I've had a headache for three days and nothing is helping
 

I've tried paracetamol. I've tried not taking paracetamol. I've tried sleeping. I've tried lying in a darkened room. I've tried drinking icy water. I've tried tha hand over the mouth/nose breathing thing and none of it's working.

My eyes hurt so badly. My neck feels constantly uncomfortable. I can feel my heart beating in my brain. I don't know what to do.

Oooh. Sorry to hear you are feeling so bad.


Have you tried icing your neck?

I hear ya bud, Ive had something that I wouldn't really call a headache more like just pressure that i can feel constantly in my head and on the left side of my face going on for almost 2 months now, nothing seems to take the edge off

Hope you get some relief

I am so sorry for your suffering. Is the paracematol a narcotic? Early in my recovery I would take two tabs of oxycodone. One would not even dull pain of the terrible headaches I would get. I also read in a different post that Benadryl may help.:grouphug:

Andromeda,

I am so sorry that you are suffering so much with this headache. Paracetamol is what we call Tylenol in the U.S. It is not strong enough for a bad headache.

If you cannot get rid of the headache, you need to see a doctor. It sounds like you have a migraine, but only a doctor can diagnose that.

If it is a migraine, there are medicines that stop a migraine. They are called triptans. They are medicines like Imitrex, Maxalt, Naratriptan. Only a doctor can prescribe it for you. Or they can give you something that will get rid of your headache pain. You shouldn't have to be in pain for such a long time.

If you do get diagnosed with migraines, I would recommend that you read The Keeler Migraine Method by Robert Cowan, M.D. He is the head of a headache clinic and he himself suffers with migraines. In the book he explains very clearly all the different options for treatment of migraines.

I hope that you get rid of your headache and get something stronger than paracetamol to treat it next time.

All the best, ShellyK

Perhaps have a try at an old German spa hydrotherapy?
 

Hi andromeda,

It is bad, I know, that you are suffering so prolonged with unrelenting headache.
Have you tried Mark's'cocktail' of meds? I think he takes up to 1000 mg. Tylenol (acetaminophen in US; = paracetemol in UK); plus somtimes up to 1000 mg. aspirin ... Mark: Do I recall all that correctly? I've forgotten in which thread was your posting.

At any rate, I wanted to offer a traditional German Bad (spa) hydrotherapy for self-treatment of migraine, headache, and insomnia.

Hopefully you have a bathtub. Fill it with very cold water, as high as you can. You can densely stuff tissue around the overspill 'flowvent' if you've not a deep tub.

Unlike here subtropical where our cold water is never less than 60+ some degrees --- hopefully you there can fill tub with nearly icy cold water. ;)

Dress warmly your head, upper body, abdomen, and thighs. Bare your legs from the knees.
And then you "tread" the cold water in the bathtub ... like "marching", lifting your feet high and stepping down.
Do the treading, marching, walking, swishing through the cold water in your tub --- try for 2-3 mins at first, 5 mins at second treading. Increase as you can, 10-15-20 mins as needed, as tolerated.

I used it during grad school lifetime for migraine and insomnia, with success. Unfortunately it doesn't work for me subtropical DownHere where rarely can we get a 'run' of actually cold water out of any tap or faucet.

Thinking of you, Lady Andromeda, and hoping for relief for you very soon.

Theta

I'm sorry you are suffering Andromeda.

I am confused though... isn't it common to have constant headaches? I've had a headache since I fell back in February and I've seriously not had even 5 minutes without one in that time. The best I've had is it reduce to about a 4/10, but generally, my headache is normally a 6-7/10 and sometimes up to a 9.

The only thing I'm taking for it is topomax and I think its helped a little, I no longer wake up crying from pain at night, I still wake up, but not crying, so I think that's an improvement.

I was startled to read this though, now I'm thinking that not everyone suffers 24/7 for 9 months with headaches? :confused:

Best of luck to you Andromeda!!
Starr

Some of us, yes, early after onset, experience the unrelenting headache ...
 

Starr wrote: "I was startled to read this though, now I'm thinking that not everyone suffers 24/7 for 9 months with headaches?"

... For others of us, it may characteristically come & go depending upon precipitating, aggravating factors, stress, triggers, selfcare, etc. I had a more or less nonstop headache for 18 months post-injury. (With that "symptom" how can a doc dismiss the "idea" of PCS, I'll never comprehend!)

Hang in there, Gal, with your good selfcare and you will indeed feel better, be better, yes.

Much appreciation to you, Starr,
Theta

Theta,

You remembered correctly. I will take 1000 mgs of acetaminophen/paracetamol and 1000 mgs of aspirin (salicylic acid) together. They work as good as a prescription codeine and acetaminophen without the drowsy feeling. I learned about this when I broke my leg and had 9 screws causing pain for a week or two.

You must be doing well. I see your 'Thank you' or comments on so many posts. I could never tolerate reading so many posts and I have all day and evening to do it. Good for you.

When my headaches step up a notch, the only thing that relives it, is a mundane activity which acts like a diversion - some gardening, a slow walk, tidying something up in the house or playing a low intensity game.

As long as I can immerse myself in this one task it goes away

hi

if i was you i would see a doctor.
headaches can have so many causes.
both physical and mental.
even a bad tooth can cause serious headaches.

any lingering headache should be examined by a doctor though.
finding a good painkiller is a good thing but it really doesn´t solve the causes.

many people suffer from headaches.
u r not alone.

hope you are doing better soon;)

I guess I was just surprised when I realized that a 3 day headache was bad. Not to minimize your pain Andromeda! :hug:

I know everyone is different, but somewhere along the line I assumed everyone had 24/7, 365 headaches like I do, just with minor variations in intensity.

I've tried different OTC meds, including Mark's combo, but nothing makes any difference.

The only thing that will reduce a 9/10 head pain to a 6/10 is lying in a dark quiet room with my eyes shut (sleeping preferably) for 4-5 hours. And that's not a guarantee, just the only thing that even comes close to having a shot.

I've not tried any narcotics, I'm allergic to most, so they are not an option.

Starr

andromeda, Starr, and Abel :

Any relief with applied cold packs?

Hoping for the best for each of you.

Theta

Starr, what I mean by 'headache' is it feels like somebody is driving a pneumatic drill into my skull and trying to gouge out my eyes. How I feel the rest of the time is a headache in the conventional sense, I suppose. I'm so sorry you're having such terrible headaches 24/7, 365. I hope they improve soon :hug:

Some of it might be to do with my neck which clicks all the time and seems to be where some of the pain stems from. Sometimes I feel like somebody's plunging an ice pick in there. The tinnitus has got louder and all whooshy again. I feel generally bleurgh.

Thanks everyone for suggestions, and thanks, Theta.

It's not quite as bad as it was - 6-7/10 but it's still there. I can't really ice it because I'm in a cold house and I'd get damp and freeze. I'm getting really hacked off by it which is no doubt making it worse. I am in a very bad mood it's safe to say.

I always take 1000mg of paracetamol for a headache anyway, though I try to do it only in the worst cases to avoid 'rebound' headaches. I will try adding aspirin into the mix.

i also have headaches.

but it might has something to do with me being quite an alcoholic before my concussion happened. I used to drink 20 - 30 and even more beers a month for about 10 years. Ever since my concussion, i haven´t touched any alcohol. So that may be a cause too.

I have to get rid of this unhealthy habits. I miss a beer though:-)

Andromeda... :hug: I'm familiar with that feeling and it sucks. Wish I had some good answer for you, but I just suffer with those for days and weeks on end, nothing I've tried works, including the cortisone shot to the head/neck that we tried a few weeks ago. And yes, they make me very cranky too.

I live in a cold house too, so if I'm going to ice my neck, I climb into bed and put on the electric blanket and put a warm pack over my eyes and then put the ice pack on my neck. I can't stand to just have the ice pack on me sitting in a chair or anything, it makes me feel awful all over. But all warm and snuggly in bed with the warm pack on my eyes, I can tolerate it.

I can't say I've had much success with it, but maybe since your neck seems to be a problem it would help you?

Starr

One other thing my brain injury rehab doc (physiatrist) suggested to me when trying to treat occipital neuralgia was to change my pillow to a buckwheat hull pillow. He explained it provides support without pressure, unlike foam pillows.

In his experience, apparently 80% of his brain injury and neck injury patients find relief with these pillows... they don't cure, but they help.

I got mine locally at this place, http://www.buckwheatpillowcanada.com/ but I'm sure you can find something similar local to you. They do have some good info on their website about the pillows though.

I bought one for my bed and also one for my chair and use them regularly. I'm not one to like other pillows, so I was suspicious about getting used to a new pillow. I had no problems getting used to it at all. I was worried it would be loud, and while it does make a slight noise when you move it, once you stop, it doesn't make any more noise. I was surprised.

I can't really say its made a huge improvement for me, but not surprisingly I seem to be difficult to treat, but its certainly not made anything worse and it feels nice to lay on... and after using it for a while, I understand now what he was saying about support without pressure. Its a subtle difference, but maybe an important one!

Starr

Thank you, Mark
 

Thanks, Mark, for your acknowledgement here.
Yes, thanks, I can say that I presently am doing well, blessedly.
That is, aside from the physical discomforts of late, which I can tolerate much better then the cognitive malaise.

I do enjoy keeping attuned to the community here on NT. I can manage readily enough to hit the 'Thanks' option. A post/reply/response may take me quite some time. However I manage to do so in ~5-10 mins or so at a time online & then walking away to do something else & coming back again later to the post. :p Appreciate ya'll so much.

I've lately been able to be doing more outdoors work, e.g. sweeping the walks each morning, watering large potted plants & flora, walking more/longer distances. Cognitively I am doing well, but the hips & back pain has been depleting me of energy at the outset of my day.

So I've been using the Rxd 800 mg ibuprofen --- and recently added aspirin to that. (I have no acetaminophen in the house.)
Now today an older woman friend mentioned something re: an alert to not take aspirin in addition to ibuprofen-?
Any advice on this combo? Thanks, Mark.

Much appreciation,
Theta

sorry andromeda,

starr
does the doctor say your headache will end?

thanks.

Theta, I do believe you should not take aspirin and ibuprofen together, I believe they will both affect your blood's ability to clot, but maybe give a call to your pharmacist. They have good (and FREE!) information about drug combinations.

postconcussion,
my doctor has not said if my headache will go away or not. We keep increasing the dosage on the topomax in hopes it will start to affect the head pain more profoundly, but all drug increases have to be done very slowly with me.

All the drugs we've tried since my injury I have proven to be hyper sensitive to and highly reactive to, especially if given normal typical dosage right off the bat. I've been taking topomax for months and I'm only at 30 mgs in the morning and 30 mgs at night... so painfully slow increasing.

From my point of view, the head pain HAS to get under control at some point, its wearing me down and making life difficult. Making everything difficult. It certainly adds to my fatigue issues, not to mention my mood problems and I'm sure makes my cognitive issues worse. Very hard to concentrate when your head hurts ALL the time.

Chronic pain really wears a person down... no escape, no relief. Torture. So I'm trying to stay tough and keep going, but it can't go on forever. I just don't have the strength to do it forever.
Starr

Starr,

Thanks for the 'heads up' re: ibuprofen & aspirin!

Re: "Chronic pain really wears a person down... no escape, no relief. Torture. So I'm trying to stay tough and keep going, but it can't go on forever. I just don't have the strength to do it forever.
Starr"
It is wearing on us and zaps otherwise our energy/capacities each day.
I remember well how it was for me for so long, just a daily haze-maze trying to navigate through the head aches, head pain, neck pain, the cognitive fog --- everything taking *so much* more energy, capacity, and longer & longer time to do even the simplest of tasks. Exhausting!

I do feel for you, Starr, et al. Thinking of you each & all and hoping for you some resolution, relief of the pain issue very soon.

Best regards,
Theta

headaches
 

My wife had neck surgery where they fused her neck many years ago. She gets migraines alot sometimes imetrix works but hard on her. she takes a high dose but if she takes it to much her body may get used to it and not work. she also has her nerves fried it works for a short time till the nerves repair themselves then has to be done again. She wonders if its the plate in her neck. she talks about having it removed. One doctor told her not to have it removed. I don't know if it would do any good it might or may make things worse. Has anyone eperienced this or have any ideas. I would like to see her headache free. mike

It sounds like you are in England. That is an unfortunate place to have a head injury. You need to see a neck specialist and a headache specialist. Pony up the money if you have to, but make sure the people you see are familiar with head injuries.

You might want to try some abortive migraine meds (as I think someone suggested). Painkillers might help in the short term, but are not indicated for long term relief. A GP will be able to get you these, but may not know what is best for you and is likely to prescribe you something that will not help.

Good luck.

headache
 

have you tryed exsedren for migrains,that seems to help my son