Pizotifen for migraines

[Jaynec86]

My 10 yr old son has suffered with migraines since he was four he gets 2 a week both lasting 24 hours in this time he is in bed and sick so many times hes just been prescribed pizotifen after getting home and looking it up im now reluctant to give it him as alot of people have had bad side effects and i have not read of anyone saying anything good about it.its important that he get the medication but at the same time i dont want him to then suffer from the tablets .has anyone else had these that can say if they have had a good or bad experience with them.

[NaughtyNanna]

Hi there- so sorry that your son is suffering so much- I have cluster headaches ( in remission at moment) and for me - pizotifen worked amazingly well at controlling them-the only drawback was the weight gain but I decided that I would continue taking the pizotifen- I took them for 3 years and when I was able to come off them- I lost most of the weight quite quickly- I also took up running ( couch to 5k on nhs choices website) which I feel has helped with the cluster headaches too- having said all this- I’m an adult- not sure of the affects it has on young ones-hope your son can get some relief from the migraines

[Nillyjane]

Hello Jayne, I can understand your concern with regard to giving your son pizotifen. I took it many years ago for migraine and luckily at the time I wasn’t working so tried to persevere with it. However, after a few weeks I had to come off it as I was ‘spaced out’ all the time - not in this world! I also put on a lot of weight very quickly. I’m sorry that your son is suffering migraines at such a young age and hope that he finds a medication that suits.

[Cat00]

Hello, I was prescribed Pizotofen when I was a child and I didn't get any side effects it only helped for about 6 months though. I started having migraines when I was 5 but I wasn't as bad as your son. I really feel for you both.

[Pippwin]

Yes, both I and my daughter ( when in her teens) have taken pizotifen and it did help. We are both quite thin ( I was thin partly because I was vomiting so much with migraines) and it gave us an appetite and helped with the migraines.

I am very sensitive to drugs so started on a tiny dose and worked up. If he has a tablet that can be broken you can always give him a small dose and work up to what the doc prescribed. Best to take on a Friday night before bed so he sleeps it off and has the weekend to get used to it unless he is off school anyway... The only side effects we had were sleepiness and a good appetite! And it made us feel happier too! A real sense of well-being.

I hope this reassures you. I am so sorry to hear about your poor son. He is not alone. I hope he finds ways through this and grows out of it!

Very best wishes

Pippa