# Headaches/Migraines/Cluster or Tension, Looking for comparison/information



## NotSoRighteousRob (Jan 1, 2010)

For any headache sufferers out there I was curious to know what methods you may have developed to cope with these troublesome annoyances. Whether you believe you suffer from a specific type of headache, what your triggers may be, as well as frequency/duration/intensity. What types of treatments and/or doctors you have seen and whether you find them to be debilitating.

Other information such as age they started, current age, any lapses or periods of normalcy without headaches and believed underlying causes of current conditions or related conditions.


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## DarkyNWO (Mar 21, 2011)

I actually never get headaches unless they are self-induced. I did before when I was younger but once I started working out and getting much better nutrition, they have subsided. No idea if they two are connected, but they might be. Perhaps worth to give it a try.


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## Erbse (Oct 15, 2010)

There's 3 things that do, but not necessarily cause me a headache:

1. Bright light, mostly however sunlight rather than artificial light.
2. A loud noise, can be random as hell. (Loud truck passing by, pan falling on the floor. It's typically high pitch noises) From there on my whole perception shifts and my ears become overly sensitive to sound.
3. Orgasms. No idea why though, my head just starts pounding and won't stop. (Never happened while having sex yet, only masturbation)

Since it's nothing chronic and not a necessity I typically only pop half a paracetamol and my overall mood will become less foul. Otherwise I just need some sleep. Sleep is my absolute reset button. They don't ever seem to sort themselves out, either. It's either painkillers, sleep, or being in pain all day long.

It began in my teens, I'd say around 16ish or so. Didn't have glasses at that time, although I've only been in dire need by the time I turned 19, so my eye sight hasn't played a particular role just then, although it may have without me realizing.


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## reletative (Dec 17, 2010)

drink 3 liters of water per day.
cut refined sugars to a once or twice a week.

that pretty much eliminated my migraines


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## 3053 (Oct 14, 2009)

About a year or two I go I went through the worst headaches in the world. I was convinced I had a brain tumor because at the same time I discovered I had tinnitus too. Went for the MRI, and I was all clear. 

Apparently the cause was some trapped anxiety. I saw a psychotherapist for some time but it was useless. I still to this day have no idea what the cause it. I still suffer from the headaches but no where near as bad/often as it used to be.

Here's some little tips:

**Fresh air* - make sure you get out of the house daily. Go for walks etc,,

**Minimize time spent on the computer* - this was the biggest help for me, personally. The brightness from the screen not only strains the fuck out of your eyes, it gives you that bang bang headache too. Same goes for the tele, not as intense though. If you must be on the computer turn down the brightness all the way down.

**Sleep pattern* - I have insomnia so I could never perfect this time, but I'm very sure it would be a great help. Try to get up and go to bed at about the same time every day. Staying up all night and sleeping for a few hours during the day will destroy you over time. Make sure you get about eight hours a night or so, obvious obvious

**Diet* - Don't eat shite basically. 5 a day and all that, and drink plenty of water. Even replace your soft drinks with water.

**Keep in contact with other humans* - Have a nice social life. See your friends. It's good for the psyche, which in turn will diminish these headaches.


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

I had my first "ophthalmic" migraine about 16 years ago and have had them on a fairly regular basis ever since.

I was a teacher when the first one happened (I was about 25, and am 41 now). It scared the hell out of me. I was in the classroom and suddenly my vision became impaired. It was like when someone takes your picture with a flash camera - there were squiggly lines going across my visual field. It lasted about an hour, and then I had the worst headache of my life. I thought I had a brain tumor, so I left work and went to see my doctor. He said what I'd experienced is called "visual auras" and that it sounded like I had a classic migraine. He sent me to an eye doctor, who in turn sent me to a neurologist (Dr Richard Restak, who has written many books on neurology and brain games, etc). Dr Restak did tests (MRI and EEG). He diagnosed me with migraines and prescribed a beta-blocker to prevent them and hydrocet for the pain. I opted out of taking the beta-blocker after reading about the side effects.

I believe that the pain medicine caused me to have rebound headaches, so I stopped using it. Now I just use Aleve or whatever.

Bright lights - especially flashing lights - are triggers for me. An example: a few weeks ago, I was in a room with a ceiling fan/light. When I looked in the mirror in the room, the lights gave off a flickering effect. The visual auras started immediately and I had to wait about 30 minutes to drive home because my vision was so impaired.

Here is some info on the auras:
People with ocular migraines can have a variety of visual symptoms. Typically you will see a small, enlarging blind spot (scotoma) in your central vision with bright, flickering lights (scintillations) or a shimmering zig-zag line (metamorphopsia) inside the blind spot. The blind spot usually enlarges and may move across your field of vision. This entire migraine phenomenon may end in only a few minutes, but usually lasts as long as about 20-30 minutes.

Here is what the auras look like:







(if you can't see the animation, click on this link and scroll down for the GIF: Ocular Migraines Explained - AllAboutVision.com

Sometimes I get the headache after the auras, sometimes I don't. 

It sucks...especially when they come on so fast and out of nowhere. There really isn't a way for me to avoid them, aside from not looking directly at bright lights.


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## NotSoRighteousRob (Jan 1, 2010)

NeonBomb said:


> **Keep in contact with other humans* - Have a nice social life. See your friends. It's good for the psyche, which in turn will diminish these headaches.



Humans often seem to trigger my headaches 
kidding.. sort of..

my headaches will likely eventually lead to me taking my frustration out on something/someone else. but not any time soon I'm sure 

I' ve tried the diet/sleep/exercise paths nothing substantial. I think mine being linked to a neck injury at the age of 6 makes the typical strategies fail. @Snakecharmer , I agree about rebound headaches, they are inevitable when using any type of pain reliever prescription or otherwise


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## Zster (Mar 7, 2011)

I started with classic migranes around age 5. My mom had them and now my young son does. As I aged, the frequency increased to daily. Lately, NO painkillers would relieve them and the pain was running almost 24/7. I have started a preventative (Topomax) which works at half the expected does, but is absolutely KILLING me with GI side effects such that I cannot continue. I am to start on Amitryptiline next, which will likely work as it already does for my son.

FWIW - we already eat very healthy, work out, avoid alcohol, caffeine, etc... I do not think anyone can blame this on poor choices, just genetics.


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## lyricalnuisance (May 6, 2011)

Cold. I will sit in front of a fan, use an ice pack, or go into the cooler of my work


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## sprinkles (Feb 7, 2010)

I some times get ones that are like having spikes going through one spot in my head, feel like I want to throw up and can hardly move or think. 

It's probably because my left eye is bad. I tend to get the aura and blind spots in that eye first. It's also about twice as sensitive to light, and adjusts at like half the speed of my other eye. You know how when you first wake up, lights are too bright and it's hard to open your eyes? My right eye adjusts normally but my left eye doesn't... and it's painful unless I go around with my left eye closed until I get used to it and can open it. Kind of looks funny.... but oh well.

Anyway, for me, covering my left eye for a while and resting often lessens the headache immediately, if not completely make it go away.


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## MissJordan (Dec 21, 2010)

Women do actually have significantly stronger headaches than men.


Fun fact.


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## NotSoRighteousRob (Jan 1, 2010)

sprinkles said:


> I some times get ones that are like having spikes going through one spot in my head, feel like I want to throw up and can hardly move or think.
> 
> It's probably because my left eye is bad. I tend to get the aura and blind spots in that eye first. It's also about twice as sensitive to light, and adjusts at like half the speed of my other eye. You know how when you first wake up, lights are too bright and it's hard to open your eyes? My right eye adjusts normally but my left eye doesn't... and it's painful unless I go around with my left eye closed until I get used to it and can open it. Kind of looks funny.... but oh well.
> 
> Anyway, for me, covering my left eye for a while and resting often lessens the headache immediately, if not completely make it go away.


these sound a lot like cluster headaches, supposedly they strike at random but are supposed to be the most intense of the other types. Although I've had some that last as little as 5 minutes I find that my fine motor controls as well as speech will be slightly impaired for many hours after. I relate it to the intensity, because I usually feel like I've been slamming shots once the pain is gone.

It's hard to say, lots of different opinions in the professional community. Usually pressure in the eye is a symptom but if you have eye problems it may be unrelated. The term cluster is because of how the headaches manifest, usually in one central area in the brain and radiate outwards. Also they tend to come and go in clusters either on a daily schedule or months on then months off. Not much can be done about them.

@MissJordan ,
Do you mean that woman have more frequent or are more likely to have headaches? Pain can not actually be measured and is all a perspective experience. There are many experts who believe that mens/womans sensitivity to pain may differ but that would only be a percentages type ratio. It still varies widely from person to person. Elliot krane who is much better at explaining how wrong a persons body can interpret signals including those of pain discusses such a thing in the video below.

TED Blog | The mystery of pain as a disease: Elliot Krane on TED.com


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