Tension Headaches

I've been getting (or so my doctor says) tension headaches almost daily (6 out of 7 days a week at least) since the beginning of January and it's really starting to bum me out. Well it's a mix of tension and migraines. I went to the doctor and he gave me an anti inflammatory to calm the muscles down in my neck and back but it's not really doing anything.

Whenever I stand up I get this horrible rush and it's really painful. I've had to miss work because of it (which I'm not a big fan of). They sometimes lead into migraines and I will get sick. I'm not sensitive to light or loud noises though so that's a plus.

I've tried massage therapy but it doesn't really do anything for me. I'm going to try going on a more regular basis I guess.

Has anyone ever had chronic tension headaches? Any tips or anything? That's really all I'm looking for.

I have been sleeping with my pillow under my head rather than my neck, as well as stretching daily but it's not doing anything yet (I've only been stretching and on the anti inflammatory meds for a week)

I also have horribly low blood pressure. Usually around 80/50, but it's been like that as long as I can remember so my doctor said it's nothing to worry about. Though I used to run marathons etc. so that explained it before lol now I'm just chillin. I thought maybe circulation had something to do with it because it bothers me when I stand up, so I started running again in like March.. it helped for a bit but it turned out it was just a few good days, because it went right back to it.

What type of anti-inflammatory did you get? You can try switching to a different analgesic, like acetaminophen (tylenol), or aspirin, or a different anti-inflammatory than the one you were prescribed (my favourite is ibuprofen in advil). You can also try adding caffeine to the mix and seeing if that helps (I think they're allowed to sell combination caffeine / analgesics in Canada now, but having a coffee with your pills works too).

Judging by some quick research into the topic, the only real treatment for chronic TTH is amitriptyline which is an anti-depressant so you might have to suffer through some nasty side effects.

If it's mainly your back and neck that are giving you issues, you might consider trying to work out those muscles a little more aggressively rather than just stretching. I'm not good at isolating specific muscle groups for exercising, but I'm sure you can google it. Not sure if this'll help or make the situation worse though.

When you miss work is it mainly because of the migraine aspect of it? If so you may want to seek treatment for that instead, since it's a little different to treat and you might get away with not having to be on amitriptyline.

I was prescribed Naproxen. Tylenol does nothing for me, but Advil usually does a little more, though it never gets rid of it completely. I generally use the Advil when I have the migraine type headache, though. I don't want to get dependent on it.. or have the rebound headaches.

The first doctor I went to told me not to take anything for the headaches so up until about three weeks ago I hadn't been taking anything. I take the extra strength migraine Advil when I have a lot of pain.

I used to spend almost two hours a day until July when I got a car.. but would it take 6 months for side effects to come from that? That's the only thing in my life that has changed lifestyle wise in the past while. I plan on walking/biking a lot more to see if maybe that helps.


I never really thought of caffeine... I did read that when I looked around on google though ahah. Though what does a caffeine headache feel like? I already have like three coffees a day (normally two iced caps and a coffee)... so I don't know if I could really have any more.. but pills would be different I suppose.

I've missed work four times since January and twice it was because I was sick from what I assume to be a migraine.. it didn't feel like a migraine to me but my doctor said it was. The headaches that he says are migraines don't really feel like them to me.. though I had one yesterday that was actually throbbing so I know that one was. I have heard that migraines hurt more lying down? None of my headaches hurt when I'm lying down, though occasionally I will wake up and my head will literally ache (mostly the muscles at the back of my head)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WellAdjusted

I used to spend almost two hours a day until July when I got a car.. but would it take 6 months for side effects to come from that?

---

I assume something's missing from this sentence.

Well the simple definition of a migraine is a headache combined with some other sign (nausea being the biggest one which you seem to get), while tension headaches would just be a plain old painful headache with no other signs. You can get muscle contractions with both migraines and TTH, so it's hard to tell which of them is causing your muscle aching (probably both).

The level of caffeine you're drinking per day is pretty good, so I wouldn't recommend adding pills on to it (I don't like caffeine pills since I personally think their effects are delayed, but your results may vary).

It wouldn't hurt to get an MRI (since it's free lol) to rule out any less common disorders. Some of your signs are consistent with Low CSF Volume Headaches (feeling better lying down, more painful as you're standing up) which can be ruled out with an MRI. Also don't let them trick you into getting a CT scan instead - one of my friends had chronic headaches and I told him to get an MRI, but his doctors did a battery of tests on him including a CT scan, but they didn't figure out until they finally did an MRI that he had a Chiari Malformation.

If I just ask my doctor will he give me one? Doesn't he have to recommend it or something?

Also I mean to put a 'walking' somewhere in that sentence.

Doesn't hurt to ask. I guess it depends on your GP and how comfortable he/she is with the diagnosis. My friend requested one once for the exact same problem you're having and she got it within a month (you might need to wait a while since it is an elective MRI - also it may be at a weird time like 1am or something). I mean it might be inconclusive (my friend's was), but if it's not going away with NSAID treatment, I personally feel it would be prudent to do one before you move on to long term therapy for it. Like I said, you can try more hardcore migraine treatment first and see if that helps before requesting an mri.

Yeah I will try a few more things before I ask. I've put a date of September for myself and when it will make me want to commit (I'm not being serious, I'm just saying that's when I would get uber sick of it).

If they don't work I will try the therapy more often but I really don't want to have to do that ahah.

Thanks Nermy, you're a pimp.

Yeah, it's nothing life threatening, so you can afford to wait. Don't forget the basic stuff too: make sure to get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water, and try to minimize stress as best as you can. Hope you feel better soon.

I'm a doctor and I would recommend buying a bag of ice every night and use it as a pillow. You should feel refreshed and cool in the morning and ready to start a new day!




User Received an Infraction for this post