14 year old DD with bad headaches, dizziness, nausea and feinting.

[Pax]

firstly no i dont believe she could be pregnant :laughing:

Was wondering if anyone can remember being 14 and experiencing these symptoms.

My daughter has been having massive headaches for 2 years now, manifesting into worse ones in recent months.

she is being sent home from school, work, sport events because she is feinting and dizzy.

the doctor cant seem to find anything wrong with her and we have had CT scans done of her neck and brain and they are clear.

any ideas?

I am thinking perhaps eyes checked next.

but mostly scanning for ideas on if anyone else suffers these symptoms and what caused it.

I am wondering if it could be anxiety.

[Nowhere]

has she had her iron levels tested, as what our discribig could be due o low iron, especialy if she has recently started her period or if they have got heavier

[Pax]

blood tests in september were all good.

[Nowhere]

wel thats a good thing then, now why umm a hard one

I agree on the eye testing might be a good idea

[Mathermy]

Is she eating correctly?

[Chub Chub]

Sounds the same as me at her age. I used to get really bad migraines for no apparent reason. I do have naturally low blood pressure and they seemed it may have something to do with that. I used to get dizzy when I stood up to quick, I used to faint all over the place and generally felt sick if I got too hot. Which was hard as I made state teams for sport all the time.

Hopefully she will grow out of it. My docs found nothing either and I grew out of them.

Poor cherub it really is horrible to go through. For interst sake, mine used to get worse around my periods even though my iron levels were fine.:cool:

[Pax]

she says she is eating correctly and so does her father. she went to live with him early this year to get to know him better.

I dont know what they call 'eating well' but i guess seeing her blood tests are fine it couldnt be that bad.

Chub Chub I was thinking low blood pressure too as i get that at times. I used to suffer something similar as well, but a bit different.

Its very frustrating as she is missing a lot of school.

its very frustrating.. wish it was just a quick fix involved.

[PookieLady]

After having her eyes checked i would consider taking her to a naturopath.
Otherwise I would think maybe its just an age thing and hopefully she will grow out of it.
Best of luck

[Freya]

My sister had all those symptoms and at 15 was diagnosed with a pituatory tumor. They had missed it in the beginning. 5 years later and she is on medication but the headaches are worse.

It more then likely isn't anything too bad, but make sure you get lots of opinions.

For the mean time, you could look at acupuncture to help.

Oh and like pookielady said, it would be good to see a naturopath.

[QTB]

my SIL gets those same things when she has a migrain...

[WorkingClassMum]

Dehydration?

A migraine is when the blood vessels in the brain constrict and go into spasm (fellow sufferer here).

If I let myself get too dehydrated, I am punished!

Also getting her eyes checked is a good idea as well (hmmm I also wear glasses).

[chrysalis]

the symptoms sound like a form of dysautonomia - which can include dizziness, fainting, digestive problems and migraines. It is a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysautonomia

you could google it for more info

[2girls&1boy]

I used to get these symptoms as a teenager about a day before I got my period. It went on for about a year then went away.

[loving6]

MY 14 year old Dd had very similar problems we found the headache were her eyes. The rest was ross river fever, glandular fever and bama forest fever together. Hope this helps Jenny

[megaminz]

I suffered terribly from migraines which would result in the dizziness, nausea and fainting.

Mine was combination of dehydration and low blood sugar. Diet controlled I don't have any issues but you have to learn to recognise the symptoms and at 14 you don't always notice til its too late and out of control (then you just have to go to bed for a few days)

[Chickadee]

I had bad headaches as a teen, no dizziness or nausea but did get vision problems and light sensitivity with them. My father's migraines are more like what you describe. I have mostly grown out of mine now (at 38, thank goodness!).

There is often no 'cause' that can be diagnosed to explain why one person gets migraines and another doesn't. But if someone is prone to them they can be triggered by dehydration as mentioned above, as well as certain foods. Google migraines for info, but from memory possible trigger foods include: caffeine, anything with msg, strong/aged cheese, chocolate, spices.

[naiwen]

I was similar at that age, more fainting than migraines though, it was partly low BP partly low BS and partly being very unhappy at school.

I think some of it was psychosymatic sp? not too say it wasnt something that needed to be fixed but my emotional state definatly contributed to it.

[WorkingClassMum]

the symptoms sound like a form of dysautonomia - which can include dizziness, fainting, digestive problems and migraines. It is a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysautonomia

you could google it for more info

That's what Greg the (ex) Yellow Wiggle has.

[poppie]

I know someone who was the same (very similar) for about a year before she got her AF. After that it only reoccurred each month the day before AF. Could that be it? I would get everything checked anyway because it could be anything at all:yes:

[nugglyboysmum]

My youngest sister just turned 15 and she has been having similar symptoms for about 2 years now. I dont think she gets the headaches though. She gets REALLY bad period pain each month, t the point that she spews, get dizzy spells and faints. Also when she stands up too quickly she gets all dizzy and light headed. On hot days, she gets dizzy spells and faints often. She has seen doctors about his, but she is fine, she has been told her body doesn't handle hot weather too well and that she is just unlucky to have such awful periods, we all have bad periods but hers are worst

[CaitlinArai22]

there are really too many things it could be to list. i suffered migrains for a long time, still do occasionally and it took us ages to work out the triggers.

try charting the incidences around them - what time of day they occur, what times of her cycle, what food she's eaten, weather shes had any cafine intake, how much sleep shes had and how much water, how long since shes eaten. you might be able to see some sort of pattern, and then you can experiment with her diet and daily ruitine?

has she had her glucose levels checked?
has she started smoking cigarettes (i know shes only 14, but i was smoking at that age:rolleyes:)?

[Pax]

thank you for all your ideas - i have my exhubby (her dad) on the case now as i cant get her to appointments easily.

he took her yesterday, and doctor thinks it is most likely a pinched nerve in her neck and to get phsyio.

we will try that and also adjust her diet, try eliminating yeast as there is family history of yeast intolerance.

meanwhile she is still missing school... poor kid.

[CaitlinArai22]

poor thing, its hard being in and out of school at that age:(
let us know how it goes, hopefully physio and a few minor dietary changes will make a world of difference.
maybe its worthwhile getting her dad to take her to a nutritionist? and avoid caffeine all together?

[BreithCuidiu]

My DD is 14 and experiences what has been recently diagnosed as migraine. She gets dizzy, has a headahe, then gets nauseous and eventually vomits. It has been going on for around two and a half years.

Triggers are when she doesn't eat for a period of time, or after an argument with us. I send her for massages once a week and try and ensure that I have plenty of the foods that she likes on hand (the healthier ones).

My DD also has very, very heavy periods and is quite anaemic so we need to spend considerable time getting her to rest and eat/drink well. This month we're seeing a homeopath to see what can be done to help.

[Pax]

My DD is 14 and experiences what has been recently diagnosed as migraine. She gets dizzy, has a headahe, then gets nauseous and eventually vomits. It has been going on for around two and a half years.

Triggers are when she doesn't eat for a period of time, or after an argument with us. I send her for massages once a week and try and ensure that I have plenty of the foods that she likes on hand (the healthier ones).

My DD also has very, very heavy periods and is quite anaemic so we need to spend considerable time getting her to rest and eat/drink well. This month we're seeing a homeopath to see what can be done to help.

sounds like our girls would have a lot in common at the moment

I ended up getting fed up and spent the cash and took her to brisbane mater private emergency hospital where they did exhaustive tests on her, excluding all the typical viruses and diseases that it could be.

they have put her on senequin now .. and she is feeling lack of appetite etc..

Monday she has a neurologist appointment so we will then be having an MRI

if all these tests come back as clear.. then we too will go down the homeopath path..

poor kid is so fed up with being housebound.. she even lost her boyfriend, because he said he doesnt seen her enough anymore.. lazy little twit he could come and see her.. 'Men" and their selfishness starts young..

[CaitlinArai22]

let us know how it goes morrigan, hopefully they can find something to help her, and she can get back to normal teenage life. and you can relax about it.:hugs:

[codswallop]

hi morrigan
sound just like me
but mine started when i was not quite 13
i had all number of tests and scans saw so many different specialists and tried just about everything(even to the point where i took my yr ten exams doped up on pain meds)
id get the huge migraine and would have trouble focusing and would at times loose vision and pass out
Finlay when i was 19 a neurologist diagnosed me with cluster head aches (caused by miss firing neurons) and i started to take epilum
now rather than having serious bouts for weeks and months at a time i get a few isolated
attacks
good luck and i hope they work out why alot quicker than they did with me

[Pax]

hi morrigan
sound just like me
but mine started when i was not quite 13
i had all number of tests and scans saw so many different specialists and tried just about everything(even to the point where i took my yr ten exams doped up on pain meds)
id get the huge migraine and would have trouble focusing and would at times loose vision and pass out
Finlay when i was 19 a neurologist diagnosed me with cluster head aches (caused by miss firing neurons) and i started to take epilum
now rather than having serious bouts for weeks and months at a time i get a few isolated
attacks
good luck and i hope they work out why alot quicker than they did with me

it almost sounds like a seizure disorder doesnt it? :eek:

[codswallop]

it is in a way but only in the brain not affecting the body hence the epilum (normally used in treating epilepsy)

[MimiGrace]

Oh that sounds so horrible!
And i know how bad it is to be in that position as a child.

Except my migraines started when i was approx. 7 years old. And they didn't go away until i was about 16 1/2 (they lessened and then exploded without warning).

And we spent years taking me to all the different doctors, specialists, getting brain scans done, blood tests etc etc.
And i only went to school about 2-3 days a week (if that, mum was a sahm and had to come pick me up at least once a week).

We still don't know what caused them though, so no help there. If you can find out what triggers them though, i find that once i start to feel it build up, if i avoid the really bad triggers i can sometimes make it stay little enough that i can make it to bed and then sleep it off without too much trouble.
(my triggers include; not enough food, too much food, not enough water, too much water, too much bad sugar, too much radiation from tv/comp, too small print in books, loud noises, the word migraine/headache :rolleyes:, nightmares, bad thoughts, crying etc etc...long long list. although light intensity seems to be a big one).
HTH, and send ur dd a :hugs: from me. i hope hers go away much quicker than mine do! its a horrible thing to have to live with!

[Pax]

well we saw the neurologist that said "migraines" no cause no reason dont know why.. just migraines..

well thank god she is not very ill.. but she is not happy she walked out saying 'i want to slap that doctor'

she wanted a cure....

she gets to halve her meds then that may help with her constant exhaustion that i think the meds are creating.

fingers crossed she can come off the meds and the migraine stays away.

[MimiGrace]

I'm crossing my fingers and toes for your dd:fingerscrossed:
:sunshine:love to you both, and i'm sure you'll come out of this on the other side, both a little bit stronger!!!

[CaitlinArai22]

oh M, that sucks well and truely.

Maybe you're all better going to see a herbalist or remedial therapist, they tend to try a few more things vefore giving up, and they'll be able to offer stress aids as well, if she doesnt seem to be coping.
Maybe something as simple as rescue remedy could at least help her calm down enough to cope with it, in my experience with migrains and cluster headaches the stress over getting them makes them worse or more frequent.

all i can say is i really hope she starts feeling better soon. it must be aweful, i'm sorry the drs didnt help.