life sucks.....

[mystikal star]

I seriously think I'm dying. I've had some kind of headache for the past four days. This happened once before about two months ago. I went to the doctor and was told that it could be a stress headache. There is no pain at all. It's nothing but tight pressure in my head. Sometimes its on the top of my head. Sometimes its on both sides of my head. Yesterday it moved itself into my neck. Sometimes the pressure is so bothersome that I get sick to my stomach. Doctor said it didn't sound like migraines because light and sound didnt bother me. I really would like to see the doctor again. I get these headaches everyday only most of the time they last a couple hours but this time its been four FREAKING days. I'm being driven insane. The first two days I was popping tylenol and that helped for about an hour but they returned. I have Excendrin Tension Headache here but that has caffiene in it and caffeine screws with my irregular heartbeat I was told I have. My mom said she had these headaches before and when she started her antidepressants for her panic attacks (PAxil) they went away. So I started my anti depressants (Luvox) today and I'm so scared I'll v from them because it's a side effect. AND I'm scared that they'll make me suicidal since thats been in the news. I don't even want to take the pills. Depression sucks but it's become almost normal for me. I'm used to crying myself to sleep every night. I'm used to hating myself so much that I want to never wake up. Happiness is going to suck!! But these headaches or whatever they are NEED to go away. Its so annoying. Right now my head could explode from the pressure. What if its not a stress headache? What if its a tumor or something growing. I hope the anti depressants take it. I am stressed alot so maybe it is a stress headache. Who the hell knows. Watch me end up dying from something serious. My mom totally ignores the fact that my head hurts. "Oh its stress. It'll go away." I'd like to ask her when she got her medical degree. My arm could be falling off and turning black and she'd say, "Oh it'll heal up. Give it a couple days." She thinks that because shes a nurse she knows it all. I know when I dont feel good. I KNOW when my head doesnt feel right. I'm sick of crying around worrying that I'm going to die from whatever is going on. Lets hope these "happy pills" take away all the stuff causing me stress and lets hope it doesnt make me v. LIFE SUCKS!!!!!

[alliecat]

Ashley,


These are tension headaches. (The fact that you say it moves into your neck andfeels like a tightness pressure gives that away.)I have the exact symptoms every single day of my life, so I know how you feel. I just saw a neurologist on Thursday, and I got a lot of information about headaches. Tension headaches are a daily thing for most people who get them. And, I know, they are more annoying than anything. There are some days where it hurts more than others, some days where nothing makes it go away. The worst thing you can do, however, is to continually pop pain pills for it. The weird thing about them is that when you do that, you build up a tolerance for them, and the more you do it, the more they have a chance of actually CAUSING a headache. Its called a rebound headache. So the fact that you're continually popping pills, and aceitaminophen (tylenol)no less, is probably making your headache worse. Statistically, tylenol is not shown to make a significant decrease on headache pain. (Mind you, this is all stuff that I was told by my neurologist, so this isn't just some bull I'm throwing at you.) What you've got to do, especially when you've got tension headache, is to keep your neck muscles loose, stay active, get adequate rest, take heavy doses of vitamins B2, B12 and Magnesium, and don't over exert yourself. Don't get too freaked out by these headaches. There are ways to prevent them, you've just got to apply yourself. I know how you feel... I'm dealing with this exact same thing.


To treat these headaches after they've already began, the neuro doc told me that the best thing you can do is to take three advil gelcaps with a can of coke! He said the reasons that this works are : 1, because the gelcaps dissolve and disperse into the bloodstream quickly; 2, the coke has carbonation, caffiene, and coke syrup: the carbonation helps the medicine disperse even quicker, the caffiene helps with headaches because is dialates the bloodvessels in your brain, and coke syrup is a long-known nausea enemy. So, I put this to the test the other day, and it worked! I tried that and did the neck exercises and stretches. Keeping your neck loose helps a great deal on its own. The neuro doc said that if after that, the headache doesn't go away, breathing straight oxygen should help. So go out and get some fresh air! And if after that, its not gone, he said that I had to come back in and get a novocaine shot into the back of my neck. And of course, that med is very powerful, so that would no doubt help it. But he says most people don't get to that point.


Anyway, girly, try these out, and talk to me about this if you want. You've got to start trusting your doctors. There isn't anything seriously wrong with you, hons. Lots and lots of people deal with this. You'll be okay. Trust me. Brain tumors and aneurisms cause much much worse symptoms than what you or I have ever spoken about. So try not to worrk so much, because you're going to be okay! Just know that I'm dealing with the same thing, and I'm here for you!


xoxo


Allie

[kentuckygalrk]

Hey... I totally feel for you and know exactly what you're going through!


I've gotten 4 to 5 genuine migraines a year since I turned 13 (I'm 22 now) and I agree with your doctor that what you're experiencing doesn't sound like migraines at all... however, I too get tension headaches which are just as you describe. Sometimes thepain is so overwhelming that I lay on my bed and apply pressure to my skull against the wall (which prob. isn't something I should do, but it helps believe it or not... lol).


The thing I was amazed is that you said you can't drink caffeine because of your heartbeat. Well... I have an incredibly high heartrate, aka; Tachycardia(ranging anywhere from 90-120 avg. on a good day and up to almost 200 at times) and I was told not to drink much caffeine. This could actually be causing some of your headaches if you've stopped drinking the amount your body is used to. Try drinking a 12 ounce can with some advil or aleve... but don't drink anymore than that.


I take beta blockers for my heart which can also preventheadachesand those helped the migrainesfor a long time (I went almost an entire year without having a single one) but now, while they still work for my heart, they no longer work for my head. In July I was put on Elavil, which is an antidepressant for my headaches and I went from July untiltwo Sundays ago(when I got one hell of a killer migraine)without having any. It only lasted four months this time and I've had consistent, everyday, throbbing pain for two straight weeks now... ugh! So I'm thinking I'll be trying something new here soon.


I'm sure nothing is seriously wrong with you, but if it makes you more comfortable, perhaps you could go get a CT scan of your brain (no pain, only lasts a minute or two)... but take thisfrom someone who knows, I've had so many unnecessarytests and scans and painful procedures to find out that I get the rarest form of migraines, and that while there are treatments, they may only work for a while and then the migraines will return and I will probably have them off and on for the rest of my life (BLEH!). I spent hours of my time and too much of my parents' money to find out that there's nothing that can be done for me and it sucks. Just remember that at some point you may have to accept that there's nothing that can be done and that what you are going through, many others are too.


Lastly, I have lost three people in my life to brain tumors and trust me when I say you would KNOW if it was something that bad. I won't go into the symptoms and warning signsof a brain tumor... but they are far more horendous than a simple tensionheadacheand far more horendous than even a migraine (though I know from experience no headacheis "simple" and all migraines SUCK).


But anyways, I hope you feel better! Keep us updated.


~Rachel

[charzysbebe]

Sounds like tension headaches. I get them for days when I get them. Usually tylenol doesn'tget rid of them for me. I usually feel these headaches and stiffnessin my neck and many different parts of my head. Mine too feel like tightness. I hate them, but when I get them, I know what they are.


Maybe you can go get a professional massage to loosen up your neck/back muscles. Either that, or just have someone rub the knots out of your neck. Afterwards, you feel so much better. I have also gone to the chiropractor for my tension headache, and he popped the alignment in my neck back into place, and the headaches ceased for a while. Sometimes the way you sleep contributes to these headaches. I notice if I wake up with my head off my pillow, or in a wierd position, I getthem. Maybe try switching pillows too. Do you carry heavy things? This also makes these headaches bad. You just need to find what helpsfor you.


You don't have a brain tumor. You seem to have a very common type of headache, that can be treated! Take care, Charlotte