My now 4 year old daughter has had a total of 6 surgeries for her avm & for hydrocephalus. Her last one was April 2010. We see her neurosurgeon once a year for a limited MRI which he always says she is doing great and the avm has shrunk and is normal size (Great news-always).
Migraines have a tendency to run in my family, I started getting mine around age 4. I’m thinking Chloe gets them bc she wants to sleep, holds her head & wants a cold pack, & vomits. All things I do when I get migraines. My concern is could it be worse for her with the avm & her shunt? I know I need to see her dr & we will in Aug. she is having heart surgery on July 16. So I’m trying to take things one thing at a time bc it’s been 3 years since her last surgery and I’m a mess. Any experiences with this would be helpful 
Thank you!!
I have two small avms left and I get migraines as well. I don't believe it makes the avms worst but, the avms can cause migraines. Having know someone who has a shunt in their brain.... They don't have any problems from it. I don't think it comes from that. The shunt allows for proper blood flow, thus eliminating the pressure.
Considering your daughter's history - I'm GUESSING, they are either coming from the AVM or a side effect from all of the surgeries. I'm leaning more toward the AVM.
When mine get bad - I put one ice-pack on my forehead and another one on the back of my neck. That works. It has to be real ice though. The cold packs don't seem to do the job. For some reason, they don't feel as cold as real ice does and they definitely don't stay cold long enough to do anything. A nurse taught me this trick when I was hospitalized for a migrain once. It doesn't always take it completely away but, it does make it much more tolerable. It will often bring it down to a 'normal type" of a headache.
Ben