Daily Headaches

[forgottenstar]

Recently my headaches have been getting worse and on a more consistent daily basis. I usually take Excedrin migraine extra strength, but its not working the way that it used to.

Any suggestions on other things to try would be great, I cant concentrate at work as it is, and with these headaches its become near impossible.

I wont have health insurance until January, so Im stuck taking OTC crap. I would personally rather not take anything because of my stomach problems, but I feel like I have no other choice.

 

[boomer]

I would consider that something you are eating may be causing the problem.

 

[Otis]

How's your sleep? The worse my sleep, the worse my headache.

 

[forgottenstar]

My diet / sleep patterns have not changed. Ive been suffering from migraines since I was 11 (after being attacked by a dog) and I am used to them coming and going. But lately Ive been waking up with them on an almost daily basis which is new. Ive cleaned everything in my bedroom up and down to make sure there is no mold or dust to aggrivate the symptoms and it doesn't seem to have helped.

I dont want to take OTC stuff daily, but I dont know of any other "home remedies" to help.

 

[leaves]

do you think the attack could have caused an infection, did the dog bite you and draw blood ? Or do you think you think the attack has caused some damage to your body? Some people claim to be relieved from lifelong headaches after seeing a chiropractor who made corrections to unblock some nerves, but i dont know too much about that.

 

[forgottenstar]

The attack was 13 years ago...yes there was blood drawn (the dog ripped open my lip) but they had me on extremely strong antibiotics afterwords, so if there was any infection it should have been knocked out of my system.

I currently have no health insurance, so I cant afford to go see a chiropractor, but Im not sure I would. Ive heard some horror stories about them.

 

[leaves]

antibiotics can be very effective against some types of bacteria but miss others, viral and parasitic infections are possible too. I certainly would not rule them out..

 

[Sallysblooms]

I had headaches and migraines for MANY years. Finally, I have doctors that test my hormones and I get compounded horomones. All balanced and no headaches.

 

[Esther12]

Have you tried ginger to help with the nausea, and maybe help you absorb the pain killers?

Triptan nasal sprays are really effective for my partner, but I think you would need a prescription.

Apparently taking pain-killers with coca-cola at the very start of a migraine can be effective, but we've not found that to be the case.

 

[forgottenstar]

I dont really have too much of an issue with nausea when taking excedrin but Im concerned about the future problems that my arise from taking pain killers on a daily basis.

caffine/chocolate does help on occasion, but its not something I want to be accustomed to taking on a daily basis.

 

[Esther12]

I've found sitting on a balance ball to be helpful as a preventative.

It's only been about 6 weeks since I started, and I only started getting migraines last February, so culd just be a coincednce but I may as well mention it.

 

[JAH]

star,

after a year or two into the illness, I starting waking up every day with a headache, that would usually dissapate by the afternoon. It was food allergies. Finally figured it out (after being told by a neurologist to see a therapist) after elliminating all major allergens- milk, soy, eggs, wheat, yeast, corn etc. Headaches went away, and I gradually reintroduced the foods. Corn in particular was a definite causer of headaches. Given your history of migraines, our stories are different, but you might want to give the ellimination diet a try. Do you also have any digestive problems? ALso may want to elliminate the known triggers of migraines, like red wine and chocolate. (chocolate also gives me a headache sometimes- but I still eat it!)

good luck,

JAH

 

[forgottenstar]

star,

after a year or two into the illness, I starting waking up every day with a headache, that would usually dissapate by the afternoon. It was food allergies. Finally figured it out (after being told by a neurologist to see a therapist) after elliminating all major allergens- milk, soy, eggs, wheat, yeast, corn etc. Headaches went away, and I gradually reintroduced the foods. Corn in particular was a definite causer of headaches. Given your history of migraines, our stories are different, but you might want to give the ellimination diet a try. Do you also have any digestive problems? ALso may want to elliminate the known triggers of migraines, like red wine and chocolate. (chocolate also gives me a headache sometimes- but I still eat it!)

good luck,

JAH

I had my gallbladder out a few years ago and my stomach has been a mess since then. I noticed I was waking up with them, so I thought it was something in my room (or even just the change in weather) but they stay all day, even after taking the excedrin's. Im sensitive to dairy, so I generally stay away from that to begin with. There isn't much more left that I can cut out of my diet that I already havent done.

 

[jstefl]

I suffered from a continuous severe headache for over 15 years. They didn't respond to Tynenol, and in the later years, Vicodin didn't do the job.

The headaches continued until I started taking Valcyte. It took only a few weeks of Valcyte to reduce the intensity of my headaches to a manageable level. I still have headaches, but now they are ususally mild, and can be controlled by Tylenol.

John

 

[antherder]

The attack was 13 years ago...yes there was blood drawn (the dog ripped open my lip) but they had me on extremely strong antibiotics afterwords, so if there was any infection it should have been knocked out of my system.

This probably isn't relevant, but I'm wondering if those antibiotics could've triggered a sulfur sensitivity, as most antibiotics are sulfur based. People who have sulfite issues can also have sulfur problems too and headaches/migraines are common symptoms. There's some info here;

http://www.learningtarget.com/nosulfites/index.htm

 

[JAH]

I had my gallbladder out a few years ago and my stomach has been a mess since then. [/

I]

Do you take digestive enzymes? They could really help with your digestion, especially after getting your gallbladder removed. You will really need help digesting fats.

I feel like I can't take anything more out of my diet, too,

JAH

 

[forgottenstar]

This probably isn't relevant, but I'm wondering if those antibiotics could've triggered a sulfur sensitivity, as most antibiotics are sulfur based. People who have sulfite issues can also have sulfur problems too and headaches/migraines are common symptoms. There's some info here;

http://www.learningtarget.com/nosulfites/index.htm

Im actually allergic to sulfer/sulfa...that was found out a few years prior to the attack.

Jah- what are digestive enzymes? Ive never taken anything like that.

 

[JAH]

forgottenstar-

Digestive enzymes help you digest and absorb food- they naturally occur in your stomach and digestive tract. You can also supplement with them to help in digestion. I take them because I have a lot of food allergies, and stomach problems. They help- mainly for me in lessening the ibs type symptoms. I think you are a candidate for them because removing your gallbladder has caused you digestive problems, and the gallbladder helps in fat digestion. I had a friend (non-cfs) who had her gallbladder removed and suffered with a lot of digestive problems, including diarrhea. Taking enzymes definitely helped her. If you google "digestive enzymes" and something like "gallbladder removed" you will see that a lot of people have severe problems after gallbladder removal. I think you would really benefit from seeing a doctor that knows something about nutritional supplements (most gastroenterologists know nothing- or think that digestive enzymes and probiotics are worthless), or a naturopath, or herbalist. Supplements and enzymes are so particular to the person, one brand might help you, and another do nothing. I like rainbow light enzymes, either allzyme double strength or advanced enzyme system, but they're are a lot of good ones out there- just trial and error to find something that works for you. Hope you will give it a try...
http://www.iherb.com/Rainbow-Light-All-Zyme-Double-Strength-120-60-Free-Vcaps/4127?at=0

JAH

 

[illsince1977]

I'm so sorry you're going through this and I hope some of these suggestions help you. Having suffered with migraine since childhood and also currently battling daily headaches, I'm afraid the best thing I have found is the Excedrin you have also found the most effective. Excedrin doesn't cause me stomach problems, fortunately. When that doesn't work, once a week or so, I must resort to Rx migraine meds (Zomig, for me, but Imitrex/Sumatriptan is more commonly prescribed) and Tylenol with codeine, both of which require prescriptions. No diet, hormone balancing or biofeedback ever did a thing for my migraines. Once in a while ibuprofen works, but rarely. I hope you are able to get treated for your migraines one day. It was such a relief for me after all those years of suffering to be able to take migraine meds. When it's really bad I use an ice pack to make the pain bearable, but it doesn't make the migraine go away. I imagine it would be impossible to use one at work, though.

 

[Victoria]

I'm not a migraine sufferer (well maybe about 5-6 in my life), but 5 months of severe headaches & pain behind the eyes contributed towards me (finally) having to quit work in Feb this year.

Many migraine sufferers (well, about 86% so the statistics say) find relief with the herb Feverfew (I think it's in tablet form - never tried it myself).

Ensure you are drinking enough water (not coffee, tea, soft drinks or cordials) as dehydration exacerbates headaches (& other muscle/soft tissue pain).

Then there's too much computer work, eye strain (have your eyes checked), allergies,food sensitivities, food colourings. too much tyrosine foods (?), check posture & ergonomics of your desk/table/chair, mould (you've already done this one I read), preservatives in foods.

And MCS (multiple chemical sensitivites) - mine give me a bad headache apart from dizziness, lethargy & obnoxious smell.

I don't like taking drugs either, but too much pain stresses out the body organs & tissues (& a doctor told me once that "not treating" pain is actually worse on the body, than the pain itself).

I still get the occasional headache or eye pain and when I do, I get off the computer fast & do something else for a while. There's an acupuncture point between your thumb & forefinger which you can "needle" with the point of a pen & I've found this sometimes gets rid of an headache. Press hard on the skin between your upper lip & nostrils - this relieves nausea associated with headaches.

But real migraines.......well, a work colleague told me if she doesn't take her strong medication (codiene based I think it was) fast, at the first sign of a migraine (she gets lights flashing in her eyes when she's about to get a migraine), she is out & laying in a dark room for about 3 days. Then they are so debilitating that she feels pretty exhausted for a further 3-4 days.

But long term feverfew herbal tablets are supposed to work wonders for chronic migraines.

(nothing I took for that 5 months before I quite work had any effect).