School just don't seem to care about his health!

[oxgirl]

Poor J, only just managed to get him home and in the door today before he was violently sick. He's in bed now and will probably miss his tea.

 

He suffers with migraines and whenever he has a full day at school he gets a headache, which the school just don't seem to be able to manage. They give him his medication but don't ease off on him and expect him to just carry on. Consequently, by the time I pick him up, he's grey and feeling absolutely awful. It's touch and go as to whether I can get him home without him being sick in the car and then he's straight to bed.

 

Teacher just doesn't seem to care or understand how serious the effect of this is on him. They just don't take it seriously!

 

I feel like if he tells them he's feeling ill they just want to jolly him along with, oh, you haven't done much today, or, you're alright, and they don't listen to him properly and then he gets in this state. He's already seriously underweight (13yrs and 4.5 stone!!), being sick and missing meals is all he needs, he'll end up collapsing, but do you think they care!!

 

Okay, rant over. Thanks for listening.

 

~ Mel ~

[smiley]

<'>

 

Don't know what to suggest - but big hugs to J - migraines are horrid <'>

[bid]

Sorry if I'm suggesting something you've probably already done...

 

You could ask his consultant for a letter, detailing his problems with migraines and how seriously they effect him, and clarifying exactly how the school should deal with the situation.

 

Good luck... <'>

 

Bid

[Valiant_Skylark]

Goodness! How awful for him (and you). <'> <'> <'>

 

I used to suffer from something that sounds similar when I was a child, but I don't know if it was for the same reasons, obviously.

 

Could Ian Jordan (Orthoscopics) help to find or at least eliminate some possible causes for his problems? Ian helped me and did ask when I saw him, "How on earth did you manage as a child?" to which all I could answer was, "Not very well".

 

I remember feeling so overwhelmed with lights, smells, noise and motion etc that I felt nauseous and had a splitting headache for months at a time. I sometimes had to lay down in a darkened room for a period after school to calm my system down... and I could never eat after coming straight in from school as I felt too sick. Needless to say I was very skinny from refusing food (my poor Mum always worried about me, bless).

 

What ideas do you have about what may be causing his migraines? What does your son (if he is able to say) think makes things better or worse? Have you eliminated all the more usual foods that cause problems? I get blinding headaches with citrus fruits too.

 

In the meantime, the school sound about as useful as a chocolate teapot. I'm having trouble with my own son's school, who are becoming experts at ignoring advice, to their own detriment... but , hell, what do they care?! This will be even trickier to deal with as the problems don't directly impact on them... it is you and your son who have to pick up the pieces every evening. I hope someone will be along soon who can advise better than I can, but in the meantime you have my greatest sympathy. Our school certainly seems to care more about power games than actually solving a child's problem, so the very best of luck.

 

vs xx

[clintess]

go to your gp and get prescribed migraine medication,i have recently done this for my thirteen year old.

[chriss]

I think my son gets migraines too. I told his paediatrician about them and he said he wouldn,t like to diagnose migraines while he was so young (he was 6 then) and said they are probably stress headaches. He gets one nearly every half-term about 4 weeks in, so it is obviously a build up of stress that causes them. He usually wakes up with them and is sometimes sick. Then he spends 2 or 3 days lying on the sofa with his head under a pillow. Then he is much calmer afterwards as he has had a break from school.

 

When this happens he looks absolutely awful, he won't eat and I can't take him anywhere. Why your child's school aren't helping him more is a mystery to me. Is there a school nurse you could speak to? I agree that a note from your GP might make them more considerate.

[Kathryn]

I used to suffer from migraines too and they are horrible, especally if you get the accompanying nausea, it really is impossible to do anything except lie really still in a dark room. They are different from an ordinary headache. The school need to take this a lot more seriously, in my opinion: I'd agree with Bid's advice.

 

K x

[nellie]

Hi Mel,

 

My son (28) suffered unexplained episodes of sickness from the age of 8, normally brought on by stress, anxiety or excitement, we now believe this to be Cyclical Vomitting Syndrome. Thankfully the episodes have decreased now he's older. I'm not saying your child is affected by this but it's worth investigating. http://www.cvsa.org.uk/

 

Definitely worth looking at the triggers. It could be the school environment, lighting, sound etc. Is he ok during school holidays?

 

Nellie xx

[Flora]

Migraines are awful... I've had them intermittently since I was a teen.

 

Bill has had them.... well severe headache, visual disturbance and the sickness so I'm assuming that's what they are. He doesn't seem to have suffered from migraine, or even normal headaches much since he started wearing his Orthoscopic glasses.

 

Mel, as has been suggested the school lighting could very well be a trigger. I know it's not the only trigger, but if he develops them at school it might be worth looking into.

 

Flo' <'>

[Bagpuss]

Mel <'> <'>

 

I too have suffered with migraines.....went thru a period of a few years when I would get them regularly, and the GP prescribed tablets, which helped. The migraines completely knocked me for six and I literally couldn't get out of bed or open my eyes.....poor J May be worth considering collecting him asap when he has one, rather than the school jollying him along. They should be taking these seriously, no-one could possibly function at school when having one.

[oxgirl]

Thanks everyone.

Well, poor J was sick all evening and ended up in bed at 7.00 having had nothing to eat. Today his stomach is still sore from all the vomiting, so he's having a nice relaxing day at home.

I'm going to go back to my doctor and possibly put him back on the preventative meds, which he had last year. They reduced them a lot, but did have side effects.

He does get them at home, but because we're very good at spotting the signs, we can catch them in time and give meds and he'll be okay. The school aren't very good at listening to him and so they let him go on too long and, before you know it, it's too late and, once he starts vomiting, that's it, nothing will help except bed.

Not sure what we could do about the lights though, if he's in a lesson they just keep him there, they don't bring him out like they should.

 

~ Mel ~

[LKS]

Oxgirl poor j <'> My ds 12 has suffered from migraines in the past, but thankfully they have settled down at the moment. He sounds very like your j. If he was at home then we would recognise the signs and be able to give him his meds immediately. If he didn't get his meds then it would lead to a full blown attack and he would be so sick and would then sleep for anything up to 4 hours. His school were a bit dismissive of his headaches in the past and would usually tell him to have a drink of water. A couple of things changed this, one after telling a teacher that he didn't feel well and being told to sit down he proceeded to throw up all over the place. Not nice for anyone I know but I was able to explain that this is what is likely to happen if action isn't taken. Then his consultant did a sort of plan for him (don't know what its called) but it lists all steps for staff to take if he starts to feel unwell. I have also had to do a bit of work with ds to try and make him more aware of how he feels which is quite difficult. So far touch wood this has worked. If he starts to get one of his headaches he goes straight to medical and has his meds. They monitor him and if he is not improving I go get him. But really you only have to take one look at him, he is grey. I do feel sorry for your son because it is an awful thing to suffer from and you really need the understanding of the school and if, as others have said they have so far ignored you get the G.P. or consultant inolved. I hope they settle down for J in the future too.

[chriss]

My son had problems when he sat too near a smartboard. Could this be a trigger for your son's migraines?

[butterfingersbimbo]

oh no!! i hope J is feeling better today, i think the school need to take this far more seriously, it's cruel to leave him to suffer like that, how would they like it if it were their child?

[Ian Jordan]

there is significant evidence that about 2/3 of migraines can be provoked by the visual environment.

they can also be stopped by modification of the environment or visual input.

we can stop over half of migraines in arou nd 2 minutes, without drugs.

sadly the nhs don't seem to understand even though there is sufficient clinical evidence around

any of our clinics will see you in an "emergency" and if poss stop problem in around 2 minutes! i don't charge (and i don't think any of my colleagues do either)

[Canopus]

In recent years there has been an emphasis on healthy schools but what exactly does it mean in practice? Do schools really care less about the health of children, or is it just another shallow marketing ploy? It is probably safe to say that most teachers have little understanding of stress and depression which are at the root of many childhood illnesses.

[oxgirl]

Oxgirl poor j <'> My ds 12 has suffered from migraines in the past, but thankfully they have settled down at the moment. He sounds very like your j. If he was at home then we would recognise the signs and be able to give him his meds immediately. If he didn't get his meds then it would lead to a full blown attack and he would be so sick and would then sleep for anything up to 4 hours. His school were a bit dismissive of his headaches in the past and would usually tell him to have a drink of water. A couple of things changed this, one after telling a teacher that he didn't feel well and being told to sit down he proceeded to throw up all over the place. Not nice for anyone I know but I was able to explain that this is what is likely to happen if action isn't taken. Then his consultant did a sort of plan for him (don't know what its called) but it lists all steps for staff to take if he starts to feel unwell. I have also had to do a bit of work with ds to try and make him more aware of how he feels which is quite difficult. So far touch wood this has worked. If he starts to get one of his headaches he goes straight to medical and has his meds. They monitor him and if he is not improving I go get him. But really you only have to take one look at him, he is grey. I do feel sorry for your son because it is an awful thing to suffer from and you really need the understanding of the school and if, as others have said they have so far ignored you get the G.P. or consultant inolved. I hope they settle down for J in the future too.

 

 

Thanks a lot for that LKS, yes, your son sounds a lot like mine!

 

Today I found out that the TA hasn't been giving him the correct dose, because SHE decided that it was too much so she took it upon herself to just give one spoon of meds rather than two!! Goodness knows how long she has been doing this! Like your son, if you catch it early, you can prevent it from getting worse and leading to vomiting, but just by giving one spoon instead of two it wasn't touching the headache and so it just gets worse and worse. I've sent an email into school insisting that she follows mine and the GPs advice and give TWO SPOONS in future, as previously instructed (I'm still fuming, actually)!!

 

Glad your son's have settled a bit, they're very debilitating, aren't they!

 

~ Mel ~

[oxgirl]

My son had problems when he sat too near a smartboard. Could this be a trigger for your son's migraines?

 

 

As far as I can tell, J's are caused by stress and over-exhaustion, both of which he suffers from at school, especially during a long day (some of his days are shorter), so I feel like there isn't a lot I can do about those really!

 

~ Mel ~

[oxgirl]

..... how would they like it if it were their child?

 

 

Exactly!!

Last time I looked at the meds spoon, it had just been shoved back in the box unwashed and the whole bottle and spoon were all sticky and disgusting!! Would they put that in THEIR mouths?? I don't think so!

 

~ Mel ~

[oxgirl]

there is significant evidence that about 2/3 of migraines can be provoked by the visual environment.

they can also be stopped by modification of the environment or visual input.

we can stop over half of migraines in arou nd 2 minutes, without drugs.

sadly the nhs don't seem to understand even though there is sufficient clinical evidence around

any of our clinics will see you in an "emergency" and if poss stop problem in around 2 minutes! i don't charge (and i don't think any of my colleagues do either)

 

 

How can they be stopped in two mins without medication??!!

 

Also, I don't think the school would agree to changing the whole of their classroom setups just for my son, so he just has to put up with what is there!

 

~ Mel ~

[oxgirl]

In recent years there has been an emphasis on healthy schools but what exactly does it mean in practice? Do schools really care less about the health of children, or is it just another shallow marketing ploy? It is probably safe to say that most teachers have little understanding of stress and depression which are at the root of many childhood illnesses.

 

 

Yes, I agree totally. It gets so hot and airless in the classrooms sometimes with sun beaming through the windows into childrens' eyes, etc., but they just have to sit there and put up with it!

 

~ Mel ~

[butterfingersbimbo]

omg thats disgusting about the spoon, and about the TA not giving the proper dose, if they were unsure why didnt they just ASK you fgs??? i would be frothing if i were you chic......

 

canopus i think you are right.........

[oxgirl]

i would be frothing if i were you chic......

 

 

I am, I am!! (*froths*)!

 

~ Mel ~

[Ian Jordan]

we use inhibition effects of visual stimulus to stop migraines and headaches.

theory too long for post.