Are you a headache person?

[BecomingMe]

I have suffered from headaches for more than thirty years. Anything or nothing can trigger it eg alcohol, skipped meal, not enough water, exercise. I don’t get the awful monthly migraines any more as I am in my 50s but still suffer random headaches.

I went to bed at about 11pm last night, ate normally yesterday, no alcohol, just water at bedtime and I have woken up with a headache which won’t shift despite two painkillers.

I live a generally healthy lifestyle these days. I have a friend who will polish off a bottle of wine each evening and she never gets a headache whereas I would only have to look at alcohol and feel rough the next day.

If I could work out a definite trigger it would help.

Does anyone else suffer from headaches and do you know what the trigger is? Have you managed to ‘cure’ yourself?

I also second having a routine.

The minute my sleep patterns change etc = migraine.

Yup, low level headache every day, raging one at least a couple of times a week. Thankfully, the cluster migraines which put me in bed for weeks on end seem to have gone, so they must have been hormone related.

I think mine are to do with inflammation and stress, tbh. So, strong ibuprofen help a bit. I rub an arnica salve that I make on the back of my neck and shoulders, that helps. I also take feverfew every day and the severity of the headaches has reduced.

Other than that, decent hydration, enough sleep and a neck support pillow all help.

Aldi ax others have said, when I'm at work I seem to find it easier to drink as we have defined breaks and a water fountain for inbetween. I think it's easy at hone to just forget

Ooh yes, the sun too!

So annoying as I love sitting in the sun but where once I would be able to sit out all day and brown easily, I now get a headache and my skin gets horribly red and spotty on my cheeks.

Yes, I've a low level headache from the second I step out of bed. I live with constant anxiety and stress and even on my good days I have this low level ache.
Periods of high anxiety leave me with flashing lights in my eye that go after an hour but debilitating pain for days.
I've had this low-level pain for months.

I suffer from headaches and migraines too.
Triggers seem endless:
-not eating at the right time
-not drinking enough
-too little sleep
-too much sleep (staying in bed too long after waking up)
-heat
-anxiety
-stress
-too long on screen
-Camembert
I can often predict or feel there is one coming, so will take tablets before bed to try and reduce the chances the next day.
A mix of ibuprofen & paracetamol usually works for me, although I need quite high doses, complete darkness and quiet also help. Sometimes coffee, sometimes eating, but sometimes they make no difference or make it worse, so it's all guess work, which is horrible :(

I’m a semi-headache person I’d say.
Often a Forehead stick thing will sort it, or the eye mask that you put in the freezer.

I found wearing a gum shield on my bottom teeth at night really helped my frequent headaches. I tend to clench my jaw without realising I am doing so, then grind my teeth at night. It can become a bit of a cycle and the gum shield has really helped, though sometimes I forget to wear it. I also often wear it when driving long distances as I clench my jaw when driving and end up with a headache on arrival! Guard cost about £60 - paid for privately as oddly NHS one was more expensive. Money well spent!

Morning headaches are often caused by grinding teeth.

I get these too, triggers are pretty much: no sleep, too much sleep, going to bed too late, going to bed too early, reading too much, doing too much and white wine, unfortunately.
I found one cure, years ago & it was a hangover once called Resolve Extra. It had citrus, paracetamol and caffeine in it and knocked migraines and bad head right out the park. Of course they stopped making it!
I use Alka seltzer XS now (dark blue packet) and have a strong coffee. If it's still bad 2 hrs later I have one anadin extra.
I can't take ibuprofen because it makes me stupid, say strange things, lethargic and brain foggy. Maybe I need a medi bracelet saying that!

Yep. Only since I was pregnant with DD (12 years ago), before that I maybe had one or two headaches a year! Definitely worse if I haven't been drinking enough water but they can come on regardless, I've never worked out a solid trigger. They seem somehow linked to my IBS which I can't make sense of, if I'm having a bad run of IBS flare ups I'll usually have a headache as well.

Oh yes I forgot teeth grinding, and one of my worst triggers is fragrance.

In a crisis I can sometimes stop a headache with ice or a packet of frozen peas if I don't want to use a triptan because I don't want the drowsiness.

Everyone is saying the same triggers that I have identified.

Funnily enough I have recently had a mouth guard as the dentist said I was grinding my teeth and damaging them. I don’t use it very often as I find it wakes me up but maybe I should persevere.

Anyway I am off to make myself a strong coffee which does seem to help a bit.

Try and persevere with the mouthguard. I found it made a huge difference.

Like an idiot I lost mine a week into lockdown and my migraines have got worse, I'm desperate for the dentists to reopen.

I was yes.

My McTimoney chiropractor has fixed mine. They were triggered by skipping meals, dehydration etc but turned out the main cause was poor neck and shoulder alignment and muscle tension,
Regularly being straightened with occasional deep tissue massage has pretty much cured it.
I long to go back after lockdown!!!

I also have frequent headaches, differing , sometimes a dull ache, sometimes with nausea. I use a mouth guard which helps. I also sleep with no pillow which seems much more comfortable.

Alcohol, red wine, chocolate are all causes and of course dehydration.

I've been a headache sufferer since my teens (am mid 30s now).
I asked my dr for a neurologist referral when my migraines were so often they effected my ability to work and she made me keep a diary for 6 weeks. It massively helped me identify triggers.

OP, if I were you I would try and track:
How much you drink (and what)
What you ate
When you ate
How much you slept
What medications you take
The weather
How you feel
What type of headache you have - which part of your head is hurting, is it thumping / painful to touch / are you dizzy etc. Mark the pain out of 10 for each one and note when they start and when they fade.

For me, I found my triggers were too much and too little sleep, Garlic, onions, chocolate, wine, not drinking enough water, drinking too many fizzy drinks, caffeine, being too hot. I have hay fever and not taking antihistamines makes me congested which causes headaches. I wear glasses so prescriptions must be up to date. I have to wear sunglasses if it's bright or I get a headache. My hormones also cause headaches but there's nothing I can do about that.

What I've found helps are ibuprofen rather than paracetamol for some headaches. High dose dissolvable aspirin for migraine (900mg as advised by my dr). Nasal spray to stop congestion. Menthol smells seem to help the pain (no idea why), as does utilising pressure points on the face (temples, centre of forehead, top of the neck, the top of your nose).
Sleeping with a window open at night and being a little bit cold in the bedroom. Getting fresh air each day, getting the right amount of sleep (6.5 - 7.5 hours in my case), eating my biggest meal at lunchtime and keeping gel face masks in the fridge.

You have my sympathy OP, headaches are awful.

yes, though since going onto a low dosage of Propranolol, they are less frequent and less severe. Now, I sometimes get migraine vision disturbance (or vomiting) with no headache. Warning, it can cause terrible nightmares so I don't take it later than about 6pm

I experimented with triggers, and find that I can drink wine fairly safely, but can't eat chocolate, not even a couple of chocolate biscuits

I know that skipping meals is a trigger, but I read recently that having a bowl of cornflakes or something before bed helps. I doubted it but it seems to work. Hard to be sure with folk remedies because you don't know what would have happened without them.

Yes me too, believe not enough water for me too due to the hot weather

As well as many triggers listed here I've realised recently that many of my headaches are caused by neck and shoulder muscle tension. I've been doing yoga with Adrienne over the past couple of months and have noticed a huge difference. She has a couple of videos dedicated to neck and shoulder pain. It's really gentle and has made a huge difference to how I feel

Thanks for all the suggestions and tips. A diary would be a good idea. I just can’t shift this one today.

Yes!

I have Botox now to help, it’s made a massive difference as mine were always between my eyebrows.

I'm a headachy person. I also get migraine auras without the headache.

Yes

I have had a migrainey headache all week. It finally cleared yesterday morning and I feel better today.

Yep I am a headache person usually if I don't drink enough water, am feeling stressed or have been crying