Everyday headaches for 3+ years. Becoming desperate.

[hleanne]

Hi there. I'm a 21 year old female who has suffered with everyday headaches for the last 3 years. I usually get my first headache 30-60 minutes after waking. For the past few years I have taken 2-6 Advil EVERY single day. 2 weeks ago I started getting really nervous about the damage I'm doing to my kidneys by taking this much. Since then I've been taking Extra Strength Tylenol, which I realize can also harm your liver when taken excessively. However, taking these pills is the ONLY thing that offers relief, and while only temporary, it is the only thing keeping me sane. I'm becoming very depressed about this. My family doesn't understand at all. My mother makes crude remarks everytime I take a pill for the pain. She can't grasp the fact that I, too, despise taking this much medicine but it is the only thing that offers relief. To please her, I took no pain medications for one hellish week, since she seemed to have thought my headaches were happening because I was so used to taking Ibuprophen. This didn't help at all. My doctor also doesn't seem to care. He referred me to a Neurologist who put me on Topiramax, an anti-seizure med which may or may not help migraine sufferers. The side effects were horrible and I took a severe reaction, and was cursed with 2 months of horrible anxiety and flashbacks of the traumatic event, but that's a different subject.. When I couldn't stand the horrifying side effects any longer, the Neurologist said that all I was looking for was a "quick fix" and I need to commit more, after which he practically kicked me out of his office with frusteration. After 3 years of hell, I can assure you I'm not looking for a quick solution. Why doesn't anyone but me seem interested in WHY I'm getting these headaches? I've had a MRI, CAT scan, EEG; all normal. I saw an Optomotrist last month to rule out eye issues. I'm a non-smoker and caffeine is definitely not the cause. I have hypothyroidism which is being treated with 0.088mg of Synthroid daily. In my most recent bloodwork, my TSH was 1.87 and Free T4 was 12.7, both "normal" yet I still feel fatigue. I'm considered "morbidly obese" by my BMI but recently spent 3 months losing 40+ lbs. and eating very healthy/exercising, and I saw no relief whatsoever. I'm unconvinced that my weight is a factor at all, even though when your overweight everyone seems to think EVERYTHING is caused b/c your fat. So frusterating. I recently got bloodwork back for an unrelated issue and it was found that I had very low Vitamin B12 and low iron. I've been taking a Vitamin B12 pills for 2 weeks and have been eaten lots of high-iron foods (I practically ate nothing with iron beforehand) and still, no difference. Currently I'm trying a Gluten/Wheat-free diet for atleast 6 weeks to see if I notice a difference. It's only been 7 days but so far, no relief. Also fyi, I have very painful periods coupled with chills and constipation. I'm convinced I have endometriosis but this is undiagnosed. With each day I'm getting more and more depressed and it's affecting my daily life more and more. I'm a Nursing student and I simply can't deal with this any longer. Do you have any ideas as to what I can try next? Thanks.

[hava]

To get relief from headache naturally, the full pranayam exercises are described below.Do it seriously, regularly  and at the suggested duration, and you can call it a cure or control without medication.Your feedback at some point will help others.
Initially do Anulom Vilom (as much as you can) for the fist few days and then start the full set of pranayam.This works gradually, so allow time (1 week up to 24 weeks) and concentrate fully on the breathing. Avoid cold drinks and drink warm water.

Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after 1 minute.
Kapalbhati -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for up to 15 minutes twice a day. Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.

Anulom Vilom -  Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 20 to 30  minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed. Remember to take deep breaths into the lungs.

Bhramri Pranayam -Close eyes. Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and rest three fingers on base of nose touching eyes. Breathe in through nose. And now breathe out through nose while humming like a bee.
Duration : 5 to 15 times

Continue the pranayam once a day to stay healthy.The factors helping are the extra oxygen and the relaxation(reduced stress) you get when doing the breathing exercises.
January 12, 2011

[thyroidian]

I am glad you are going to your doctor for testing for the headaches.

I hope you can find some answers for your headaches, they are so debilitating to live with.
In my case i took 12 years worth of migraine medication , with not a lot of help, and then i found out i had the Antiphospolipid Syndrome, and migraine is a strong symptom, of this illness, along with other symptoms.

When i started on the proper treatment i couldnt believe how much my headaches changed, for the better.

I hope you get some answers, real soon, and please let me know how you get on.
Good luck
Nicola

[hleanne]

Hi Nicola,
Thank you so much for your response. I've seen many people like yourself on these boards who have suffered from headaches & migraines for 10, 15, 20+ years. It has made me realize I'm not alone and that I need to find a solution before I suffer another year. My New Year's resolution is to figure out WHY I'm suffering and to start makes changes to stop it altogether. I'm making a list of possibilities, bringing it in to my doctor and demanding he check everything that could be plausible. I've added ACL & LA of things to get tested for :) It actually scares me that my doctor would never think to check for such things, so thank you to you & everyone else who gives me great suggestions!

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? I'm sorry to hear what you have been through for the past years. I know it can be frustrating to be in the dark of what's happening to you. But hang on, and be proactive about your health. Aside from medications, there are complementary and alternative medicine techniques such as biofeedback therapy and other relaxation techniques. Talk to your doctor about depression symptoms for proper management. Further evaluation by your gynecologist and neurologist may also help. Take care and do keep us posted.

[SLadylani]

Hi, I am sara and am an RN. I trully appologize, I read your post, typed out a long answer, and then this website froze and I lost it all. As I am a member of this community and am experiencing symptoms myself, I will have to get back to you tomorrow if you don't hear back from anyone else. Usually I try to get as many posts as I can at night and certainly don't like to let people wait this long :)

Sara RN