For those who experience chronic migraine, what has your journey been like?
Share your experiences below. Your story may help others feel less alone.
Ok I'm new to the chronic headache community and I need some advice. Not quite about migraines but I figured it's similar. I've been diagnosed with cervicogenic headaches by my chiropractor. Basically, I've had neck/back pain since 2020 and have been going to a chiropractor since 2022. I've had horrible forward head posture as long as I can remember. But around May of this year I started having horrible headaches 24/7. It lasted like 6 weeks straight before I had any relief, which was from being adjusted(I go twice a week now) I've also started going to physical therapy to help with my posture (weekly).
It's helped a lot but I still get headaches like 50% of the days. I know it's a big improvement but basically I'm wondering if it'll ever go away completely. Or if it's normal for it to take some time. The pain is mostly on the top of my head, but sometimes my temples and the base of my skull. Im even having TMJ issues which I never had before. My chiropractor thinks it stems from the neck tension. My upper traps and neck are horribly tight and full of knots.
I can't seem to figure out what triggers a bad day vs a good day though. I know sleeping poorly aggravates it but sometimes I don't know my posture while I sleep. I've tried:
-Chiropractic adjustment (helps sometimes)
-Stretching in the morning and before bed (helps a bit)
-PT (not sure if it works but the massages feel good)
-Cervical neck pillow and sleeping on my back (not sure if it works)
-Tiger balm (helps momentarily)
-Icing my neck (helps momentarily)
-NSAIDS (do not work)
-Muscle relaxer (did not work only make me drowsy)
-I plan on trying laser therapy for the knots and tightness
Basically any advice from those with the same co ditto. would be helpful. Maybe additional treatment options that your doctor recommended and worked for you or reassurance that it takes time and I just need patience 😭
MRI scan is fine, bloods are fine, optometrist fine, tried chiro, Physio, massage, acupuncture. What next ? Don’t want to run with anti depressants.
Anyone experience intermittent zapping/pressure that feels different from their normal migraines?
I have chronic migraines and am under the care of neurology, but lately I’ve been experiencing something that feels very different from my usual migraines and I’m curious whether anyone here has experienced something similar.
It’s primarily on my right side and comes and goes. I get a strange zapping/shooting sensation and pressure around my right temple and at the base of my skull/upper neck. Sometimes the temple sensation seems completely random. It can disappear and then come back later rather than behaving like one continuous migraine attack.
I’ve already discussed my headaches with my doctors/neurology and have had imaging. I’ve also tried Botox, a nerve block, Toradol, heat, massage, neck exercises/stretches, Tylenol and ibuprofen. Tylenol and ibuprofen actually help quite a bit, but eventually the sensation comes back.
I also cannot take triptans, which limits some of my migraine treatment options.
One of the hardest parts is that I have health anxiety, so whenever the temple/base-of-skull sensation returns, my brain immediately goes to scary things like an aneurysm or brain bleed. It’s exhausting having that fear every time it happens.
This isn’t a sudden thunderclap or “worst headache of my life.” It’s an intermittent/recurrent sensation that has been happening over time and just feels very different from the migraines I’m familiar with.
For those who have chronic migraines, have you ever developed a completely different type of head pain like this? What was your experience with it, and did you eventually find something that helped?
Just looking to hear other people’s experiences while I continue working with my doctors — not looking for anyone to diagnose me.
Hello everyone usually I don't use reddit that much but I came here for finding some solution or relatable situation if someone had......
so basically I have headaches(I have throbbing pain of intensity 2.5/10 in temples area mostly) from past 3 years and it's not normal headache it remains throughout the day like when my eyes are open I have headache
I started around April 2023 like out of no where I got headache, when I was in 2nd sem of my B.tech and till now I have this, i have tried allopathy for 2.5 years, did mri, eye scan, fixed sleep,left food for 18 days , ent test, so many experiments with food like left dairy products, rice, boiled food and many more but I'm not able to find my root cause or triggering point of it.
I have also tried ayurveda, homeopathy but no results.
Now a days I'm following siddha philosophy medicines in chennai ,tamil nadu ,india.
So please help me to find out my triggering point or give me some new prospectives to look upon this.
Is anyone experiencing headaches and upset stomach after quitting beer? Had two weeks off now and it feels like a hangover.....
Often both eyes and head hurt. I keep taking 2-4 Advil pills on those days, but worry about my kidneys.
most of the times it happens after using computer for hours. But I work on the computer. also possibility some cologne smell gets thru the air ducts thru the building and gets to me. I have cologne allergy.
My constant pressure headache and pressure/pain on my eyes for years finally let my doctors to have an MRI done half a year ago. They found a tumor in the fourth ventricle.
3 months ago I had my surgery. It was a pilocytic astrocytoma. And luckily did not grow in the 3 months between when it was first found and the time of the surgery.
Sadly it was not a gross resection. I guess around 30% is still left, mostly around the edges, maybe they did not want to take a risk damaging the brain stem or cerebellum. Luckily the csf is flowing again and my ventricles are starting to get smaller!
However, I still have my 24/7 headache and pressure/pain on the eyes. I am also still very dizzy after this surgery, luckily the dizziness is getting less.
Anyone else with these headaches? I have been prescribed amitriptiline 10mg/day to combat the headaches. Its been 3 weeks now, but its not working yet.
hi everyone,im a 19 year old female and on wednesday night i started having a headache around 4pm,the light headache started but within a few hours it got really bad,around 7:30 i vomittted and my head was pounding really badly.the back of my right eye felt as if it were going to explode and the top centre of my head was hurting really bad.I coudnt tolerate light at all.
after i vomitted,i couldnt stand up by myself,i was supported out of the bathroom and my legs and arms started shaking badly.My eyes were closing and heart beat was really fast,I couldnt breathe properly.
i was rushed into the emergency and taken in immeditately becuase my body was shaking so bad they thought i was having a seizure,
i was put on the bed and my body was shaking so badly that the bed was shaking and they gave me 2 neurofens and said my blood presuure was really low but my heartbeat was really fast around 160.
arounf 8-9 hours later,i was discharged from the Emergency as they said i may have had a migrane,i spent thruday at home and taking panadol every 4 hours and now today is friday and my head is hurting again,can someone pls help me out,why is this happening to me and whether i should go back to the emergency?or why is my body doing this
Hi everyone. I’ve been having these kinda very mild pressure headaches for about 3-4 months now. Got an MRI and bloodwork and nothing came up so I know it’s nothing major but they are so frustrating and I just wanna get rid of them. Tylenol helps, but obviously don’t wanna take it every day. I thought the first day I’d taken Sudafed it seemed like it went away completely but the other 2 days they were there and it was there after taking it. I’ve been taking Allegra and Flonase pretty much the whole time cause Dr said my sinus was stuffed up and MRI showed mucosal thickening. If you have any advice please send! Thanks!
I have had a migraine for seven days. I saw a neurologist and was prescribed rizatriptan. So far, I have taken four tablets, but it hasn’t helped. Should I continue taking it?pain killers like ibuprofen, naproxen, paracetamol, doesnt help! I have my best friends wedding tommorow, please fast advice! I am a nurse, so I can try iv meds also, if someone has any advice in iv meds that help!
I've been moving a lot which has made it hard to get consistent care but not a single doctor has had a good answer for me. Any help with what could help would be deeply appreciated. Context: I'm a 20s female, work out a few times a week, work a desk job, eat decent, and have no other major health problems other than this. I have bad eyesight and dry eyes but no vision problems with contacts/glasses, and I grind my teeth occasionally but don't have any jaw issues.
Constant Symptoms (Daily):
Worse Symptoms (Weekly at some point):
Worst Symptoms (Monthly/Rare):
Triggers:
Do daily:
Tried:
I've mainly gone to ENTs but they have nothing new for me. I've lived in many cities with different climates so it doesn't have to do with location either. Some people have suggested migraines but these are constant symptoms that never come in waves/auras, it's a baseline level of livable and ignorable and at its worst, I can't do anything but lay in bed and maybe scroll. Any ideas on what this could be?
My teen daughter has had daily headaches/migraines for 8 months. She developed neurological symptoms along with these headaches, including tremors and recently, euphoric episodes with involuntary laughing (no more tremors). She has continued low to mid back pain. All testing has come back negative, including MRI’s and EEGs. All prescribed medication has not helped in alleviating daily headaches. She experiences lightheadedness, daily nausea, fatigue, some dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound. She becomes overstimulated. She is now wearing prism lenses that have helped slightly. Headaches are somewhat relieved when lying down. Pressure in different areas of head. Zaps at times. Feels pain in neck and upper back. Heart rate rises when getting up from lying down. Does anyone have similar symptoms? Experiences with these? I’m wondering if this fits CSF spinal leak given what she is feeling.
Hi, everyone!
Hope you're all doing well!
(Sorry for my broken english, it's not my first language)
I wanted to share my story, since I've been feeling pretty down lately.
I'm 22F, I've had chronic daily headaches for more than 10 years now. I don't even remember what it feels like to have just a minute headaches free, I have 24/7 headaches. I wake up with it and I go to sleep with it. When I was young, I complained of headaches but my family thought I was doing it for attention so they never bothered with it. When I was old enough to go to the doctor alone, I went to see my family doctor to try and see if there's anything we can do but he blatantly said I only need to drink more water and go outside more. I was very healthy as a child, I ate full meals, drank a lot of water, went outside everyday, slept correctly, no screen time and I still had headaches. It's like a vicious cycle, you forget one thing and it gets worse and you can't come back from that. I started developing anxiety because of the headaches then it went downhill. I slept 10 hours a day and still fell asleep in class, advil or tylenol would never work nor ease the headaches, no matter how healthy I was I still had those headaches. I'm honestly living in survival mode everyday and I forget a lot of things.
I've had these for years but sometimes it's still hard to tell which type of headaches it is because sometimes it would feel like a simple tension headache but I would have nausea and photophobia. Other times it would be a simple pulsating pain but with no other symptoms. It feels like they are kinda overlapping, it's weird. Swinging on the swing is a no since it worsens headaches, reading and screens are a no too. Sometimes even having my glasses near my face is too much. I spend most of my times sleeping since every activity is too hard to do. When I do get out with friends, it has to be a good day and I'd have to recuperate for the next 2-3 days minimum. My head is very tender and I can't lay it on a hard surface, like on a wall or the floor because it would hurt top much. Sometimes even my pillow would be too hurtful.
I went to the ER a few times to get something to work but I get denied every time since I have a family doctor but he doesn't want to try anything.
I really had to push to get just the tiniest thing.
I had migraines every time I was on my period and I had a short cycle so I asked for a contraception pill (indayo). I then had less migraine but headaches were still constant
After being denied a few times and finishing school, I developed depression because I couldn't take it anymore. Nobody takes you seriously, everyone thinks you're lying and living with this constant pain is truly a challenge.
I went on antidepressants for like a year but stopped because of the suicidal thoughts it gave me
I worked a few jobs after but I'd always leave after a few months cause the headaches would get too hard to live with.
I went back to see the family doctor and he gave me amitriptyline. I tried it for a few years, no changes. I went up to 30 mg but I never felt anything different.
Some days the only relief I can find is scratching my forehead till it bleeds but then I look crazy when I go out after that so I can't really do that everyday let's say.
Now I have a three year job, I love this job but it's becoming harder and harder. I have to do naps at my lunch break or else I fall asleep during my working hours. My boss adapted my situation a bit because it's a physical job and with migraines, I had to leave from work a lot.
Driving is hard and sometimes I would even almost fall asleep on the wheel.
My family doctor retired in december 2025 after prescribing me a new contraception pill (sylene) and leaving without a follow up cause he was sure it would work. It left me with bigger headaches and it was unbearable so I stopped them. I asked to go back to the one I had before but I had to schedule an appointment with a random doctor for that. When I went to that appointment I explained the situation to her and she told me she can't prescribe it to me since of my headaches situation and scheduled me for another appointment with another doctor but she asked me to try and get another appointment for a real follow up for my headaches. So I tried and called and I explained the situation again. They told me to take more OTC, which I told them never worked since I had these headaches but they really insisted on that, then they told me it was urgent and that they would try to get an appointment in the next 2 weeks. Called me back to say there's no space and they can't do anything for me right now. Now I either go to the ER again or call again in 2 weeks to try and get a real appointment.
Headaches are never taken seriously, but I genuinely don't think I can work for much longer and I don't want to quit this job. I'm getting kinda desperate here. I feel so alone in this if anyone wanna share what worked for them, even if it's temporary relief. 🫂
Have a nice day everyone!
Finally got a referral after several years. I’ve exhausted local resources, we don’t have a headache specialist here. Even been told such a thing doesn’t exist. Like they’re unicorns.
Not looking to bash providers at all. I’ve found that to be subjective many times.
Questions:
Has anyone been seen there?
If so, did you feel like your concerns were taken seriously?
Did they offer treatment options you hadn’t heard of previously?
Thanks!
Howdy! I've been having chronic headaches for about 2-3 months on the left side of my head about 90% of the time the other 10% it's both sides of my head and it kind of wraps around my head I feel it most on my left temple and the back of my neck I also feel constant fatigue, even when I get great sleep I also recently started getting anxiety (last September) which is very much not like me I'm an extreme extravert
I've also tried all the "fixes" vitamins, chiropractor, multiple doctors, monitor sleep patterns, quit nicotine, stretch, work out, eat healthy....
Non of it has worked it's maybe helped a little but it hasn't fixed my issue and the doctors have been 0 help they say that I look extremely healthy and that I should just monitor the headaches and if I'm in pain just take some pain meds.... absolutely ridiculous.... I'm desperate for help and I'm only 22 years old I should not be feeling this way please help!
Right at the base of skull with neck muscle spasms. CT scans show nothing. Muscle relaxers provide brief help but this has been non-stop for a week. I've been to the ER twice. Seeing my PCP in 2 days. Any thoughts?
I feel so stupid for asking but I’ve seen people on tiktok find their diagnosis from Reddit - so I figured I’d try as doctors have been no help.
Since I was a child, I’ve had headaches everyday. I cant remember one day I haven’t had one. 6/10 times, they’re what I call regular headaches. Your basic pain, just strong enough that Tylenol doesn’t touch it. Usually goes away within a few hours and then I’m met with another a couple hours later. In these headaches, my pain is either near both ears, or full head pain. Not located in too many specific spots.
Now 4/10 times, I have these headaches that will wake me out of my sleep. Crying of course makes it worse but the pain is so bad I can’t help it. The back of my head, close to my neck, and behind my ears will hurt so bad it feels like my head is going to burst. Gravity makes these worse. Leaning over, bending over, or talking too much makes the pain so unbearable I have to close my eyes and stay still to keep from moving and making it worse. I notice that during these, my pupils shrink very small. Almost pin point size of a pen bead. But there’s not much strain in my eyes like I would have if it was a migraine, and light doesn’t seem to make them worse.
Often with my headaches, I get nauseous. But I never throw up. But it makes me so nauseous I can’t eat. I eat like a bird, very small amounts in large amounts of time. Yet I keep gaining weight. Im bloated all the time, and one cracker will make me look 4-5 months pregnant. I cant lose it no matter how much I work out. I try to eat more protein when I can eat, that way im not only preserving junk.
I’ve been tested for Hashimoto’s. My thyroid is fine, all my blood work ALWAYS comes back normal. I’ve had a head and neck CT done that supposedly showed no issues (this was after a wreck I had, but I’ve had these issues since a child).
I stay away from drugs, drink rarely, and have a history of BP drop and fainting. On a couple of occasions, I had sezuires, but doctors don’t believe me. These were witnessed.
This all could be unrelated, but my memory is terrible. I have ADHD and can’t focus much anyway, but my memory is so bad I failed out of school due to not memorizing anything no matter how many hours I studied.
When I’m stressed or nervous, or upset, I have nosebleeds. I’ve had these since a child too. Doctors always say it’s a dry nose and I’m fine.
I want answers, and I can’t seem to find them. Any advice is very helpful
SPOILER - THIS ISN'T A "CURED" POST. I'm still having migraines every single day, still on medical leave, still a long way from solving this. But the last 4-5 days have been the most tolerable stretch I've had in over a year, and I wanted to share it because this group has really helped be a support system while in a really dark place this past year.
Today I woke up without a migraine for the first time in a long, long time (like 365+ days long). Some context on how many things didn't work (I'll link my previous post here too):
What I'm doing now / what seems to actually be helping:
The last 4-5 days I've gotten migraines at a 4-6/10 instead of my usual 8/10. I've done 45 minute workouts almost every day, grocery shopped, and just felt like a real person again instead of white-knuckling through each day.
I've changed so many things at once that it's hard to know what's actually responsible. But after 365+ days of a never-ending chronic attack, having any relief at all is the first time I've felt hope in a really, really long time. Even just a month ago, I was so certain there was nothing out there that could help me, despite people posting their own success stories. I wanted to put something out there in case anyone else needs to hear it. With such a cruel disease that feels so isolating, we are still in this together❤️
>feeling completely defeated with chronic migraines + medical leave
by u/eggbrained in migraine