Hi coolmama,
I have heard of these, but I'm afraid I don't have many suggestions for you.
I'm wondering.....would the normal migraine meds work?
My son used to get severe nausea and be incapacitated for several hours, until he could fall asleep. He would feel much better after several hours sleep.
It happened every time we went on vacation, or when he was under alot of stress in school or was behind on sleep (grade school). I finally realized that he was having a migraine. I've read that children mostly manifest their migraines through GI symptoms. I don't know if this is similar to abdominal migraines or not.
But.....I was wondering if you'd tried what's usually recommended for children's migraines....which is ibuprofen and a motion sickness pill. That works for my son, but he doesn't have the severe abdominal pain aspect of it.
If it is a matter of maybe a neurological problem (that might be causing the migraine), then maybe the same meds might work for an abdominal one.
I heard of these "abdominal migraines" awhile back, and you just wonder if its another one of these conditions that nobody can explain, so they call it something like a migraine? I'm sure you're doing all sorts of searches on it. If I happen to see any info on it, I'll let you know.
But in the meantime, why not try the ibuprofen/motion sickness pill combo?
Does your daughter have any kind of prodrome........anything that gives you or her the tiniest hint that one's coming on? I'm thinking if she does, that would be the moment to give her the meds, so she could hopefully keep them down. If you could find the meds in liquid form, that would be even better.
I think I'd also keep a diary of everything she eats and all her activities, and the weather, etc. Maybe you will figure out what her triggers are. Poor little thing. I can't imagine having this problem.

wow,thanks for the response.Yes,I have given her advil for years for it,but it does not always work.Have never tried the motion sickness thing though!
She has been to a neurologist,and a gi specialist and they couldnt find anything to explain why this was happening.I think you are right that they just call it this when they cant find the REAL problem.Although regular migraines run in my family bigtime.
At the onset she gets kinda glassy eyes and her stomach starts hurting.Advil does help if I can get it to her soon enough.But for some reason GOD only knows she doesnt always tell me right away when I've made it clear that I can only help her if she tells me as soon as she feels it!
The only other weird symptom she's had that even the doctors have no explanation for,is a very odd smell on her breath right before.It almost smells metallic.
She has tried some regular migraine meds that havent helped at all.I'm actually very unhappy with doctors who seem hesitant to let her try anything!
I also heard of something called CVS,which reminds me of what she has.Cyclic vomitting syndrome.But that too is like a last resort diagnoses with no real treatments.
Thanks for your response,I will try the motion sickness pill in conjunction with advil next time! ;)

Has she had her gallbladder checked? Not common in children, but possible. The metalic breath (Could it be sulpher breath??) is what made me think of it.

If you google Abdominal Migraines you will find info. If the neruologist thinks that may be it, he may be able to give migraine meds for it...but make sure she/he SPECIALIZES IN MIGRAINES. you may have to research that on your own (I asked to see one that specialized...got just one "in the clinic", everything he gave me...agiainst everything about migraines, finally found a great one on my own). Look up HEADACHE SPECIALIST in your area.

Vickey-MN

Hi again coolmama,
How old is your daughter? I'm wondering if these worsen around her periods......or is she not that old yet?
Another possibility is for you to change the NSAID that she takes. Ibuprofen does nothing for me, but Aleve does. I've noticed that's common with people......where one NSAID might work when another one doesn't.
And I agree with Vickey. It's really important to get a neuro doc who specializes in migraines. You would think they would all be good with migraines, but they're not.
Has she had a complete workup....with bunches of labs? Has she had any MRIs?
Does she drink any caffeine?
Have you done some searches for Headache forums? I used to be on one at Braintalk.org.......but lots of people left after the site had a huge crash, so I don't think its as good as it used to be.
The Robbins Headache clinic is a reputable place. I wonder if they deal with abdominal migraines?
As I said, try to keep a diary of all sorts of things in her life.....including exposures to certain chemicals/perfumes/foods/additives/weather/etc.
I also think making sure we're not deficient in some vitamin or mineral is important too.
There are lots of nutty alternative medicine people out there, but I also believe there are some enlightened ones too. If all else fails, you might consider some less-accepted methods of treatment.(like acupuncture).
I come from a long-line of family migraine history too.
Both my children had migraine auras when they were 8.......but fortunately it hasn't gotten too bad.
And with my son.....he seems to only get extremely nauseous when he's short on sleep, or has been eating poorly....so at least he knows how to try to avoid them.
I'm getting more and more disenchanted with the medical community when you have symptoms that don't fit what they've seen with the masses. And they seem very closed-minded to anything they haven't learned in med school.
Just keep doing lots of internet searching, and hopefully you can come up with some help for your daughter.
Another thing I've noticed about my son (and myself), is that sometimes things that work to make us feel better work the opposite of how they work for most people.
I think you may have to go through a period of lots of trial and error, to see what might have an affect on your daughter.
I have fibromyalgia and have also just spent 10 years going through a rough perimenopause, and I have become so aware of how our GI tracts are our "second brains". They secrete alot of neurochemicals. So you might pay alot more attention to her GI tract and what its been exposed to (food/chemical/preservatives, etc.) even the day before she gets these episodes.
Sorry for rambling so much.
And even though people test negative for things like Celiac disease, I know people who improve significantly by avoiding certain foods.......like wheat, dairy, etc......so you might try a food elimination diet for awhile.

I am going to tell you what an old farmer told a sister-in-law for migraines in the head. Please note not in the stomache. She had headaches that lasted for a week at a time and no one could shut the door without her crying. She has not had a migraine headache since and that has been about 50 years. Get mad and cutse me now call me a liar or what ever makes you feel better. You may as well as everyone else does. Believe it or no I told others and it worked on them also except one lady had something wrong and was going to die down the road and leave her kids and she would not try it. It was 2 table spoons of plain old table salt. Now have your big laugh and roll over in the floor laughing it is so rediculous. This is for informational purposes only and not intended to precsribe any tell anyone to try it. Good luck whatever you do and I do sincerely hope the child overcomes it's illiness. I
would like to hear from you how it turns out if you do find anything suitable. jewest1941@juno.com

This almost sounds dangerous to me. In fact......I think for some people it most surely would be.

The table salt thing doesnt sound too crazy to me...but I honestly dont think it is that simple.Although I have heard making her drink Gatorade or having a pedalyte pop would help.Something about after the electrolytes get out of whack it makes the vomiting worse.
It seems if she starts vomiting it is already too late though.At that point it is hospital bound.

I'am seeing a new doc for her that has more exprience in this with children. She prescibed CYPROHEPTADINE. Says to take one teaspoon at the onset of a stomach migraine,so we'll see if this helps better then just the advil.

I appreciate all the responses on this! For a while I really felt like I was banging my head against the wall.Most people
blow me off and think I'm making this up.
I even had one doctor AT THE HOSPITAL say in a doubtful,rude way that she,
"Had never heard of a stomach migraine before"
Thankfully another doctor informed her that YES,they ARE REAL!
(so stick that in your pipe and smoke it,lady!)

Catherinet,you are so right about if it isnt something well known that they studied in medical school they arent much of a help and they think you're crazy.

I'll keep you guys posted about this new medicine.I hope it helps!

The salt thing sounded crazy to me because I'm so sensitive to salt. I think 2 T would kill me!

I just looked up that med, and I guess her doc is thinking it has something to do with histamine release. I know that some regular migraines are thought to be caused by histamine release too. Would this be something you give to her with the first sign of symptoms, or does she have to be on it all the time? Is it something like Zyrtec or Claritin?
At least you found a doc who believes in them! There's nothing worse than having horrible problems, and you go to a doc for help, and he/she acts like she's never heard of it and dismisses it. I have fibromyalgia, and I have experienced that many times!
There is a HUGE difference from one doc to another, and I guess we just have to search and search until we find one that can help us. Please do let us know how your daughter does with this med!

It is to be taken at the first sign of the migraine.She said if this doesnt work she will try something to prevent them.

Strange thing,my mom has been to the hospital twice this week cuz she's had a migraine that has lasted 4 days. They finally gave her morphine cuz nothing was working (imitrex and zomig?)

It is weird how it totally runs on my mom's side (my grandma,two aunts,and 3 cousins also have regular migraines)
I have never had one.
I have heard of Fibromyaligia before.That sounds like it is tough to deal with too.
Well,my daughter has a birthday party this weekend (and usually excitement gives her a migraine~once before Christmas,a wedding and at a carnival) so we'll see.

Migrains tend to run in families, and tend to be a female thing (more females than males get them, I forget the percentage but it is A LOT more females than males). You do seem to know one of her triggers...excitement. Not much you can do to prevent that one (it's not like a food you can avoid).

Imitrex and Zomig are abortive meds for migraines. If they don't work there are others, but after 4 days it may be best to get something stronger to get rid of it. I've had to do that. I too am on daily preventive meds, and have the abortive meds for those that breakthrough. You really need to keep a migraine calendar for her..it will help to see if there are other triggers (stress, lack of sleep, food, time of month, etc) If you need info let me know and I can get some to you.

Vickey-MN

Hi coolmama....
Oh boy.........good luck with her and the birthday party. The "let-down" part of things would always get my son. (I realize though that we are talking possibly about 2 different animals.....so to speak....abdominal versus other....but maybe they are more in common than we think.)
Here's what I used to do when I knew my son was going to have to do something stressful (like play his drums in front of people, or give a speech, etc.): I would pretreat him with Ibuprofin.......and that would prevent the migraine.
In fact, I used to get "vagal" when eating at a greek restaurant (possibly because of the amines).......but I finally figured out that if I pretreated myself with an NSAID, it wouldn't happen.
Sometimes women who get menstrual migraines.....if they start taking some NSAIDS a few days before, can avert the migraine.
So you might consider giving your daughter some NSAIDS the day before and the day of the party.
It seems to be the vasodilation of the brain vessels after the constriction that can trigger migraines.
Let us know how it goes! And good luck to your daughter. It would be wonderful if she could get past these awful episodes!
P.S.......I know I and my son have more headaches when there is a front going through. Perhaps that has added to your mom's length of her migraine? (I'm glad you seem to have dodged the genetic bullet for migraines!)

Thanks vickey and catherinet...

Catherinet,I do think the weather has something to do with my mom's.Also,her period and she is starting menopause too.And stress! I will tell my mom (and do the same for my daughter) about the starting NSAID before triggers.That is useful advice.

Vickey~my mom just told me today she is switching her neurologist because he hasnt really helped her much with these migraines.He has never tried her on anything other then the imitrex and zomig that obviously arent really working.The docs at the hospital gave her MORPHINE because it was bad.Today is day 5 and mom isnt throwing up anymore,but still has headache.

They did a CATSCAN last night and didnt find anything bad.Just the curse of the migraine!

Coolmama,
Has your mother ever considered something like a beta blocker? They don't work on everyone, but they sure worked on me! It was like a miracle drug for me. Unfortunately, it steals your brain and can make you really tired.......but for me, I had basically NO headaches for the several years that I was on it. And that was after having a migraine every day for a year and a half!
And I agree about finding a different neuro doc. The first one I had was really nice.....and I thought he was handling my headaches. But I found out that he was content for me to be on a drug that is famous for its rebound headaches....and addiction. He was content to let me stay in alot of pain.
I changed neuro docs and my new one immediately told me to get off of it....and went to something else that worked for me. (maxalt)
But I am one of the lucky ones who seems to respond to small amounts of caffeine. For several years, I actually could keep from getting my usual horrible 3a.m.-5a.m. migraines, just by taking 1 Exedrine the afternoon before.
I spent 10 years going through perimenopause, and it was awful.......but don't tell your mom that.
Just tell her that I am off my beta blocker and (knock on wood), things have quieted down alot.
Glad to hear the catscan was normal. That's always a big relief!
Let us know how your daughter does with that party.

Today is saturday and I have spent all day preparing for the party tomorrow.My daughter's friend is spending the night tonight,so if she doesnt get a migraine,I probably will. :)

gosh, I feel sorry for your daughter & hope you find a solution soon. I just wanted to mention that I got rid of my migraines- none since about 1982- by strictly avoiding cigarette smoke. Had to change jobs, lose some friends, avoid lots of restaurants, clubs, etc (until Calif. went non-smoking). It was worth it. I don't know if it is a common trigger but it definitely was it for me; if your daughter is exposed to smoke you might try eliminating it. The suggestion to try the food elimination diet sounded like a good idea too. I understand that wheat intolerance is a bigger problem than ever thought. Good luck.

raee......that's very interesting about the cigarette smoke. I'm glad you figured it out.

Well Coolmama.........what's the verdict? I had to chuckle when you said if your daughter didn't get a migraine, you probably would!
I wasn't sure if it was your daughter's party or if she was going to someone else's. What we won't do for our kids!
I can remember my daughter's 11th birthday party. She was having about 6 girls over for a sleepover. I was in perimenopause and having TONS of bleeding. In fact......I probably should have gone to the hospital. You could probably say I was exsanguinating. But we'd plan so hard for this party, and all the parents had planned on their child being here overnight.......so I sat very still all night long, praying I wouldn't die. Then in the morning, we drove all the girls to basketball practice. When I got home, my OB/GYN called, sort of sounding very anxious. "WHERE WERE YOU?" she asked? I told her about the girls and basketball practice, etc., and she said "I just got your hemoglobin results back and I was afraid you were lying unconscious on the floor!! Get to the hospital NOW!"
Hahahaha......(I can laugh at it now)........But.......AT LEAST the party went on without a hitch, right?
So did your daughter get a migraine?? I'm anxious to hear.

When my youngest DD was in about the third grade, she had to be evaluated to get accepted into adaptive Phy Ed due to a congenital weakness on the left side. One of the professionals evaluating her was a pediatric neurologist.

The neurologist was taking DD's medical history and asked if there was a family history of migraines. My mom and I both had them for years. So did the neurologist, and she said she can usually avoid them by drinking a couple of very strong cups of coffee and 3 or 4 ibuprofen when she first notices it coming on. It has worked wonders for me. Used to get several headaches a month, for days at a time and now I rarely get one. My headaches coincide with my monthly.

Well,she did not end up having a migraine! I guess thank GOD for small favors.
No she is not around cigerette smoke.I have made sure of that since she was little.
Her triggers are mainly emotional, excitement,extreme sadness (once when her sister's had to go back home cuz they live really far away,and then when her gerbil died) And often if the weather changes.Like,if it is warm and suddenly gets cold.
So shocked she didnt get one.I surely had a bad headache after all those kids left though!!!

God,catherinet,that is really serious! I know I would have done the same thing though.

LOL coolmama.....do you think you can get a couple of cups of really strong coffee down your daughter? Just kidding Dirtyfingernails. I know that when I was younger, tylenol and diet coke used to work for me.
Now I take Exedrine for the caffeine when I feel one coming on.
Coolmama.......I'm curious......did you happen to give her any Ibuprofen ahead of time?
Maybe she's finally growing out of it? My son had his "regular" migraines the worst around grades 6-9 (ages 11-15). It was the worst around puberty. I think the same might be true of girls too.....so hopefully things will subside for her.

About that incident of mine........It WAS really serious......but you know moms don't want to ruin everyones fun! hahaha I can laugh about it now. At least I made someone else drive the girls to basketball practice....in case I passed out along the way! hahaha
Actually......I kept calling the nurse the day before, telling her how much I was bleeding, and she kept saying "no....that's not enough to be alarmed about yet"........so I think I was sort of ignorant of what was really going on. I'd had several friends who seemed to bleed alot all the time, and they just lived with it......so I was thinking it wasn't life-threatening. Oops!

The last one she has was in december right before Christmas.It wasnt too bad though and she didnt have to go to the hospital.Nope,I didnt give her any ibroproen (spelling?) before.
I hope she grows out of it!!! She has been miserable since age 3. My mom is worried she will start getting them in her head like she does though.

I have recently been diagnosed with abdominal migraines. After spending three years being tested for every stomach disease you could think of, they finally diagnosed me with this. My GI doctor has me on topimax and Prilosec (I also have acid reflux). The topimax is a medicine for normal migraines, but it does a good job of controlling mine :) I have also found that applying heat to the area where the pain is usually helps (it relaxes the muscles/organs and keeps them from causing pain). Another thing that I practically live on is SPRITE!!! oh my goodness it was a life saver for me. I went two weeks surviving on sprite, water, and crackers.. It finally got my stomach to the point of accepting pancakes. I can now eat normal food (except for my trigger foods, tomatoes and bell peppers) but pancakes and sprite hold a special place in my heart :) I hope I helped! I have been trying everything because I am still in school and they don't like it when I miss school because of an attack :)

Topamax was what my dr. wanted to put me on, it's dangerous Actually for epileptic seizures. I told him after they took MIdrin off the market(compounding pharmacies will sometimes make it) I wanted to try what 100 hrs of research on Internet told me. Children can not be given Imitrex as too dangerous so they have found that they can give even a 3 month old baby an herb from Germany called Butterbur, it has to be purified or could cause problems but my dr. didn't think much of it but I've gone to him for almost 40 yrs so he said he would look into it. He called back that night & said he had also found 3 more very reputable studies & recommended by American Pediatric & Surgeons Academy& said yes by all means try it & see how it works. It is supposed to take 3 mos to work. 1 week later I noticed when I put lotion on my hands that they weren't sore as usual(broke wrist while back) that was nice but didn't think it was helping with headaches but gradually I was able to reduce prescription med. So went from 8 Midrin(generic) down to about 4 a day & as summer came I could tolerate a little AC. still allergic to any kind of smoke, cigarette,BBQ, forest fire, they still messed over me good. But after being on butterbur for 2 yrs & 3 mos I sometimes don't need any to get through the day, if humid or in AC 1 or 2. Strange thing too, my hair as kid gave me headaches as so thick, I wore 3 ponytails 1 under the other to ease headaches, Often had stomach aches, but just thought it was sick mom, taking care of 4 little bros. etc. Didn't know anyone if family had migraines until went to specialist ,several actually & then found out 3 cousins on dad's side ,his 3 sisters, & his mom all had them. Was told to avoid all the triggers I could & I was like "bubble boy"(wonder if he ever got out of that thing) I could not figure out why when 100 degrees out I would be down flat sick for 2 days or more. Finally I heard same thing on news often enough that it rang a bell- strong winds coming up coast of Mexico expected to move on out towards Hawaii by later today- UH! Why am I sick every time storm off coast of CA. Nobody recognized that weather & barometric changes could make you sick. I kept insisting to point I would tell dr. storm was coming even before news reported it ,I told friends it was going to rain or get windy & they laughed & then came back & said" How did you know" So even with keeping track of what you eat staying away from nitrates,msg,bananas, all the things, there are unseen things like smoke or chemicals or weather changes that some of us can't deal with without getting migraine. Interesting that 3 mo. old baby has migraines(guess it's not imaginary as child too young to dream a migraine up- they can tell from MRI) So if you look up Butterbur get it at Whole Foods grocery by co. called Solaray out of Park City Utah. Health food stores didn't have it except mixed with feverfew(allergic to that) & I don't want any more junk in my body than I have to have to feell good. Oh, about the hair, got really thin with all the medicine, well about 3 mos ago I noticed I had hair flying around all over & everybody said, wow, your hair is getting long around your face(rest in bun) so I am getting more hair in on my head. What butterbur does is stabilize blood vessels so they don't go up & down all day & clears a lot of inflammation out of them. My sore veins from broken wrist no longer hurting showed me that it was actually working some after 1 week. It smells like a weed even through the clear capsule & comes in 50 mg ones. Take 3-4 a day I take with meals & it doesn't not react with anything else medicines or foods. Outside of adjusting to smell it's terrific. I'm about 80 % better than I was 2 yrs ago & I have been through so much stress with sick & dying parents, hospitals, rehab, etc Had I not started butterbur I would not have been able to care for my dad & now my mom. I've had 2 headaches bad enough to put me in bed for hours since 1st of year. Back then it would have been 2 times a week! It is reasonably priced also. Bottle of 60 last 20 days for little under $20. Since I don't use much prescription drug I get to keep all that money that went for it. I did see big bottles by this company on Dr. OZ 1 day & so probably easier to find it. Check it out yourself & if you have a child with migraines this is what they need to take & not bunch of prescriptions(will need them for awhile until this herb gets working in their system)

My son who is now almost 4 has been going through the same thing since his first birthday. He was not actually diagnosed with abdominal migraines until about a year ago. And still to this day he has them once or twice every couple months. Unfortunately the only meds hr has been given are promethezine suppositories. I have taken him to multiple doctors and specialist s and some have NEVER even heard of it. My husband and I are mad and do not knOw hOw to help him. He is getting ready to start school and are scared that it is going to affect his education. His spells have lasted as few as a couple days up to a whole week. Sometimes we end up in the in the ER for 2-3 days just for fluids to be pumped back into him. It is very frustrating for us as parents to see our baby go through so much pain and then vomit so much his little body gives up. I need answers and help. I am currently trying to contact Dr.Oz and other medical television shOws. My child and others need answers. I have googled and read more about it than even most of the dr's seem to know. THAT I CANT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND. Ihad a dr tell me once that he did his research and it was nothing like I was describing. Another mad mommy moment...Research says only 2 percent of children in the US have been diagnosed and the majority were girls. It shows the youngest starting at 2. Well my sons spell started the day before his very first birthday. It also says that he will continue to have them until he is a teenager and then they will start in his head. I WANT TO KNOW HOW TO HELP HIM NOW. .I was almost relieved to see blogs of other mothers going thru what we are just to know I wasn't crazy. I wouldnt wish this on any child. It is horrific and hurts my heart to see him go through this.

Look for Butterbur use in children. They are not supposed to be giving Imatrix type drugs to children(tends to cause heart attacks, I understand) If you give your child the right dose of Butterbur some children eventually no longer have the headaches (or in this case stomach aches)takes about 3 months to work & the Butterbur doesn't react with any food or drugs, so if they give it to 3 mo. old baby it is safer than anything else mentioned in this post. It's like the diet of mostly cream for kids with seizures,drs don't want people using cream as they don't make any money, remember there was a Hollywood producer that nearly lost his son & all drs did was give him stronger meds & finally someone told him about the John Hopkins diet from yrs ago that did work & they found it & the child got well,.they did a movie on it. If a kid isn't sick dr. doesn't benefit-no money coming in!!! Well, Butterbur works wonders for me & I had tried nearly everything from Jaw realignment to chiropractors' etc.This little capsule doesn't make me feel weird or sleepy or anything, it's like taking nothing only I feel so much better I can't believe how much my life has improved. But do drs want to tell you ,most don't, NO way, I don't see my allergy dr. near as much. I gave him the empty bottle to keep in his office so if he gets another person or kid in there that is at the end of their rope he can show them what works & I know he will as he actually likes his patients to get well. He told me 33 yrs ago to never give up hope & I nearly did when they forced Midrin off the market so the 20 or so Imarix type drugs that are much more dangerous can control the "migraine industry" so all we have now is sicker & more desperate people.. It's all about profits!! Butterbur can be bought at Whole Foods or maybe from Solaray, Park City Utah, I'm not into pushing products but I know this works & there are studies by American Pediatric Drs & Surgeons Board(not sure I have that just right but go look at them for yourself. Type in Butterbur for children's migraines to find out the correct dosage & then print off the page & go give it a try. Alive nearly killed my mom, can't imagine giving it to a kid, this is safer than anything listed on this post so give your kid a chance to feel like a kid again. He could take it before he goes to school & after he gets home if he needed 2 a day. So simple. I've suffered since 1967 & I finally feel like I'm out of prison because as bad as they were I missed so much of my kids activities,time with hubby because I was flat in bed sick. When this herb can possible free your child of this after a few yrs then you won't have to spend the thousands like I did(Midrin helped but was doing damage to blood vessels etc) & got nowhere until 2 yrs ago! I did have stomache aches as a kid but thought it was fear of teachers & as I said earlier several people in family do have migraines.