Friday, January 23, 2009

Headaches

I meantioned a while back that I had to take Jacob to the doctor and that he had been diagnosed with abdominal headaches and migraines so I thought I would let you in on what our life has been like during the past couple of weeks. Jacob started having headaches a few months ago..at first he would get them every so often but as time went on they become more and more frequent and more intense. When he would get a headache he would cry and be completely out of it for the rest of the day. I'd have to put him to bed with an icepack and the only way he could get rid of it was so sleep it off. He was miserable and it was horrible to watch. After having headaches and tummyaches for a few weeks I finally took him to the doctor and she said that he had abdominal headachesand migraines. Apparently the abdominal headaches are pains that are similar to rebound headaches but instead of it always rebounding as a headaches sometimes it will rebound as a tummyache. When he gets these tummyaches he literally doubles over and has to lay down so it isn't just some minor tummyache.

We were given a list of foods that we have to avoid in order to try and stop these headaches. My plan was to avoid them all for a time period and if the headaches were eliminated to gradually try to reintroduce some of foods to see if a certain one was causing it. Now remember that Jacob is a VERY picky eater. Before this he lived on peanut butter and jelly,macaroni and cheese,hot dogs,bologa,bananas,doughnuts,pizza and yogurt. Anyhow here's the list:

aged cheese
herring
chocolate
vinegar(except white)
anything fermented,pickled or marinated
sour cream
yogurt
nuts
peanut butter
fresh bread,coffeecakes or doughnuts
peas with broad pods
msg
onions
figs
citrus
bananas
pizza
bologna
sausage
bacon
hot dogs

I left the doctors office wondering what in the world I could get him to eat. So we embarked upon this new journey. He did surprisingly well. No headaches and no tummyaches. Three days ago I let him try chocolate one night for dessert. He had no headache that night and did fine all day the next day. The next night I made tater tot casserole and it is topped with cheese..this has been the hardest to eliminate because we eat cheese on EVERYTHING! My husband says that he never knew it possible to eat so much cheese until he married into my family. I had completely eliminated the cheese though from Jacob's diet but thought I would try it that night and see what happened. He had the cheese at dinner and a small fun size pack of m & m's for dessert. He went to bed and got up with a headache. Now I'm not sure if it was the cheese or the chocolate so we're back to start again. I've eliminated both again and will see what happens from the word go again. I tell ya it's like a puzzle trying to figure out what is causing these migraines and how to stop them. He is too young to take migraine meds so we have to try and figure out what's initially triggering them to begin with.



I have felt terrible for Jacob during these last two months. This is how he has spent a good portion of his time before we visited the doctor.

11 comments:

Lori said...

I did the migraine diet too. I eliminated everything my diet got things under control and then started adding things back while keeping a food journal. I found for me it wasn't the one thing but often a combination of food items in combination with stress that was my issue. Some of my big ones: nuts, artificial flavoring, bananas, caffeine (which I now use to eliminate my headaches... strange I know but it works). Once you figure out what it is you will figure out a way to deal with it

amanda said...

hope you figure it out SOON. i too could not imagine NO CHEESE. but then again i am from wisconsin. :0)

Julie said...

Bless his heart! That is so sad. My friend had horrible stomach pains growing up and later learned she can't eat dairy products.

There are "fake" cheeses that you can try. You probably wouldn't want to eat it plain, but you can still use it as a topping on things. It's easier to eliminate things if you do it gradually and try the substitutes.

Everyday Mom Designs said...

Poor baby! That must be a huge ordeal.. I hope this gets easier for everyone..

Jill @ Sneaky Momma said...

I had to do elimination diets when I was breastfeeding both of my girls. It's no fun at all trying to figure out what the source of the problem is. Sounds like you're on the right path, though. Maybe it's just chocolate or cheese that's causing his headaches? Hang in there...

Julie said...

Poor little boy :-(
I'll be praying that you are able to figure out what is causing the headaches and that he will be able to be free from them.

Liz said...

poor little guy..I am glad you are on your way to some answers.
liz

He & Me + 3 said...

Poor baby. Model was getting headaches like that frequently too. She needed reading glasses. Since getting her glasses, has only had one headache and that was the day she forgot to wear them at school. I hope that you are able to pinpoint the source of his headaches too. I could see the pain in her eyes...it was horrible to see and not be able to do anything about. I will pray for him.
When my cousin eats anything with red dye #40 she gets a migrane and I know that M&M's have red dye. You may want to check into that. Red punch, grape jelly probably has it in it too, etc. Just a thought.

Annie said...

poor little man :( i hope u guys can figure it out! my gut wuld think chocolate...i hope he feels better soon!!!!

McCrakensx4 said...

Hoping that he gets better soon! I am not sure how my fam would do with those limitations, but I am sure we would if we had too! You are a good mom! Take care!

Drew said...

Boy, do I feel for him. I've suffered with migraines my entire life. I remember having my first one in Kindergarten after drinking strawberry punch. (Can't even think about strawberry punch without getting nauseated even today!) My mom was truly at a loss as to what to do. My migraines got even worse at puberty and strangely subside when I'm pregnant. My mom gave me Tylenol which did nothing. I eventually discovered Excedrin which really helps. For awhile, I was also given a low-dose depression medication which helps prevent headaches. I keep intending to go to a specialist, but my life is so busy as it is. :) You are doing the right thing. Anything you can do to help your son avoid the pain will be well worth it...especially since he can't take medication at his age. I feel so sad for him!