Not sure where to post this, but since this is where I post the most often, here it goes.
I've been dealing with headaches my entire life. I had my first migraine attack at 9, and I had them pretty frequently until I was 19. They have more or less tapered off. But now I'm getting horrible and frequent headaches that don't feel at all like the migraine headaches. Not just little bothersome ones, either-they're bad enough that all I can do is lie down in a dark room and try to force myself to go to sleep. Over-the-counter pain pills don't help. I've been keeping track in FitDay of when I get them and how intense they are, with the intention of finding some sort of pattern. I can't. Unfortunately I'm also uninsured at the moment and can't seek medical help that isn't from the morons at the health center on campus.
So far, I've discovered that if I don't drink enough water or I eat anything with MSG or any artificial sweetener (aside from Splenda, that seems to be okay), I'll wake up the next day with a crippling headache. So I started drinking more water and avoiding artificial sweetener and MSG. It helped (sort of) but in the end I'm still losing one day out of every week just because I've got a damn headache.
Has anyone out there dealt with anything like this? Any suggestions at all would be appreciated.
Last edited by kella; 04-08-2007 at 12:01 PM.
Reason: Edited for clarity and in the interest of complete sentences.
ive had bad headaches since first grade, the developed into migraines as the years went on. if i were you i would find a really good chiropractor. i found one and went to his office when i had a really horrible headache and he took xrays of my neck. turns out that my neck looks like a C instead of a backwards C like its supposed to. he back me some weights and a wedged pillow to correct the problem. ever since then i dont really have migraines anymore. every now and then ill get one but i go months without even headaches. look into it. my chiropractor saved my life!
My mom has had migraines every since I was old enough to remember. She had all the test possible to see why and they said no conclusion. All we know is that they are probably vascular. Sometimes she has to get a shot to get rid of them and she is on a preventative (but it doesn't really help) One thing we and the dr has noticed is that if a front of any kind comes through it often throws her into a migraine. I really feel for you....thank goodness I haven't inherited my mom's so far.
It wasn't until just now that I realized that my back problems might be related to my nasty headache problems. When I was 16, I fell off a ladder and as I result I've got four herniated discs in my lower back. Thanks for suggesting the chiropractor! As soon as I get some extra cash I'll check it out.
Back when the migraines were worse, I did attempt to take Imitrex for them, but I had a really terrible reaction and it's kinda put me off the idea of migraine drugs. If I could function in polite society while taking heavy painkillers (like the Vicodin) I'd love to just do that, but it makes me grumpy and sleepy and whatnot. I've also tried various sorts of herbal/natural headache remedies but they don't seem to do anything for me. Again, thanks for the suggestions, and if anyone has any more, let me know!
I'm sorry to hear about your headaches. Back problems could definitely be the answer. Even stress causes headaches. I was getting migraines for a while when I went on a new birth control pill. Even though it was lose dose, the extra estrogen would put me into a state that brought migraines on. They would be especially worse if I was PMSing or had any wine at all. In the end, I had to go off the pill again because they were just horrendous. No painkillers would help and I dont really like to take them so I found that just not ingesting the extra estrogen was a huge help.
I hope they get better. My massage therapist always asks me about headaches because my back and neck are so tense so I think getting your back checked out could definitely be the answer.
I used to get them all the time pre-pill and even after I started taking them it took a year for them to disappear. I have to echo the back thing. Going in for a proper adjustment and the occasional massage has made a huge difference for me. Other triggers for me include going long hours out and about without eating and clenching my jaw, which I have to watch. Hope you find some releif.
I used to get migraines and headaches daily until i started seeing my chiropractor. I went for a back problem..and let me tell you.. NO more headaches!! Or if I do have one, it's one day a month or every few months now. It has been amazing!! His office visits run about $40 here in my hometown. It's soooo worth it.. My ins. doesn't cover any of those visits at this time so it's out of pocket for me as well.
i definately dealt with this problem...i didnt get regular migraines until january of 2006. id get them EVERY DAY. after a series of events, including me blacking out behind the wheel of a car and short term memory loss, i had an mri and was diagnosed with chiari type I malformation. my brain had been formed outside of my skull (8mm worth), and was compressing my spinal chord and causing all kinds of pressure problems. i had a decompression surgery done-they removed a small portion of my skull and made my foramen magnum bigger- and have never had a headache since.
personally, i would see a doctor. you can apply for financial help- in fact-my surgery cost over 50,000. i pay 2000. and nine times out of ten, you can get your bills totally covered. go into the ER, and when youre being registered, tell them you need to apply for aid. but seriously. migraines arent something to mess around with. even if you dont have a brain malformation..migraines are debilitating.
I just thought of something else that used to cause migraines for me. Grinding my teeth. I had to get a mouth guard eventually but grinding my teeth in my sleep and clenching my jaw caused major headaches. I didnt know I even did it until my dentist told me.
I used to have the same kind of headaches...ended up being related to my wisdom teeth. They were applying so much pressure to my other teeth and my head that I would be crippled with pain, often waking up in the middle of the night with headaches. Once those puppies came out, I've been good ever since.
Sounds like theres a lot for you to check out that could be the culprit of your headaches. I certainly relate to the health insurance thing - never know how important it is until you dont have it. But, as posted before, there is financial support for things like that.
I used to have the same kind of headaches...ended up being related to my wisdom teeth. They were applying so much pressure to my other teeth and my head that I would be crippled with pain, often waking up in the middle of the night with headaches. Once those puppies came out, I've been good ever since.
I was gonna say the exact same thing. the teeth never caused any pain in my mouth, so i didn't equate them. then when i got them out, i stopped clenching my jaw, and all the headaches stopped. when was the last time you went to the dentist?
My aunt got major headaches and then tried to cut aspertame out of her diet, and then she got them even worse when she was going off it: I think it was a major withdrawal symptom at first, but now that she's been off it for quite a while they aren't a problem anymore.
I've been off the artificial sweetener for about four or five months. I didn't notice an increase in the headaches when I went off, and they do seem a little better now. I'm wondering if I shouldn't also cut Splenda out, although it doesn't seem to be giving me any problems.
I don't think teeth are my problem, either. My wisdom teeth were removed when I was 17 and as of December I don't have any cavities or anything. I also wore braces for like five years so everything's aligned pretty well.
I'm also pretty sure my brain is okay. I had a bout with what we think was chronic fatigue syndrome a couple years ago, and part of the attempt at a diagnosis was an MRI. Apparently I have a very healthy brain.
Also, I'm not on the pill, so I don't think that's the problem either. It figures that all this would start happening while I'm uninsured. Boo.
I'm liking this chiropractor idea... think I might have to beg mom and dad for some cash and see if it helps.
I know this sounds really weird.... but try eating almonds when you have a headache. I had a gigantic headache last week and I just grabbed a handful of nuts out of habit (not cause of the headache) and within a half hour the headache was gone. I said something about this to one of my friends, and he found me information online (now I can't find the link of course).... but anyway, its the magnesium in the almonds. Sometimes migranes and headaches are caused by not getting enough magnesium, and so the almonds help. Also, almonds have sorbitol in them (I think thats what it was) which is also an ingredient in asprin......... Interesting huh?
Another random and kinda weird thing to try - Tiger Balm. I use it for everything from muscle aches to cramps...I dated a guy who didn't have the$$ to go to a Dr. and would put some on at the first twinge of a migraine and it helped him a lot.
I've used it for standard headaches and felt relief.
Headaches
