(((Hugs))) I hope you get some answers today.

I have a friend whose daughter gets migraines and regular headaches. She's a third grader now, but she's been having them I *think* since she was a toddler (definitely before kindergarten). Friday, they had a walk-a-thon at school and she really wanted to participate. But, we had the worst time encouraging her to go walk. Her dad showed up, and she walked with him. Grandma showed up, and she walked with her. And, in between, she was a little whiny. At one point, she lay down in the grass with her head on Grandma's lap and her Mom and I agreed that she probably had a headache. She was just as you described. Whiny and floppy one minute, running around with her friends and family the next. I think those headaches must be milder than the "turn off the lights, be very quiet, and don't touch me headaches."

Anyway, I don't think you spoiled her and now you have a brat. I think something is going on and hopefully you can play detective well enough to figure it out. It took my friend awhile (until first grade) to figure out that BLUE food dye gives her daughter a headache. (And all those years of giving her purple tylenol and making the headache worse... The orange motrin never did that.) Unfortunately, it's not her daughter's only trigger. Heat bothers her (and that's hard to control). She recently took her daughter off of dairy, and found out that that bothers her. She's not far enough along to determine if the dairy affects her headaches. You need to go six weeks without dairy to get it all out of your system.

Yes, I think you should try removing dairy, but I'm weird that way. Especially if constipation is also a problem. I spent this summer finding out that dairy is a problem with all of my kids, although to a lesser degree than with Tom. Dairy caused Tom's seizures to generalize. He hasn't had a generalized seizure (myoclonics, in his case) since going dairy-free. I'm also realizing that the girls are a little "meaner" or more aggressive (and prone to uncontrollable / unconsolable tantrums) when they've had some gluten.

Some things to think about or consider.... start a food diary. Remember to record headaches and times of poor behavior as well. Ask if your doctor will run a food allergy panel. And, I really think you need the IgG ELISA testing, as opposed to IgE (or in addition to IgE) testing. If I have that right, the IgG testing is the delayed reaction to foods (such as seizures or migraines or hyperactivity or diarrhea or etc.). IgE is your "true" allergy (the typical peanut "I can't breathe, get me to a hospital!" allergy) (My friend did this testing herself through York Labs, if you're interested in reading a little about it: http://yorkallergyusa.com/dfa.html)

Anyway, I'm turning into a nut (or I'm already there). But I really feel food plays a bigger role in our lives than you might think. And the side effects of not eating a certain food are sooo much nicer than the side effects of a new medication. And just in case I've convinced you to give some of this a try, I should warn you that Tom had *withdrawal seizures* at the two week mark of going dairy-free. They were definitely less intense and much shorter than his normal seizures, but he had them nonetheless.

Hope this helps. Hope you find your answers. And some more (((hugs))), cause this is definitely not fun.