Migraines Go Away!

As I sit and ponder this blog post, I want you to know these are just my thoughts and I am sure there are other people out there who are dealing with much bigger issues but this is mine today and from this time on to when it gets better. I feel like getting a few things out there and I think anytime your child is hurting you just wish you could take away their pain no matter how big or small!
Today, before I wrote this blog, I was doing research on migraines in children. My oldest, Braedyn who is 8, has been complaining of headaches for some time now. I didn't take it seriously until yesterday. I would just give him some ibuprofen and make him drink some water. I thought it was because he was dehydrated, tired, hungry, not wanting to do homework or just stressed from school. It wasn't until yesterday, I became more concerned thinking there has got to be something more to these headaches. He has been coming home from school for about a month now complaining of headaches after school, he's in pain and very agitated and short tempered. It would become a struggle to get homework done, when he is easily distracted in the first place. He has been out of school two times in a month now because his head hurt so bad he couldn't get out of bed. Halloween night he had started to get a headache on our way to my friend's house but then he didn't say anything again until we were out trick or treating and he said it wasn't going away. We didn't go very long because Cooper and Jordan were tired too. We got home and he was in tears and holding his head it hurt so bad. I gave him Ibuprofen and that didn't work and by morning it was still there and he couldn't get up because it hurt. So I let him sleep in while I took the other boys to bed and daddy stayed home with him. He didn't get up until 10 am. He felt a little better. While he was sleeping, I had called the Dr. and made an appointment because this was the second time in a month of missing school and his headaches had never lasted this long before. On the way to the Dr.s office it came back again.
Now with an 8 year old, I am in a whole new area of Dr. appointments, as they can speak for themselves. They used to ask me the questions and you can only speculate as to what is bothering your child but today Braedyn could speak for himself. I let him do the talking and I had told him make sure you answer the questions and tell him everything that is bothering you. The Dr. did the exam and asked him questions to which some of them I was surprised by Braedyn's answers. Some of the answers were:

Yes, I get blurry vision when I have the headaches, my throat hurts. and sometimes I see spots.
When I read sometimes the words get all blurry after awhile.
My front of my head to the back hurts.
Sometimes I can't see the board at school but when I am close I can.
Loud noises make it worse and at the ice rink (cold)
The only thing that makes it better is laying down in a dark room and close my eyes.

As he is saying these things and  tons of things are racing through my mind. I tend to worry about him a lot. I just want him to be healthy and happy. He has migraines, he might need glasses, maybe he has a tumor....We just had Braedyn's baseball coach's son this spring have some similar symptoms and he was 10 and he ended up having a brain tumor. So that stuff scares me! That is why I took him in too.  Tylenol and Ibuprofen do not work and I feel helpless when he hurts.
The Dr. felt like this problem warranted a visit to the Ophthalmologist and a Pediatric Neurologist to rule out everything else and make sure that he is just having migraines and nothing else is causing it and see what the plan is to take care of them. 
After the appointment I took him to lunch at Chik-Fil-A, one of his favorites, and he still wasn't feeling the greatest. He also told me he was scared because of what happened to Carson he didn't want that to happen to him. Okay, I had to hold back my tears when he said that. He was well aware of what happened with Carson the 10 year old I spoke of previously. The boy is always thinking. Also if you know Braedyn with his puppy dog eyes and when they are sad, it breaks you heart and it touches your soul. At this moment, I wished he didn't have to deal with this. I told him,  "that wasn't going to happen and we will hopefully get your headaches figured out so you don't have them anymore or figure out why they are happening and stop them before they get so bad." We came home and he took a nap after he took some pain medicine the Dr. prescribed.
Unfortunately Cooper had hockey, so that meant Braedyn had to come along. I was dreading going because I knew it would come back once we got there and also knowing he didn't feel good I felt like a horrible mom dragging him there. He started to feel better after his nap, so we packed up and started our hour trek to the hockey rink. It came back in the car and you can see it in his eyes, as he was holding his head and almost crying. I focused on the road with tears in my eyes not letting him see it was affecting me. At this point, I just wanted to take his pain away and I felt helpless. He looked so sad I just wanted to pull the car over and give him a big hug and hold him. He says it feels better when I massage his forehead.
Eventually, it went away again and we were able to make it through hockey and then we got home and it came back again. Is this normal for migraines? It is so frustrating for all involved. 
He woke up this morning feeling better so I am praying he makes it through a whole day with no headaches.
I feel like a horrible mom after today, thinking all this time I was telling him, oh suck it up, just drink some water or go lay down when he actually is having this real problem.  I talked to his teacher to make her aware of what is going on because the nurse's office is just down the hallway so he can go lay down in a dark room if it comes on again at school and to call me. I am trying to keep a journal of when they come on and what is happening around him to maybe trigger it.
I have to make his other appointments today and I am praying that this is all it is and we can get his migraines under control. He is only 8 years old and I hate that he has to already deal with this. I know when I have a headache, people better just leave me alone and I am not a very nice person. I can't imagine how he feels! I can understand now why he and his brother's have been so awful with each other too. Braedyn's temper is very short so now I get it. That explains a lot.
I worry about him so much because he thinks so in depth about everything. The poor kid said something to the Dr. yesterday as the Dr. was trying send the prescription to the pharmacy and The Dr. said, "sorry this is taking so long I am trying to find a liquid". Braedyn's response was, "That's okay if it is a pill, I can take it, I take lots of pills." The Dr. laughed and we made light of it and Braedyn said, "I take my vitamins, prilosec, allergy medicine, sometimes actifed, and my pulmicort, and my nose spray." Then I got to thinking. Wow, this kid does take a lot of medicine compared to my other kids. I don't like that he does but it's what he needs to stay healthy.
He was in good spirits this morning and I think he feels better knowing what is happening with his body and the Dr. explained it to him so thoroughly. So he's not left wondering what the heck is happening with my head. I will keep you updated as to what is going on with him. Just keep him in your prayers that he can deal with this new problem that has presented itself and that is all it is.
Love,
Allie
PS~ If any of your children have had or if you have had migraines, What has worked for you? Have you had similar things happen? I will take any advice at this point. Thank you!