HORRIBLE Headache!

B. - go to the chiropractor and get a neck adjustment. It feels like heaven! I have migraines and when I get the same feeling you are describing, I go in for a quick neck adjustment and I'm good as new!

Best wishes,
D.

Another idea most people aren't aware of, especially if you suffer from lots of headaches, or everyday headaches, is to cut out any and all diet pop/soda and any and all diet foods. The artificial sweeteners affect some people in that it gives them headaches.

I know. I used to suffer daily headaches for about 2 years until I read somewhere that, in certain susceptible people, artificial sweeteners can trigger headaches. I've since quit drinking diet pop (since the beginning of 2009) and my daily headaches (some which felt like migraines) went away.

I would try Chirorpactic!!
You can look at my website for more info!
www.chiropracticfranklin.com

Good luck!
L.

I have had that at various points in my life and it is an indicator that I need a chiropractic adjustment because my neck is out of place. Usually it becomes a problem because of tight muscles pulling vertebrae out of position so following up with a good massage and then continuing with gentle stretches and exercises as things feel better will help prevent future problems. Also make sure you have a pillow that supports your neck properly for your sleeping position.

If chiropractics and/or massage do not help, be sure you get additional checks by a neurologist.

Hi B.,

I have the very same thing and for me, it's from knots of muscle caused by tension. I usually put ice on it if it's pretty bad and I've also begun seeing a chiropractor (which I've never done and was reluctant to) and a deep-tissue massage therapist. It has really worked. The chiropractor I see is fantastic and she won't string you along into buying unnecessary packages. She's in downtown Lakeville, Optimal Performace Chiropractic, and her name is Dr. Jennifer Petersen. Good luck!

B. - have you ever thought of chiropractic care? I wouldn't live without an adjustment - makes a huge difference in my life and my children's lives. I have a great relationship with 2 of them - one in Eagan one in Lakeville and would highly recommend either.

Or even a massage. Love my shiatsu massage therapist, she's located in Burnsville.

Good luck

I get that when my neck is out of place. A quick call to the chiropractor and its better. If its out really bad sometimes I will have a dull headache for about an hour afterwords but then its gone.

Something else you can try is take two asprin (has to be asprin) and drink a warm coke (has to be coke) with in 15 mins, lay down and your headache should be better shortly. Thats what I had to do when I was pregnant and would get my migraines. It actually does work.

Good luck I hope it's better soon!

see if you can skip the MD and call and see if he/she will refer you to PT (Physical Therapy). I"m sure others may recommend a chiropractor. No sense to be in pain the whole weekend if you can find someone to get you in last minute today!!!

Try putting an ice pack on the spot for 15 minutes. However, DO NOT wait to go to the Dr. call the office and tell them you need to see him/her TODAY or go to an urgent care or ER.

I had a headache like that a couple of times. I had to go to the emergency room once. They gave me a shot of something, it's been so long I don't remeber what it was. I do remember that I got it in the bum, and it wasn't a very pleasant feeling. A lot of times, headaches located in that area are from tension. Excedrine makes tension headache medicine, if you haven't already maybe you could try that and see if that helps.

If your headache is something new, you may want to also be tested for Lymes Disease, especially if you have been outside more since the weather has been nicer. My son had a terrible headache for 2 days in the Fall which was uncharacteristic for him, but after it went away, we didn't think much of it. Until a month or so later when he developed random and very painful joint pains. We were in Florida at the time and the doctors there did blood work and sent us to a orthopaedic specialist, but did not test for Lymes. His symptoms again went away for another few weeks and then came back worse. We were back in MN and his pediatrician here was shocked after taking a look at his blood work from Florida that he wasn't tested for Lymes. After a month long course of antibiotics he has been symptom free. His doctor said that it is very common for people to develop a severe head/neck ache in the few days following the bite and if Lymes is tested for and treated immediately, there are usually no lasting effects.

Hope you feel better soon!!!

If this is the worst headache you have ever had, and it doesn't seem familiar, please call your doctor and tell them that. Otherwise, you may need to go to the ER. Just to make sure. THe other advice you have gotten is fine if it is only a simple headache. I don't want you to miss catching something important early.

B., I've been prone to those since I was in college. They are awful and dibilitating. Makes the rest of your head pound, too, right? The only thing that helps is a chiropractor. You'll be feeling better as you walk out of the office. If you go to a regular dr., you'll get more medication, stretching ideas and possibly some sort of "therapy" which in my case never worked and took many more days for the tight neck to subside.
Get a recommendation from someone who really likes their chiropractor, like I do. Mine practices downtown MPLS. Email me if you'd like his name.
Good luck.

I get headaches (for many different reasons) and I start with advil. If that doesn't work I stretch every muscle in my body possible for around 20 minutes. I really focus on stretching out my backside from the calves all the way up to the neck. If that doesn't work I head to the chiropractor. I know some people don't like chiro's and I have met some I don't like either:) But I had a headache one time that just would not go away and I finally went to the doctor and he didn't know what to do either. He gave me a prescricption for percocet (sp), but then added that he doesn't normally recommend chiro's but thought that in my case I should give it a try and gave me the name of one he trusted. I went that day and the headache was gone!! I never filled my prescription. I use the chiropractor regularly now. I have to agree with the other poster that you may be sore for an hour, but that is all it should be.

I also get them from hormones or what I like to call my "period headaches" and nothing touching those!!! I also get headaches from my allergies and those I can usually get rid of by staying indoors in an aircondition house for a few hours.

I only get migraines once in a great while and you KNOW when you have one of those :) For me, mine are always only on one side of my head, affect my vision and I cannot function when I have one. I also get migraines without the pain that just disturb my vision. I hear a lot of people throw around the word migraine thinking it means a really bad headache...........not so much!

I have suffered from headaches as long back as I can remember so I can usually tell what "kind" of headache it is and what I need to do to get rid of it. Yours sounds like a muscle related one and I would start with some serious stretching.

I hope you feel better soon!!

Get a massage and/or see a Chiropractor. Also, go swimming and do the crawl stroke. (This was "prescribed" to me by a Doctor once, and it worked wonders.)

Sounds like a migraine to me. I get them maybe twice a month. Since they are so irregular I haven't even tried medication, but what I do at home is try to get more sleep, and drink a lot more water. That never cures the headache but it seems to me like it does lessen the intensity--or raise my tolerance for it since I am taking care of my body by sleeping and staying hydrated. Headaches in general can be caused by dehydration [or stress, or hormonal changes, or low iron, etc, or rarely something more serious]. If it is a migraine, they usually do last a few days. It will go away eventually. Sucks that you have to deal with it in the meantime though

I would try to ice the area and try to massage a little. If you have a massage head on your shower, that may help, too. Good luck!

Go to a chiropractor. Their first visit is usually free. They can give you immediate relief.

Tell the dr you can't wait it hurts too bad & get things checked out sooner. If it is a migraine they can give you a shot of Nubaine to get rid of it. It will probably knock you out but works like magic. I've had to get a shot 2 times for them and they do get rid of them. Good luck!

Usually when I get a headache around the neck area it is either because I am dehydrated, stressed or I pulled a muscle in my back or neck. Everyone gets headaches in different areas for different reasons so it is really hard to say what to do it to "fix" it even then the solution will vary from person to person. Try some stretches, drink water, advil (or similar) may take the edge off but not get rid of it, calm breathing exercises, and relaxing (try to make the time to just lay down, that might help).

Migraines usually affect something else besides a pounding in the head (no matter how bad that pounding is, it usually is just a headache if there are no other symptoms)... for me I get extremely sensitive to light, to the point where I can only sit/lay down in a very dark room, as well as becoming nauseas. The are other symptoms and you usually do not get all of them (some do).

I used to have headaches in that same area. Mine were due to my lymph nodes there being swollen. It turns out my tonsils were having issues and I got to have them out at 32 years of age. Not fun but I haven't had a problem since!
Applying heat to the area used to help me. A hot shower especially. Hope this helps!
J.

The first place I would go and go now to help you is the chiropractor. Wow, I can't say how many times that has helped me and my kids, with almost immediate results...Good luck, D.

What you are experiencing is a cervicogenic headache. It is a headache that is stemmed from the neck (you could have slept wrong, turned your head wrong, and even just stress in general can cause it).

What is going on is your neck is out of alignment and causing irritation to the nerves. This often radiates up over your head or down your neck, causing a horrible headache. The chiropractor is the only one that is trained in how to fix the actual cause of the pain. By going to the doctor for medications or taking over the counter meds you are just masking the symptoms, but the misalignment is still there. So go to the chiropractor and fix the problem, not hide it!

2 thoughts actually. You might want to get a friend referral to a good chiropractor. It makes a world of difference. It sounds like you might have pressure on your "axis" or "atlas" 2 areas of my neck that are almost unbearable pain. But it's instant relief. The other idea owuld be allergies. try looking into that. i get relief with allegra - after trying multiple things. it took years to find it. i was even told i might have a brain tumor because of the horrible pain - go figure it was mostly allergies. Goodluck & God bless!

I go see my chiropractor.

The last horrible long-lasting headache I had went away when I got my new prescription glasses.

I usually take Tylonol for headaches, but when that doesn't work, I switch to Advil, which is an anti-inflamatory, and works differently than Tylonol.

If neither of those helps, I usually either try Sudafed or a nasal passage strip (Breathe Right), since sinus problems can cause weird headaches too.

Excedrine Migraine over-the-counter medication is the only migraine medication that works for my migraines. When I get those types of headaches, I try drinking some caffeinated pop and take two Tylonol. But if that doesn't do it, the Excedrine is next.

Dehydration can give you bad headaches and make existing headaches worse too, so increase your water/ clear liquid intake.

I've battled many types of headaches since adolencence, and really what has stopped me from having them now is regular visits to the chiropractor.

I hope you feel better soon.

I have had a headache very much like that that lasted that long. I think it was a combination of stress and having kinked my neck wrong. It did eventually go away, but if you can get in to see the chiropractor or massage therapist it may help...
good luck!
A.

I get those type of headaches all the time. They are almost border line migraine. I find when I'm stressed I get them. I used to take my migraine medicine, but then I'm out of commission for a few hours, literally! I don't have time for that. Now I can't remember what they are exactly called so I will describe what I am talking about. They are tube-like socks with rice inside that can be heated in the micro for a few minutes. I put that around my neck for 30 minutes and it seems to really take the edge off the headache. I also take aleve and drink lots & lots of water.

Good Luck!

I have experienced horrible headaches since childhood and it wasn't until about a year ago I started seeing a chiropractor. I can count on one hand how many headaches i have had since I started seeing her. It has been life changing. I understand how hard it is to take care of kiddos (I have three) when you are not feeling yourself (especially because of a head ache). Medicines didn't help me that is what made me decide to see a chiropractor. Good Luck! I hope you can find some relief.

Sounds like a tension headache... my doc prescribed me muscle relaxers for this... Nothing else seemed to work for me. When i first started getting them Excedrin Tension Headache worked really well. So i would make an appt with your doc, and run to target and pick up some Tension Headache meds.
Good luck! I really feel your pain... they are friggin horrible! (my doc said they can be waaaay worse than migraines... i can vouch for that!)

I sometimes get headaches behind my ears at the top of my neck. They are almost always related somehow to sinuses! even if I don't have any other symptoms, I can take a decongestant, like Sudafed, and it goes away. Hope this helps.

You might try a Chiropractor. That's sounds like the same trouble I have had for the last 15 years. I go to the Chiro when I feel that nagging pain and it gets better by the next day.