.

Certain foods can cause migraines. Among them, aged cheese, chocolate, alcohol (including extracts), cold cuts, hydrolyzed proteins, soybeans, broad beans, nuts, yeast, saurkraut and other aged foods. I just read the other day of a woman who got migraines from balsamic vinegar. Try eliminating these things from her diet.

She might also want to see an eye Dr. If the eyes aren't focusing properly, this can cause headaches. I know of two people who had eyes that didn't change focus rapidly when looking far away and up close or vice versa.

She might also need to see a dentist, depending on where the pain is located. Or an ear, nose and throat Dr.

As for the steroids, they do seem to work for some people, but for my daughter and myself they caused nose bleeds.

If it is a sinus infection, she needs to drink tons of water every day to thin out the secretions. I was told to drink 8 ounces immediately after getting up and then another 8 ounces with breakfast. I carried a bottle of water around with me all the time.

A nasal douche (Neti pot) should be used with saline solution at least twice daily.

And keep in mind that a bad sinus infection can take months to clear up, even when on antibiotics.

[saxmaam]

A couple of thoughts:

You might look into feverfew. You can get dried from StonyMountainBotanicals.com and I've always had good service from them. It is good at preventing, as opposed to curing, migraines. Please do some googling about it and learn what you can if you go this path. (Now I grow this in my garden and dry it at low temp in my dehydrator, so I don't have to buy from anyone).

Homeopathic remedies. When you buy these lotions and potions, there may not even be one molecule of the active ingredient in your package. To me, that just doesn't make any sense. I mention it in case you aren't aware, not to start a debate with anyone.

Oh, I just remembered something else: In Karen DeFelice's book (http://www.amazon.com/Enzymes-Autism-Neurological-Conditions-Updated/dp/0972591850), she talked about herself and possibly her small children getting over migraines by taking digestive enzymes. That's something you can try right away without fear of hurting your daughter. But again, they may have been preventive rather than curative.

The place you can really make a difference with migraines seems to be prevention. I do wish your daughter a speedy recovery.

Good luck!

Susan

A couple of quotes from DrBenKim.com

(http://drbenkim.com/articles-vitamind.htm) Menstrual migraine is associated with low levels of vitamin D and calcium.81

(http://drbenkim.com/articles-artificialsweeteners.html) (Too much stuff to quote, but some people responded to say that they think their migraines were triggered by artificial sweeteners.)

Here's a quote from Wikipedia:

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_dilution
Main articles: Homeopathy and Homeopathic dilutions

Serial dilution is one of the core foundational practices of homeopathy, with "succussion", or shaking, occurring between each dilution. In homeopathy, serial dilutions (called potentisation) are often taken so far that by the time the last dilution is completed, no molecules of the original substance are likely to remain.[3][4]

[Eva]

This might be a silly question -- but is she a raw foodist??

There are some who would say that raw food is all about the enzymes and that's why it's so great. There are many good things in raw foods that help make it so wonderful as a lifestyle -- but it's in my view the food that is NOT included that is the biggest help. No processed foods and random chemical formulas that "they" thought was OK to market to people as food to put int he human body, no meat, no hormones, etc, just real food. Those are the things that cause us humans lots of pain and problems!

I would do a few things with her:
--A 1-day water fast, then
--1-3 days of juice feasting, then
--1-3 of only liquids (green smoothies, green soups included), then
--then raw food only

This would allow her body to focus on healing. During that time, she needs some sunshine and lots of love. I know it's a little cold now with the cold front in MA, but she some sunshine, love and light exercise, along with lots of sleep.

I hope she will be able to stay out of school and focus only on healing...

There are many that say that eating/drinking meat and dairy is the biggest reason for early menses, and it's because of the hormones from the animals, added or naturally occurring.

Anyways, that is my two cents on what I would do. For me, any kind of pain is the result of stress, needing more exercise, water or sunshine, or food/smells that are not meant for the human body.

[Veganforlife]

I was wondering too if she is eating raw? If not, well, THAT could be a huge factor playing into this. Also - is she drinking enough water?
I agree a Neti Pot (use mine daily) would work wonders for her...

[rawstrength]

I used to get headaches daily until I went vegan. Since I cut out meat, dairy, and eggs at the age of 15, I never had a headache.
I think some headaches can be relieved just from eliminating dairy, she doesn't even have to go raw (though it would be great if she does).

[ReneeH]

Most here know that I have been suffering with Migraines for most of my life. I have found that by staying RAW it has helped them TREMENDOUSLY!!! I still get occasional headaches, but when I stay FAR away from cooked food, I feel SOOOOO much better!!! I'm not even on my medication anymore!!! (Topamax and Imitrex)

[Raw Buddha]

Thank you for your concern and for reopening this thread. It has been a 3.5 months ordeal. My daughter still has her headache, has NEVER had any relief yet, and is getting more and more demoralized because we can't help her. She has seen doctor after doctor, each with the hope that this one will give us the relief she needs, but none have worked. After pushing and pushing, I finally was able to convince them to give her a Lyme test, and since that time she has now had about 4--all but one came back negative. Since one came back positive (from a lab in California that I had to mail the sample to), we have been treating her for Lyme with Doxycycline 75 mg twice a day. Today is her last day, and there has been no observable difference. Now the NP thinks she may have a co-infection (another tick-borne illness) on top of the Lyme, so we have to stay off the antibiotic for 2 weeks, get retested, and wait another 3 weeks for those results! The waiting game is getting so tiring. I can't imagine my daughter still being in pain for another 5 weeks before we even know how to proceed, if even then--who knows if the tests will come back with a definitive answer.

Anyway, since her original Migraine headache and subsequent continuous headache, she has been experiencing extreme fatigue, eye pressure pain, neck/shoulder tightness and pain, overall body aches, and pelvic joint pain, sometimes limiting her ability to walk. The NP who is treating her and was the first person who finally enabled us to get the tests sent to the CA lab is a Lyme sufferer herself; however, she prefers not to use antibiotics, which prior to this experience, I believed the same, but now am not so sure because I am learning more and more of how difficult Lyme is to treat. Besides the antibiotic, my daughter is also on an herbal mixture that the NP made which contains cat's claw, sassaparilla, celery, and artermis. I give this to my daughter twice a day--not sure if it is helping any, since nothing seems to be. She is also on a probiotic to help offset the antibiotics effect.

We have visited almost every type of doctor out there to try to get a definitive diagnosis as well as alternative practitioners in the hopes to give her some relief. She is going to a chiropractor, acupuncturist who does energy healing as well, and massage therapist. She has seen a homeopath, numerous neurologists, a Japanese-style acupuncturist, and some others that I can't even think of right now. She is scheduled to be seen in a pain and headache clinic and to again see another neurologist who apparently is well-versed in Lyme, but they say they can't see her until March!!! (How can anyone, let alone a child of 11, be asked to wait months to be seen before any relief may come?)

I am beside myself and don't know how to help my daughter. Her conventional pediatrician is dismissive of the symptoms and says it is psychological and wants to put her on antidepressants. I have been holding off on that because I truly don't believe that is the cause nor that antidepressants are good for children, but if she has no relief soon, I'm not sure what I will have to do to get her some kind of break--although there is no guarantee that the antidepressants will help her either. I've heard of something called 5-HTP which is supposed to be somewhat "natural"--definitely more so than the pharmaceutical antidepressants--so I am debating on trying that in the next few weeks if she is still continuing to suffer. I am hoping that just getting off the antibiotics for 2 weeks will somehow relieve her headache and fatigue, although she had all this to begin with. (Originally I thought there may be a hormonal reason for her headache because a month prior to the Migraine onset she had had her first period and was due for her 2nd when she woke with the Migraine, now headache that hasn't gone away.)

Anyway, please pray or send healing vibes or healing energy our way. I will end here as this has already gotten too long, but again I really appreciate you checking in with me. I am having to try to deal with this on my own because the conventional establishment won't listen to my daughter's complaints, insurance isn't covering most of these alternative doctor visits nor treatments, and funds are dwindling quickly. I will mortgage the house to get her the treatment she needs, but I want to make sure it is the treatment that will finally work.

Thanks again for all your advice and help.
M
p.s. Regarding raw, prior to her migraine, we were doing the best we had ever done on raw--not anywhere near 100%, but very good for us. Since this whole ordeal, we have fallen way off the wagon because I am overwhelmed with trying to give her some relief and pleasure (she hated doing raw) so am trying to balance between both sides. I do enforce that she drink her green smoothie every morning, which she does, and she has been tolerating almond mylk instead of dairy milk but is sad to not be able to drink real milk. Since we seem to be entering a period of forced wait-and-see before being able to see another doctor, I'm going to try to start incorporating more raw again in hopes to build up her immune if nothing else.

[Revvell]

p.s. Regarding raw, prior to her migraine, we were doing the best we had ever done on raw--not anywhere near 100%, but very good for us. Since this whole ordeal, we have fallen way off the wagon because I am overwhelmed with trying to give her some relief and pleasure (she hated doing raw) so am trying to balance between both sides. I do enforce that she drink her green smoothie every morning, which she does, and she has been tolerating almond mylk instead of dairy milk but is sad to not be able to drink real milk. Since we seem to be entering a period of forced wait-and-see before being able to see another doctor, I'm going to try to start incorporating more raw again in hopes to build up her immune if nothing else.

I'm confused. You come to a raw board asking for help. You've gotten some tremendous suggestions from people who have had migraines and who have healed themselves. You say "we were doing the best we had ever done on raw" yet, you still run around to doctors hoping that a drug will help.

Here's the bottom line ~ drugs do not cure. Drugs mask symptoms. Pain IS the signal that something is wrong. Drugs will NOT cure what is wrong!

My suggestion ~ STOP looking outside for more answers. Go INSIDE! Take the time you are spending going around to doctors who "obviously" cannot help; go 100% raw and get a therapist/coach/counselor who understands the mind and nutrition at the raw level.

Your daughter is sad because she can't drink stuff that will potentially cause headaches? Sounds like an addiction to me.

If you've not done so, get her off wheat, totally off dairy... and go raw ~ 100%. Be sure she's not eating all the things Julie mentioned that can cause migraines.

Along with your daughter, take time to create stuff that tastes wonderful! I always wanted my mother to do things with me ~ bake (before I knew better), create, talk to me. What your daughter's going through could be, potentially, a way to get attention and she's getting it by (unconsciously) creating this.

My suggestion ~ stay home, be with her, create food that will help her heal.

... and for you ~ what would your days be like if you weren't spending them running around to doctors, talking about this to people... Could you stand it?

Revvell

[Veganforlife]

Raw Buddah? I so agree with Revvell.

After 52 years of migraines, I went 100% raw and healed myself of them. Many, many others have too. Going 100%, getting off poison meds, exercising, water - all this will heal one's body. Why are you doctor jumping? They are NOT nutritionists. They DO however know about drugs and love folks like you that are looking for that miracle pill - which trust me - there isn't any. The miracle is simply eating. Eating to live. Eating to heal.

It can be done. I'm living proof. I dare a health (so called) professional to dispute what I'm doing and tell me that eating a living, healthy diet, exercising, water, etc. did not heal me. Ha!!! I double dawg dare 'em!!!

[rawstrength]

I forgot to mention that I started having headaches when I was 11 years old, about two weeks after my first period.
I wish you and your daughter all the best.

[ReneeH]

Revvell and Lucy said it best!!!

Trust me, it feels SOOOO good not to be taking Topamax and Imitrex!!! I had a SERIOUS Migraine a few months ago that lasted 32 Days!!! I'm closer to 100% RAW than I've ever been and I've been off my meds for a month now. At first I continued to take them for a while, but I weaned myself off of them because they made me feel so CRAZY!!!! :eek:

The "occasional" headaches I get now are few and far between. I know that the closer I stick to the RAW lifestyle, the better I HONESTLY feel!!! I make RAW dishes that are DELICIOUS and that keeps me coming back for more!!!

That's great that she will drink Green Smoothies!!! Stay with that, add more RAW and she'll be Migraine Free in no time!!! :)

[Raw Buddha]

Thank you all for your help. I just want to clarify that I'm not doctor hopping to find meds for her. I'm doctor hopping in the hopes to find a definitive diagnosis for her, i.e., Lyme or some other tick-borne infection. Also, up until this ordeal, she has not been on any medications because I didn't/don't believe in them; however, if you know anything about Lyme and how serious it is and you watch your child suffering, you try to find what will help her. All the alternatives--homeopathic, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture--have not worked. As I've said before, prior to her getting sick, we were doing great with raw, and she got sick! I've been very overwhelmed with all this as I would think anyone with a child would understand how horrific it feels to watch your child be as sick as this. I will try to get her back to raw, but I need to find a diagnosis for her illness too. Migraines and headaches (that come and go) are more manageable then one continuous headache with no relief. If Lyme is ruled out, then I can relax somewhat in the urgency of her care, as time is of the essence when treating Lyme and other tick-borne infections. Lyme is a very misunderstood and serious illness when left untreated.

I will try the best I can to get back to more raw. It is difficult for us because we never enjoyed it--we were doing it because we felt it would be best for our health. Then, my daughter got this illness, after years of not even ever having a cold--we were all always very healthy even when not raw.

Anyway, I came back here as a reply to someone who asked me to update them on my daughter, and I was hoping for some support in my struggle. Thank you to those who understand what it feels like to have a child that doesn't get well. I don't wish this on anyone.

M

[Moretta]

Sending healthy vibes to your daughter and hope you can rule out the problem soon enough.

[appifanie]

I forgot to mention that I started having headaches when I was 11 years old, about two weeks after my first period.
I wish you and your daughter all the best.

hey! me too to period @ 11 and migraines shortly thereafter!