What to do when your kid has a migraine (besides cry)

Our lives changed drastically on March 11, 2023. And we had no idea. When Holden woke up with a migraine that day, I thought awwww shit, but that’s about all I thought. He’s a super healthy kid and I figured it was just a migraine. Then the next day, it was still there. And for 8 days, it lingered. And it sucked.

Then on day 9, he woke up a NEW KID. You would have thought he downed an entire bottle of happy pills with fourteen Red Bulls. And it was awesome.

Until 45 days later when it all started again. 8 days of migraines. And then a big break. And then migraines again. On off, on off, on off…  

Until lately, when it’s become a daily problem. Yes, DAILY. 

So naturally, I did what any sane mom would do. I assumed it was a brain tumor. FYI, I’ve done a crapload of researching online, and even though this is what we all think at first, it’s rarely the case. Not never, but rarely. We got him an MRI just to be sure, and then another MRI just to double check. We got him a neurologist, and then another neurologist, and tried every abortive med to stop the migraines once they start (didn’t work), and preventive meds to stop them from happening (didn’t work either). And I’ve spent countless hours spelunking down the Internet rabbit hole to figure out what’s causing my kid’s migraines, but I’ll probably never figure it out. Most likely it’s puberty and hopefully he’ll grow out of them, but until that happens, my job is to help him be as comfortable as possible. 

Which is why I’m writing this post. Because now that our healthy, happy-go-lucky, awesome kid has been sidelined for more than 100 days of migraines in the past eleven months, we have learned a thing or two about how to handle pediatric migraines. And I’m writing this post to share them. Whether your kid has a migraine or a headache, or you know someone else who does, hopefully this list will help (FYI, some of these things come from Amazon, and I am an Amazon Associate and can earn from qualifying purchases).

Drumroll please, badadadadadadada, here are 9 exciting (not really) ways to help your kiddo when they have a migraine:

1. Medicine/Ibuprofen

Yes, I know this one is obvious, but the way I see it, a migraine is not the time to skimp or feel guilty about medicine. Your kiddo’s in a shitton (FYI, that word is SHIT TON, not some fancy word that rhymes with baton) of pain and let’s make this thing get better before it gets worse. 

2. Pill Glide

If your kiddo has trouble taking pills but you are SOOOOO F’ing sick of measuring out liquids (or the doctor prescribes a pill that must be swallowed), Pill Glide has been a miracle for us. Your kiddo sprays a couple squirts on their tongue, and it does two things. It makes their tongue slippery AND it tastes like delicious strawberries so they won’t taste the yucky pill.

3. Don’t MAKE your kiddo do stuff while they’re feeling awful

Here are some things it won’t kill your kiddo to miss: a day or two of school, a night of brushing their teeth, a bath, doing their homework, going to practice, coming down for dinner, and a whole lot of other stuff. Your goal is to make them feel better, not worse. And missing one thing isn’t going to hurt them in the long run, but making them do it when they’re feeling absolutely terrible might scar them for life. 

4. Breathing techniques

When Holden’s migraines are really bad, he usually starts freaking out and crying, and guess what that does? It makes the migraine worse. So his doctor taught us a breathing technique that helps him calm down. It’s simple, breathe in through your nose for 4 counts. Hold that breath for 7 counts. Breathe out through your mouth for 8 counts. Do that three times in a row while you’re either sitting or lying down in case you get dizzy.

5. Find a good distraction from the pain

You know what doesn’t help our kid? Sitting in a dark room doing nothing. It’s like saying, “Hey kid, go do nothing but lie there and think about your pain.” We’ve found the best thing to do is distract him from the headache. Lately, our go-to have been LEGO sets and episodes of Young Sheldon. We keep the volume low, and if the light is too much, listening to his echo dot in a dark room is our next best option. But basically, do anything that keeps him occupied so he’s not just focusing on feeling like crap.

And speaking of feeing like crap…

6. Crap that’s actually not crap 

So when your kiddo is in pain, you’ll do ANYTHING to make them feel better. Which includes spending money on pretty much any product that may or may not help. Some of them suck, but here are a bunch we’ve actually liked:

A migraine relief cap

Peppermint roller

Epsom salt bath

Migrelief (Honestly, this didn’t work for Holden, but I’m including it because people swear by it and it has vitamins that really do help kids with migraines)

7. The occasional coffee

Want to know something? Caffeine can help migraines! Want to know something else? Caffeine can cause migraines! You’re probably thinking the same thing I was. WTF? But what we’ve realized is that a little caffeine works for OUR kiddo. I only give him like one cup before lunchtime because guess what else can cause migraines? Lack of sleep! (P.S. So does getting too much sleep. I meannnnn)

8. Don’t buy into the bullshit

What you’ll quickly learn if you start researching is that there are all these big social media people who swear they have the magic answer. “Swallow a teaspoon of this every day. Stick this thing in your ear. Take allllll these vitamins I recommend. Oh, and by the way I sell them and there’s a link below!” Oh crap, that’s what I just did, isn’t it? But the difference is I’m trustworthy and they’re not. Anyways, if these social media people really had the “magic” answer, don’t you think the doctors would all be out of a job? Don’t buy into the bullshit.

9. A Crapload of Cuddles

This will help THEM while they’re in a lot of pain. And this will help YOU when you are too. Because even though you’re not the one with the migraine, nothing is more painful than watching your kiddo when they’re hurting. And when the migraine is finally gone, hopefully your hug will be way more memorable than the headache.

If you liked this, please don’t forget to like and share it. Especially with anyone you know who deals with migraines or headaches. Thank you!!!!