Headaches

[cookiecinnamon7]

Hi i am 12 and sometimes before i get a really bad headache my vision goes blurry and i see dots and get dizzy. Is this normal? Also, when i take medicine for my headaches it just makes them like A LOT worse. is there anything i can do bcuz this happens a lot a school and we cant bring medicine to school, and my teachers get annoyed when i have to keep leaving the room.

[sara12345]

Good caring advice from you.

[Neurodreamz]

It really sounds like you're getting a migraine. Here's a good site that explains it and your symptoms

http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/aches/migraines.html

I get migraines, and when they happen, my vision goes blurry with spots, too. it's called an migraine aura.  Some headache medications don't work at all and the headache gets worse not because of the medication, but because a migraine gets worse with time. I have had a migraine last 3 days before my doctor gave me medication. don't worry, there is a lot of people who get migraines.

Everyone who has migraines has certain triggers that set off a migraine. It could be a type of food, it could be hormonal, a big change in weather, or sometimes they just happen. For me, I cannot eat raisins, dates, lemon juice, concentrated orange juice, and all nuts except peanuts. I also react when the barometric pressure changes dramatically, like around 2 kPascal change (could be sunny weather coming, or a bad storm). You need to work with your Mom or doctor or friend to figure out what are your triggers, and you will have less blurry vision and headaches.

For your teachers, I would explain you are starting to get migraines. Maybe bring some information from the migraine website to show your teacher. Your homeroom teacher would explain to the other teachers about your medical condition so they go easy on you. Do you have a school nurse? Maybe you can go see her, too. Once you get a migraine, there's not much to do other than be somewhere quiet, dark, cold pack and your doctor might prescribe some medication depending on how bad your migraines are. If they affect your school work and your having a tough time concentrating to get good grades, then I would tell your doctor this when you see him.  Talking to your teacher about it will really help as some teachers think kids are faking it to get out of class. This is why they get annoyed. This is not you, you have a real medical condition. Maybe you'll be able to sit in the nursing station or a quiet room to rest when you feel bad.

Take care, and I know it can be scary.  I used to get bad stomach aches before I started having migraines and the first year of migraines I thought I would never get better. Once you gets some help from a doctor and talk to your teachers, you are going to feel better.

Laura

p.s. I don't get sweething's advice on not watching tv. My son watched tv, played lots of Nintendo, Playstation. I never told him to stop. He's 23 now and just graduated with a University degree in Computer Science.  It's important to have fun as a kid!!!  

[sara12345]

You should see a doctor about your problem.  And if your regular doctor isn't helping you, then you should see a neurologist.  

I think the person above who had rule enforcement parenting is showing a little herself when she tells you not to watch tv.  That may be the only thing that you may be able to do when you have a bad headache. And physical activity while you have a headache is likely to make the headache worse from physical factors.  

The only thing that I tell you from my grade school days and later on was that if I didn't have a good breakfast with protein, I would get a bad headache later in the afternoon.  But that is not a "rule" for you.

I really hope that you can get some medical help with this.  It won't be good for you to keep suffering so often with your headaches.  Good luck to you.

Sara

[sweetthing647]

i had a similar problem when i was younger. but my family was very strict and very big rule enforcers, so i was always scared to bring it up or take this matter to the doctors. anyways deffinetly get it checked out, because it can be numerous things that are causing it and it could do damage also if you don't do anything about it. get enough rest quote 'enough', because when i had this probem if i over slept or slept to long the problem got worse. and the time you are not sleeping make sure you stay active go play outside or something, take a walk, or do some kind of enjoyable activity. also during this time drink plenty of water. no tv. because the time spent watching tv can be used to think and you can maybe figure out some more solutions to your problem.