Have any of you had a headache that has lasted 4 days? I mean, no breaks in between. This bad boy is wicked, let me tell ya'. I have tried Butalbital and Relpax, nothing is working. I also take 2,000 mg's of Keppra per day for seizures.

Any tips that do not require I put anything cold on my body? Ice and I do not get along very well. I have tried heat, but I need to clean and the heating pad plug isn't long enough for me to wear it as a hat!

Does heat help?

Have you considered trying those portable heat packs? I've only ever used the ones for menstrual cramps but they are very effective and stay warm for hours. And they make them in different sizes/shapes for different parts of the body (e.g. neck, shoulder, lower back, etc).

In regards to cool, I always just use a wet washcloth. When it gets warm I wave it around and cool it off. Or I make my husband run it under water again.

Hope your head gets to feeling better soon!

Thanks for the reply!

Heat helps more in a way of comfort than it does removing the actual pain. The headache finally left on it's own. Here's to hoping it leaves me alone long enough to get my house cleaned.

((ellie))

i'm glad your headache is better. don't over do it.

Oh, I'm not. Now I'm paying for my days of confusion. I had to call all of my doctors back to find out who I see, where and when. Looks like I made an 'oopsie' and put two on one day (I try not to).

I need a huge calendar for my wall, something massive, like 5 foot by 5 foot!

I always know PT on Mon, Wed & Fri. but the times always change. I try to make my Immunologist or random people on Tuesday and Neurologist on Friday. Somehow, I got that all mixed up this week!

(((Ellie)))

so sorry the headache monster hasnt gone away yet

all the tips I have are for supplements mainly and I dont think you can mix them with your meds

I dont know if it works for your type of headache, but I use a drop of pure peppermint oil on each temple when I get a headache. seems to help me (caution tho...dont get peppermint in or near your eyes!!!)
It is an old tip that my grandma gave us

yes, over the past 25 years I have had a handful of full four day migraines where I never left the bed except for the bathroom. ONce I couldn't lift my head to use the bathroom without continual vomitting so I ended up squatting over a trashcan next to the bed with my head still horizontal on the edge of the bed. That is definitely one of my favorite memories

But yes, there are others of us out here with long term migraines. I haven't had one in three years as my doc finally found a combo that helps me.

Good luck,
Suzanne

You need to share the information on that combo!

Thanks everyone for the kind words. It's been going better but I still have my days. If my Trigeminal Neuralgia would get under control I think my headaches would follow suit (short of seizure headaches). I think it hurts so much I stress out and end up with an unholy headache.

My boyfriends mom got me a bunch of Relpax samples and I love her a lot!!! Those are soooo expensive but work well and fast.

Ellie, You asked, so here is what I take:
-2 Fiorinal w/ Codeine
-either 50 mg or 100 mg of Imitrex depending on how bad the pain or aura is
and sometimes
-I also take 1 mg of Xanax since the really bad headaches often throw me into a panic attack.

Most doctors recommend those things alone. Mine suggested I try them together, and I was shocked that it worked. I'm also on MS Contin for spinal pain which doesn't make me drowsy. For some reason Imitrex or any of the triptans tends to make me drowsy so with the caffeine in the Fiorinal and xanax, as well as the deep breathing (quasi-biofeedback) I am usually doing while lying in a VERY dark room with ice bags on my neck and cold packs on my forehead, I often fall asleep. I have much better results if I fall asleep. I wake up about an hour and a half later with the headache gone!!

Don't get me wrong. It doesn't always make it go away. It does ALWAYS lessen the pain though which is more than I had for years!!!!

I don't take Fioricet because the acetaminophen triggers headaches for me. Aspirin doesn't. My body reacts very abnormally to almost all meds. My doc accepts this and works around it. Sleeping medicine wakes me up. Caffeine makes me drowsy.

I have tried triptans with otcs like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium. That combo is definitely better than the triptans alone for me at least.

Obviously anyone should talk to their doctor who knows their medical history and body, but I pray my doc never retires as it took years to find him and more years to find anything that helps. I am homebound disabled from my spine so I can afford to sleep off the meds. I know that is a huge problem for most people. When I was teaching, my migraines would either hit at 5 am giving me a very short period to try to get it at least down to tolerable before I called in sick, or they would hit me at 4 PM in which case I would just go home and collapse in the dark and hope it was gone by the next day!

Hope that info helps someone. I used to post in on braintalk.org whenever it was appropriate. I don't know if anyone ever tried it!

Good luck,
Suzanne

I too take topamax. Twice a day at 100 mg a time. Then I take
indomethacin cap 50 mg for pain and headaches instead of tylenol
or ibprofen now because they don't work anymore. I had two
dislocated elbows that I need something that if necessary I could
take something around the clock if necessary and the other htings
can create rebound headaches. So this has found to be very good.

I don't need near as much.

So now I need very little, plus with the concussion in August the
physical therapy and exercise is helping too.

Donna