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

[gahperson]

Sorry, posting for traffic.

I just wondered if anyone can relate. Ever since my late teenage years, I’ve suffered from headaches and migraines.

some years it’s not so bad, other years it’s worse.

it’s come to a bit of a head recently, pun intended. I’ve realised that I have headaches quite frequently. I very often carry pain killers with me and I get through them. I tend to take 600 mg ibuprofen when a headache strikes, in a bid to stop it in its tracks..

sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t and I’ll need to take sumotriptan if the pain continues.

anyway, I find that I do pop quite a few painkillers regularly and always have them on me. I find my triggers are :

lying down for a long time in bed
not getting enough sleep
being on an airplane/ general travel
strong smells ( like my own perfume )
reading in the car
wearing tight clothes sometimes does it
wearing my hair up
being dehydrated
alcohol

I Can’t think of any other triggers right now, but I’m sure there are more.

can anyone relate ? How do you deal with your headaches ?

I’m same and quite prone to headaches and I bought a shakti mat which I lie on and if I use it on my upper back and neck I find that eases a headache for me and using it regularly reduces frequency of headaches.

I have been plagued by headaches and migraines for years, my triggers are using anything with screen for too long, alcohol, reading in cars, not enough sleep. The GP said it was rebound headaches from too many painkillers, but eventually I got a prescription for rizatriptan, nightly nortriptyline and beta blockers. I take 2 x 200g into and 2 paracetamol extra. If required I take a 2nd set or ibro and para with a rizatriptan.
The point of my post is to say there is medication for you.
Mine are connected to my eyes, so make sure your glasses are spot on prescription wise. Even if prescription is small try glasses as my brain can't manage a small difference between eyes.
Consider glasses just for reading.
Ask to see a neurologist. Or a headache clinic if there is one near.
You could look up the migraine trust
Try a physio that specializes in headaches, I have a relative that has her neck treated by a physio, with good results.
Hope you can find something to help, headaches are miserable.

I had some cranio sacral therapy when mine were at their worst. I was a sceptic but things definitely improved.

I was PLAGUED by headaches and migraines before I was diagnosed b12 and iron deficient. Since I have started b12 injections and started taking a regular iron tablet my headaches are (almost) gone. So I’d recommend a blood test and make sure it includes ferritin (iron stores) and b12. And google the results as they’ll say ferritin is fine if above 15, but really you can be symptomatic if under 100!! And b12 they’ll likely say is fine if above 200, but again, you can be symptomatic if below 300 xx

Yes, I used to get lots of headaches when I worked full time in a busy stressful office job.

I’m introverted and suspect I am ASD. I am in a position now where I am very fortunate that I can limit time in social situations. I also get lots of time to decompress. I feel much much better and only get the odd headache.

I get headaches regularly. Anything a bit 'off' gives me one, so lack of sleep, a bit dehydrated, too noisy. At the moment a lot of mine are linked to neck/shoulder pain, so I'm working on strengthening my neck/shoulder muscles.

I've considered a shakti mat so interesting it has helped you @Lmnop22

I had really terrible headaches on and off for about 20 years. About 19 years ago a very nice lady GP said that they found out by accident that antidepressants help with headaches. I took one Amitriptyline and never had another headache. Kept the packet with the other 19 pills still in a drawer.

I get awful headaches that can last for a few days. Similar to you I've identified triggers

not getting enough sleep
Some smells - a couple of different perfumes
being dehydrated
alcohol
Sitting too long/Not moving enough

Paracetamol and ibuprofen don't seem to do much for me. But (don't laugh) I've found that a bowl of mashed potatoes really does help! I don't know if there's something in the potatoes that I'm deficient in, or some weird placebo effect, but they are a pain killing magical superfood!

I am also a very headachey person and it sucks. I have been diagnosed with chronic migraine even though most days my headaches are just headaches and not full blown migraine.
i Wish I could tell you xyz has worked for me but I’m still trying to conquer them myself. Best thing I did was get referred to a headache specialist neurologist though. You may be in a trap of rebound headache/medication overuse headache, I certainly was. It’s really hard but might be worth giving up all painkillers for 3 months. You don’t have to do that alone, a headache specialist can prescribe a short course of steroids to help break the pain cycle.
Other non painkiller option that helps me are tiger balm on forehead temples and neck and drinking electrolyte drinks when I feel a headache brewing.

https://www.google.com/search?q=study+into+headaches+and+Amitriptyline+at+glasgow+university&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

I am prone to headaches, always have been. I often wake up with one, or am woken up by one in the night. I have found that wearing a teeth guard has helped, I must grind my teeth

i know some of my triggers so am careful to make sure I don’t get triggered

I also find a monthly massage helps, along with shoulder exercises to keep shoulders and next supple

My DH gets bad headaches, to the point he was signed off on one occasion for a few months.

He went through a spate of them a couple of years ago and realised they were coinciding with when I was buying satsumas or he was drinking orange squash. We googled, and citus fruits can affect blood vessels and cause a headache.

I can't say what causes yours, but his have been a lot better since overhauling his diet generally.

Is amitriptyline effective for headaches?

Amitriptyline has been used in medical practice for over 30 years. It was initially introduced as an antidepressant but is also very effective as a pain reliever at lower doses. It is used for migraines and other headaches as well as other pain conditions such as back pain and irritable bowel syndrome

Another headache-y person too. I have one most days. There are some specific triggers that make them worse but there’s always some sort of dull ache. I don’t tend to take painkillers very often unless I feel it’s getting to the point that I need to lie down in a darkened room.

Also a life long headache sufferer (and migraines). Had various medications, amitriptyline/nortriptyline/indamethacin/sumatriptan/naproxen. Propanalol was the next step but had to be put on hold while I had IVF/pregnancy. I has acupuncture to survive pregnancy and honestly it’s changed my life. 7 months post partum now and still not on medication!

I get headaches in bright lights, often behind my eyeballs. I need to try & catch it straight away or else I am past the point of being able to stop the pain usually. I have bought some of those little sticks you rub on that are cooling & I do find them really good. Especially in the car. I also wear sunglasses a lot or have the visor down even if its only a bit bright which helps. Unfortunately I work in a hospital with artifical lighting which doesn't help. I feel for anyone with constant headaches it can be really debilitating.

I've always had headache crashes now and then but recently started a medication that makes me more vulnerable.

Triggers are eating something high sugar first thing in the morning, not eating first thing then eating carb later, not getting enough sleep, not sleeping between core hours of 10pm-4am, prolonged stress, drinking caffeine or alcohol before my period.

They used to pass in a few hours, now they last a few days.

I only take paracetamol if I have to toughen up and plough on with work.

If I can I will try and get much more sleep during an attack.

I quit caffeine.

Try and look after my sinuses (think sinusitis plays a role) with nasal spray.

Using a facial steamer on a low heat and a few crystals of menthol (literally 1 or 2!) - you can get this in any chemist.

I prefer taking decongestants - whatever the active ingredients in Sudafed is.

Daily anti histamine - helps brain fog.

Avoid excess free sugar.

Was a weekly thing and like you I always had painkillers at the ready. Completely disappeared after menopause. Extremely rare for me now.. hang in there!

If you feel an aura coming over you, a can of coke sipped and feet in the hotest basin of water you can stand brings my son instant relief.

It was a medic who told me, it was a word of mouth thing with no medically backing that helped his migraine prone wife.

I had dreadful jeadaches and migraines for years. Then they stopped and became occasional. Then I started HRT and they started again - pretty sure it's progesterone as the stopping happened when I stopped taking the mini pill.

i am dealing with a child with regular headaches, they are awful. I have only one bad headache in my life at the age of 20. I am 46 now. So it’s so hard for me to fully understand what they are going through. It’s really impacting their every day life. Reading these posts is so sad as to what people suffer.

Also exercise- yoga, swimming, weights, that sort of thing - seems to help with silent migraines.

Yeah I'm a headachey person. I find aspirin really helpful at the start of a migraine. Anadin extra if it continues (it usually does). Generally paracetamol does nothing, ibuprofen is better. When I get stuck in a painkiller loop I use a 4head stick instead.

I could have written your post. Ive had headaches and migraines all my adult life. The triggers and treatments have varied, I'm now prescribed sumatriptan. I would say it helps about 50% of the time but I have to take it at bed time as it makes me drowsy. Sometimes a paracetamol and ibuprofen combo helps if I catch a headache fast enough. If I don't, I find repeat doses won't help and a headache can last days. I recently went away for a long weekend at a gorgeous lodge with family, but had a headache the whole time which doesn't ruin it but just casts a bit of a shadow over everything.

Triggers for me - strip lights. Tiredness. Alcohol. Screens. Travel. Wearing my hair up (i now spend a fortune a straightening treatments so I can wear my hair down and not look a frizzy mess!). Periods. Being hungry or thirsty. Stress.

I don't have good advice but I do feel your pain. I'm so jealous of people that don't get headaches, I feel like so many things in life are just slightly ruined by them!

I do often think I need to stop drinking. I'm not a big drinker but even 2 drinks can leave me with a headache. I reckon I'll get there eventually with alcohol.

Second this, I used to take a lot of ibuprofen and paracetamol but since I sorted out my b12 I very rarely have a headache. B12 deficiency was the cause of so many of my health annoyances