r/headache

I had a continuous daily headache from February - April due the hormonal suppression I was on for stage 3 endometriosis (Norethindrone acetate). I knew I wasn’t neurologically tolerating it but my endo pain was 9/10 and I had surgery in March and wanted to be able to recover well.

Well, for all of May and June it’s been escalated to a daily continuous migraine. Even though my pelvis is doing way better I can’t go back to work and I’m completely nonfunctional. I’ve been on medical leave since December.

I stopped Norethindrone 3 weeks ago but the migraine still hasn’t stopped.

I’ve tried oral sumatriptan 100mg, nasal sumatriptan 20mg, nurtec, a 5-day dexamethasone taper, and nasal zavzpret. Oh and I’ve been on monthly emgality injections since January.

The next thing I just got prescribed is a 5-day DHE course.

The only thing that dulls the pain a tinyyyy bit sometimes is nasal lidocaine stacked with a bunch of gabapentin. I can’t take NSAIDs because they give me stomach ulcers.

I know you guys understand… I’m desperate and suffering. What ideas do you have?

Oh and fwiw I have a very healthy homemade Mediterranean diet and I’m as active as I can be despite the pain. I was smoking a little cannabis everyday post surgery for pain but I’ve stopped in case it’s a migraine trigger. Supplements include: magnesium glycinate, NAC, melatonin, fish oil, coQ10.

Edit:
Thank you so much for the responses and recommendations. Grateful for the community here ❤️‍🩹

I’ve been dealing with a headache that came back and feels all around my head, especially in my forehead. It gets worse when I bend over or move my head quickly, like when I was in the shower. Its like the air in there i cant breathe

I also feel chills sometimes and then suddenly really hot under the covers. I’ve had congestion and a mucus feeling in my throat, and I had trouble breathing in the shower. My neck feels uncomfortable/sore, and moving my head fast doesn’t feel good.
I drink water!!!

This has been occurring for 3 weeks now as I’m typing this I have nausea and then a headache that will come on and off. Fucking sick of it. It’s apparently not my iron or vitamin D so I have no idea what it could be. I have an mri without contrast soon but in the meantime I really am fucking miserable. Anyone ever suffer from this? Or has in the past and figured it out? Please help.

I've been having headaches every single day for weeks now. They originally started at the beginning of the previous school year. They worsened and reached their worst at the end of the school year. Then they stopped for a little bit, and then came back. Now they're happening every single day.

Sleeping more does not help me. Drinking more water does not help me. Tylenol does not help me. Using screens less does not help me. My doctor tells me to take ibuprofen for the headaches, which I do. It doesn't do anything to help unless I use 2 or 3 at a time, and it isn't stopping the headaches from happening. It just makes the pain go away for a little bit. The longest it has kept the pain away is for about 3 hours.

It hurts to bend over, sometimes it hurts to turn my head, loud sounds and bright noises hurt, moving my jaw hurts. I really cannot take this. It hurts so bad and I am terrible at tolerating pain.

I have no known health issues, I've never had a single head or neck injury in my entire life, and I'm only 15. Nobody in my family has similar issues. My doctor does nothing except keep telling me to take ibuprofen. Does anyone know what I could do to lessen the pain?

I'm not going to tell a story about how many doctors I've seen and the inane things I've been told, just going to let my symptoms speak for themselves:

Female, 29, 5'2, 270lbs, no consistent medications, non-smoker.

PMOS, chronic inflammation of my neck and back that is worsened around menstruation, daily pressure headaches for the last six months that do not respond to meds other than ibuprofen, which is now causing rebound headaches. I have tried supplements like magnesium, muscle relaxers, anxiety meds, anticonvulsants, weight loss meds, with no relief. Headaches are not present upon waking, pain/pressure begins about an hour after. It begins in the upper sinus/lower forehead area, then spreads to around my eyes and cheekbones, then throughout my entire head from upper jaw and up. Neurologist has ruled out any tumors based on a routine exam.

Other symptoms I have but have no idea if they could be related:

Tinnitus, jaw clenching/clicking from braces 10 years ago, occasional sour mucus taste when swallowing (like drainage).

Just preemptively, I am aware of my weight issues and how it can affect my body. I have been 250+ for over five years, but the major issues stated in this post have been only in the last six months, so unless you believe you have another answer related to weight that isn't just "lose it," please do not comment on that subject. Yes, I drink enough water. Yes, I eat clean as much as I can.

TIA!

Hey guys how long did you feel this headache after septoplasty and turbinoplasty. What did it feels like?

My journey with VM started about a year and a half ago and after 2 brain surgeries, here I am again. Buckle in, this might take a little while.

About 1 1/2 years ago I was driving home with my wife from my brother's house in another state when out of nowhere the entire car started spinning and she had to take the wheel and guide us to safety. This was at 80 mph on a crowded freeway. It was literally probably the single scariest thing either of us have gone through in our lives. That began the journey...

I found an ENT who specializes in vertigo here in town. He started me on nortriptyline and a rescue, rizatriptan which initially seemed to help. He also sent me for an MRI of the brain to make sure he wasn't missing something. That MRI turned up a colloid cyst in the 3rd ventricle, a rare benign tumor in a critical spot. They are about 3 in a million. The ENT referred me to a neurosurgeon at a local hospital for the colloid cyst.

The neurosurgeon was very dismissive about the colloid cyst stating, "I don't think that has anything to do with your symptoms and anyway, I'd never let someone touch that area of my brain unless it was life or death and even then I'm not sure. You're likely to lose your short term memory". He referred me to a local neurologist who took 2-3 months to be seen. When I finally did get seen, he walked in the room and said, "I don't know why you're here. You have a non cancerous tumor in your brain that needs to come out and I can't help with that." I told him what the neurosurgeon said and his reply was, "you need to get out of town. Our neurosurgeons don't see enough of these rare tumors and don't know what to do with them. Let me refer you to a major center a few hours away." While waiting on that referral I found a specialist out of state who is world renowned for colloid cysts.

Fast forward to November of last year and my wife and I traveled out of state for a little over a week where he removed the colloid cyst via a mixed craniotomy/endoscopy procedure. The surgery was successful but I did initially have hydrocephalus while in recovery, causing some crazy side effects. I don't remember those first 2 weeks at all but I apparently even thought there were multiple versions of my wife at one point. I have some really funny stories that I don't remember at all. lol

After that first week, I recovered fairly well going into the holidays. But in February of this year, I went to the ER at that same local hospital with severe headaches and ironically enough I ended up seeing the same neurosurgeon (who will remain unnamed) who had dismissed me last year and didn't even think I had a colloid cyst. He told me he could either put a VP Shunt in the next day or arrange for me to be transferred back out of state to the neurosurgeon who did the surgery. I opted to be transferred. That was a fun ride in the back of an ambulance, not.

Instead of placing a shunt, he performed a brain septostomy, creating two holes between my ventricles for CSF flow. It felt a bit like Groundhog Day except I didn't think there were multiple versions of my wife this time and I remember most of that week. lol.

Fast forward to today and I continue to suffer from occasional vertigo and headaches. I've been scanned numerous times and so far everything looks stable. So, I'm back to a diagnosis of Vestibular Migraines. I sat in the ENT office today and told my story and it almost sounds ridiculous. I just want to be done with this story and move on!

TL;DR: VM diagnosis about a year and a half ago after a terrifying vertigo attack on the highway at 80 mph. The MRI from that workup turned up a rare benign brain tumor (colloid cyst) in a critical spot. Two brain surgeries later (one to remove it, then a septostomy after I developed hydrocephalus), everything's finally stable, and I'm right back to a vestibular migraine diagnosis. Push for the scan and advocate for yourself.

So sometimes I will get headaches that are in small enough areas that I can point to the specific location. They are dull and move around from one area to another after a while. I never know why they start or go away but every time I try to look it up I feel crazy. Please tell me someone has experienced this before and how you got rid of it.

I’ve been experiencing right side nasal pain and headache for over a year. Has anyone had good success with Lamotrigine for headache relief? I’m going to start it as soon as I receive my prescription.

Hi everyone, I’m 32.
I’ve been dealing with chronic tension-type headaches for about a year and a half now and I’m kind of stuck on what to do next.
So far I’ve tried:
Amitriptyline 25 mg – didn’t help

Currently on mirtazapine 15 mg – no improvement so far

Gabapentin and Cymbalta – had to stop both due to side effects

Some background:
I work in trade finance, pretty high stress, and I sit in front of a computer around 4–5 hours a day

I have Crohn’s disease and take Stelara 90 mg every 2 months

I feel tired all the time

I’m overweight (130 kg, 192 cm)
Problems with my Jaw possibly TMJ and i’ve got no idea how to deal with it.

I’ve seen multiple doctors in different countries (I live in a developing country, so healthcare is a bit limited)

Tried about 30 chiropractic sessions, no benefit
Limited head movements and mild pain in the neck area.

Eye exam came back normal

Next step I’m planning:
Seeing an ENT because my sleep study showed \~45 events per hour (sleep apnea) to see other options other than Cpap.

Questions:
What should I try next for chronic tension headaches when meds aren’t helping?

Could sleep apnea be causing or worsening this?

Are there other treatments or approaches I should look into?

Do you think I should be checking for something else entirely?

Honestly this has been really affecting my day-to-day life, so I’d really appreciate any advice or suggestions.
Thanks 🙏