11 year old daughter diagnosied with UC/Crohns in May. Currently on Sulfasalizine and 6MP. IBD for the most part in remission, however, she is suffering bad headaches, to the point where she has not been able to make a full week at school since August. Tylenol is no help. We realize that headaches are side effects to these drugs, but not the the extent that we are experiencing. Any suggestions as to diet and therapy for the headaches?:sign0085:
Migraines associated with IBD
- Thread starter jtulloss
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Hi
my 12 yo son has CD, and takes 6mp and prednisone. He too has bad headaches hat effect school. Drs don't give me answers...let me know if you find out anything.
Sheryl
my 12 yo son has CD, and takes 6mp and prednisone. He too has bad headaches hat effect school. Drs don't give me answers...let me know if you find out anything.
Sheryl
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My 11 year old has UC/Crohns and also suffers from migraines. She is on Mezavant for her UC/Crohns. She was put on a migraine preventative at the end of Aug. Its called Sandomigran DS and she takes a 1mg tab @ bedtime. She was getting migraines (crying, in bed, lights off with ice packs) anywhwere from 3-7 days a week. Since starting the meds on Aug 21, she has had 4 migraines (2 of them in the first week)! I journal everything right now, and seeing the improvement is awesome.
Have you tried ice or heat when she gets them? Ice works best for my daughter and I. But I've heard people say heat works as well.
Have you tried ice or heat when she gets them? Ice works best for my daughter and I. But I've heard people say heat works as well.
If vitamin levels haven't been tested then I'd start there. Vitamin deficiencies are very common with IBD and even being in the low end of the normal range can bring on symptoms of a vitamin deficiency (including but not limited to headaches). Check iron, B12, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, zinc, vit A, B, C, D, E, K etc. When I was a child I had to supplement folic acid and iron because both were extremely low.
I never had any side effects from 6MP personally but I did have many from Azulfidine (Sulfasalizine) including headaches (got them from Prednisone as well). When I switched to Asacol instead of the Azulfidine I didn't have any side effects.
I never had any side effects from 6MP personally but I did have many from Azulfidine (Sulfasalizine) including headaches (got them from Prednisone as well). When I switched to Asacol instead of the Azulfidine I didn't have any side effects.
Thanks for the feedback, particularily on the vitamins. Blood panel drawn yesterday so we should get some info on this later next week. Meeting with ped GI specialist at UNC Hospital on Friday and will ask about Asacol in lieu of Sulfasalizine as well as Sandomigran. We have used ice packs and heating pads for pain relief. Each episode acts differently.
Hi there,
If your daughter is in remission, I would not change any of her meds, and put her at risk for a flare up. Instead, I would put her on a migraine prevention med as Devonnsmom suggested. I am a chronic migraine sufferer - very severe - and found great relief from taking a migraine preventative med called Nortriptylene. One of the side effects is that it causes you to have a huge appetite. So, if her appetite is not so great, it would definitely make her gain weight. I am not sure if it is suitable for pediatric patients though. Nortriptylene is an anti-depressant used off label for migraines. Good advice to have the vitamin levels checked too.
If your daughter is in remission, I would not change any of her meds, and put her at risk for a flare up. Instead, I would put her on a migraine prevention med as Devonnsmom suggested. I am a chronic migraine sufferer - very severe - and found great relief from taking a migraine preventative med called Nortriptylene. One of the side effects is that it causes you to have a huge appetite. So, if her appetite is not so great, it would definitely make her gain weight. I am not sure if it is suitable for pediatric patients though. Nortriptylene is an anti-depressant used off label for migraines. Good advice to have the vitamin levels checked too.
We are dealing with abdominal migraines around here. My son was put on a high dose of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) as there has been a double blind study showing it works to prevent migraine headaches in some people. He takes 200mg twice a day. We were also told to try and find the signs that the migraines were coming on and get tylenol into him as soon as we see the signs. Tylenol can be effective at aborting a migraine if caught early enough, if not caught early it has no effect. We were also told to use a higher than regular dose of tylenol at early onset of the migraine so you might want to ask your doctor about that. This early use of tylenol seems to be working.
Hope you can get to the bottom of it. It is worrisome when they miss lots of school. My son is in grade 6 and has only made it through 1 full week of school since February!
Hope you can get to the bottom of it. It is worrisome when they miss lots of school. My son is in grade 6 and has only made it through 1 full week of school since February!
DustyKat
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Headaches can be an Extra Intestinal Manifestation (EIM) of Crohn's, but in view if the fact that is primarily under control I agree with looking at the meds as a possible cause. As Crabby has said, they both can cause headaches and Sulfasalizine in particular.
Good luck with the appointment and let us know how you get on!
Dusty. xxx
Good luck with the appointment and let us know how you get on!
Dusty. xxx
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