DO NOT TAKE ANY INFORMATION I HAVE PROVIDED IN THIS POST AS MEDICAL ADVICE, ALWAYS CONSULT A DOCTOR OR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE COMMENCING ANY NEW TREATMENT YOU ARE UNSURE OF.
I have had chronic headaches that stretch back to my teenage years. I can often feel the pain beginning to creep in around lunchtime. By mid-afternoon, the pain will have ramped up and by evening I will be in a lot of pain with a migraine-like headache.
One of my first migraines was triggered after a day at a theme park. I didn’t know what it was but it was so scary at the time. After going to Alton Towers in my 20’s, I experienced the same thing. There’s probably a connection but at the time I thought it was just bad luck.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve often reached for the tablets without looking at the root cause. This is often difficult to pinpoint when you have been having symptoms for so long. It’s still difficult to work out what kind of headache it is and what tablets it requires and even after 25 years of headaches, I often get it wrong! With hindsight, I often feel ‘strange’ in a way that is hard to pinpoint when I’m about to get a migraine. I can only describe it as feeling ‘wired’ and oddly energetic. This is the ‘aura’ stage of a migraine; sometimes I get this and sometimes I don’t, because the attacks differ every time.
The headaches ramped up in severity when I worked in retail and when training for my Occupational Therapy degree. I could attribute this to a number of factors: tiredness, stress and depression were probably the culprits. I found some tablets what were wonderful in relieving symptoms but they discontinued them. I found this really difficult at the time; the hard time I was having at work only heightened the feeling of disappointment. However, it was another decade before I reached out to the doctor and sought help. It had just become my ‘normal’.
Two big triggers of mine are sweet drinks/confectionary, and tiredness. It’s difficult to cut out sweets because I like them so much, (family and friends can tell you my favourite brand which is so embarrassing to admit!) but I will admit that I feel far better when I don’t eat them. The headaches have becomes so regular that my husband knows the triggers too and often warns me against indulging in too many sweet treats.
I have tried various alternative remedies with varying degrees of success. Last year I had about 10 sessions of acupuncture offered at the local college (for a more detailed explanation of how acupuncture works see here (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/acupuncture). The treatment was very patient-centred and the treatment provided based upon how I was feeling that day and what had been going on during the previous week.
The acupuncture did work for me was that I felt better, but not necessarily in the way I was expecting. The severity and frequency of my headaches definitely decreased, from maybe 4-5 to 2 headaches a week. The treatment also made me feel very relaxed afterwards, which was an added bonus. I did not continue with it due to finances but the headache have not been as severe or long lasting since.
Other treatments I have tried are a magnet band around the head; great for tension headaches, lavender oil or peppermint oil; great for soothing and relaxing muscles and a device called Headaterm The Headaterm machine sounds like a terrible and painful idea to most of us (electronic pulses targeted directly onto your forehead mid-migraine), however it focus on the nerves that transmit migraine pain: I found that it did help by removing certain facets of the migraine such as sickness and nausea. The listed items rarely provide complete relief but , for me they are good for temporarily relieving the symptoms when they’re at their worst. For a better description of how a Headaterm works, see here (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Device-HeadaTerm-Electrode-Stimulator-Side-Effect-Anti-Headache/dp/B072JSSR95/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3LJ1P585S7S1T&keywords=headaterm%2Belectrode&qid=1671197558&sprefix=Headaterm%2Caps%2C480&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1). This isn’t an ad, it’s just the band I have!
I saw the GP about three years ago as the headache were daily and severe. He recommended I stopped all painkillers cold turkey. I did have reservations but gave it a try and I lasted 5 weeks. I was warned the headaches may get worse before they get better (true!) but doing this did break the pattern. I try to do this now when the headaches become more frequent and it definitely helps
I have gradually had to accept that I will probably always have headaches. Within the last year, I have had better periods of time (usually around a fortnight, occasionally up to one month) where I am largely headache-free, which have found to be very strange but am certainly not complaining! I am still searching for long term relief but I have acquired a lot of tools and knowledge that will make this easier for me in the future.
Catherine Ridley 