Constant Headache and migraines

[LauraAC84]

Hi there. I'm wondering if anyone has had the same symptoms and knows what is wrong with me. I have a headaches constantly. It's bearable but unpleasant. It's sore under the brow bone and across my eyes, sometimes my teeth and face hurts too. I've had my eyes tested and they're fine and had a camera up my nose (horrendous) to check for sinusitis and all was well. My GP suggested taking one gabapentin at night and seeing if that helps - it doesn't. I'm also getting migraines weekly which are debilitating and taking over my life. I'm having to cancel on my friends regularly as they seem to come at the weekend and I have to lie down. I was given tramadol when the doctor thought it was sinusitis and that helped but they haven't prescribed it again. I take cocodamol which takes the edge off sometimes but most times I have to go to bed for hours/ days. Can anyone help me? It's really starting to get my down.

[Shaas]

Hi Laura

So sorry that you are suffering terribly.

I have put ,in my previous posts, some herbs that may help. They are; rosemary and wild fennel tea.

If you are on medication, you might want to check with your doctor before taking them.

Hope you feel better soon.

I wish you the best

[Sunsapphire]

Hi Laura I was suffering like you for years especially at weekends just the same ,my doc put me on amitriptyline 20mg about a month ago and it works fo me so far so good , it is an antidepressant but in a 20 mg dose it works on migraine pain which seems to start in my neck and land on the the temple of my head which lasted for hrs until I got some sleep . I also take viridian magnesium 300mg supposed to relax muscles ,that combination is working for me ..

Hope this is of help to you and I wish you the best of health and pain free days

[LauraAC84 in reply to Sunsapphire]

Thank you for replying. Unfortunately I'm on citalopram and my doctor has told my amitriptyline can interact with that as he was going to prescribe it. I was on 60mg of citalopram about 7 years ago and have now got it down to 10mg so I'm hoping to get off it soon so I can try the amitriptyline.

I'll look into viridian magnesium as I get the neck pain up to my temple as well. I'm just recovering from a migraine now. The after math is quite bad but not nearly as bad as the migraine itself. I'm going to try having a bath later as well to relax the muscle. I can't just now as I find heat excarbates my pain.

Thank you again. It's very much appreciated. I just felt at a loss and like I'm never going to have a day of normality. X

[Sunsapphire in reply to LauraAC84]

Hi Laura you are very welcome hope fully that combination will work ...

I also bought a magnet neck collar , which works when I'm driving as it's supposed to help with circulation only thing it gets hot and might not suit you I bought it on amazon

Take care

[LauraAC84 in reply to Sunsapphire]

At this point I'm willing to try anything. I've seen the magnetic collar on groupon before so I'll check there and get it. If I don't have a headache at the time I can use it. Or just get the air con blasting to counteract! Haha

Thank you. I feel like I have options now and I will be going back to the doctor to try some other medication. I was feeling quite flat but all these responses give me motivation to keep fighting and trying different things and not give up and think I have to live like this! X

[troy04]

It is really horrible - your doctors should continue trying different medicines to find out if anything helps.

I hope a few things can make things better as medicines alone is not often adequate to reduce migraines.

-- You must sleep for 8 hours every night, no matter what. You cannot go to bed late (beyond 11pm is not good, beyond 12am is really bad). [S]

-- You have to eat sensibly - try not to eat red meat all together, try to introduce plain, and simple to digest foods. There are lots of different opinion on this though, some people say, low carb diet helps and some poople say, fatty food triggers migraine. Try to eat wheat based product as less as possible and stay away from alcohol and cigarettes . [E]

-- You have to exercise daily - can you try 10000 steps every day? If doing exercise makes it worse, try walking for just 5-10 min to start with and then slowly increase it. [E]

-- Keep a diary to record when it (migraine / headaches) happens and when it is really bad etc. This will be handy later on. [D]

-- You have to try managing stress. This is almost impossible for many of us as there is no magic button for it, but I think we can still do something about it - example - take deep breath, perhaps try yoga and be determined not to get involved in argument etc. [S]

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What I have written above may sound patronising but this is actually a very effective method called SEEDS, advised in many countries by headache specialists - particularly in the USA.

[LauraAC84 in reply to troy04]

Not all patronising. It's very good advice. I am changing my diet as I also have stomach problems. Sleep is a tough one for me. Since the onset of depression my sleep is broken even though I'm not depressed anymore however I think could've improved by exercise. I'm very inactive and tend to drive everywhere, a lot of the time it's because I feel unwell, but it's a catch 22. Exercise will help but I don't feel well enough to exercise. I need to break that cycle.

I do have a high dress job as well so yoga sounds like an excellent idea.

I know I need to make some big changes in my lifestyle and this advice will help me. So thank you. X

[Vicster05 in reply to LauraAC84]

Hiya, bit late to the thread, but hopefully not too late! Seeing as you say you're in a high stress job, and you get your migraines at the weekend (for the most part), I wonder if stress is a trigger? I typically get mine either when I'm very stressed about something, or when that stress has passed. For example, building up to a huge event I was managing at work, getting less sleep, dreaming about the event, being too busy to eat properly and get exercise, I was fine until the day of the event. Once it started and everyone was settled in and I started to relax - Boom. Migraine. It's the same with annual leave, first day of any holiday and I get a migraine. It's as though its connected to the stress hormone.

I've started walking more and dealing with what worries me, and it's helping. I'm at the point where I'm considering changing job. I know work brings in money, but no job is worth making yourself ill! I'm sure those around you would rather have you healthy and happy!

People say that we should give ourselves time to reflect on our day, like a little de-brief; and say we need exercise (I manage maybe 5k steps on a good day). My excuse is not enough time, but perhaps combining the walk with the reflection time is a good compromise?

Even 15mins a day would do - during the day if possible to get the added UV and vitamin D (depending on where you are, I'm in Scotland, it's more of a challenge here!).

Good luck!

[troy04]

You are welcome!

If it helps -

* There are evidence that Magnesium can reduce migraine, and since you have stomach problem, you may try a homeopathic remedy to address both - Magnesia phos (6x)

This one can help sorting out indigestion / acidity problem and also you will get some magnesium. You can purchase this from any authentic shop - such as Helios:

helios.co.uk/shop/magnesia-... (choose soft tablet and 6X potency, take 2 tab 3 times a day).

Alternately, you can buy it from Amazon:

amazon.co.uk/New-Era-Number...

I have been taking it for last 2-3 months (advised by a homeopath who teaches homeopathy in the university), my headaches are less severe and I can avoid taking pain killers mostly - whether it is due to Magnesium phos or something else, I can't be sure but I have decided to continue as it has minimal (or no) side effects.

So just to confirm - no prescription is required - can be bought straightaway - but Helios sometimes can advise over the phone if you are in any doubt. You can order over the phone from them or from any other homeopathic pharmacy.

You can even buy it from holland and barrett (the doses will be written on the bottle).

hollandandbarrett.com/shop/...

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Regarding exercise - it is true that committing to daily exercise is not so easy, so I am not judging anyone. See if you can take steps (avoiding lifts), and do some light jogging on Sunday / Saturday - they all counts!