My head wont stop hurting (page 2)

Sirona

vivamus, meds - just painkillers. The headaches started last year, and they say that its probably related to the stress of my cancer treatments etc. because I'm biting down on my jaw more in the night,etc. I dont think mine are migraines as such because I only occasionally have it so bad that I'm sensitive to light etc. Mostly I can work, but I'm just in pain and feeling ill. The pain is located at the front of my head and at the sides near my ears....and yesterday it was like a band around my head (around to the base of the head at the back). Its pretty awful and I'm starting to feel so tired and upset at never feeling well.

nilfun, thanks for the kind words

SheilaM - thats very interesting about the painkillers. I probably should lay off them a little and see how I go on. I don't take them all day every day, but I have been taking them a lot more obviously. Thanks.

LyinEyes - what you said about TMJ made a lot of sense. It does sound exactly like what I'm suffering from. I do have pain more on one side. I think I should consider using medication to help myself at night, at least temporarily to get me through this horrid time! The trouble is, my dentist offered me diazepam which I know is a tranquillizer so I refused! She was giving it to me as a "muscle relaxant" until I said to her, "erm....isn't that a tranquillizer and isn't it addictive??" her response was, "yes. tell you what we'll forget about that option". I was really annoyed. Surely there are other drugs which are not like diazepam that can be used for this! Anyway, I will let you know, thanks for the hugs

Sirona

patio34

Hi Sheila M, I had the same experience last summer. I had daily headaches for months, researched rebound headaches on the net, stopped the Tylenol, and in about 5 days the headaches were gone. Actually the pain tapered off gradually during the 5 days, and the headaches became intermittent. Btw, I did see my doctor every few weeks and even a CT scan was ordered (as I've had cancer), but the doc never brought up rebounds, just I did. The doctor said it would take two weeks, but it took only 5 days to "detox."

Sirona, I believe it was 20-20 that did the segment on rebound headaches. There was a doctor who complained that the anagelsics on the market weren't required to put a warning about that. On 20-20 they featured a young guy who nearly died from internal bleeding because the Excedrin he had been taking almost daily for headaches for a long time had eaten away the lining of his stomach. The docs told him he could never take them again.

Good luck,

Pat

Edited by - patio34 on 14 February 2003 9:25:32

LB

I'm glad it isn't a serious thing. But I'm sure it feels serious. Take care of yourself

RN

Sirona,

You do indeed have a textbook case of TMJ. Having suffered with this disorder myself, I truly understand your pain and your frustration. I used to have headaches that lasted for days. I might wake up on Monday in pain and not have any relief until Thursday or Friday. I felt like banging my head against the wall.

The etiology of the TMJ headache is basically this: you grind or clench your teeth at night possible due to a structural defect of the temporomandibular joint. The constant clenching/grinding results in hyper stimulation of the facial/neck muscles and eventually radiates down. The hyper stimulation leads to muscle tension and more importantly inflammation. The inflammation results in pain. Very severe pain, as you well know. Ultimately this can lead to a depletion of your serotonin levels (resulting in insomnia) and can affect other hormones as well. Unfortunately, stress aggravates the condition.

My course of treatment started with the prescription anti-inflammatory Relafen and the drug Trazadone for my insomnia. Once my splint was ready and fitted I wore it for 24 hours a day (except mealtimes) for 6 months. After 6 months I was weaned off the medication and cut back of the "wear time" of the splint until I was wearing it just at night. Words cannot describe the difference in how I felt. I actually felt GOOD for the first time in a long time.

I now use a modified splint called an NTI and an over the counter anti-inflammatory to control flare-ups of my symptoms

I understand your reluctance to just take any medication your doctor offers, but I would encourage you to consider some type of medication to help get your symptoms under control.

Please feel better,

RN

Ravyn

I have narcolepsy which is a vicious cycle of not getting the right sleep at night and falling 'asleep' while remaining conscious in the daytime....there is a lot of pain associated with it too similar to what you describe.

I just wanted to tell you that I take low dose (50 mg) trazodone(brand name Deseryl) which is an antidepressant(not in the same family as the Prozacs...)which is what is consdiered not a therpeutic dosage for depression--but highly effective for sleep disorders, and I also take Cyclobenzaprine(Flexeril) which is a muscle relaxer---but I only need to take one pill before bed to avoid the muscle spasms and sleep paralysis when I am falling asleep(they are effective for 4-6 hours). I have not noticed any undue side effects when I skip these meds--except that I can't sleep properly--so in these low doses I feel they are not addictive to me and actually do some benefit. I do not wake up feeling drugged or that hangover feeling either. You might ask about those two in combination--I understand from my doctor that it is not an uncommon combination. I also notice that when I sleep correctly I have little or no pain the next day. I was clenching my jaws in spasm at night and grinding my teeth and it has stopped with the meds. And I have fewer headaches too. I have not needed to take any OTC pain relievers except for some arthritis pain and sinus congestion due to the weather.

I did not think that only two RX in such low doses could make such a difference---but I wish I knew about this yrs ago!

Good Luck!

Ravyn

RN!!

JINX!!!!!!!!!!!

exact same time too!!!!!!!!!!!

great minds.........

Ravyn

SheilaM

Sirona:

I added to my earlier post about my TMJ, surgery it may help.

Sirona

OK - I went to the doctors this afternoon because I was at the end of my tether. He has prescribed this http://www.marvistavet.com/html/methocarbamol.html - methocarbamol a muscle relaxant - I have to take 2 tablets at night (750mg).

I really hope this helps!

Ravyn, sorry to hear aboutyour troubles! I will certainly ask about those drugs in combination - I'm open to any suggestion. Its good to know that there can be relief.

RN, thanks for the information, its good to know that someone can feel better eventually....I find myself wondering if I will ever feel well!

Sirona

My head wont stop hurting

Share this