Hi Donna,

Sorry to hear about the evil headaches. I can relate ... I had a nasty one today and I don't think it was a migraine. I'm not really sure what it was. Nothing worked. I tried a Zomig (but not soon enough, so no telling), aspirin, self massage, ice on the head ... all in vain. I finally took 75mg tramadol this evening which took it down to a tolerable level but did not nix it.

But, I digress.

If I understand you correctly, you suspect these recent headaches to be tension-type? Is that right?

Along those lines, I wanted to share something with you. Some time ago, I read that tension is found in a significant proportion of migraines. Now, I had observed that some headaches of mine I knew to be migraine had been preceded and accompanied by tension (neck, shoulder, base of head). I had always assumed those were tension and not migraine headaches. I also had other headaches about which I was uncertain, because they did not have the throbbing quality typical of migraines, even though I routinely wound up with photosensitivity, phonosensitivity, and sometimes nausea.

Well, here's the deal, after I read about tension being present in migraines, I decided to try taking Zomig as soon as I started feeling significant tension, with at most a hint of headache. Result: The tension would dissipate! I believe I have nipped many headaches in the bud this way.

I still don't really know whether
-- these are actually migraines where tension is a pilot sign
-- these are mixed headaches
-- these are tension headaches

What I do know is, WHATEVER they are:

The TRIPTAN WILL ABORT THEM completely, and treat the tension!!!

I just thought I'd share. I figure, if you haven't tried using your Imitrex when it "seems like" a tension headache... you might consider trying it a few times to see what happens.

BTW, I have noticed that with these kinds of headaches the window of opportunity is perhaps even more essential than with a typical migraine: the triptan only works if I take it right at onset, before the headache builds. After that, it is practically worthless.

Of course, I am not sure to what degree our symptoms correspond, so you will have to be the judge. Feel free to ask if you have other questions about my sx. Or you may have tried your Imitrex already. I just thought I'd share, in case my observations could be helpful.

I hope you are successful in finding reliable ways to feel better.

May I ask what methods you are using to help relax? Perhaps they could be helpful to me... Thanks in advance.

waves