Reply to an Answer

Hi Andee   Sadly, I know from firsthand experience with my own son that a 13 year old can have a migraine for many, many months.  Two months after my son turned 13 he got a never ending migraine.  He had been taking periactin (antihistamine) for migraine prevention for approx 3 years prior to this.  Our doctor did also put him on amitriptyline.  It is used very frequently for migraine prevention.  I know that it is scary to use this type of medication on a teenager, but it did help my son.    I have to tell you that we went through several months of a long lasting migraine that turned into a chronic daily headache.  We finally got rid of it.  My son is 15 now.  He has been doing great for about 5 months.    I'm convinced that for my son this all started with puberty.  Of course, he is still going through puberty, but I believe the biggest growth spurt and body changes have already happened for him.    Initially I went to my pediatrician and had an MRI and many pain medications with no relief.  I then went to a neurologist who referred me to Chicago (over 10 hours away).  We went to Chicago where my son was admitted to the hospital for IV treatment.  Unfortunately that didn't solve the problem.  He was again admitted to the hospital approx 3 months later.  He received IV treatments from another neurologist.  He was then bumped up to 100mg of amitriptyline.  That did not solve the problem but it did reduce the severity of his migraines.    He was also prescribed petadolex (natural supplement).  He currently takes periactin, amitryptiline, petadolex, migrelief (supplement), fish oil and a daily vitamin.    My best advice is to find a pediatric migraine specialist.  I know the drugs are scary, but I don't think he's likely to improve without them.  If you find a doctor you trust you can feel better about it.    I have tried everything with my son including massage, accupuncture, biofeedback, physical therapy and many medications.  I had my son tested for mono and lyme disease.    My son does not have a rash.  He did and still does have nausea, some vomiting at times, and dizziness with his migraines.     I'm not certain if a preventative drug can help when your nephew is in this cycle of migraine.  Nothing really helped my son until we got rid of that continuous migraine/headache cycle.    Best of luck to your nephew.  I hope he will find some relief soon.  This website and the forum on this website are excellent resources.  They have a list of highly recommended specialists.    Jean Ann