There are many different causes of headaches, but the two main types are tension and migraine. The triggers and treatments of the two share some characteristics, but are not alike.

Tension headaches usually result from tension in the muscles of the face, scalp, neck or shoulders in response to anxiety or stress. The muscles squeeze the nerves and constrict the blood supply which causes pain and pressure.

Tension can be triggered by eyestrain, grinding of teeth, too much light or noise, poor posture, stress, among other things. The pain is usually dull and steady… feels as if there is a band squeezing the head, and usually accompanied with tension in the neck and shoulders.

Read the rest of this entry

I would like to hear only from anyone that has been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and anyone who has been living with it. I am sure I will be diagnosed with it when I go to my appt on monday. I have had most of the symptoms for a few years. I was diagnosed with PTSD I have had panic attacks for at least eight years. I am not suicidal but I will say most days I think I am dying. My nerves manifest thru my stomach in particular,digestive problems. Sometimes I am so tense my neck hurts so bad it feels as if it’s on stilts if that makes sense.also I clench my jaw alot.I have recently started getting tension headaches. I know meds are what I will be given as well as talk therapy. How soon after you started meds did you feel any relief? I have not been able to keep a job as I get so overwhelmed I just can’t cope. Fear of dying is alot to do with being misdiagnosed for 8 months and then diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, I tookthe radiation pill last sept and am now hypo. I lost both of my best friends within 6 months of each other one to cancer one to a heart attack. I lost both my dogs to old age also during this time. I just want to know there is a silver lining at the end of this and that I am not going crazy! Thanks for your advice and time. I am 43

Here’s a little background:
I have been struggling with anxiety and depression for a large portion of my life. I was taking effexor, but found the side effects extreme and couldn’t handle it. After several years on this medication I tapered myself off and went cold turkey on no meds thinking the depression had passed. Months later it returned. I am now taking Lexapro (for about 2 weeks) and it seems to be helping with less side effects.

For the last 4 weeks I have been having severe headaches that will not quit. I have been to the ER twice and they ran CT and MRI and found nothing that would cause these and saw my doctor who gave me some drugs that seemed to help for awhile, but didn’t make them go away. I have recently been to a neurologist who diagnosed them as migraines and pretty much eliminated cluster and tension headaches based on my responses to some questions. He has put me on a tapered string of prednisone and gave me a few other drugs besides, but stated that most migraines only last 24-72 hours.

Read the rest of this entry

I have been dealing with Fibromyalgia for years. I am only 30. No matter what I do to try and relieve the pain, I can never seem to entirely relieve it. I’m sore and tired all the time. my shoulders and neck are constantly tense. I have pain in my legs frequently. I feel awful a lot of the time because i am in pain. I also wake up with headaches from the shoulder and neck tension. This effects most things I do.
Some things I have tried have been somewhat effective, but I have had no long term benefit. They seem only temporary.
I go to the gym 3 days a week to use the weights and stretch my muscles. I go to pilates. i cannot afford frequent massages, though they really help. I am relatively active. But avoid overdoing it because i end up exhausted.

I will not take Lyrica because I know there are other ways to deal with this. I am doing this med free, I believe people don’t need medication for everything. What have other people found effective? Has anyone had long term benefits? Is there a way to relieve the pain on a long term scale?

The special thing about headaches is that by outward appearance, you may not appear to suffer from any disease. Only the possessor of this disease knows what it is like to have it! He feels like banging his head somewhere, but to that extent he possesses awareness that he should not damage his skull or your skull when you profusely tender a basket full of advice as to how he should face this calamity, narrating how you yourself faced similar situations in the not-too-distant past!

But if you have a chronic headache, your patience will be tested on a long-term basis! Because this type of headache comes with lots of other irritants, each one of them capable of subduing the cheerfulness that is part of your personality just before its arrival!

Read the rest of this entry

Which specific antidepressant, other medication, or adjunct therapy would you recommend for someone suffering from the following symptoms (I’ve listed them in order of importance, starting with the most important):

1. Severe daily anxiety that includes fear of experiencing a future panic attack, similar to panic disorder.
2. A panic attack experienced at least once per week, especially when away from home, but sometimes, however rarely, when at home. Panic attack includes irrational fear, chest pain, dizziness. (Close to panic disorder with agoraphobia, but relief is not always experienced by returning home.)
3. One tension-type headache experienced at least once per week.
4. Fear of death and irrational fear of illness, similar to hypochondriasis.
5. Once every month, one episode of surreal depersonalization accompanying severe anxiety, similar to depersonalization disorder.

Read the rest of this entry

I was recently diagnosed with Cervicogenic Headaches– which are chronic (at least in my case) headaches that result from a neck injury or neck tension. I went to a neurologist who I didn’t think was a very good doctor, so I am not very inclined to follow his instructions… and my other doctors seem to disagree with them anyway. Has anyone else had these types of headaches and gotten relief from a certain method/what was it? I realize (from searching for it on yahoo) that this isn’t a very common headache…
also, I am 20 yrs old and I am at a music school playing a stringed instrument (viola) … which probably contributed to neck problems or might even be the source of them.

my gp said it was tension headache,stress/depression/anxiety.i’ve tried different types of antidepressant but it only makes the pain worse.i went to see a chiropractic told its a problem with my nervous system.i am currently seing my gp,chiropractic and a counsellor but the pain behind my lower back head remains and its there everyday.i had 2 ct scans and they came back normal.what else could it be coz i’ve changed diet doing exercise stress relief cds painkillers but nothing helps.

im addicted to ETH…..for a year now i have been taking ETH every once in a while, just to relieve the pain….sure, the effects only last for 6 hours, but its great relief….

sounds bad huh?………

Anybody notice that the Excedirin Tension Headache pills have the letters ETH printed on them?…..ROFL!!!!!!!!!!

Read the rest of this entry

Cluster headaches are not very common. National statistics show that only 69 out of 100,000 people get them. Hence, you would find that this type of headache is not as well researched and discussed as the other types of headaches. Still, cluster headaches can be very painful; those who suffer from them would desperately want to look for an effective cluster headache pain relief.

A typical cluster headache sufferer is about 30 years old. Most the sufferers for this type of headache have their first cluster headache between the age of 20 and 50. Nevertheless, you can develop one at any time in your life. There have been reports of those who get their first symptoms before they even turn 10-years-old. Then, there are also some people who do not get inflicted until they are 80-years-old or older. Men are usually affected more often than women. In fact, only one of every six who suffer from a cluster headache is a female.

Read the rest of this entry