sirfalas

I started having headaches about a year and a half ago after never having had them before. For a few months I had one all the time when not on medicine, even when I woke up in the middle of the night. I had a head CT that showed no abnormalities, so my doctor just tried various combos of meds until we found something that worked. Now I'm on Elavil, which seems to prevent the headaches. He also prescribed Tramadol to take as needed for the pain, and it works wonders for me. For less severe headaches, I've also found that Excedrin Migraine or Tension Headache works pretty well. Hope you find something that works for you!! As a side note, my headaches also seem to get worse if I drink any less than half a gallon of water a day.

I started having weird episodes exactly like you described a couple months ago. I don't have them very regularly (maybe every two weeks), but when I do it usually lasts thirty minutes or so. It's just like you said... it feels like my heart is falling and then it thumps really hard. I haven't noticed any connection to eating for me. Apparently it happens when I sleep sometimes too, because one morning my roommate told me that I kept saying in my sleep that "everything is falling!" It had been really bad before I fell asleep, so I guess it just continued. Anyway, I don't have any advice or anything, but I'm glad you said something, because I was wondering what was going on.

I have been taking 60 mg once a day for about six months. I knew that it was helping somewhat by keeping my heart rate lower and not pounding as hard, but then I ran out for a couple days, and those days were AWFUL. I couldn't stand more than a couple minutes without getting chest pain and feeling lightheaded. Now I make sure I don't run out. So yeah, it definitely helps me a lot, and I have had no side effects whatsoever.

Everyone - thanks for yall's replies! Melissa - Yeah, my sister is great. I originally thought that the headaches might be due to low blood pressure, but my blood pressure has actually been high lately (around 130/80). I know I've gotten headaches in the past from my blood pressure being too high, but these are very different from those. But I have rarely had a problem with hypotension. I passed out on my ttt, but that has been one of the only times it's been an issue. I also have tried Midodrine, but it made my blood pressure way too high, and that gave me a headache. I'm going to start trying to track my bp, but I didn't have easy access to a cuff until now. The difficulty with doctors is that I'm at school all year, so I can't see my pcp at home. She treated Rachel for awhile, so she has a good idea of how much dysautonomia can mess you up. But the doc here on campus doesn't know much about it. He is at least willing to work with it though... he doesn't act like I'm making it up or anything. firewatcher - Good suggestion on the caffeine. I need to try it on its own. That would make sense, because Toradol didn't do anything for me, and it's basically a prescription strength nsaid. I've also tried keeping a headache journal, but I've never noticed any pattern or triggers. My doctor does not think they are migraines (and I agree). He wants to do a CT just to rule out any serious problems.

These headaches are kind of hard to describe. They almost always are centered at the base of my skull. Sometimes the pain radiates out from there and becomes a "whole head" headache, but it still is focused at the base of the skull. The pain is kind of nondescript. It is just always there, but I wouldn't describe it as dull. It throbs sometimes, but not always. Activity increases the pain (walking, standing, etc.), and laying down generally helps it a little. Sleeping used to always get rid of it, and the headache wouldn't come back for at least half an hour after I woke up. But now the headache is usually there immediately when I wake up. Sometimes it is the pain that actually wakes me up. I have nausea associated with the headache occasionally, but not always. I don't if this is related to the headaches at all, but I haven't had any appetite lately and have lost about 8 or 9 pounds (of course that could just be POTS). In general, I just don't feel like myself. Also, my doctor has done a full neurological exam, which was all fine. Hope that helps.

So I've been lurking around here for a couple years because my sister is on here, but I finally decided to actually post. Question... I know a lot of you have regular headaches, but I've been having a headache all day every day for a couple months now. There have been some days in between where I don't have a headache, but it's pretty consistent. The pain varies from really bad (I have to stay in bed) to very mild, but even when the pain is mild, it affects my thinking and my general "well-being". I don't feel myself when I have these headaches. Excedrin Migraine usually takes care of the pain pretty well, but I can't use it in the afternoon because of the caffeine. My doctor prescribed Midrin and Toradol on separate occasions, and neither really worked. I also started a beta blocker to try and prevent the headaches, which didn't help. It did help my POTS symptoms however, so I'm still on it. I'm also on Seasonale, which I started about 8 months ago. I have been told that artificial hormones can cause headaches, so I'm wondering if any of you have experienced that with an oral contraceptive. Otherwise, have any of you had headaches this consistently? Were you ever able to find a cause? What treatments worked well for you?