Can we talk headaches?

[StJess80]

I was supposed to see my dr this weekend and was going to bring up my constant headaches. Another nestie mentioned that they sell tylenol 1 OTC there. Is it legal to buy it from Canada and ship it here? I'd assume they'd have restrictions on how many you could buy, which would be fine. They sell it all over the internet, but I am worried that since it's not OTC here, that it would mean big trouble, and I'd like to avoid that.

[audry80]

Be careful taking Tylenol to treat chronic headaches. There are better medicines out there that are not so hard on your liver. I suffer from chronic headaches and take blood pressure medicine as a preventive med.

[audry80]

I judged googled what is in Tylenol 1. The codeine will just cause rebound headaches. I would stay away!

[StJess80]

Apr 21, 2015 23:15:32 GMT -5 audry80 said:

I judged googled what is in Tylenol 1. The codeine will just cause rebound headaches. I would stay away!

You are more than likely correct. I tend to not have w/d rebounds. My headaches come every day, at least 3 a day. All day every day, I am popping advil. Yuck.

[audry80]

I highly highly recommend this book. m.barnesandnoble.com/w/heal-your-headache-david-buchholz/1005054827?ean=9780761125662

My neuro recommended it and it helped me discover that nuts seem to contribute to my headaches.

You need to see a neurologist. Not order meds off the internet.

[StJess80]

Apr 21, 2015 23:31:26 GMT -5 audry80 said:

I highly highly recommend this book. m.barnesandnoble.com/w/heal-your-headache-david-buchholz/1005054827?ean=9780761125662

My neuro recommended it and it helped me discover that nuts seem to contribute to my headaches.

You need to see a neurologist. Not order meds off the internet.

I was supposed to see her on friday, but she had to schedule. So I don't see her until the 8th of May.

[AAM2012]

Yes I would definitely keep a food diary AND see a neurologist stat!

[StJess80]

I'm not ruling out tension or allergies as the culprit either, even though I take my allergy med everyday. I am keeping a journal of: date, time, duration, if it went away and when, and whether or not I took any Advil for it.

I'm trying to write down any particular triggers (though I can't identify any) and where on my head the headache occurs.

[yentl]

I would try to go wait for a period when you can deal with the headache for a day or two and not take any meds. I know its miserable but it might help you have to break the cycle. Try to stay hydrated during that time. Try ice or heat for the pain vs. medicine. When I'm going through a period where I'm having a lot of headaches, I need to break the cycle of taking so many meds. It really can have an impact on your headaches coming back and the effectiveness of the pain reliever you're using, at least for me.

I deal with frequent migraines and have a pretty good handle on my triggers. I recently went through physical therapy and figured out a huge culprit was neck and back strain. Now I do frequent neck stretches and back exercises. That has decreased the frequency of my migraines more than anything else I ever tried. I've also heard good things about biofeedback.

[arch01]

I'd document and see if you can find trends.

My constant headaches were from my nighttime teeth grinding. Never put 2 and 2 together until my dentist brought up my severely affected molars. Insert a nighttime mouthguard and I'm now headache free most days.

[steph96]

My neurologist was amazing at helping figure out the issue. Mine were caused by stress. He put me on an antidepressant and I was magically better. I still occasionally got them, but it wasn't a daily thing anymore.

[StJess80]

Apr 22, 2015 11:01:47 GMT -5 Lucy Honeychurch said:

DO NOT treat recurring headaches with Tylenol of any kind, unless you're looking to kill your liver!

I'd absolutely try a neurologist first. In the meantime, try minimal Advil coupled with some homoepathic stuff -- cold compresses, caffeine, peppermint oil on your temples. And have your blood pressure taken.

I usually stay away from tylenol in general because it doesn't seem to help any. But I saw the Canada OTC stuff and thought "YES! That could help!" I did have a headache at the time, so that's my excuse. I am still keeping my log, and I'm thinking I may try a EMS/TENS unit in the meantime. Once I tell my primary, I guess we'll go from there as far as seeing a neurologist or if she wants to treat it.

[LoveTrains]

Have you had your eyes chcked recently?

My bad headaches were a symptom of a serious condition called idiopathic intracranial hypertension. It was discovered by my optometrist because I complained of headaches to him and he noticed that my optic nerve was wicked swollen. I see a neuro-opthalmologist now.

[StJess80]

Apr 22, 2015 13:32:10 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Have you had your eyes chcked recently?

My bad headaches were a symptom of a serious condition called idiopathic intracranial hypertension. It was discovered by my optometrist because I complained of headaches to him and he noticed that my optic nerve was wicked swollen. I see a neuro-opthalmologist now.

Yes. I have horrible vision that seems to change all the time, so I can't get by with skipping a yearly exam.

[buffysummers]

I was diagnosed with "chronic daily headaches" by my neurologist a long time ago. Basically I would get them every day, with differing severities. I take topamax daily which has made a huge difference, plus something when I get a migraine.

I would keep a headache journal over the next couple weeks to bring in - log how many times a day and rate the severity from 1 to 5. It will be helpful for your doctor to see how often you're actually getting them. It really does suck, but with a good doctor you can find the right treatment.

[AAM2012]

My headaches = diagnosis of celiac.


It really could be multiple things but glad you're getting it checked out and hopefully you start feeling better soon.

[hamster]

Rumor has it we employ some doctor who is *awesome* with headaches. He is a DO instead of an MD. Have you looked into that?

[StJess80]

Apr 22, 2015 23:08:29 GMT -5 hamster said:

Rumor has it we employ some doctor who is *awesome* with headaches. He is a DO instead of an MD. Have you looked into that?

No. My dr is a MD. Alissa's pedi is a DO. I'll keep that in mind after my appt though.

[Deleted]

I've suffered with migraines for 25 years (since age 10). At the suggestion of my neuro last year, I started taking 1000 mg of magnesium a day and it has made such a difference for me! I take 500 in the morning and 500 at night. I also cut out artificial sweeteners, caffeine, and anything with tannins (tea, alcohol, chocolate, peels of fruits) and I went from 2-3 migraines a week to 1-2 a month (and these are either hormonally related, or if I decide I really want a drink or two, sometimes I pay the price).

When I do get one, I take 100mg imitrex (generic), 10mg reglan (imitrex won't work on me unless my stomach is completely empty, so this helps), and Aleve, washed down with about 8 oz of Diet Coke (since caffine is a trigger for me, I can't drink too much).

Good luck with trying to find something that works for you! I know how frustrating it can be.

[steph96]

Have you had your vision checked lately?

[StJess80]

Apr 23, 2015 8:53:24 GMT -5 @laredo said:

I've suffered with migraines for 25 years (since age 10). At the suggestion of my neuro last year, I started taking 1000 mg of magnesium a day and it has made such a difference for me! I take 500 in the morning and 500 at night. I also cut out artificial sweeteners, caffeine, and anything with tannins (tea, alcohol, chocolate, peels of fruits) and I went from 2-3 migraines a week to 1-2 a month (and these are either hormonally related, or if I decide I really want a drink or two, sometimes I pay the price).

When I do get one, I take 100mg imitrex (generic), 10mg reglan (imitrex won't work on me unless my stomach is completely empty, so this helps), and Aleve, washed down with about 8 oz of Diet Coke (since caffine is a trigger for me, I can't drink too much).

Good luck with trying to find something that works for you! I know how frustrating it can be.

I take between 1200-1500mg of magnesium a day. I take a 250mg dose in the morning with my adderall, and then another 250mg dose with my afternoon adderall. Then I'll usually take 3 or 4 of the 250mg when I go to bed. My dr says it's supposed to help with sleep (it doesn't), and with digestive/constipation issues (it does), and it's supposed to help my body metabolize the adderall more efficiently, and cut down on the tolerance to the adderall (not sure if it works, but I take it anyway).

Yesterday I didn't take any meds for my headaches, and I am going to try to not take any for a few days to see if it is a rebound thing. I've also tried essential oils (not sure if I mentioned this above) and I am not sure if that is working either. I got a TENS machine last night, although it's possible that it's an EMS machine.

Basically, I am trying anything I can think of to pinpoint a solution so I can share all of this. I've been writing down what I am doing, but I am still not picking up on a cause. I guess if I have all that info, the dr may be able to identify a cause that I am not seeing.

Thank you for all the advice (and entertaining my delusions of illegal drug buying w/out flaming me!). Keep it coming, I am trying everything suggested.

[Deleted]

Apr 23, 2015 11:03:24 GMT -5 StJess80 said:

Apr 23, 2015 8:53:24 GMT -5 @laredo said:

I've suffered with migraines for 25 years (since age 10). At the suggestion of my neuro last year, I started taking 1000 mg of magnesium a day and it has made such a difference for me! I take 500 in the morning and 500 at night. I also cut out artificial sweeteners, caffeine, and anything with tannins (tea, alcohol, chocolate, peels of fruits) and I went from 2-3 migraines a week to 1-2 a month (and these are either hormonally related, or if I decide I really want a drink or two, sometimes I pay the price).

When I do get one, I take 100mg imitrex (generic), 10mg reglan (imitrex won't work on me unless my stomach is completely empty, so this helps), and Aleve, washed down with about 8 oz of Diet Coke (since caffine is a trigger for me, I can't drink too much).

Good luck with trying to find something that works for you! I know how frustrating it can be.

I take between 1200-1500mg of magnesium a day. I take a 250mg dose in the morning with my adderall, and then another 250mg dose with my afternoon adderall. Then I'll usually take 3 or 4 of the 250mg when I go to bed. My dr says it's supposed to help with sleep (it doesn't), and with digestive/constipation issues (it does), and it's supposed to help my body metabolize the adderall more efficiently, and cut down on the tolerance to the adderall (not sure if it works, but I take it anyway).

Yesterday I didn't take any meds for my headaches, and I am going to try to not take any for a few days to see if it is a rebound thing. I've also tried essential oils (not sure if I mentioned this above) and I am not sure if that is working either. I got a TENS machine last night, although it's possible that it's an EMS machine.

Basically, I am trying anything I can think of to pinpoint a solution so I can share all of this. I've been writing down what I am doing, but I am still not picking up on a cause. I guess if I have all that info, the dr may be able to identify a cause that I am not seeing.

Thank you for all the advice (and entertaining my delusions of illegal drug buying w/out flaming me!). Keep it coming, I am trying everything suggested.

Yeah, I've read about it helping with sleep too, and unfortunately it doesn't work for me either.  I can say that since I get them less often now and I'm not rebounding, the Imitrex works REALLY well, like within 20 minutes.  I used to have to take 1, then 2 hours later take another and pray it worked.  

[boiler717]

I had a lot of success with massage therapy. I was getting migraines 1-3 times a week, and then they dropped off considerably. When I started losing weight they completely went away -- not sure if it was exercise, diet, feeling better about myself or what.