Daily Headaches for More than a Month

[10_Ed]

Hello,

This is my first post here. I've been suffering with daily headaches for more than month now.

It all started beginning of October where I would wake up with a headaches which was like having a weight on top of my skull i.e. tightening (on a scale of 1 to 10, it would be 3). I would work all day (office job) with this and then come home. When I would go to sleep, it would get bad (on a scale of 1 to 10, it would be 6) and won't let me sleep. My mind wouldn't shut off thinking about all kind of things and I'd be unable to keep me eyes closed even though I was tired and sleepy. I took Paracetamol every second day for sometime and then I went to Neurologist Department in the city.

They did MRI and Lumbar Puncture and told me everything is okay and then I went to my GP who gave me Rizatriptan. I took 2 pills a day for 3 days and then 1 for next 3 days. Then I went to GP Clinic and the new doctor told me not to eat these on daily basis. And then that night, I had really bad headaches i.e. tightening which didn't let me sleep. I ate 2 ibuprofen and finally slept for few hours. Still my GP is unable to diagnose the real cause and I am now going to see another neurologist.

The whole problem is that I can survive the pain during the day but whenever I try to sleep for the past 4 months, I just can't and then it just gets bad and bad. I don't feel like that I have stress in work or personal life and I never have headaches like this ever before. Sleep disruption then effects everything in my daily life.

Did anyone else have the same experience so far?

Thank you!

[bamboo89]

Yea, years ago when I was working with a keyboard all day, and occasionally now. And all those years ago (I'm 68 now) I, too, was sent to the neurologist and had all sorts of tests, including MRI - no real explanation, so they decided it was 'menopausal migraine'. Given I was only 35, that didn't seem particularly sensible.... Then someone told me about a cranial osteopath they'd been to, so I went; problem solved. The trouble with traditional doctors is, they're always looking for something serious, like a brain tumour or something, they rarely think about simple muscular skeletal problems that might be causing trouble, its not usually part of their training unless you're very lucky. So, In my experience, it's related with tension in the shoulders and neck, and a visit to the osteopath sorts it out, although physiotherapy might give you exercises to do to try to keep your shoulders/neck relaxed, especially in the evenings some time before you go to bed. Preferably a cranial osteopath if you can find one, though, and you may need a change of pillow - I find it still happens if my pillow's too flat, I need my head to be just slightly (and I mean slightly, too much and that's as bad) angled upwards during sleep (on my back), not tipped back. I do now have diazepam to relax my shoulders, and whilst it helps because it lets me sleep for 4/5 hours, I then wake up with a terrible headache, so then I go to the osteopath if it doesn't clear.

Also sounds like you're mentally tense because your mind won't stop whirring when you go to bed, so you might need to avoid electronic devices for at least two hours before bed, and perhaps try some mindfulness meditation. If the mind is tense, so is the body... good luck.

[Emmaaqua in reply to bamboo89]

I have had headaches for around a year. I was told it was stress and also didn't feel like it was. After diagnosing me with underactive thyroid I had to get that levelled out first before they would consider my headaches as a separate problem. MRI was clear. Saw neurologist no great insight. Am on propanolol which seemed to help a bit then started citalopram which also helped a bit...this was because the headaches were bringing me down btw rather than an official headache remedy!. More recently in the last month I have started taking iron supplement in a liquid form and my headaches have gone. Now I am wondering whether i can come off the prescribed medication or whether it is the combination. However it is worth getting your nutrients tested especially iron just in case it helps you too. My headaches were tension type headaches on top of head and where head meets spine. Good luck.

[bamboo89 in reply to Emmaaqua]

Well, I've now got cancer, and my levels of everything are checked all the time... no shortage of anything so far... and still on no regular drugs for headaches or for anything other than acid reflux control and asthma inhalers... there's always a price for medicine, and its often not one I want to pay (and I don't mean financially!) Take care