My 14-year-old son and I are both highly sensitive and we both get frequent migraines. I didn't realize his headaches were migraines until they got worse around the time he turned 11. I noticed that he usually got them within 30 minutes of when I got mine even when I didn't tell him I was getting one. We usually get them when there are weather changes like extreme temperature changes, high winds, barometric pressure changes, etc. or if we didn't get enough sleep combined with stress.
Before a migraine starts, we both get a really tired feeling and I usually have visual disturbances like when I look at the something with vertical lines they appear to vibrate. This causes problems when we try to do geometry. When I get a migraine it affects my speech and words sometimes don't come out right but it doesn't affect my son that way. The headaches absolutely slow us down when we do algebra (we homeschool) or anything that requires thinking. It is not a good idea for us to take a timed test with a migraine. I become very sensitive to cars changing lanes anywhere near me when I am driving. I sometimes have to stop and wait for the headache to pass at the nearest place with a caffeinated beverage. If I drink coffee and take an Excedrin Migraine it usually takes about 20 minutes for the worst of the headache pain to go away.
A neurologist gave my son a prescription for a migraine medication a few years ago and the base pharmacist refused to fill it saying it should not be taken by kids but the pharmacist didn't have any trouble filling the prescription for amitriptyline (an antidepressant that is sometimes used to prevent migraines) and it made very tired and his personality changed so he stopped taking it. He found that an OTC cold medication that contains sudafed helps enough that he can function but does not take all of the pain away. I take Excedrin Migraine. I tried propranol years ago and it helped with the headaches but it caused a very fast unwanted weight gain so I had to stop taking it. I talked to family members who also suffered from migraines and they said all the other migraine medications they tried didn't work for them either so they just went back to using excedrin migraine. Unfortunately, it contains aspirin so kids can't take it.
