A decade of weekly headaches, please help.

[itmusthavebeencoffee]

I know I need to go to the doctors again but it would be good to know if anyone has had the same issue.

Since I hit puberty I have had the worst headaches probably at least once or twice a week. I get a cluster of about three or one that lasts around three days after my period has ended too. They make me feel nauseous and teary and I struggle to do much. I do get migraines too and was prescribed sumatriptan which helps if I take it in time, but I can't do that for the headaches. I have tried migraleve which helps sometimes but most painkillers barely touch it. Sometimes if I stand under a hot shower for a while and then have a lemsip and go to bed I can sleep it off.

I am so drained and fed up – when I get the first twinge I know that's the rest of my day written off. Please does anyone have any advice? I will try anything.

If they are related to your menstrual cycle can you take contraception to stop your periods? My implant stops mine completely.

Thanks @tiredanddangerous – I have tried the pill and the patch but they really messed with my mental health and I had to come off them. I'll have a look at other options.

I have noticed that they can be triggered by caffeine, alcohol and sugar too.

Have you tried an exclusion diet? If you don't have access to a dietician, I think The Whole30 is a really good place to start.

Keep going back to GP until they find a treatment that works. Sinus problems can cause headaches. you may need a neurology referral if they can't fix it.

Have you tried giving up caffeine properly. It takes 6 or 8 weeks off it completely, to see if it helps. Don't go off it cold turkey but cut down gradually.

I got a ridiculous amount of headaches for years diarised them and realised I “caused” them myself, in that I suffer mentally with pmt negative thought, worry insomnia etc to the point that I create a headache that lasts for days even weeks at times

Has the possibility of a physical cause has ever been considered by your gp?

I get terrible headaches in clusters like that from time to time - I'm going through a phase of it just now, and my visit to my osteopath is overdue. My neck vertebrae work themselves out of line and she puts them back in the right place.

It might be worth paying for a private consultation with an osteopath.

@Seaweed42 thank you for the suggestion, I haven't actually had caffeine in over two years now but I wonder if there is an ingredient in it that I am sensitive to, I will try @NigellaAwesome suggestion of an exclusion diet

@worldsworststepfordwife that's a good point but not sure what I can do about that –I am already having counselling but have recently lost my mum so feeling pretty terrible anyway..! I do think I get them more when I'm stressed but they seem to be triggered by pretty much everything

@fronttoback I will mention this to my GP, thank you.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

Sounds like migraine

www.migrainetrust.org/about-migraine/trigger-factors/food-diet/

Get your vitamin and mineral levels checked. Vitamin D in particular. let us know the outcome