I have really only dealt with migraine-like headaches since I was a kid, and I think I've come to the conclusion that it's about internal water balance. So if I eat too much salty or sweet food or don't drink enough in general, or exercise/heavy labor without the proper balance then it just tends to spiral downward (light/noise/smell sensitivity, nausea, etc.). I can nip it in the bud though if I feel it coming on and take something like ibuprofen and drink a big glass of water. It has taken awhile to understand the symptoms/causes for me.
I agree with you that water/hydration is very, very important for optimal health, and just feeling well in general. I drink water ALL DAY LONG. I'm not kidding. I start with a bottle in the car on my way to work, and keep drinking it throughout the day until I am home for dinner. Then I have a glass or two of Cabernet with my dinner, and then switch back over to water again. Lately I have been drinking a HUGE glass of organic 2% milk at bedtime with some Oreo cookies (Vanilla Double Stuff, oh yeah!) or some chocolate cake.
It also helps that my dad gets the same kind of headaches for the same reasons, so he has passed on some of the knowledge to me (probably along with the headaches themselves, if there's some kind of genetic predisposition
).
Both of my parents get migraines, and both my brother and I do as well. There has to be SOME genetic pre-disposition. Damn it!
Thank you!
I even get ocular migraines, but there's not much you can do about them.
OUCH. That just "sounds" painful.
What is an ocular migraine? Pressure in the inner ear? That does seem like it would be damn hard to mitigate. I'm sorry.
Halla, I am sorry for your pain, and salute how positive you manage to stay despite it all. When I first glanced at this thread I thought perhaps you were describing the dreaded cluster headaches. My family had a friend who suffered from cluster headaches and he lived in some terrible agony.
Thank you, Vasilisa!
I found out long ago that complaining never helped, so I gave up.
This will sound cheesy, but the best therapy ever for me when I have a really bad headache is to stretch out on the couch and lay my head on my wife's lap.
I have to wait until she's not busy, and if I'm lucky she'll have a magazine that she wants to read, and if that can be arranged I then get 30-60 minutes of peace and quiet and relief. The pillow of my bed, and even the mattress are hard to get comfortable on when headaches are really bad. But for some reason, a beautiful female thigh has the perfect consistency, and is an immediate safe haven from great physical discomfort. Further proof that love is not only therapeutic, but a powerful force of healing...
OK, cluster headaches sound like sheer hell to deal with! :horor:
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Cluster+headache
See, now migraines don't seem as bad, it's all about relativity!
I get sinus pressure headaches and suffer when I fly, so right now my remedy is just over the counter medicine with the highest amount of pseudoephedrine permitted to buy. You have to sign a waiver and get it from the pharmacist. Thanks, meth-cookers. And saline nasal sprays/neti-pots are good, especially on a regular basis, but when I have had extreme sinus pressure build up and I tried to use those - it actually seems to just make it worse. My mother knows people who have had some sinus scraping (actual) procedures, but if I remember correctly, it was very painful and they still had some residual suffering.
Isn't it ridiculous how "Meth-Logs" are being used all over the country to track sales of pseudoephedrine?
The people who are cooking up batches of meth are not getting their pre-cursors from grocery stores or pharmacies. DUHHH!
Just another example of the government trying to look like they are really trying to get to the root of the problem. The fact is they can't. Because they can't shut down huge bulk order trade sites like ECplaza.com or the "Alibaba" site. :rolli: Sudafed is a GREAT decongestant, I don't use anything else. The newer Phenylphrine (cannot be converted to meth) doesn't clear my nasal congestion at all, it is a complete waste of money.
Saline sprays are AMAZING. I am so glad they have been mentioned here, as I have tried them and they really do help. I bought "Zicam" nasal sparay, There are several variants of it, some of which have Oxymetazoline, the decongestant in Afrin nasal spary, which I will NEVER use due to its heinous re-bound effects. The "good" Zicam is one that just has some herbal/homeopathic ingredients and a "lubricant" in the saline spray base. I have been using Flonase for a few months now, as I am trying not to use Sudafed because I want to keep my blood pressure down, and it has been inching up as of late. The Flonase "dried out" my sinuses to the point they felt a bit weird, and honestly started to release big pieces of what looked like dead/dried out membranes (Gross! Sorry, I know, totally nasty, but I'm trying to be honest about this). So, I stopped it, and used the Zicam to keep the tisssues hydrated, and it seemed to stabilize the sinuses
I get occasional migraines. I'm fortunate that I don't get them regularly. I do get an aura of blindness, which is scary especially when driving. I had a roommate who suffered from very frequent migraines, and she did all kinds of medications, treatments, and saw specialists and she told me frankly that they were of no avail. Possibly as a result she was very very insistent on a quiet atmosphere, which I understand completely. Another friend of mine with migraines was on some of the drugs you listed, specifically imitrex when it was new and she told me about how crazy expensive it was. She also told me those drugs did nothing at all. She still maintains a coke-a-cola (not diet, zero, etc.), Excedrin migraine pills, and a silent dark room is the best treatment she has found. And this is what I do.
Anything that compromises vision while driving is terrifying. Absolutely. Sometimes you have to stick with whatever works, whetehr it is conventional or not, and Coca-Cola fixes alot of stuff!
I'm sorry I don't have more answers or helpful experiences to share. Since there is so much about certain foods triggering headaches, have you investigated that in your case, Halla?
You've shared planty!
I have not considered trigger foods, that is an interesting concept. Most of mine are so selectively grouped around barometric pressure changes, I have assumed them to be the primary trigger, but stress has been too. I have to start journaling if I am to identify potential trigger foods. That will be hard to do, but it is worth a try.
Hi Halla,
I understand what you mean about having difficulty with your senses and not being productive in your environment.
That is a different kind of headache for me. I guess that I could call it the "overstimulation headache," for lack of an actual technical term. When I am in a very loud or crowded environment, I get severely overstimulated, due to my hyperacusis, auditory processing disorder, and sensory processing disorder. I get the sensation of my ears being forced open and of the noise being pushed into my wide open ears. The noise pushes its way into my head and becomes a big pain in the middle of my head. After a while, I lose all sense of balance. I see people and objects as moving extremely fast and erratically. When I hear a choir or a group of people singing, I can point to the person who is off the pitch. It sounds like nails on a chalkboard. People's speaking voices sound like blah, blah, blah. No meaning, just noise.
I can't even walk down a flight of stairs without getting vertigo.
It takes several days for me to recover from overstimulation headache. I have to be in a quiet room with almost nothing that could be considered stimulating.
Good luck with your demons!
wt
Overstimulation can do it, for sure.
On days when I feel like "I am about to get a headache" the deciding factor is usually whether or not I am busy and stressed, or have the option to go into low gear...
Do yourself a favor and get yours ears candled at a spa that does it.
Total relief of sinus pressure.
What is "ear candling?"
For the headaches: monitor your caffeine intake. Make it regular and lower it if possible. Don't drink large amounts of water, as that will deplete the sodium in your bloodstream. Eat regularly (healthy snacks).
I have been limiting my caffeine to one cup of coffee in the morning, and I think that has helped. I could cut it out completely if I tried, I am sure of it.
I eat constantly, so I'm good there!
i get quite ugly sinus headaches. the natural stuff i find that works:
- saline nasal spray.
- eating wasabi/curries/chillis
sorry to hear that halla. bad headaches are so awful...
It's all good, Sister! Thanks for the heads up on the curry and chilis!
I have been diagnosed with "Tension" headaches. You might want to see if you catch yourself grinding your Jaw (I do this, and this is BAD) If you have time, I generally try to sleep these off instead of taking pills.
I like sleeping them off, that is my preferred treatment!
Drink plently of water, take vitamins etc etc.
Always, everyday, and I'll never stop...
I am light sensitive so I keep most lights off anyways
I'm getting that way, and living in Florida is not helping!
(I'm sure that staring at the computer really helps...joking...)
Oh, it's heaven, I turn up my brightness and contrast to 100%, it's bliss.
Take up meditation, it will really help you with your stress level.
I would need Valium to meditate, seriously. I can't sit still that well.
thats about all I can offer, sorry
That's alot, thank you!
I started this day suffering from that.
The doctor at work gave me this: Ketorolac tromethamine - Info here:
Toradol (Ketorolac Tromethamine) Drug Information: Uses, Side Effects, Drug Interactions and Warnings at RxList
It is said to be used as anesthesia. And I believe it. The pain is gone from my head but, my body feels numb. I can´t tell if it is hot or cold ouside.
The doctor said that its effect on the body doesn´t last long, though.
I'm sorry you have been stuck with a headache today, Donna Cecilia.
Toradol is the bomb. I got a shot of it at my doctor's office for a migraine and it did help a good bit. When I got home I took some hydrocodone and that assisted in finishing it off, namely because it helped me get to sleep, I think. Hang in there, kiddo!
These are treated with 3 different injections, you halucinate, go to sleep, and you're done for the day.
