I suffer from chronic headaches. Anything to do to help?!
Question: I've seen many doctors and tried different medicines and nothing seems to help. I get a headache probably anywhere from 3-7 times a week. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Answers: I've seen many doctors and tried different medicines and nothing seems to help. I get a headache probably anywhere from 3-7 times a week. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I have had daily headaches for as long as I can remember and I am 35. I currently take Tizandine. It is a spinal muscle relaxer. I take a low dose 2 times a day and have had a significant improvement with my headaches. I too have tried MANY different meds over the years, but this one seems to have the greatest impact. I think that the majority of my headaches are tension related so this is why this one works for me. I still do get pretty bad headaches, especially when bad weather is coming or it is humid outside. Sunlight also triggers a headache for me.
Knowing you triggers are very important to try to prevent the headaches from coming. When I do have one, a really hot shower beating on my head and face calm it down a bit, though not totally. Tylenol and Ibuprofen don't work. You start taking them every day, and then when you don't take it, you get a rebound headache from the withdrawal. I have been Tylenol/Ibuprofen free for 4 years now. Took a while to get off of it, but once you learn of rebound headaches, you'll know what I mean.
It is good to see a good neurologist. Have the appropriate tests done ie.MRI...To make sure that your headaches don't have brain abnormality behind them. Usually chronic headache sufferers have clean MRI's. You probably have already been through all this already.
There is a web-forum that you can join. It is basically a support group for migraine sufferers. The link is:
http://www.migrainepage.com/cgi-bin/dcfo...
Maybe some of the people on there could give you more ideas. They would have better answers for you that here on Yahoo! Answers. Check it out.
Good luck!
EDIT...
The injections that Monterey is talking about is a cortisone and lidocaine injection around the occiptal nerves at the base of the skull. It is done for Occipital Neuralgia. I three rounds of these shots. The first one, I was headache free for 4 days, the following 2, I was headache free only until the lidocaine wore off. I was totally shocked at the amount that the doctor charged for these. They billed it as surgery at $2000 each time. (Tried to fight it, but there was nothing I could do...felt I got scammed with the price.) Anyway, these injections do work for some, but not all. For me, it was worth a shot, no pun intended.
Talk to a nutritionist. It might be something in your diet. Since you are under a doctors care, you probably have ruled out migraines. Maybe you are stressed? Again, your doctor should have gone over this with you. It is probably something indirect like stress or diet and not something like migraines but there you go. Hope it helps.
Have you been to a neurologist and had an MRI?
When I was younger I used to get migraines and discovered eating dried apricots helped tremendously.
Hope this helps.
Years ago, my brother went to a doctor for injections. He had only two and his cluster migraines were gone forever. You could ask your GP about referring you to someone that may offer these injections. He had these headaches for many years. I don't know what type of injections they were, but they were given in the base of the skull the upper neck area. Have you seen a neurologist? This was not the type of doctor my brother saw, but a neurologist may suggest various tests. I'm assuming you have had CT scans etc? I'm sure there are some doctors that specialize in headaches treatment. It sounds like you have gone for help many times. I hope you can find someone that will help you. I read online where Botox is also being used for headaches. I'll list the link for you to read about it. This is the first I knew of Botox treatments for headaches.
I had chronic headaches for months and I found out that it was TCP (a strong antiseptic cleaner for your skin) That I was using, I should have diluted it but I used it neat, so you may be using something that is causing the headache, my sister in law had headaches for years until she changed her gas fire the fumes of the old one was causing the headaches, good luck in finding a cure.
well it could be something you're eating, stressed (like the dude said), or not getting enough sleep.
i go to the neurologist and he makes me keep a headache diary. i get headaches everyday but not migraines.
i think it's seriously what you eat. i used to eat a lot of chocolatey food and when i stopped for a while and slept a bit more i found out that my headaches aren't so intense.
See another doctor!! A Specialist. My daughter suffered from headaches. Turns out she had a brain tumor & had to have surgery. She was only 24 at the time. I'm not trying to scare you, but no sense in not knowing if you can.
What is the source of you headaches? Headaches can be caused by so many things: stress, neck tension, back problems, sinus infections, allergies, vision problems, and even macromastia (extremely large breasts). The underlying cause of the headaches needs to be determined before you can treat them.
What have the doctors told you your diagnosis when they have prescribed medication?
Go for the MRI. They will start an IV so they can introduce contrast media to better visualize your brain. Without accurate diagnosis you can not reasonably expect to find a cure.