A year later... Managed!

I haven't updated in a year, and, man, everything has changed. So much. So much for the better.

I am so thankful that neurologist said his pain was "too much" and that "we [could] do better." Because we absolutely could and had an amazing breakthrough with G.I.

All this time, I thought Jack's nausea was from the migraines and maybe he was having abdominal migraines. The G.I. ran bloodwork without any clear conclusions. Jack had an endoscopy to check for damage to this throat, celiac disease, and other intolerances. Everything came back normal and appeared correct. She prescribed him an acid reflux medicine to see if it would help. It kind of helped some, but not that much. This all took place around the end of March/early April 2022. At the end of April, I called the G.I. to say that he was doing a little better, but maybe a different medication would help more.

Y'all. Don't stop pushing for better. Don't stop advocating for your kids. The G.I. called in an Irritable Bowel Syndrome medication to stop stomach spasms. The difference was immediate. On the second day of taking the medicine, Jack said, "I haven't been not nauseous or not had a headache in two years." His pain was gone. The G.I. concluded that Jack has overactive nerves in his stomach, causing nausea. It has been almost one year and he does not experience debilitating nausea at all anymore--just a little from time to time. 

Jack also started going to a specialized headache clinic. He was getting headaches every day after recess and could not participate in soccer. He had to wear sunglasses outside all the time and drank tons of water, but it wasn't enough. He was diagnosed with exertion headaches. Unfortunately, Jack stopped playing soccer, but he does OK enough when he runs, plays at recess, and at his wrestling club. 

 

This school year was going pretty well and Jack was only getting a few headaches here and there--maybe two a month. And they weren't as severe either. Suddenly around December, he started getting headaches that kept him home from school again. I wasn't sure what changed. His teacher told me that the school installed fancy LED lighting that really was bothering everyone. I took Jack to the eye doctor and we got lenses with a slight tint to help lessen the light intensity. They are also transition lenses so he doesn't have to remember to bring sunglasses--they just change for him. Ever since getting the glasses, he hasn't had hardly any headaches (only a couple while also being sick with a fever).

It took us one year to achieve "kind of managed" with the migraines. It took us another year to finally get the nausea under control and fully manage Jack's migraines. He is _mostly_ a normal kid now. I'm so thankful we have our Jack back.