Help Tension headaches!

[wickedtiger86]

Is anyone else here cursed with these things?

I get them A LOT and it's to the point that I have to take three Excedrin at once just to feel little better. Can't afford the prescription pain killers. Ugh.

So has anyone heard of or tried ways of curbing them or things that help ease the pain without using medication? Or maybe some herbal remedies?


I don't like having to take the meds as much as I do. I've tried hot and cold and those work about 30% of the time.

I do yoga when they aren't too bad and that actually helps. But like right now, I'm probably going to get off of here, and go slap some ice on my face and put on some shades. I have no energy or motivation to do yoga at the moment. . .

Anyway. If anyone thinks of anything, thanks in advance!

 

[Kean]

I've suffered with migraine and tension headaches for years. I don't like taking pain killers at all, so unless it is absolutely unbearable, I just suffer through it.

A few things that I find that help are:

- Taking a shower

- Having a cup of tea

- Change of scenery. I often find that if I stay in the room I developed the headache in, it never leaves, so I just go somewhere else in the house.

- Going outside, preferably somewhere quiet, like to a lake or forest or beach.

 

[Gum Gnome33]

I don't get tension headaches, specifically, but I do get migraine headaches that come with that spiffy flashing light aura that blocks your field of vision until it goes away. I also get bad vertigo spells from time to time. I know these are different from what you get, but I think they might all be related.
For me, without question, I am about 10 times more likely to get either one of these when I haven't been sleeping well. I mean, they're so directly correlated to the number of quality hours I get.

Another thing that helps is drinking a LOT of water, and limiting the caffeine and alcohol, (both dehydrate you and probably make headaches worse), or trying to drink one glass of water per every glass of alcohol.

[MENTION=7585]Kean[/MENTION]'s suggestions look great too!

Also, not to freak you out or anything, but just make sure to mention these to a (good) doctor--if you haven't already. More likely than not you are perfectly fine but it's always a good idea for these recurring things to be evaluated, or at least discussed.

And breathe!! 😀

 

[kittenpoker]

I would recommend massage. (and I'm not just saying that cause that's what I do). Tension headaches are often caused by muscular tension in the neck. Massage can really help. I helped relieve someone's headache just today. Good luck. Headaches suck.

 

[Kean]

I would recommend massage. (and I'm not just saying that cause that's what I do). Tension headaches are often caused by muscular tension in the neck. Massage can really help. I helped relieve someone's headache just today. Good luck. Headaches suck.

Very true. I know at least half of my tension headaches are caused because I carry so much tension across my shoulders and my neck. 🙂

 

[Chosen Enemy]

Sometimes. But today I had headache because of the sun. I went out of my house for a little something, forgot to take my dear sunglasses with me, couldn't open my eyes, and got a serious headache within a minute.

 

[VisionGirl]

Lifelong migraine sufferer here. Excedrin + Imitrex at the same time often knocks it out. If not, then I take 4 Ibuprofen. Very occasionally I take a narcotic pain killer. That's only very, very last resort. Along with those, a dark, quiet, cool room + cool compresses + sleep.

Oh, I've just started looking into hypnosis for my migraines. I found some hypnosis tracks to listen to on my iPod, so I may start listening every night.

 

[brinkster130]

I get really bad tension headaches as well as migraines and unfortunately, like you, I get them very frequently. My best advise, try and find out what triggers these headaches; then make changes to your lifestyle (if possible) to try and make them less frequent.

Outside of prescription drugs, I take Excedrin; but I've noticed they just aren't working anymore. I'm guessing its because my body has built up a tolerance to them.

Some other things I do to try and keep the headaches in control are, making sure I get enough sleep, drinking enough water, staying away from caffeine, walking (sometimes when I feel a headache coming on I can ward it off I do a little physical activity), stretching my arms, back and neck and relaxing. The heat often triggers headaches for me, so I have to be careful how long I am in the sun.

I've heard aromatherapy works well for some people but I've never tried it. You may want to give that a shot.

Also, I know caffeine is often a quick fix, but I would stay away from it if possible. I almost always get a rebound headache if I use caffeine as a remedy.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I have migraines and tension headaches that are so bad that I have to take medicine daily now to ward them off. 🙁 I have tried just about everything... I actually bought a kit off Etsy.com that is an all-natural migraine relief kit that has helped me tremendously, though, and I highly recommend it to everyone who suffers from headaches:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/6265469...ine&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

 

[wickedtiger86]

Another thing that helps is drinking a LOT of water, and limiting the caffeine and alcohol, (both dehydrate you and probably make headaches worse), or trying to drink one glass of water per every glass of alcohol.

[MENTION=7585]Kean[/MENTION]'s suggestions look great too!

Also, not to freak you out or anything, but just make sure to mention these to a (good) doctor--if you haven't already. More likely than not you are perfectly fine but it's always a good idea for these recurring things to be evaluated, or at least discussed.

And breathe!! 😀

I'm defiantly going to try drinking more water. It's better for me anyway and maybe this is the motivation that I need to start drinking it more.

I have gone to a doctor and my spine is messed up in my neck so my neck and shoulder muscles get tight from trying to pull my spine back into proper alignment. At this point there isn't much to be done, like there is no surgery for it.

That's why yoga helps when I can get myself to do it, since that puts my spine into alignment again.

So nope. Nothing too serious. 😀 Just a big . . . well . . . pain in the neck.