Does Anyone Else Have A Headache Every Day?

[kayjay]

Hello all. I have a headache almost all of the time and I would like to know how you deal with it. I think b/c I have had migraine pain I am thankful that it is not severe... But it is every day. I do take asprin and I cannot have motrin or advil. I doesn't seem to be a good idea to take another med every day... but I also am suffering like a 4-6 pain headache every day. Any suggestions?

[Guest tearose]

Mine tend to come for a spell and then go away. When I have these, I try everything until something helps. I massage my head, hydrate, use additional electrolytes if needed, small dose of caffeine, rest, move slowly in mostly darkness, take tylenol because it puts me to sleep, and then worse case, I ask the doctor for a 1/2 dose of 2.5 zomig.

tearose

[Rachel]

I used to have headaches every day before diagnosis. Once I learned that I need a LOT of fluids I started drinking more. As long as I push fluids and keep up with taking my midodrine I don't get the daily headaches. If you aren't drinking a lot of fluids, this may help you.

I still get occasional bad headaches and migraines, but the daily headaches I had are helped greatly by pushing fluids.

I hope you can find something that helps you.

Rachel

[firewatcher]

Every day for at least the last three years. The only thing that has ever helped (tried every triptan made, its not a migraine!) is Klonopin. Posture, dehydration and exertion make it worse, for me it is usually a 4-8 (9 is unmedicated childbirth and 10 is a migraine) on the pain scale unless I am medicated, then it is a 1-4 but never completely goes away.

[dsdmom]

I've had one for the last 2 years. I find soft tissue work around my neck and shoulders and jaw and head from a chiropractor can help. I found out I have TMJ but that's not the only thing causing these headaches. Maybe some of my drugs too? I've been through the ringer trying to get a hold on them and I feel like I finally am getting there...but I sympathize with what you are feeling. Every day all day is not fun!

[iheartcats]

I was, but then it's improved. I used to get severe migraines but now they are only once in a while.

The most recent was the other day, it was the sick to my tummy can't see straight typical migraine. I finally took an Ambien and went to bed and slept it off. :/ I know, I know.

But yes, I've had headaches almost everyday for a while. Then I started to get bad headaches everyday. I went on Nasacort (same thing as Flonase/Nasonex) and they went.away. The really bad ones were somehow tied to allergies/sinus.

So now if I get a headache it's usually dehydration or overexertion.

[janiedelite]

I've had a headache every day for over 10 years. I take advil, but try to take not more than 800 mg a day. I try not to take any if possible. I also get my kidney labs checked regularly because chronic advil use can damage your kidneys. Also, chiropractic has helped up until now. For the last 2 years, I've developed migraines. I'm sure it's POTS-related. Otherwise, I also seem to notice that even mild dehydration or orthostatic stress worsens my daily headache. If it's not a migraine, sometimes a heating pad to my upper neck and head helps.

[sandymbme]

This solution is DEFINITELY NOT for everyone here, and should NOT be tried without your doctors knowledge and input, but I find a caffeine drip can break my headaches when all esle fails, and I will be symptom free for a few weeks. (Which is a pretty long break for me.) I don't respond to triptans, and can't take what advil does to my GI tract, and tylenol and aspirin have no appreciable effect. Maybe because caffeine is a vaso-constictor? I dunno, but when I am desperate for relief it is the only thing that reliably works.

[janiedelite]

This solution is DEFINITELY NOT for everyone here, and should NOT be tried without your doctors knowledge and input, but I find a caffeine drip can break my headaches when all esle fails, and I will be symptom free for a few weeks.

Prior to POTS, if I was having a really bad headache I'd take an Excedrin. I think those have caffeine in them? Now caffeine makes me feel worse but that isn't the case for all POTSy's.

[juliegee]

YES. Coffee in the AM helps, and by afternoon I have to take an Alleve or two. Like Tearose, mine also comes in spells. I go for weeks with a daily headache & then they stop for a while. I tend to feel mine in my forehead, It actually hurts when I touch it.

I'm still searching for a magic cure :-(

Julie

[tinkerbella]

FOR ME, topamax helped then break though headaches began once all this blood pressure meds came on board ...I have migranal viles but you can only use 2 a week. Dr Oz showed on Opra a pressure point on your hand between the thumb and index finger. Take right hand and pinch down tight with the same fingers of the other hand. I must say it does help.... NOW TRY IT!!! what do you think?

bellamia~

[Csmith3]

Headaches: where do I start! I used to get them every day. Now much less frequent, but I think I will always be prone to headaches.

In my case, there were many causes and over the last 10 years or so I have managed to identify and treat some of them. It has been a long haul but life is much better now. For what it's worth, mine were due to sinusitis (partly due to non-allergic rhinitis and this being set off my all sorts of things like perfumes), problems with TMJ/teeth straightening created problems, old whiplash injury, hormone related migraines...... At one point I even managed to give myself the painkiller headaches when the body gets too used to being dosed up on headache pills!

Anyway, my point is that it is worth trying to get these things solved if at all possible. My latest thing has been getting my jaw/poor bite sorted out. I never knew that the trapezoid muscles go from the shoulder blades, up the neck and round the top of the jaw. Some of the pain I had attributed to "coathanger" pain and a separate headache was in fact the jaw muscles being unhappy.

[Rene S.]

Hi Kayjay,

Could it possibly be from the betas you were put on or the catapress? I know you said that Dr. Hernandez started you on them. Any coorelation?

I hate them too. And like you, the only thing I can take is tylenol.

I hope things ease up a bit. How about gettting someone to massage your neck and shoulders? Or one of those heat packs?

Wishing you better day.

Hugs,

Rene

[Steph]

1 cup of Nestle instant coffee is the cure my dad suggested - and unlike most useless "oh, well, you should really try this, it worked for so-and-so" type remedies people keep oh-so-helpfully throwing at me, it actually does help. 9/10 of my headaches are cured by the instant coffee, and it helps reduce the number of pills I take.

Regular coffee doesn't seem to do it. (It's chemically different.)

Of course, my headaches might not be the same as yours, and you might not be able to tolerate caffeine, so I don't know if that's any help to you.

[tilly]

I have daily headaches .... have had for longer than i can remember ... but i have never asked my GP about them ...

i remember when my first son left home .. i was grinding my teeth and the dentist issued me a gum sheild , this helped enourmously, i did not realise that the headaches where caused by the teeth grinding .... i had xrays that showed artheritis in the jaw joints too ......... but also i get them due to my neck injury ... i suffered whiplash and a herniated disc and have terrible spine pian ( spondylosis) in my neck and spine ... so i always attribute it to this .....

i use ice packs on my shoulder and heat and massage .. and try to leave painkillers off for as long as pos .... so i at least have some spells of not takeing them ...... i also get migraine on occations where it disturbes you vision ... and these headaches cause nausea ......

[dsdmom]

Can't believe I forgot to mention magnesium - this seems to help me immensely. Studies show 400-600mg / day should help. If I run out I DEFINITELY get worse. Worth a try.