Long distance Migraine Appointment

The day I returned my son back to school from spring break is the day I had my last Migraine doctor appointment. He's really been doing terrific with his Migraines this semester. It's incredible how much a little education can help someone get better control of their Migraines.

I found out at the beginning of finals last semester that he has Migraines. At that point, he was getting two to three Migraines a week. Granted it's a very stressful time for a college freshman just learning the ropes of college life, dealing with freedom and finals.

After he came home for winter break is when the education began. We had lots of talks and he read through a great Migraine book. He actually wants to reread this book when he comes home for the summer now that he has a better understanding of what is going on within himself. We did even more talking on the way back to school from spring break. Since he returned for this semester, he has only had one big Migraine and that was in the beginning of the semester.

I talked a little about my son during my doctor's visit. She commented on how wonderful genetics are and other things I'll go over. After we were done, I texted and teased my son that he just had his first neurologist visit. His response: 'How'd I do?" and wanted to know more about 'his' visit. He's such a cutie.

After my neurologist asked how old he was, she asked if I had started him on any Migraine supplements. I told her I hadn't because I didn't talk to a doctor about that yet and I was leery about starting him on even just supplements. She laughed because she said she knows how much research I've done on Migraines and laughed even harder after I told her that I bought them, but had him holding onto them at school since I am not really around him and wanted to see how he would make out with doing the other things we talked about first.

I told my neurologist everything we have done around his Migraines and where he stood at that point with them. The biggest preventative he does is gets to bed earlier then he did last semester. He also makes sure he stays hydrated and is eating regularly. I think the getting to bed earlier is the toughest part for a college freshman but he definitely knows that it has been the biggest key to helping his Migraines.

I feel bad for him with his first taste of freedom and having to limit himself when he should be stretching in every aspect. His roommate even boasts when he stays up all night and then sleeps all day long. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want my son sleeping in all day and am so proud of him that he is taking this Migraine stuff as seriously as he has been. He knows the pain and other discomforts when he doesn't take care of himself.

My doctor is a Migraineur. As we left her office and walked down the hall, she commented that she thought her son was showing signs that he was going to get Migraines too. She said her son was sleep talking and sleep walking. I told her that I'd never heard that before and she confirmed that it could be a warning sign of a future Migraineur. My son was a sleep talker.

The last time I talked to my son, I discussed some other signs in children like stomach aches that go away before you can see a doctor or are able to tell what they were really from. He said he used to get unexplained stomach aches and he seemed to put all of these pieces of a puzzle together.

We talked about how early he remembered getting headaches. He guessed it would be his junior year of high school but that he would have had no way of knowing they were Migraines until he started reading the book and could put all of him symptoms together. I had no idea as he never said anything. I guess he not only inherited my Migraines, but my ability to cover up and hide 'headaches'.