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?

[formerbabe]

I get terrible headaches when I'm tired or if I sit in the sun for too long. I went out last week and sat in the park for about 45 minutes...I felt dreadful.

[crazycrofter]

I’m so happy to find other people like me! I have a mild headache most days, with a bad one a few days a month.

Lots of things cause them/make them worse:
Lack of sleep
Sun
Hormones
Eye strain
Driving a lot/any travel really
Stress/worry

I also over rely on Anadin Extra. For a while I used Syndol for the really bad headaches, maybe once/twice a month. Two of them knocked me out and helped me sleep it off, but recently the effect seems to be lessening which is strange!

[Holothane]

I had five years of dreadful headaches drs put me propanol about 8 years ago it’s been a godsend IStill have the odd one but it’s not too bad now.

[LucyFox]

Yep - since I was young I have been able to differentiate between stress headaches, hungry headaches, low blood sugar headaches, dehydration headaches, tiredness headaches, noise headaches, tension headaches, caffeine headaches & even weather headaches 🙄 hormonal headaches took much longer to identify and migraines are totally different!
If I get a headache that I can’t work out, I always start with something to drink (about a pint of water + A can of Diet Coke for caffeine), something to eat (Bananas are surprisingly effective or a cheese sandwich) and a warm bath. If that doesn’t help, getting into bed with warm feet & a cold head (cold wet flannel on forehead & back of neck) often helps.
For a few months I have been on a very low dose of Amitriptyline taken at night which has really helped reduce my headaches so do talk to your gp too

[Whistle73]

Have you all had your blood pressure checked? DH used to wake up with a headache practically every morning - since he's been taking blood pressure medication they have virtually disappeared.

[DidoLamenting]

I get headaches regularly and also migraine. I am in a relatively headache free patch at the moment but there will be weeks when I wake up in the middle of every night with a headache. I keep a stick of 4Head by my bed, which helps. I keep supplies of 4Head in every bag, office desk. It does help , both migraine and ordinary headaches.

[iloverock]

Yes same here. I suffer a lot from headaches. They have improved over the years.

I have regular massages which helps. I get really tense in shoulders and neck. Massages seem to help.

[YukoandHiro]

Yes me too! I only had the odd one at school but since my early 20s I've had regular headaches (but no obvious pattern) and go through spates of migraines.
The only completely headache free period I've had was the 2.5 years I breastfed my daughter, so there's obviously a hormonal element. Pregnant again now and planning to let my second self wean even it it takes til 4 so I get the respite....

[WellTidy]

Yes. Loads of triggers for me - not enough sleep, too much sleep, smells. But I get the worst headaches when I’ve had too much direct sun. I don’t go outside without sunglasses.

[OneNightTimeMenaceStrikesBack]

I have a headache every day and have done my whole life, its caused by the chiari malformation i have in my brain. I used to get loads of migraines as well but they have reduced by a huge amount since i had a daith piercing put in each ear. i still get them soemtimes but in the 3 years ssince i had the piercings put in, ive had six in total wheras befor ei was getting 1 or 2 a week

[Titsywoo]

Nope I've never really had a headache. Every now and then I get a tension type ache which I think comes from my neck. Maybe it's genetic. I can't remember my parents or brothers ever having them either.

[Awwlookatmybabyspider]

No thank God. Although I'm sure a lot of people would describe me as head ache.

[StrictlyAFemaleFemale]

I had fewer headaches/migraines when I was a zumba instructor for 4 hrs a week. I seem to be getting more since wfh. I tjink I might have asd for many reasons but if I am feeling sensitive and the sunshines in my eyes, or if I get a whiff of cigarette smoke, or cofee, or blue cheese, or if dd talks just a bit too loudly at me from just a bit too close then that can trigger a full blown migraine.

[Sadie789]

Yes I am. My mum is too. Her mother was.

I think it’s something you’re prone to, definitely. My DH never has headaches, nor does my best friend. Unless you have headaches it’s hard to understand what it’s like for people who do.

I would say I have a headache 20 days out of every month. I also get migraines in clusters. So I can go months without a migraine then have one a week for 4 weeks. There are no obvious triggers. My mum is convinced it’s to do with the weather/air pressure. Sometimes I can see why she thinks that but I’m not convinced.

I take rizatriptan for the migraines which I would say works 50% of the time. For headaches the only thing that even slightly helps is Syndol, the proper stuff not the one they replaced it with a few years ago.

I think I’ll always have headaches, it’s obviously just the way my brain is wired.

[sweetkitty]

Same as others headache almost everyday migraine at least once a week. Since age 6.

I have fibromyalgia so every morning I feel like I’m hungover without the hangover, need tramadol and paracetamol to get moving.

[Bluewavescrashing]

Yes. I'm intolerant of noise as well.

[IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere]

I used to be a headache person from around the age of 8 until I hit the menopause. I think I can count on one hand the number of bad headaches I have had in the past 5 years.

Relief from stress was a massive trigger. ie if something was really making me anxious I was fine but once the issue was sorted I would be wiped out. I would also get a headache from sleeping in bed too late and from eating anything chewy - French bread or toffees particularly.

[TheTeenageYears]

I haven't RTFT but from skimming not sure anyone suggested (someone did get close saying they started taking a multivitamin but mentioned iron as the possible solution) have you ever had your vitamin levels checked? My DD spent the first couple of months this year with almost constant headaches. Paracetamol didn't really shift them. Had blood tests and she is Vit D deficient and low in B12. She's been taking supplements for 2 months now and headaches have been cut by probably 95%.

[TheAdhesiveDuckDeficiency]

I am a ‘headache person’ and have been as long as I can remember. Like some others on this thread my mum is too, as is her mum. My dad says he’s never had one. I suppose some people are just more prone to them.

I have at least two a week, sometimes more. When lockdown first started and I was adjusting to working on Zoom I had a headache constantly for 10 days.

For me lack of sleep, stress, dehydration, change in weather and too much sun amongst other things seem to cause them. Sometimes they are bad enough to make me nauseated and sometimes they’re bad enough to wake me up in the night.

One thing that did help is that I weaned myself off of caffeine. Dealing with the horrific headaches from that was not fun but I do believe it helped in the long run.

[BorisTheBellend]

Yep, most days I have a headache of some degree. I get migraines every so often too and have even had the misfortune of of a cluster headache.

Most recently I got really sharp headaches which come on really quickly, as in, no build up just a bad headache out of nowhere. Sometimes no matter what type of pain killer I take it makes no difference so I have to ride it out.

Also been getting temple pain but on the opposite side of the majority of headaches so just another one of those things I guess.

I have found that paracetamol and ibuprofen work well together if I catch it in time.

[MummytoCSJH]

I'm a strange one in regards to headaches. I have trigeminal neuralgia caused by a tumor pressing on my nerves (which has now been debulked and is much smaller but has left me with permanent nerve damage). I haven't had a day without a headache in over 6 years, I can't even remember what it's like to have no pain at all. My meds don't stop it but they bring it to a manageable level which I can cope with given the horrendous amounts of debilitating pain I've had from this previously. Every day when I first wake up the head/facial pain and nausea is really bad - having not consistently taken my pain killers overnight - the only time I wake up without this is when I've been drunk the night before! I've never had a hangover either, must just be lucky that way, not that I drink much anymore I've come to the conclusion that the cause of this is that normally I don't sleep very well due to 1) the headache itself making it difficult to get to sleep and often causing me to wake up 2) having to sleep in a certain position as I'm pain if I lay on the side of my head where my scar is which sadly used to be my usual comfy sleeping side and that when I get home after drinking I fall into a much deeper sleep and my body is actually well rested for once.

[40somethingJBJ]

I used to get the occasional horrendous migraine where I’d be vomiting and everything would look the wrong colour. I had a brain haemorrhage 6 years ago and have been migraine free ever since, but it’s been replaced with an almost constant bit of a headache, which very easily gets worse if I do too much, don’t drink enough water, am in a noisy place etc. It’s bloody annoying.

[ALongHardWinter]

I used to get migraines. I started getting them at the age of 7,and from then until about the age of 30,I'd get about one every couple of months. From the age of 30 to 45,they became fewer in frequency,about one every 6 months,and was usually as a result 'rebound stress', i.e. after the stressful event. Then when I hit 50,six years ago,I stopped getting them. And strangely,from nearly 4 years ago,I've never even had what I call an 'ordinary' headache. Not a single one. I can even remember the date of the last time I had a headache! Really odd.

[Onynx]

@Sadie789 I had thought that Syndol was discontinued. It was the only thing that would get rid of my migraines. Is it available again?

[TheCunkOfPhilomena]

I'll sit with you lot.

I have at least one migraine a month, about a week before my period but can also have one around ovulation too. I guess I can't do anything about these as they're hormonal but I am perimenopausal.

Triggers for the other headaches, which can happen at any time and vary in their severity, are: too much sunlight, dehydration, tiredness, stress. Normally nurofen and paracetamol ease these headaches enough to stay out of bed.

I've definitely become more and more headachey in the past 4 or so years.

Oh, and @KenDoddsDadsDog, I'm interested in what you said about neck strain from your pillow - any tips on what to do/not do?