[Jawbone54]

I am getting absolutely sick of headaches.

I have at least one almost every single day. Nothing seems to help them. I take Excedrin from time to time, but they never knock out a headache. I have had a history of migraines, but only get one that severe maybe twice a week.

It's becoming a debilitating problem, and the doctor didn't help much.

Any suggestions? Anyone else deal with this?

[nonhuman]

Did the doctor say anything at all? What sort of tests were done? Maybe you should get a second opinion?

Short of that, do you drink coffee or any other caffeinated drink on a regular basis?

[sknapp351]

I was diagnosed with migraines in 1986 I think. After two C.A.T. scans, regular medical doctors do nothing for me except give me pain killers. I found that a good chiropractor helped me a lot. I had to go twice a week at first, then once a month. But now I haven't been for almost two years. I am just now starting to get them often again. The chiropractor didn't completely rid me of them, but cut it down from once a week to one every couple of months. There are also many food reactions that can cause migraine symptoms i.e. chocolate, caffine, etc. I have also been told that using a calcium supplement can help. Good luck.


SAm

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by nonhuman 

Did the doctor say anything at all? What sort of tests were done? Maybe you should get a second opinion?

Short of that, do you drink coffee or any other caffeinated drink on a regular basis?

He gave me a prescription for a ridiculously expensive medication that I can't afford on even an semi-regular basis. He also said to avoid caffeine.

I've been drinking Mountain Dew for years. I started getting migraines about two years ago, I guess. I've been weaning myself off caffeine, but every time I cut my intake, I start getting horrible headaches. I think I've actually started a thread about this before, come to think of it.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by sknapp351 

I was diagnosed with migraines in 1986 I think. After two C.A.T. scans, regular medical doctors do nothing for me except give me pain killers. I found that a good chiropractor helped me a lot. I had to go twice a week at first, then once a month. But now I haven't been for almost two years. I am just now starting to get them often again. The chiropractor didn't completely rid me of them, but cut it down from once a week to one every couple of months. There are also many food reactions that can cause migraine symptoms i.e. chocolate, caffine, etc. I have also been told that using a calcium supplement can help. Good luck.


SAm

What did a chiropractor do for you, exactly?

[moonmonkey]

When I was in China they gave me Ergotamine, worked very well and every time for me.

[ctt1wbw]

I've been getting migraines my whole life. During my deployment a few years ago on the USS Enterprise, I woke up with one that was so bad, I was incapacitated for several days. I had several security people almost carry me down to the ward. The only thing that works for me is several shots of toridol in the butt-ocks.

I was taking Excedrin Migraine, which did surprisingly well, but the aspirin in them was absolutely killing my stomach. So I had to stop taking them.

The last one I had was several months ago and it hit me as I was walking out the door to go to work. My vision starting twirling while I was driving. About 15 minutes later, a York County deputy knocked on my window and called the ambulance for me.

Yes, I despise these things.

[Love Calm Quiet]

I spent 15 years as a biofeedback therapist.
My first requirement in agreeing to work with a headache sufferer was: commit to WEAN yourself off caffeine. People vary greatly in their sensitivity to caffeine - and to the withdrawal experience.
Count your milligrams of caffeine (including in Excedrin!) daily, and reduce by 20%-30% per day... taking even two or three weeks if necessary. [ 20% reduction means: of the amount you took the day before, not of the amount you originally consumed in an average day.

It takes patience and persistence: but I'll gladly wager that after a month you'll be having WAY fewer headaches.

Good luck.

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I've been drinking Mountain Dew for years. I started getting migraines about two years ago, I guess. I've been weaning myself off caffeine, but every time I cut my intake, I start getting horrible headaches. I think I've actually started a thread about this before, come to think of it.

It's hard to kick, but you just have to buy a bottle of advil or tylenol and get through it. Quit taking Excedrin - it has caffeine in it.

Seriously, quit caffeine. I used to do three cups of coffee a day and went cold turkey. It sucked for about 10 days. After that, it was over.

[RAILhead]

It's the DEW, dude. Get off it.

I'm a migraine sufferer for the last 20 years, and what works for me is Imitrex (I get 100mg and chop them in half). If I'm in the middle of one, I'll drink a cup of coffee if I can. If I'm at home when one hits, I'll do a pzizz session for 30 to 40 minutes, too.

You should also get your eyes checked if you haven't already. If it's been 9 months or more since you last evaluation, you need to go in.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Love Calm Quiet 

I spent 15 years as a biofeedback therapist.
My first requirement in agreeing to work with a headache sufferer was: commit to WEAN yourself off caffeine. People vary greatly in their sensitivity to caffeine - and to the withdrawal experience.
Count your milligrams of caffeine (including in Excedrin!) daily, and reduce by 20%-30% per day... taking even two or three weeks if necessary. [ 20% reduction means: of the amount you took the day before, not of the amount you originally consumed in an average day.

It takes patience and persistence: but I'll gladly wager that after a month you'll be having WAY fewer headaches.

Good luck.

I've been about 99% sure that the caffeine has been the biggest part of my problem for a long time now. The doc did tell me to stop using Excedrin as well, but when you're desperate to get rid of a headache...

I'd love to get off not only Mountain Dew, but carbonated drinks altogether. My wife gave them up about a month ago, and hasn't had a single sip since. She had headaches for the first four days, but nothing like what I experienced the last time I "quit" Dew. She says now that she feels great.

I'll try your method (I'd be stupid not to, considering your experience). I've been drinking about 48 oz. of Mountain Dew per day, not counting the occasional Starbucks.

Originally Posted by wallinbl 

It's hard to kick, but you just have to buy a bottle of advil or tylenol and get through it. Quit taking Excedrin - it has caffeine in it.

Seriously, quit caffeine. I used to do three cups of coffee a day and went cold turkey. It sucked for about 10 days. After that, it was over.

Did you take anything to get you through the 10 days, or did you just tough it out? I'm not opposed to doing it that way, but if there's a solution that will at least grant a little bit of relief, I'm up for it.

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

It's the DEW, dude. Get off it.

I'm a migraine sufferer for the last 20 years, and what works for me is Imitrex (I get 100mg and chop them in half). If I'm in the middle of one, I'll drink a cup of coffee if I can. If I'm at home when one hits, I'll do a pzizz session for 30 to 40 minutes, too.

You should also get your eyes checked if you haven't already. If it's been 9 months or more since you last evaluation, you need to go in.

Interesting that you'd bring up getting my eyes checked. I'm scheduled to do so this week at the advice of my wife and mother. I haven't had my eyes checked in probably 10 years.

Thanks for the advice and opinions, everyone. I really appreciate it.

[KeriVit]

My wisdom teeth were causing mine.

[Chuckit]

BTW, anybody looking to wean themselves off coffee or soda might try seeing if there's some kind of tea they like. It contains a smaller amount of caffeine per drink, is much better for you, and some kinds are positively delicious. One that I find appeals even to people who don't drink tea is Harney & Sons' pomegranate oolong, which tastes kind of like Jello. I don't get the really bad withdrawal symptoms from going off coffee, but my body does kind of come to depend on coffee if I've been drinking it a lot for too long, and I find tea is a good way to get me feeling like myself again.

[Buckaroo]

Second hand smoke caused me headaches when I was young. Especially Marlboro and Winston. They were the worst. The second hand smoke was from my fathers smoking.


I'm not sure, but I believe that soda also causes kidney problems. Six months ago, I quit a 30 year addiction to soda. I was up to 2 liters per day.

[OwlBoy]

I would say nix the Dew too. Also give a chiropractor a shot, maybe it is your neck. My brother had horrible headaches at one point, and after seeing a chiropractor it has gone away, or become manageable. I know chiropractor's can seem fake and it is all voodoo, I kind of lean this way myself, but it did help my brother.

And the eyes thing, if you use computer screens a lot, and have not had your eyes checked in 10 years, that is a huge possibility too.

-Owl

[freudling]

I get them too. I have never drank caffeine.

[andi*pandi]

msg, dehydration, and caffeine cause most of mine.

drink more water. avoid msg. ration caffeine.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

I'm not sure, but I believe that soda also causes kidney problems. Six months ago, I quit a 30 year addiction to soda. I was up to 2 liters per day.

2 liters per day...no kidding!

I've heard that about kidney problems as well.

Originally Posted by OwlBoy 

I would say nix the Dew too. Also give a chiropractor a shot, maybe it is your neck. My brother had horrible headaches at one point, and after seeing a chiropractor it has gone away, or become manageable. I know chiropractor's can seem fake and it is all voodoo, I kind of lean this way myself, but it did help my brother.

And the eyes thing, if you use computer screens a lot, and have not had your eyes checked in 10 years, that is a huge possibility too.

-Owl

I have no aversion to using a chiropractor. I can't afford it at the moment, but I'm a very "tense" person. If I can't fix the headaches through getting off caffeine or having my eyes checked, I'll have to use this as a last resort.

[RAILhead]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Interesting that you'd bring up getting my eyes checked. I'm scheduled to do so this week at the advice of my wife and mother. I haven't had my eyes checked in probably 10 years.

Thanks for the advice and opinions, everyone. I really appreciate it.

Dude, that could totally be it -- just get ready for more pain as your eyes adjust to suit your vision needs (if you need it).

[andi*pandi]

never mind, my own advice isn't working.

::goes off to lay down in a dark room::

[BoingoBongo]

Migraines are indescribably horrible. I've gotten them my whole life. Sometimes often, sometimes very rarely. For me, I'm sure there are many things that trigger them, but stress is the worst. Even "good" stress, like being excited to to on a trip or something. I'm so sorry for anyone who has to suffer through these things.

[Demonhood]

Migraines
--------

Problems --- Cure

Caffeine --- Cut it out entirely
Light --- Sunglasses when outdoors
Noise --- Only really a problem if you already feel a migraine coming. Earplugs otherwise
Stress --- ???

otherwise i'd just mimic what other people said. no caffeine, lots of water, lots of "relaxing" thoughts, etc.. i've managed to avoid severe ones (and by severe, i mean not being able to move/talk/think) for several years. the occasional lightning strike one still hits me, but as long as i'm not driving or juggling newborns, it's not too traumatic.

[ghporter]

Working on stress can be done in stages, but you'll need some training and a good coach to get started.

A friend of mine gets botox shots in her scalp-which has managed to pretty much eliminate her migraines. She was having other headaches as well, and it turned out to be the "rebound effect." She'd wait until a headache was really bad and then take a pill for it-she depended on Excedrin. It'd ease up a bit until the pill wore off and then come back so she'd take another one... This cycle kept her in an almost constant headache state for a long time. Her doctor looked at what she was taking and when, and figured out that the pills were actually CAUSING the headaches. About two days after she stopped them, the headache was completely (and so far permanently) resolved.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

Dude, that could totally be it -- just get ready for more pain as your eyes adjust to suit your vision needs (if you need it).

I'm in front of a computer screen about 6 hours per day, as well. Correlaaaaation...?

[Jawbone54]

So basically I could have one of several problems...

1. Caffeine overload from Mountain Dew
2. Stress
3. Back and neck pains caused from stress, causing migraines
4. Constantly surrounded by loud noise (music, mostly)
5. Possible eye problems
6. Dehydration from not drinking enough water

I'm going to start narrowing down. I'll get off caffeine anyways, but the others will take some time. Eye exam this week, hopefully.

Again, thanks for responding, everyone.

[Buckaroo]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

So basically I could have one of several problems...

1. Caffeine overload from Mountain Dew
2. Stress
3. Back and neck pains caused from stress, causing migraines
4. Constantly surrounded by loud noise (music, mostly)
5. Possible eye problems
6. Dehydration from not drinking enough water

I'm going to start narrowing down. I'll get off caffeine anyways, but the others will take some time. Eye exam this week, hopefully.

Again, thanks for responding, everyone.

Good luck. I had no idea that headaches could be so bad. I don't get many.

Oh, check your blood pressure. That could be a problem.

[RAILhead]

You don't have to totally get off caffeine. I drink around 60 ounces of caffeine-containing drinks every day (2 coffees and a Dr. Pepper) -- but you may have imbalanced yourself with the intake of Mt Dew.

Unless you've always had perfect vision,there's a major chance it's simply an eye strain issue. I still have 20/20 vision, but I have astigmatism in my left eye that's just big enough to still require glasses. If I don't wear them for an extended period of time, headaches ensue.

Stress and sound cause headaches, but not in the way you're describing -- and I'm saying that as a migraine and cluster headache expert. 90% of the time, a true migraine -- and a "bad headache" is NOT a migraine -- is caused by sinus issues and/or vision issues. I'm pretty confident that vision correction and dropping Mt Dew intake will relieve your pain. Also, if you're eating OTC pain pills, quit taking so many to drop the rebound effect (aspirin is especially bad with this).

[hyteckit]

So I guess I'm not alone when it comes to eyeglasses causing headaches. Can't wear glasses for extended periods, or I'll get headaches.

Yeah, lay off the caffeine. Funny though, I drink caffeine to get rid of headaches.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

Good luck. I had no idea that headaches could be so bad. I don't get many.

Oh, check your blood pressure. That could be a problem.

Thank God! Finally one that I know can't be the culprit. Had my blood pressure checked several months ago. Totally okay.

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Did you take anything to get you through the 10 days, or did you just tough it out? I'm not opposed to doing it that way, but if there's a solution that will at least grant a little bit of relief, I'm up for it.

Tylenol and Advil.

[Andy8]

I had bad headaches daily for most of my adult life until i started regular Yoga practice. After a few weeks of doing 1-2 classes per week my headaches were gone and have never come back again. I do basic Hatha Yoga, some Yin classes and most important of all is Pranayama breathing classes - this alone will fix your headaches if you did nothing else. Yoga classes can be found almost every city some very cheap and some are even free! It can be just 30-60 minutes 1-3 times a week, but it will change your life.

[design219]

I think this is all in your head.

[swiz]

This worked for me to curb MOST of my migraines and major headaches( which were becoming debilitating due to the frequency).

Since none of my doctor visits could pinpoint the cause of my migraines I experimented and have stuck with these solutions:
Everynight-
1.Sleeping with my upper body slightly elevated. ( I have a strong feeling too much blood flow in my head was causing pooling or something- regardless, this sleep habit change has UNDENIABLY cut my headache/migraine occurrances in half.
When I feel a migraine coming on-
2. Relpax- Its a migraine prescription drug which unlike Imitrex, for me, doesnt upset my stomach when empty. They are NOT cheap though- (like $25 per pill)
If I dont have any Relpax-
3. Excedrine Migraine- Take two and lie down in a completely lightless, quiet room for 40 minutes and Im good to go.
Constantly everyday-
4. Keep your neck muscles loose with excersises.

Thats what I do and it brought a 3 year long bout with weekly major headaches and nearly 1 migraine a week down to hardly ever a headache.

I should also not that I never got just a headache, it was either a major headache or a kill me please migraine.

[JellyBeen]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54
Did you take anything to get you through the 10 days, or did you just tough it out? I'm not opposed to doing it that way, but if there's a solution that will at least grant a little bit of relief, I'm up for it.

Well, since you had all the tests already, here is what I recommend.
After years of migraines myself and helping migraine sufferers on a weekly basis, I can tell you without ANY doubt
that the caffeine is the main cause of your headaches. You must go "cold turkey", its the only way to get rid of it.
You will get a really nasty HA for several days-5 days is very likely. It should take a good month to feel close to
normal...you will feel really tired...that's normal.
If you want to ease your withdrawal I would suggest this simple solution that works really well.
Take 2 ibuprofen (advil, motrin) and one 50 mg pseudoephedrine tablet (regular cold decongestant) 2x/ day if need be while in withdrawal.
The caffeine is a vasoconstrictor and getting off of it causes you to dilate your blood vessels hence the pounding HA
that ensues.The decongestant will constrict your blood vessels and help you get through it, And NO, you will not
get addicted in turn to the decongestant. ;-) its for a short time remember?

Oh and you should make sure you drink at least 1.5 L of water a day. Everyday.

Tell us how it goes.

[mrtew]

Drinking lots of water is the best way to prevent headaches. And coffee and Dew don't count as water. I think lack of water is responsible for the headache industry and for people being so fat. They even mistake being hungry for being thirsty and just eat more. And I blame the bottled water industry and the cola industry for it. They've convinced us that that normal water out of the sink is bad and you have to pay a lot for something good to drink and nobody can afford to drink enough at what they charge. If you just switch to tap water like a normal person you'll be a lot better off.

Oh and a quick very HOT shower is an instant cure for a migraine a lot of times, and even works on normal headaches too. Try that!

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

3. Back and neck pains caused from stress, causing migraines
5. Possible eye problems

The latter can be a cause of the former. If your eyes are bad, or your glasses are bent or mis-adjusted or just out of date, the constant straining can and will cause back and neck pain, which can branch out into nasty headaches.

Theres's been some media coverage on advances in migraine research over here recently, and from what I've gathered, they know pretty much *exactly* what causes migraine susceptibility (down to the actual gene IIRC), and have fairly recently developed highly effective pain killers to treat it specifically.

I have no idea what this medication would cost in a world without health insurance, though, and from your post, it's not clear whether you've actually been diagnosed with migraine (which is a very specific condition completely separate from regular "headaches", which can have many causes).

[alligator]

I get headaches on a regular basis when I do not get a full night of sleep. I have one today because I stayed up until midnight last night (new year's eve), and I slept in too long. Sounds stupid, but it is true. Once I go back and sleep normal hours, I'll be perfectly fine.

[RAILhead]

Yeah, that's not a migraine. Migraines are a diagnosable medical condition. I always laugh to myself when I hear someone say how bad a headache they have -- if they only knew what it was like to have near unbearable Pain pulsing through your skull with every heart beat for 5 days straight. I'll take a good ol' fashioned headache any day of the week over a migraine.

What's worse that migraines are cluster headaches -- and my Dad and brother both have them. My Dad will go for a couple of years with an episode, but when they strike, it's horrible. You get all the pain of a 5-day migraine shoved into a 20 minutes period, then it's gone. Rinse and repeat 1-3 times a day for a couple of weeks. At the end, it's like they've run a marathon -- totally wiped-out. The pain is so bad, they (and other cluster headache sufferers) literally want to kill themselves. My brother even had to go into the hospital to be knocked out so he would have to experience the pain.

So, headache people be glad you don't really know what a migraine is. Us migraine people should be glad we don't have clusters. Cluster people...God bless you.

[Gankdawg]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

msg

My dad used to get migraines but when he cut out MSG, they went away.

I'm fortunate to have never had one and rarely get headaches. I do drink alot of water everyday (around 100 ounces or so) so maybe that helps.

[Jawbone54]

I wasn't absolutely sure that I was having migraines instead of regular headaches until I went to the doctor. He had me diagnosed in less than a minute. He prescribed Relpax, but my insurance doesn't cover it; there's no way I could afford it on even a semi-regular basis. Relpax is also only effective when taken during the period of time you feel the migraine coming on. I usually know it's coming when I feel a light pressure behind my left eye.

According to Wikipedia, the "5-4-3-2-1 criteria" method is one way of diagnosing migraines, though I'm sure it's not perfect.

5 or more attacks
4 hours to 3 days in duration
2 or more of - unilateral location, pulsating quality, moderate to severe pain, aggravation by or avoidance of routine physical activity
1 or more accompanying symptoms - nausea and/or vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia

I've had 5 migraines within the past 10 days alone. My wife spots them as soon as they come on me, and she's very helpful in creating the right environment for me. We have one room of the house we call the "black room." The shades and curtains can be drawn to where there is almost no visible light in the room, even in the middle of the day. I go in there, she shuts the door, and waits for an hour or so before checking on me.

My migraines usually last about 6-10 hours, but they have lasted as long as an entire day. I've had some that got better overnight, but then kicked back in again at about 10 AM.

The easiest to pinpoint was the unilateral location. For whatever reason, most of the pain is usually located behind my left eye. It throbs horribly, and often feels like someone is pushing my left eye out of socket from behind.

I experience all three of the final symptoms: nausea/vomiting, photophobia, and phonophobia. My family thought the vomiting was a stomach problem similar to one my brother struggled through, but the doctor pinned this one migraines as well. I never threw up in my life until I was 18 years old (excluding infancy, of course). I currently throw up four or five times a week, and almost always when I have the migraines.

Photophobia and phonophobia...the worst part, IMO. Having to drive at night with a migraine is excruciating, especially when on a busy road. Headlights seem a thousand times brighter than usual. Noise is a bit easier to control, but for someone who always has music/podcasts/audiobooks playing, the silence adds to the irritation.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Gankdawg 

My dad used to get migraines but when he cut out MSG, they went away.

I'm fortunate to have never had one and rarely get headaches. I do drink alot of water everyday (around 100 ounces or so) so maybe that helps.

You're the second one to refer to MSG and dehydration. Add that to caffeine, stress, eye strain, and the countless other factors everyone's mentioned, and you have to wonder: are we living in a society that creates a perfect environment for widespread migraine suffering?

[mrtew]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

We have one room of the house we call the "black room." The shades and curtains can be drawn to where there is almost no visible light in the room, even in the middle of the day. I go in there, she shuts the door, and waits for an hour or so before checking on me.

You should try the HOT shower thing. My roommate has had a few migraine, and he always forgets about the shower thing because of the pain but I make him get in a HOT shower and it's literally a matter of two seconds and he say "Wow, it's gone". I'm serious. And it works on his normal headaches too. It something about the blood-vessels contracting inside the skull as a response to temperature changes I believe. Try it!

[swiz]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

You should try the HOT shower thing. My roommate has had a few migraine, and he always forgets about the shower thing because of the pain but I make him get in a HOT shower and it's literally a matter of two seconds and he say "Wow, it's gone". I'm serious. And it works on his normal headaches too. It something about the blood-vessels contracting inside the skull as a response to temperature changes I believe. Try it!

I used to think a shower would make my migraine go away but as soon as I get out of the shower the rise in body temp coupled with the pain in my head = instant coma. (Not a real coma but you get the drift.)

[RAILhead]

Hot shower will only work a small fraction of the time for a full blown migraine. Relpax is nasty crap for me, as are the other preventative medications.

Have you tried Imitrex? Tell your Doc you want to try the tablets first, and once you learn to feel the right time to take them (just as you begin to feel a true migraine beginning), it should work. Almost every migraine sufferer has success with Imitrex once you get used to knowing when to take it. Stay away from the nasal administration -- it's not worth the trouble. The injections are around 5-10 minutes faster since they go directly into the bloodstream, but that's all -- and those are best suited for cluster headaches.

The key with Imitrex is not to wait until you're "oh crap, I have a migraine and it hurts like hades" -- you have to learn to find the fine line between not having a migraine, and when the migraine starts. Boom: take the pill, wait a bit (usually 20 to 30 minutes for me), and the pain is gone. Only on the rarest of occasions have I had to take the daily max, and that back when I was learning to take the pill correctly.

I think I mentioned it earlier, but I get the 100mg pills and cut them in half. I couldn't do this at first because my timing was off -- but over the years, I've learned that tipping point, so 50mgs will get me through it.

A note about the dosage, too. 100mg of Imitrex WILL NOT be more effective than 25mg. You have to think of it like this...

1. Say your body decides it wants to have a 3 hour migraine.
2. You take 25mg of Imitrex at onset and feel relief in 30 minutes.
3. 2 hours later, the migraine comes back and you take another 25mg of Imitrex.
4. All is well.

OR...
1. Your body wants to have a 3 hour migraine.
2. You take 100mg of Imitrex at onset and feel relief in 30 minutes.
3. All is well.

In both cases, the migraine went away -- the first one you took a total of 50mg, the second you took 100mg. What you've learned is that 50mg of Imitrex will keep the pain at bay for about 3 hours (speaking in generalities, of course), but the higher dosage WILL NOT alleviate the pain any sooner. Dosage ONLY relates to the length of time the Imitrex is in your system, fighting the pain. Higher dosage means longer pain fighting, not speed of relief.

So, once you learn when to take the pill, it's easy to drop to 50mg or even 25mg and not have a migraine fully develop. And this is coming form a 6'4", 227 pound dude with over 20 years of migraine experience.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

The key with Imitrex is not to wait until you're "oh crap, I have a migraine and it hurts like hades" -- you have to learn to find the fine line between not having a migraine, and when the migraine starts. Boom: take the pill, wait a bit (usually 20 to 30 minutes for me), and the pain is gone. Only on the rarest of occasions have I had to take the daily max, and that back when I was learning to take the pill correctly.

I think this rule applies to ANY pain that rises and falls. Not only does the pain make you feel horrible, it reduces your ability to do much of anything-including heal after surgery.

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I am getting absolutely sick of headaches.

I have at least one almost every single day. Nothing seems to help them. I take Excedrin from time to time, but they never knock out a headache. I have had a history of migraines, but only get one that severe maybe twice a week.

It's becoming a debilitating problem, and the doctor didn't help much.

Any suggestions? Anyone else deal with this?

Maybe it's this:
Low-energy bulbs 'cause migraine'

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh 

Maybe it's this:
Low-energy bulbs 'cause migraine'

I think that's doubtful in the U.S. or Canada. In the UK the electric grid runs as 50Hz-which is slow enough that it can cause flickering in some florescent lamps. Maybe not enough to "notice" consciously, but enough to bother a person. In North America, our electric grid runs at 60Hz, and almost all florescent lamps are flicker-free for almost everyone. In some circumstances-usually with traditional florescent fixtures that have a separate ballast-lamps can flicker, but this is not due to their technology, but rather because the hardware is failing.