and it's so much worse when they
occur during the holidays. Children with migraines often cannot
participate in the family fun, and land
up getting depressed, sad and
withdrawn. It is sometimes very difficult for
them to express what they are going
through so their families may find
them moody, difficult and needy. Dr Elliot Shevel, South African
Migraine Surgery Pioneer and
Medical Director of The Headache
Clinic says that, “some children feel
misunderstood and become isolated
because they are not always taken seriously when they speak about
their headaches. In other cases, many parents are
concerned about the health impacts
of giving their children chronic
medication to take for their
headaches or migraines.” Through his groundbreaking medical
research, Dr Shevel has pioneered
breakthrough Migraine Surgery
which is minimally invasive and has
successfully treated many
headaches sufferers including children from as young as 11 years
old. Chanel Kilpady, now age 12,
visited South Africa from
Melbourne, Australia, to visit
the Headache Clinic in Johannesburg, and said she had to
give up all her hobbies and missed
weeks of school at a time because
of the debilitating headaches they
triggered. “I did ice skating but I had to stop
that because I got headaches. The
medicine helped a little bit and then
it wore off. I missed lots of days of
school. I didn’t do swimming
because the chlorine would make me get a headache, so I used to just
sit and watch. I felt like I wasn’t part
of it. I got frustrated and angry. I
was sad a lot.” It can also become a great challenge
for parents to cater to the needs of
all their children, especially if one
suffers with chronic headaches and
migraines. In some cases the condition of the
child in pain eclipses the needs of
their other children, resulting in
jealousy or resentment. Yet in other
families the children with migraine
may not get the care they need because their headaches are not
taken seriously. Through a multi-disciplinary
diagnostic approach, The Headache
Clinic often learns that the children
they treat have previously been told
by their doctors or family members
that their pain is all in their minds. “This leaves the child feeling very
alone, confused and guilty for
‘imagining’ their pain” says Dr
Shevel. Chanel Kilpady, however is now able
to participate again in the activities
she had been forced to miss, “(after
having treatment). "I haven’t had any big headaches
since. I can do more stuff and get
involved. I’ve been to Katy Perry
concert. that was good. I like how
she sings and her style. I also went
to see One Direction and I’m doing dancing again. I tried out for the
school production and I can go
swimming.” Parents often suffer in silence There is unfortunately another side
to the family headache reality which
affects a greater percentage of
families, and that is the quiet
suffering of parents afflicted with
headaches. Often their relationships with their families are put under
constant strain due to their attacks
and their impaired ability to cope
with everyday life. Many headache and migraine
sufferers prefer to be left lying alone
in a cool dark quiet room, and often
feel extremely tired, antisocial and
irritable. So school holiday time can be even
more overwhelming with the added
pressure of entertaining kids who
are home for the school holidays,
while managing their households,
and end of year work deadlines. Feelings of guilt and depression can
take parents down an emotional
spiral, that when combined with
debilitating pain often affects their
relationships with their families and
spouses, sometimes beyond repair
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