THe most advice ive been given is 'see a doctor' by everyone. And thats understandable- the only "cures" for a headache is just OTC tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen, sleep, tension relaxation...

But...I dont think its necessary to see a doctor. And Im sure that was pretty cliche- "I dont need a doctor, Im fine". But these headaches...are just enough to be irritating. Once in a while, i get a devastating one and I just sleep 14 hours to shake it off (or in worst case: wake up with it). Thats rarely. But...recently...ive been getting headaches everyday or every other day. I havent severely altered my diet, weight, sleep habits... im the same. But the headaches happen most every evening/night. And sometimes its my eyes (horrible eye-strain and light sensitivty headaches) and sometimes its just my head. I am having to take tylenol most nights- and im not even sure if it works or if I just think it works.

I looked at webmd (online medical thingy) and they even recommend...therapy? And Im not very good at identifying my headaches. All i know is where its located and how much it hurts. And apparently- each headache (aside from a migraine) has about the same remedies. Again- im more bothered that webmd stressed therapy or something for chronic headaches...

Any advice? I am still convinced this really isnt doctor-worthy. Im not gonna spend hours just to find out I have headaches from contracting blood vessels and I have to take prescription double-strength ibuprofen. I guess im really asking... anyone have any home cures or panaceas or old remedies your great-grandma taught ya from the old country? Something? Id be very grateful. :D

On a side note, just in case this is connected: My back is SUPER stiff. And I mean painfully. I can sit straight and bend over- but I can hardly rotate without having to apply extreme force to crack it. And my neck hardly cracks anymore (I guess its built a defense for that or something) but...it -always- feels like theres some kink or something and I am not getting the full range of motion I should be. My back has got so bad, when I bend over, its SO hard to unbend and stand back up. I have to hit myself in my back (because it feels good- AND-) just to bring myself up. Am i too young to be thinking of a chiropractor or something? And is this at all connected with my headaches?

Here's advice from Mom - literally.

Headaches - have a very hot shower, the hot water dilates the blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more easily through the body. Put your head and neck under the hot water. Stay there untill the hot water runs out.

You've probably put your back out - go to a remedial masseuse or a chiropractor.

It's quite possible that your back/neck pain is connected with your headaches. A similar thing happened to me a while ago. I'm a sailor and I strained the muscles in my neck and shoulders and I was getting headaches similar to the ones you described (although not so frequent). I started doing some gradual exercises to loosen the muscles and eventually the headaches went away.

I don't really have any specific remedies, just make the room as dark and quiet as possible and try to sleep. Also, I got told not to take really strong painkillers as your body can become accustomed to them after a while.

:)

My friend has kinda the same thing as you.. and I know that it must be very painful and annoying. And yeah, doctors have just ordered her some painkillers.

Based on what you told, I think your headaches are connected with your neck and back. My only remedy is this: have you tried to stretch your neck&back every day? I've heard that it helps. Don't stretch too hard, if it's painful, just that it's relaxing.

It is very important to fix your back when you are young, Nemo. I don't want to scare you, but it can become a lifetime trouble to you. Have you lifted something very heavy recently?? Maybe there's a disk bulge or something? You should go to someone who cheks your back, like a chiropractor. Let me know if this helps. :)

perhaps not a doctor, but maybe go to an optomotrist. Have you had your vision checked lately? Maybe you are squinting, which could account for your eye and head pain.

have you tried massaging your scalp/brushing your hair. these things stimulate blood flow and can help relieve headache. By the way, do you have long hair. having your hair pulled back tight can give you a headashe.

when you get these headaches, do you have sensitivity to noise and light? That would be a migraine, and some people are chronic migrain sufferers.

the fact that your headaches are coming every day are a sign that your body is in distress from something. Perhaps these are fatigue headaches, and you need to start sleeping more.

Also, it is possible you have become addicted to tylenol. It is not good to take tylenol and the likes every day, even though they are over the counter. You can do serious damamge to your liver. perhaps, the body has become used to it, and the headaches are now a slight withdrawal??

stop taking medication for the next week. Try a hot compress on your head coupled with a nice tension massage. Perhaps some nice aroma therapy (lavendar and vanilla are supposed to be soothing). try going to bed an hour earlier.

we are not doctors, so only a doctor would know if the back pain is related to headaches. you are not too young to go to a chiropractor, but i would advise against it. a chiropractor can tell you if your back pain is related to your headaches and what is causing it, and can give you temporary relief. However, a chiropractor is a short-term fix. You need to keep going back. A physical therapist will fix the problem, but not immediately.

try using ergonomic chairs and pillows. Try usiong heating pads at night on your back and neck. "cracking" is not very healthy for you, and in time, you need to crack harder to relieve the tension.

good luck Nemo! I know you don't want to go to a doctor, but perhaps you may need to.

I have the same problem, I have headaches every fucking day. Its annoying, and I went to the doctor (Ive had them for like more than a year now) she didnt know what was wrong with it and just told me to go home so I keep having headaches.. :(

Okay, I know you said that we shouldn't say just "go to the doctor", but my mom is a Chiropractor, and your symptoms sound like some of her patients. Now, I'm not a doctor myself or anything, but you could consider going to a Chiropractor. Now, my mother doesn't do the cracking neck and back, but she does soft tissue work, which is almost like a massage, only it helps your back and neck. I hope you consider it at least, and I hope you get better soon!! :) *hugs*

~Kiersy Lynn

perhaps not a doctor, but maybe go to an optomotrist. Have you had your vision checked lately? Maybe you are squinting, which could account for your eye and head pain.
Ive always been very sensitive to light. I spend most of my time indoors since its about 95-115 degrees outside between 10 AM and 6 PM everyday (it cools to 70-80 any other time)-- so My eyes are VERY sensitive- especially to sunlight. If i even look out the window, I can -feel- my pupil contracting and eyes almost forcing itself to focus and adjust. Even my computer screen has to have a low brightness. This doesnt help with my headaches, of course. Not sure if this can be fixed or not. And yeah, I am nearsighted (can only see things close up) and I wear contacts or glasses- but not when Im like uh...in front of the computer or something. Only when I go out or really need them.

I will try to use hot water and heat to help my headaches- thanks!

I get headaches like that as well...Mine are tension headaches though. The doctor prescribed me Perkaset (Vicodin), and it works, but it fucks me up SO much. Haha. I can't take T-4...I've had a few stomach traumas resulting from it, and it makes me sick now. It's bad to live off painkillers anyway.

My advice to you is go to the doctor to at least find the cause of the headaches. The shower thing works, but I find I get them badly at work a lot where a shower is not really an option.

<3

Sounds like your headaches are caused by your back problem. I know when my back is out, my head can hurt terribly bad. I generally can get it back into place by myself, or have my dad do it.
Other concerns are that headaches can also be an early warning sign to annurisims. They can also be caused by high blood pressure.
As someone else said, it can also be if your vision is poor.
Do you have these headaches during the day, where you could say go into the dr and have your blood pressure checked?
Try getting your back aligned and see if that helps. if not, check out a dr and mention your concerns. There are medicines they can give you to help with migrains. Because eventually the tylenol isn't going to cut it if you take it almost nightly. Your body will become used to it and you will eventually need to take more and more for it to work.

Definitely, the stiffness in your back is related to headaches. What I'm not sure is if it is the back which caused the headache or if is the headache the one to cause the stiffness. What I mean is that a headache is produced in some way by the inflammation of brain tissue, and the brain controls every part of the body. So, as you may already know, when you've got headache it may cause you vomits, to be sick, to be tired, to be sensitive to light, etc. And it can also produce stiffness, normally in your neck cause it's the nearest part connected to your head. But having all your back affected is a bit strange -although muscles are connected between them-. So maybe it is your back problem the one to cause the headaches. Sometimes, we spend hours in the same position, like for example, being in front of a computer, or being sit in a bad and incorrect position. Or maybe you have some muscle or bone in your back which produces the stiffness and consequently the headache. So I'd go to the doctor, but for a physical check up, you know, to check that everything (including brain) is in its place and that you don't have any malformation. In case everything was ok phisically, then I'd try to think if there's anything psicological which can produce it. What I mean is that you can have too much stress altough you may not realize, or maybe you are scared of some situation and, unconciously, it worries you and makes you have headache. That happens with kids: we think they may be lying to us when they say, for example, that their stomach or head is painful and actually we've been a hundred times to the doctor and has said everything is ok. Then it turns out that they've got some psicological problem, like for example, being scared of going somewhere or meeting some people,...etc. Having psicological therapy is actually useful for any kind of problems. Sometimes you don't realize of them and then you do and can solve everything else. Good luck!

Ok, well, my headaches are back (see my previous post in this thread). I've had them all day every day for over a week now. They are only what I would call 'mild' - a little painful but mostly just annoying. They don't respond at all to paracetamol. I haven't tried anything stronger as most of those have to be taken with food and tend to make me vomit/feel sick (which is unrelated to the headaches, I think I just have a weak stomach).

I feel it's pointless going to the doctor because last time I had them I went about 4 time which ended up costing me over $100 (which is money I just do not have right now) and I got told the same thing - they were due to stress. Funny how I didn't feel remotely stressed at the time.

I reckon they might be migraines as they run in my family. The doctor didn't say anything about that though.

I was just wondering if anyone has a temporary 'quick-fix' so to speak as I'm going to a concert on wednesday night and do not want it to be ruined by a headache.

Hey Nemo. I can't really tell what type of headaches you're having form you're description, but since you have a lot of sensitivity to light, my guess is that they're migraines. I'm not sure if your back stiffness is related or not - a lot of people have back problems and a lot of people have headaches, so of course some people will have both.

I'd ask around to see if your friends or family know of a good doc who will listen and be able to make an accurate diagnosis. It is best to avoid taking "abortive" medications every day (meds that are used to break a headache) because you can get rebound headaches as the med wears off. Generally "abortive" medication shouldn't be used more than twice a week. If you are, then you probably need a "preventive" medication to use daily. If you really do have migraine headaches, one preventive measure is to use riboflavin (a B vitamin) 400 mg. daily. Of course, there are presciption medications that may work as wel.

Your doc will also want to check you over for signs of a brain tumor (rare but possible) and before prescribing anything would want you to modify your lifestyle to try to eliminate the headaches. That usually means no nicotine, caffeine, alcohol or other drugs, getting 8 hours of sleep every night, exercising regularly, and eating a balanced diet. He/she would also want you to keep a headache diary to log when the headaches occur, under what circumstances, what you ate recently, etc. Sometimes clues come out that can be helpful in finding out what's triggering the headaches. If it is stress, then relaxation/meditation techniques and counseling can help, though meds can still be useful. It could be chocolate, red wine, peanuts, food dye or a number of other things, too, though.

Hope that helps Nemo and April. Stay away from the Percs/Vikes, too. They're a short term fix that lead to a vicious cycle of rebound headaches, which nobody needs. Good luck in getting headache free!

I definitely think the stiffness in your back is related, and I agree with what some others have said, that maybe seeing a chiropracter (sp?) would help. Getting your vision tested might be a good idea too. Also, though this won't cure anything, it'll just help a little, stay away from caffeine. That can cause headaches sometimes.

there was a time when i got headaches every day. it made me mad. i could not work, i just wanted to sleep and even that i could not do. it was terrible. now i know that i had sinusitis. i had to take pills against sinusitis and it helped.

maybe you should go to a chiropracter.

bye, nadine

When I was a teenager, I had very serious migraine problems, where the blood vessel at the base of brain would constrict, sometimes for a week or two at a time, and cause vertigo, visual disturbances, I even passed out a few time. Alot of it had to due with muslce contractions/spasms in my neck. I found that instead of massaging the site of the pain (my head), massaging my neck would elleviate the pain. I also had pain in my back at one time that was affecting my leg. The systems of the body are very interconnected. Oi have used thye services of a chiropractor and a neurologist ( the more traditional treatment for headaches) and the chiropractor did more for me. As far as prescription meds, Imitrex is great for relieving the pain. I was on a variety of meds back in the day that were supposed to control the dilation and constriction of the blood vessels, but only made me sicker.

I know sometimes headaches are genetic. My mom has that. I don't really think I got it from her, but some people do.

Sorry to hear about your headaches. Maybe it's caused from all that weirdo hard-rock music you listen to? :p

If by chance your headaches are genetic, then perhaps things like medicine and sleep may be your only hope. i know you can get prescription migrane medicine. (I think it's really expensive though)

Maxalt (prescription migrane medicine) (versy strong and expesnive)
They also have advil migrane which apparently works good. (Really good)

Ummm... but yeah, if they are genetic then they may never go away. Which sucks. Good luck thuogh ^_^