Tension headaches, pleeease help me, I'm at my wit's end.....

[Cadelaide]

I've had a headache every single day since the end of August. I know it's tension, I can feel the tension in my neck and shoulders and especially in my throat, but I just cannot seem to let it go.

I don't feel like doing anything, I've cancelled a night out tomorrow 'cos nothing is enjoyable with this constant nauseous headache.

Actually, typing this is sort of making me cry a bit, maybe that'll help [pitiful grimace emoticon].

How embarrassing, I'm just not the "crying on threads" type...

Have you tried a chiropractor? I find that it helps.

what have you tried so far?

I'm so sorry Cadelaide. I get tension headaches too, I fully sympathise.

DON'T cry - it'll make it worse. I find massages help a lot, could your DH oblige? Mine is useless, but I bought a massaging pillow from the US which is fantastic - I'm sure you'll find something similar online.

Also, are you 100% sure it's only tension-related? How's your blood pressure?

in the short term have you tried having something like a Syndol painkiller at bedtime and using a warm wheat bag round your neck?

If you are suffering long term then i think you should go to your GP and ask for a physio referal. I eventually found out i have a problem with specific muscles on one side of my neck and have been given exercises to avoid the problem flaring up.
I haven't tried a chiropractor (until now haven't had funds) but i've heard it does help.

I suffered with chronic tension headaches for years, and now i have them much less.
I hope you can find some relief....

Oh thankyou all so much.

I've been assuming it's stress-related but since I'm no more stressed than usual I've been struggling to make sense of it all. It's interesting to learn it may be a muscular/skeletal thing.

I second Syndol, it's very good but can make you sleepy. Check your sleeping position. Do your grind your teeth? I don't but hold my jaw very tight, make sure you keep it loose by putting your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Ask your DH to rub your neck with lavender oil in a carrier oil. If all this fails I'd see an oestopath.

Sympathies it's horrible.

Oh, but I'm not alone.

I feel better already just for having a bunch of aching friends.

I've been getting all over-analytical and wondering whether I'm depressed but I know I'm not really.

Now then, this Syndol, can I bf my hulking great 3.3yo bf boy after taking it?

OK, have googled.

Are you taking it at night or during the day?

I take 2 at night, but if I need it during the day I take one and then wait to see if I need another. DH can take it wihout feeling sleepy.

Do gentle neck stetches. Head slowly to one shoulder and back to middle then slowly to other side. Check that your shoulders are down, mine are always up around my ears, I have to remember to keep them down and relaxed.

Trying to think of other things! I find once you have got rid of it you have to be concious of your posture etc. to keep it away.

If all you want is a decent night's sleep, one syndol then straight to bed can work wonders. However, I can't do anything at all other than sleep, having taken one - I literally can't walk. I wouldn't want a breast-feeding dc anywhere near it.

no advice at all but i'm a fellow sufferer.... have had migraines since i was a child and tension headaches constantly since i've been 17.... i sometimes feel like i've had a permanent headache for most of my life.

it's miserable

I think you should go and see an osteopath - they can deal with the muscular problem. But it may be that the muscles are working to compensate for some damage/misalignment of your neck/spine.

But I also think that if you've been suffering for this long that you should go and see your GP. There could be all manner of things that are wrong, but if it is stress related, they may also consider prescribing you something like valium to help you relax. (No idea what this would mean re bf though!)

I think Syndol would be fine surely? I take it sometimes and experience a slightly spacey feeling for a short while but it certainly sorts out the headache.

I get them with fibromylgia, and Synadol does help, but the best thing was acupuncture, I could physically feel the practioner 'unlock' all the tension.

It does creep up on me again, but she sorts it usually in one visit now.

Really, really helpful.

Thank you all.

i had tension headaches earlier this year - i had no idea what they were as i have never suffered from such severe headaches before. i thought i was stressed out somehow and it got me so down. i always leave going to the doctors until it gets really bad and almost unbearable. anyway, when i did go to the doctors he thought it was probably caused from when i hurt my neck a few months earlier. he gave me some neck exercises to do and also prescribed amitriptyline which stopped the pain overnight (literally!) as no other pain killers worked. i took them for about 4 or 5 months. i'd speak to your gp as there's nothing like chronic pain for getting you down. hope it gets sorted soon.

Interesting.

I "cricked" my neck very badly about 4 months ago. Worst ever.

Back to GP I think.

bit but i hurt my neck in bed just by sleeping badly! i woke up one morning and could not move my neck at all - couldn't even lift ds or drive properly. took a couple of months to completely go away.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.

I have discovered Syndol and all is well.