Headaches +

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Thanks Trevor. Had a close chiropractor friend that did wonders for the neck, but sadly she passed away a couple of years ago from cancer. I will have to look into going somewhere for my neck as I woke up with it sore this morning. Sleeping in weird positions does it.

[Monstar (Johnny)]

A chiropractor is one that I haven't tried as I'm a bit scared lol

You might try accupuncture though as it helps in relaxing the muscle. I tried this but it didn't stop them but did help relieve the symptoms a bit and could work well for you. My GP practices it and she doesn't charge extra, she just stuck pins in me all over and left me in a side room for 20 minutes where I promptly fell asleep.

[rrussell1962]

Plus 1 for what Monstar said. I had acupuncture a few years ago to ease the back spasms, headaches and neck pain arising from a combination of a slipped disc years ago and a misaligned jaw joint causing teeth grinding at night. To say I was sceptical would be an understatement, but the results were fantastic after 2 sessions. I too fell asleep while impersonating a pin cushion. I am aware that it may not have treated the underlying causes, but since any surgery would be somewhat invasive I am happy with the results. Your mileage may vary.

[Xtjohn]

A friend of mine tried to get his haemophilia treated with acupuncture...

[DavidU (Dave)]

Originally Posted by Xtjohn

A friend of mine tried to get his haemophilia treated with acupuncture...

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

Kevin,

I have no underlying serious medical conditions. No headache most of my life then suddenly got hit with killer headaches in 2006 that would last days at a time. First one occurred in Libya in 2006 when I was camping in the desert to watch a solar eclipse. It was so bad, I considered staying in bed and skipping the eclipse.

The headaches continued and would last for many days at a time. Very debilitating.

I'm not allergic to pain killers but they had no effect and I dodn't like gulping them down even if I did. Over the years, I realized that my headaches were caused by one of or a combination of
dehydration
neck tension -often caused by sleeping in a bad neck head position
sinus

I've developed a little routine that seems to work.

• Don't lie in bed feeling sorry for myself
• Take a warm-hot shower
• Flush ears with warm water multiple times during shower
• sterile saline flush of nasal passage
• massage and stretch neck muscles
• very deep upper chest breathing - this stretches and flexes the spine and flushes the body with oxygen
• warm sunlight on closed eyelids
• have some caffeine
• pressure point massage along eyebrows, along sinuses tracing line along base of eye sockets and cheek bones, scalp, temples, base of skull behind the ears, and the point of the neck where that muscle joints the skull base.

I love my coffee but restrict myself to 1-2 cups per day otherwise I am susceptible to caffeine addiction and withdrawal as others have mentioned. On the other hand, caffeine dilates the blood vessels in the brain. Greater blood flow, more oxygen, oxygen dulls pain. Combined with the deep breathing gets oxygen into the brain. Ambulance officers give injured people 35% oxygen via a hudson mask (different to a rescus mask) as an analgesic to ease pain.

I tried many different pillow types until I found some that were really comfortable.

I've mostly licked it. Haven't had much of a problem last couple of years but on the rare occasions when I do this procedure is my first line of attack.

I know there are 11000 members of IIS but I think the number of active posters is much less. The number of people who have contributed to this thread makes me think these sort of headaches affect a large % of the population.

Best of luck

Joe

[Renato1 (Renato)]

Originally Posted by ZeroID

Been there, done that many years ago and it hurts. Also Coca Cola is as bad along with all the sugar or various substitute additives. I only drink coffee infrequently now and mainly pretty weak tea. ( Wave a tea bag near the cup ). Otherwise it's fizz water, carbonated mineral water cos I don't like the taste of flat water.

No fun being a caffiene addict is it? Especially when one is unaware that one is addicted. Glad you got over it.

I've gone the other way and have 10 espresso coffee machines (pod and bean and ground coffee ones) in the house. Plus 10 Moka ones, plus some drip ones and lots of instant coffee as well.

My main drink nowadays, apart from coffee, is single malt Scotch Whisky mixed with Pepsi Max.
Regards,
Renato

[Monstar (Johnny)]

A mixer with a single malt! That's just wrong.

[Renato1 (Renato)]

Originally Posted by Monstar

A mixer with a single malt! That's just wrong.

Everyone - without exception - tells me that. I've even been scolded by a few purists.

I used to use blended Scotch in Pepsi Max, but found that the less expensive Highland, Lowland and Speyside single malts were better. However, the Islay single malts and Glenfiddich were pretty terrible when mixed with Pepsi Max.
Regards,
Renato

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Thanks Joe. Some things to try. I have an old book on pressure points for headaches. They work but not for very long. It has got me out of trouble a couple of times when I've been away from home though.

I am kinda confused what to do with blood vessels. Some headache treatments constrict them, some dilate. I don't like the idea of constriction since it seems my brain already gets too little oxygen at these times.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Originally Posted by Renato1

Everyone - without exception - tells me that. I've even been scolded by a few purists.

I used to use blended Scotch in Pepsi Max, but found that the less expensive Highland, Lowland and Speyside single malts were better. However, the Islay single malts and Glenfiddich were pretty terrible when mixed with Pepsi Max.
Regards,
Renato

Bleh!!!
I'm a serious single malt man, a few drops of good bottled water (Antipodes over here) is the only additive. Cuts the nose and releases the flavours, no idea why, but it works. Why question a good thing ?

Even our Xmas cake gets it's fruit presoaked in single malt over night, not an expensive one but it does make a huge difference. Made it last weekend now it is being fed brandy a capful per night till Xmas. REAL Xmas cake !!

( Yeah, I know, the alcomohol all evaporates in the cooking but it still tastes awesome !! )

[Renato1 (Renato)]

Originally Posted by Monstar

I no longer drink ( well hardly, I went from 2-2.5 bottles of cheapo blended scotch, Johnnie Walker Red usually, a day to just a couple of beers or wines on a Saturday evening) but always liked a good single malt whisky. As Zero said a few dribbles of water is acceptable and sometimes releases more flavour but no ice!

My all time favourite is an Islays whisky, which are known for their strong peaty and smokey flavour, and is matured for 16 years, it's called Lagavulin. The flavour is not of this world. It's not the most expensive either, I saw it in a Dan Murphys catalogue last week for $82, but too expensive to drink 2 bottles a day.

Anyone else tried it?

I think we're hijacking Cometcatcher's thread. Could you please transfer your post to my new thread on Scotch Whiskey
Cheers,
Renato

[RB (Andrew)]

Back on topic.
I suffered from severe migraines for years.

My GP, while testing my blood pressure one day, suggested I start taking Avapro to control the pressure since it was creeping up in the last couple of years.

Now I have the odd headache now and then, nowhere near the amount I used to get.

Maybe get your BP checked and see what your GP recommends.

I'm so thankful she picked it up because nothing else was helping me with migraines and headaches.
I have a cup of coffee or two a day and don't drink alcohol.


RB

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

My BP is complicated. Some of my UC medications can affect it. But at the moment it should not be a contributing factor. And I can have the opposite problem. If my BP falls low I can get low BP headaches.

The last few days I've been pretty good. I haven't done as much asrophotography due to moon and cloud. I probably just need a break every now and then!

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

I'm still good, no headaches! Yay! Hope it lasts this time.

[PostalRuhl (Bryan)]

Hey I get migraines n headaches all the time, those stupid pesky clouds arrggg

[OzStarGazer]

I am having one of those horrible headache days right now...

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Mine came back also, but at a less severe intensity.

I had a heap of tests done. I have low hormone levels, very low iron levels and adrenal fatigue. No wonder I can hardly move lol. The HRT prescribed for me causes adrenal crashes so can't take it. I am taking iron though. Don't think I'll be up to taking gold in the next Olympic marathon.

[OzStarGazer]

Can low iron levels cause headaches? I might have low levels too, being vegetarian... I am also always tired too. Today the headache is a bit better, but I otherwise feel like gelatine...

[Paul Haese]

HI Kevin,

I have not read through all the pages but these are my thoughts.

It reads like you have migraines. I have had them off and on for most of my life and have had similar symptoms to you. When I was a teenager I had migraines so bad that I would vomit from the nausea, get blindness after the lights, nose bleeds and a headache so bad I could not tolerate much noise around me. I was prescribed mogadon to knock me out.

As it turned out it was caused typically from chocolate. I never ate chocolate for 13 years and in that time never once had a headache.

In the last 15 years I have had the headaches return again but this time without the blinding pain. Bit of nausea, blind spots with a dull headache. It also corresponds with eating chocolate occasionally.

You might want to consider your diet and if you can identify any food type that would trigger the problem. I hope you find your trigger and that can alleviate your suffering.