My head is in a vice!

[kerrisan]

Hello, my name is Kerrisan and I am a chronic tension headache sufferer.

Geez, these things suck.

I need some sympathy from someone who understands! This isn't just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, "I'll take some Ibuprofin and be fine in 30 minutes" headaches; if you get tension headaches you know what I'm talking about. They are pretty much migraines without the aura or nausea. With mine, I get paiun in the neck and forehead, and I am sensitive to light (I am going to lay in a dark room as soon as I finish this). Sometimes, I am even sensitive to sound. With my worst one, my other half (bless his heart) got scared out of his mind that I was going to pass out: he told me that I looked pale and weak. I could hardly walk, it hurt so bad. With that particular headache my shoulders were so tight it hurt to move them at all. These headaches are just debilitating!
I know it sounds stupid but . . . you know that medicine specifically for headaches that Exidrine (probably mispelled that) makes? That's the only stuff that works! However, I do not like to take medicines that are not prescribed to me. I will if I am seriously about to cry. but other than that, I like home remedies. If possible, I will take a hot bath to relieve the stress and that usually helps tons, and faster than any pill. Does anybody out there suffer from tension headaches, and if so, what other methods of relief do you use if you do not have medicine at your disposal (besides curling into a ball in a dark room and crying)?

[Sphinx]

Yep!! Tension headaches and Migraines, lucky me:rolleyes:

[Lace Neil Singer]

I get migraines, especially in the summer. They're a lot better than they used to be when I was teen; lasting around 8 hours instead of 3 days, lucky me!

[kerrisan]

Mine started when I was 15 or 16, and eased up alot when I moved out of my parents' house for school (coincidence? :rolleyes:). My mom got migraines almost every day when she was 8, but they just miraculously stopped one day. I think I might get my tendancy for tension headaches from her.


And I'm going into teaching . . . why??? :eek:

[protege]

Headaches suck...especially the sinus/migraine types I get. The only thing that lessens things is caffeine. It opens up blood vessels and helps make the pretty colors disappear. I still feel lightheaded though.

[NightAngel]

Well, if you're a girl this is just one more reason to look forward to Menopause as most severe migrane type headaches stop then.

Yes, I get migranes. Ugh.

One of the things I do that relieves the pain somewhat is this:

At the base of my skull- right where the spine meets- on either side there are small 'knobs' or 'lumps'. If you place your fingers on either side of your spine in your neck and run them up to where you just start to feel the very base of your skull then follow that perimeter it'll probably feel something like an upside- down V.
Right in there (you'll know it when you hit the spot- trust me!) and rub/apply pressure to that area. It always hurts to rub the tension from that area but once it's gone the headache should be a lot less- or gone.

Another one is between your thumb and index finger. Pinch around in that stretch of skin (for me usually closer in to the joint) and see if you can locate a hard, painful muscle tension ball. If you do then roll it gently between your fingers until it releases. Repeat on other hand.

You said you like to take a hot bath to help relieve it. Take your towel and wrap it around your head "turban" style. Make sure that the base is tight around your head- directly across the base of your skull, over the ears and across your temples. Leave it on. I think they make something called a Migrane Band that does something similar but the towel has always worked for me.

If I think of more I'll post it... Hope your head feels better!

[Broomjockey]

Yeah, I get tension headaches on an almost daily basis. At least the nice ER doc told me it was a tension headache. A couple months ago, I started getting a headache. Nothing new, except it wouldn't go away for 5 days, and started causing an increase in my heart rate and some fun shortness of breath, so I went to the ER after work, (at 1 in the morning, sat around until 4 when they got me checked in, then sat around for another hour) got a CT scan and a ride on the gurney thingy, waited for another hour, (was given some Tylenol 3 with codine, discovered I'm mildly allergic) got told there's nothing on there, and to take 1000 mg of ibuprofen and acetomenophen, then left, just in time to grab some breakfast and go to my staff meeting that morning.

After that, I stopped drinking or eating anything with caffine, and that's helped some, also, drinking gatorade or powerade helps for some reason. I already stay in the dark as much as possible. No natural light that can be prevented, and rarely more than the glow of the monitor or tv to light the room. (Before you cry eye-strain, adding to headaches, lemme add, when I was younger, I had more lights on, and it was worse.)

I still get headaches so often and in so many varieties that I can tell you whether it feels like needles poking, needles jabbed, 2x4 just hit me, baseball bat hit me, all kinds of variety.

So in closing, there's a lot of headache and migraine sufferers on the boards, and we've all got little tricks to try and help us through.

[MadMike]

I get a migraine every couple weeks, and sometimes have to call off work because of them. Luckily, my supervisor gets them too, so she understands.

They range in severity from a simple "wiped out and in slight pain", to full-blown "sensitive to light, hot and cold flashes, seeing colors that aren't there, pressure pushing against my eyes from inside my skull, feeling like I'm going to puke, etc." Fortunately, the latter is extremely rare. Usually it's somewhere in between.

For me, it seems to be triggered by stress, or if I go too long without a decent night's sleep. I got one the morning after my car got hit, and then after I found out they were totalling it, and I went to retrieve the rest of my belongings from it, that triggered another one.

Oh, and two years in a row, I woke up with one on the day I intended to start my Christmas shopping. The one year, it was one of the "severe" ones I mentioned earlier. I guess my body really didn't want to go shopping, and it turned against me. :p

[kerrisan]

Oh yeah, I read somewhere that drinking 3 FULL glasses of Gatorade will stop ANY headache. When we used to have Gatorade I would always drink that, and yeah, it did actually help. So did ice cold water. But nothing has helped as much as a nice hot bath!

And that upside-down V thing? HEAVEN. I'm on the verge of another headache right now, so maybe that will prevent it . . .

Does anybody else get the "cool" feeling in the base of their skull right before a headache? Those feelings always seem to preceed mine . . .

[Lace Neil Singer]

Excessive heat, flashing neon lights and monthly hormones trigger mine... *sigh* Cutting things from my diet doesn't help me at all, I just have to make sure I carry pills around everywhere and stay hydrated.

[Heksubah]

I don't know what it is I get, if they are migraines or tension headaches. I just know that it hits right in the temples and is stabbing pain. I get very sound sensitive too. Loud sounds seem to just resonate in my pain.

I've discovered that BC (powdered aspirin) will kill them in no time flat. It's the ONLY thing that works for me, and I keep some around most of the time. Speaking of which... *roots around since her head is killing her*

[JuniorMintz]

I'm lucky and don't get migraines (I only had one, and boy was it a doozy!), but I get severe caffeine headaches on a daily basis, and try as I may I just can't seem to kick them!

I guess I should just count my blessings that I'm not a chronic migraine sufferer like others I know... you guys have my sympathy, you really do. :(