Can anyone relate to being a headachey person and what do you do to deal with it ?

Cut out anything with (artificial) folic acid, started taking methylfolate instead (with co-factors) - after fertility clinic confirmed I had the MTHFR gene mutation (v.common). Meant to cause miscarriages but unexpected side effect was stopping headaches/migraines! I was just deficient.

Other triggers I’ve found are:

wearing tight clothes eg skinny jeans
lack of sleep
listening to people talk for a long time
any amount of alcohol

No real advice other to say I sympathise. I get prescribed Sumatriptan but they knock me out and so i am unable to drive, so taking them during the day is a no. Im now resistant to paracetamol and ibuprofen but recently discovered Anadin Extra which is a god send for me so far. No doubt I'll get resistant to that soon.
I get botox in my temples and forehead which helps with the headaches, and I'm thinking of getting that ear piercing that helps headaches and migraines. I wish I could drink more water as I'm sure that would help, but I have a very weak bladder so I tend to steer clear of plain water.

I started getting migraines in my early 30s (although I may have had them before and put it down to bad hangovers). I started tracking them and realised they were monthly either at the start or end of my period. Paracetamol and ibuprofen wouldn’t touch them so I was prescribed sumertriptan which felt like a magic cure (I could feel the migraine disappearing within 10 minutes). I’m 46 now and still get migraines monthly but try and take sumertriptan as soon as I feel one coming on. If I take it too late, or if I have a sip of coffee, then they often don’t work, or don’t work as well, and it’s hard to function. I do worry about taking too much sumertriptan but don’t know if I just need to accept that. I really do hope they go after menopause! I feel like if men suffered from migraines as much as women do then there would be more research into why and how to stop them!

Despite so many excellent tips and things that are well worth trying, I’ve never managed to get rid of a migraine without Sumatriptan. Anadin Extra soluble can be effective if taken early enough but once that headache settles on one side nothing else will touch it in my experience.
Luckily a Triptan will abort a migraine in 30 minutes and I’m grateful for something that works after having many years of lost days due to migraine.

I strangely find that having full sunlight on me (with my eyes closed) helps, so I’m not light sensitive but I am noise sensitive and have to be in silence. I also can’t sleep them off, I have to wait for a tablet to work before I attempt to nod off otherwise I just wake up an hour later and it’s still there, which I find bizarre.
I think I have a condition called Cyclical migraine although not linked to hormones as I’m post menopause. I can have two or three days where I struggle to get and keep them under control, then two or three weeks with nothing, not a snip of a headache. Then they start up again out of the blue with no apparent trigger and certainly nothing that I’ve done differently.
Watching the thread with interest as I’m sure I speak for many sufferers when ai say we will try anything.

I used to get them more frequently until I realised drinking orange squash used to trigger my headaches. Far fewer headaches now I used ForeHead stick and cool ice packs.

My trigger was red wine

Yep chronic migraines i use triptans. Hormones make mine worse so around my period. Also lack of sleep and stress.

I think mine came on at peri menopause. Suddenly had a few auras when I'd never had before. Get them for about 3/4 days running. I think spring time can be a trigger but not so bad this year.

I already take beta blockers for high blood pressure and didn't notice a change when after I was prescribed sadly.

Painkillers don't really work for me. Look you might think I'm a troll but I can recommend having a wank to help. 👍

Yes really suffer stress and broken / lack of sleep triggers mine but with 3 children age 4 and under it’s kind of a given

Have had migraines for years. The biggest difference has been taking Magnesium - I went from 2-3 headaches a week to about one a month. When I feel one coming on, before a Sumatriptan, I try a coffee with 2 sugars and that's been an amazing non-medicinal cure that works 90% of the time

Just out of curiosity have you had your blood pressure checked?

My occasional headache turned into waking up with headaches and being knocked out for the day. I put up with the pain for several months until DH pushed me to the GP. Turned out my blood pressure was sky high.

I’m now on tablets and regular monitoring.

just a thought.

Pregnancy = terrible migraines. Alcohol in even small amounts is a trigger for me. I have to wear sunglasses on sunny days. I don’t go anywhere without Sumatriptan.

Been a headache and migraine suffer person for the past 30 years! Started at the age of 11 and now I’m 42 years old. I have painkillers in every bag, coat pocket and purse! Triggers can be, but are not limited to;

Driving for too long
Too much sleep
Too less sleep
Hunger
Tying my hair up for too long
Too much noise
Basically anything and everything.

Normal painkillers can help with a headache but not many meds can touch the migraines unfortunately, just have to ride them out.

This was an interesting podcast about headaches I listened to recently: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002bsws

The main idea from it was that what we think of as 'just' headaches are actually another form of migraine.

I don't get headaches as badly as I used to. It might be because I'm generally more healthy and drink less alcohol and coffee and do more exercise.

As you can see from my username I've posted on here about this before!
I feel for you OP.
Things that used to work: dispersible aspirin (dispersible aspirin not the regular. This was recommended to a family member by a neurologist but not the coke part-tgat was something I picked up on here and it dud actuallyvwork for a while. Is meant to work within 15 minutes)was in full fat coke or in an espresso, salty snacks.
Now I take antoegepant as a preventative daily via neurologist and then the occasional start of a migraine then sumatriptan as soon as symptoms start.
I find I tend to get them if I stay up too late and or don't get a good night's sleep. Also fluorescent lighting and either being humid or air conditioning in my workplace didn't help.
Recommend looking at the threads about migraines and just reading through and maybe finding something that makes sense to you to try. It's such a minefield as what works brilliant for some makes things worse for others. (eg candesarten some people swear by but it gave me bad dizzy spells).

Don't just tolerate it though OP. Lifes too short. Visit your GP for support. Look up the NICE guidelines. I think it says after trying 3 medications unsuccessfully then your GP should refer you to a neurologist/headache clinic.
Hope you find a solution OP. It's bloody miserable.

Yep I am a very migrainey type person with similar triggers to you. My shift work doesn’t help…
I now take a sumatriptan at the first sniff of a migraine, along with lots of fluids especially water or squash and a can of Pepsi max or Coke Zero. If the migraine gets more painful I add in decent painkillers in the first hour - I find nurofen plus the most effective. If possible I try to sleep for an hour or two after this but I work full time and have other commitments so not always possible. While recovering I find salty and or protein based food to be best. Crackers or mini cheddar type things. Cheeseburgers, oven chips. Marmite on toast. Not healthy but my blood pressure and blood sugar run a bit low anyway. I make sure to eat very regularly whilst recovering to prevent a relapse. (Cheese is not a trigger for me). I might need a painkiller top up after 4 hours but not always.

I’ve tried many strategies over the years, delaying treatment or trying paracetamol or other mild painkillers first just prolongs the inevitable for me and is highly likely to cause the migraine to escalate and last for days.

i started taking Rheal balance tonic after seeing a. Influencer say it helped with hormonal headaches and it really has. I stopped taking it for a couple of months to see if they were gone and the headaches came back with a vengeance. Maybe it’s the ashwaganda that does it?

I've had them since I hit puberty. Regular headaches and the odd migraine.
Migraines came back with a vengeance in perimeno. I take Sumatriptan when I feel them coming on, if I don't, nothing works.

I use the shakti pillow under my neck. My painkiller consumption has dwindled to almost zero!

Likewise @ClawsandEffect my morning headaches are often shifted by a couple of mugs of hot tea.

My SIL had chronic headaches and migraine type symptoms for years. Finally saw a neurologist who suggested she might be coeliac. After being tested for coeliac disease and cutting out gluten she rarely ever has a headache! He said that for some coeliacs, neurological issues, such as headaches, are their main symptom (not gut symptoms).

Likewise - suffered from regular migraines for decades. Whenever one came on I took paracetamol and an antihistamine and had to lie down in the dark until it passed. This typically happened 2-3 times a month.

Then I had a hysterectomy and I haven’t had one since - it’s been five years.

Yes me also, my mother suffered in the same way.
Headaches and migraines a feature of my life but not really anymore
Migraines stopped after Menopause
Headaches now infrequent with retirement, 3 monthly visits to Chiropractor and a pillow bought on her recommendation

I find cold and flu pills work well

That and cold coca cola