I very, very rarely get headaches. I rarely know where the Advil even is. When I do get a headache, it’s a migraine, complete with flashing lights warning me what’s on the way.
Monday night, during dinner, I didn’t get the lights. Instead, my scalp suddenly felt as though it were being drawn backward into a tight topknot. “I think I’m getting a migraine,” I told Darin, and I quickly put all the dishes in the dishwasher before running upstairs to the bedroom. Darin got the kids ready for bed while I tried to get the room as dark as I could (including closing the bathroom door, because the night light was too bright). I slept 9 hours.
It’s Wednesday afternoon and I still have this headache. I’ve taken more Advil in the past two days than I have in the past year. I can’t stay in a darkened room, though: I have to do things like drive kidlets to the Kindergarten fieldtrip at the pumpkin patch. (Field trips. Permission notes. Good thing I went to get that master’s, huh?)
I don’t think I’m dying of anything or have a brain tumor. (For one thing: no nerve endings in the brain.) I’m not stressed out about anything. My diet has changed little. I did start lifting weights again last week, but I am religious about breathing out on the exertion phase of the exercise (because if you hold your breath or inhale, you’re just asking for problems). I don’t know where this headache is coming from, but I sure as hell wish it would go away.
If you haven’t tried Excedrin Migraine, you may want to — it works surpisingly better than Advil. I promise. I could eat Advil like candy and not make a dent, but the Ex. Mig. worked wonders. They even knock down my cluster headaches to a non-suidicidal level. (Great, I’m an expert in headaches. yippee.)
Anyway, I hope you feel better soon — I totally empathize.
Imitrex – requires a prescription, but the pain is completely neutralized.
The migraine strength meds work well for severe normal headaches, but only the mildest migraines (without the sensory hypersensitivity to sight, sound and feel) for me.
Diane: A true migraine can often be knocked down to bearable levels with the combination of
A small amount of caffeine – say one cup of coffeeSome aspirin or tylenolif you have access to it, 1/2 to 1 tablet of codeine or vicodin
The caffeine is the most important part of this because it’s a vasodilator; it relaxes constricted blood vessels in the brain which are one cause of migraines. Excedrin works so well because it contains quite a bit of caffeine, but a cup of coffee and aspirin/tylenol will do the same.
I get migraines maybe once every couple years, with no apparent relation to the amount of stress I’m under.
“Taking Advil for a migraine is like pissing in the ocean.” A doctor actually said that to me. I adore Advil for all the thousands of times it has made my cramps disappear, but it can’t do anything for my migraines. I got a prescription that does the trick, but if you only want over-the-counter stuff, Excedrin is better. Good luck!
Advil is for muscle aches. It mainly works on muscles and inflamitory problems in your body.
Try asprin products for migraine headaches. Extra strength Excedrin should do the trick. If not go to your doctor.
Perhaps you should just rest for one day and not do anything. Your life seems to be frantic at times. Perhaps from the running around taking your children to school.
I think you should go see a doctor.
My hubby is allergic to M.S.G and will get a migraine almost 24 hours to the minute after he eats something with M.S.G. in it. He also he swears by the Excedrin migraine although if he takes it he will have another migraine with in 24 hours of the Excedrin dose if he doesn’t wean off the caffeine with a daily caffeinated soda for a few days.