headaches

LegacyUser

i suffer from constant headaches - i even have one now. i found nurofen was great to numb the pain but i was becoming addicted to them - the last two weeks i took 2 a day - i was afraid this would lead to 4 etc etc. well today i have taken nothing and its horrible - does anyone know of any natural remedies or something - a hot shower eases it a bit, and disprin ( not natural i know). anything else???

star-pants

You might want to see if you can narrow down what is the cause of them?
Is there anything you eat/drink / do that results in one?

Do you drink a lot of water a day? Do you drink tea/coffee?
Have you tried getting out for fresh air to see if it eases?

LegacyUser

my doctor said take a break from the computer in work - but i still get them at weekends and i don't be on a computer. i had a skin test done and she said i was dehydrated - but i drink enough water now and i still get them. i go for walks so i do get fresh air. i drink lots of tea. with the headaches - my jaw, neck, eyes are sore too. i know i have a tendency to clench my teeth together so i try to stop this. maybe thats what it is but i try to stop this and sometimes still get them. i remember last summer i hardly got any!

star-pants

Clenching your teeth will cause stress in the rest of your head, which is why it probably affects your jaw. I get bad headaches but that's part of my fibro.
Paracetamol sometimes takes the edge off. But I try to make sure I have fresh air -- not in a too stuffy room, drink water or tea (sometimes if I don't have tea all day I'll have a headache from lack of it) and stay away from things that can make it worse (for me) like chocolate/cheese/too much sugar.

Do you wear glasses/contacts?

LegacyUser

i wear glasses in work. im not sure if it might be migranes. i was just out in the sun there and it was too bright - had to come in. even the birds were too loud its like a hangover headache but its not a hangover. im afraid taking painkillers every day is bad for me.

star-pants

Taking them everyday isn't a great idea, just because when you need them for something else they won't work as well.

Try different alternative methods of reducing your headache.
Remove your glasses, and lie in a quiet dark room for a while. Avoid direct sunlight (that can make mine worse).

Do you feel nauseous when you get headaches?
Perhaps go back to your GP and describe them to him/her and let them give better advice?

LegacyUser

i don't feel nauseous at all. i have type 1 diabetes and when your sugar goes low you tend to get headaches. my blood was low there and maybe thats why i had a headache. but i stil get them when blood is fine. yeah - i think a trip to my doc again is worth atry. thankd for your advice

tk123

If you're clenching/grinding your teeth at night and this could be causing the headaches. If this is the case a properly made splint (ie not a piece of crap you by online/a diy kit that people will tell you to get to save a few quid) will help. After I demolished my last splint in 12 months (it should have lasted 3 years) my denist said it was a waste of money for me to have him make one that wouldn't last so referred to a specialist to get a heavy duty one made. The specialist is also an oro-faciall pain specialist ie headaches. He quizzed me for about an hour about how many headaches I get/how long do they last etc and I didn't realize how many I got until he quizzed me. At the time I'll admit I was thinking 'just take impressions so I can get out of here' they're just headaches (he told me they're migraines) but since I got the new splint my daily headaches/migraines have dissapeared.

EDIT - also forgot to add I had to get the fluorescent bulbs removed from over my desk in work because they were adding to the prob

star-pants

Ah ok, diabetes as you say can affect you in that way sometimes.
No worries- but obviously a trip to the doc would be better than me(or others guessing) hopefully he/she can help.
I get headaches a like so I understand how horrible they are

LegacyUser

are the splints expensive?

tk123

My new one was €480 but it'll last years - the cheaper ones were lasting me one year max and just don't compare to a properly made one.

centre half

I've been suffering with awful headaches for over too years now, I've been in hospital and everything with these. Doctors could not come up with any reason for this and eventually they put them down to migrane, which I am sceptical about. 'Can't seem to find out why you are getting these headaches, all tests come back good? Must be migrane'. It's a bit 'Irish' if you ask me, I personally think I got a knock playing ball and maybe put something out in my back (can't afford to give a chiropractor 50 quid a week again for 5 minutes work and get nowhere) and said this to the hospital and asked if they could x-ray my back and neck but they said it wasn't from that?

Anyway my advice would be to go the hospital and get all tests done so that it is not an under lying problem, and if all comes back good (which I hope it does) demand a MRI scan! I'm sorry I didn't and still suffer from them. Have been given tablets to take for Migrane but don't want to take these every time I get a headache and then become addicted