Dealing With Headaches

Imitrex, near and dear to many with migraines, is a brand name made by the Prince of Giant Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline (nee: SmithKline Beecham), which has offices in America but is a British-owned company. One of the reasons that GlaxoSmithKline is such a mighty international company is that they charge a FORTUNE for their brand meds (remember when Tagamet was perscription only? OY!) Nine Imitrex tablets costs, on average, $200 (US). OUCH! It might be less painful to keep on having the migraines.

Now, thankfully, there is some competition for GSK and their CEO, Jean-Pierre Garnier, who will soon retire from GSK in order to pursue his destiny of being the AntiChrist.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, a Princeton, New Jersey business that makes generic drugs in India, got a deal approved last week to make a generic (read: CHEAPER) Imitrex. They are going to be allowed to make three dosage sized tablets:

• 25 mg
• 50 mg
• 100 mg

They will go under the name of Imitrex’s active ingrdient, sumatriptan succinate.

Litigation has been going on for some time about drug patent issues, but at least that’s all settled (knock on wood). The generic Imitrex is planned to be available to the general public this December. (There’s a Christmas gift idea for you, folks!)

It’s going to be Christmas every day for Ranbaxy, as Imitrex earns nearly $1 BILLION (US) yearly for GSK. The terms of the settlement are not being released to the public, which is probably a good thing. The gargantuan numbers flashing in front of our eyes would be enough to trigger a migraine.

However, so far, this generic Imitrex is for tablet form only. The injection and nasal spray versions will still be the sole property of GlaxoSmithKline … for now.

So, what do you do if you need Imitrex in the meantime (and with a migraine, that is a mean time indeed)? Basically, you’re screwed. This is the way Big Pharma is. Your choices are:

• Steal it (not recommended)
• Ask for any samples from your doctor (it happens, occassionally)
• See if you qualify for GSK’s token attempt at giving a damn at GSK For You. Well, I’d change the midddle word for a more accurate description of the program, but…
• Made a voodoo doll of Jean-Pierre Garnier and stick needles in his eyes and genitals. It won’t make your migraine go away, but it will make you feel a lot better in other ways.

(Not to be confused with the computer game series of the same name, but different spelling. Sorry — as I far as I know, they don’t do fully funded clinical trials for video games, although they probably should). If you were interested in joining the clinical trail for MIST II, forget it. NMT medical announced over the weekend that they were scrapping the clinical trial for heart holes being the cause of migraines in some people because they could no longer afford it. Instead, they will concentrate on just one major clinical trail, this one for strokes.

What Was MIST II?

MIST II wasn’t a clinical trial for a new medicine, but to prove that some people get migraines with auras because of PFO (patent pramen ovale, a genetic whoopsie of the heart often nicknamed “heart holes”. It’s not an incredibly serious genetic condition, but not something you wish upon a star to get.)

MIST II was to have backed up other studies done in the UK and America about closing the heart hole to give relief to those who get migraines with auras. One of the reasons that this clinical trial was scrapped is that far more people get strokes than have PFO and migraines with auras. NMT claims that out of over 1400 applicants since August 2006 for the MIST II trial, only a handfull passed the screening qualifications. So, they have decided that the trial had “little likelihood of being completed in a reasonable timeframe.”

NMT will also save at least $14 million (US).

In NMT’s favor, the odds of you getting a stroke rather than a PFO and migraines with auras is really high. It’s estimated that 750,000 people have a stroke just in America alone. NMT claims stroke is the leading cause of disbility in older Americans, and the American Heart Foundation (which has a sister group, the American Stroke Association) claims that stroke is the third leading cause of death in America.

In case you have migraines with auras, you should go to the doctor anyway, whether you also suspect you have PFO or not. PFO is a treatable condition with surgery.

Hope this helps.

Just in case any Canuk readers felt a little left out in the cold after the last post about American headache centers and clinics, you can relax knowing that you have two up on American migraineurs. The first is your national health care for all Canadians and the second is the realease of the new medicine FROVA for migraines. Frova will only be available in Canada.

What Is It?

Frova, short for frovatriptan succinate, is made by Teva Neuroscience Canada in Montreal. It will be available by perscription only in 2.5 mm tablets. It is suppossed to help both migraines with auras and migraines without auras. Some people taking Frovan for Canadian migraines have found that either their migraines symtpms lessened or went away completly.

As you probably guessed from the name, Frova for Canadian migraineurs is int he powerful Triptan family of medicines. Other drugs in this clan include Imitrex (sumatriptan), Maxalt (rizatriptan) and Zomig (zolmitriptan). It is made for migraine pain only — so no taking Frovan for cramps or other aches and pains.

One of the things that sets Frova apart from other Triptans is that the pain relief lasts for about 24 hours after taking it.

Side Effects

Frova is a heavy-duty painkiller that should only be taken IF lesser painkillers like acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin don’t do the job. There is a risk of serious side effects with any Triptan medicine, particularly on your blood vessels. This is another reason why you have to get this stuff on perscription — you have to make sure Frovan isn’t going to clash with other medications or aggravated any blood vessel or heart disease you may have. For even more details than you ever thought possible on side effects of Frova, click here.

Since migraineurs often also have depression, please pay special attention to this warning — You CANNOT take Frova if you are on these SSRI antidepressants (and they’ re the biggies):

• Prozac (fluoexetine. Well, that counts me out of Frova, even if I did live in Canada)
• Paxil (paroxetine)
• Zoloft (sertraline)
• Celexa (citilopram)
• Luvox (fluvoxamine

For God’s sakes, don’t stop taking the anti-depressants. I say that as a person suffering from endogenous recurring depression who would probably be dead now if it weren’t for my Mom’s instincts, the love of a good dog and Prozac.

However, I am not a doctor. PLEASE talk about all of this with your doctor or neurologist before popping any pills, even if they did “fall off the back of a truck”.

It sounds like Frova is apromising new drug for the large percentage of migraineurs who cannot take other medicines and who might not have heart disease or clinical depression. I’m sure that’s good news for the both of you.

(Sorry — couldn’t resist!)

(Note: Today’s post is geared towards American readers. No offence is intended to any non-American readers.)

You lucky ducks near Carmel, Indiana! You might think you don’t have much, but you are just being humble. You now have a brand, spanking new medical center devoted to the treatment of headaches and migraines — the St. Vincent Headache Center. You don’t even need a doctor’s referral to get an appointment.

St. Vincent’s estimates that about 400,000 Hoosiers get chronic headaches or migraines, so they need a place to go to for help. In order to decrease the pain you might still have when you visit St Vincent’s, the complex has been designed with soft lighting and earth tones to help lessen pain and stress. The music is light classical, so no risk of wanting to puncture your own ear drums for hearing Justin Timberlakes’s “SexyBack” for the 50,000,000th time.

But I Don’t Live In Indiana

There are other headache centers in the United States, but they still are few and far inbetween. As I live in the greater Philadelphia area, I can’t help but tout Thomas Jefferson University’s Jefferson Headache Center in one of the most prestigious hospital/medical schools onthe East Coast. Although I’m proud it’s in the Philly area, I pray that I never need to go there, even though my family keeps telling me I should go.

There are also Headache Centers in many major cities, including Houston, Cleveland, Cincinatti (Although it’s gaered more for treating children’s headaches)and New York, the University of Iowa (which technically isn’t a city, excuse me) and yet another in New York.

The webpage of The American Headache Society features a medical professional search engine to help you find treatment. You can also write to them if they know of any headache specialists or neurologists in your area. You should also ask your regular doctor for a headache specialist in the area, too.

But at least there is one less headache in finding a headache specialist in Carmel, Indiana.

One of the more interesting new health-related web sites that have popped up recently is NutrtionMD.org, which is part of the Physiciain’s Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM). What makes this of particular interest to Migraine sufferers is that they offer a comprehensive and understandable overview of migraine treatment, both conventional and alternative.

Alternative therapies for dealing with migraines during pregnancy is often a woman’s only option. Many man-made drugs (as well as natural herbs and aromatherapy oils like rosemary) have proven to give harmful effects to the fetus. The alternative is either be extrememly miserable for nine months and never let let the child forget it for the next 37 years, or look into gentle alternative therapies, such as nutritional therapy for migraines.

What Is It?

You control or lessen your symptoms through your diet when you are on nutritional therapy for migraines in pregnancy. Ideally, you would start this diet before you get pregnant, but very few of us are lucky enough to live in an ideal world. If you have been keeping a headache journal, then you might know already what foods to avoid that may trigger a migraine.

Other nutritional therapy hints include eating what’s called a “baseline diet”:

• Brown rice
• Dried or cooked fruits for any fruit that is NOT a citrus fruit
• Water (plain or carbonated)
• Gradually taper off caffeinated beveraged to avoid caffiene withdrawal migraines and to not expose the fetus to the harmful effects of caffeine.
• Plenty of cooked veggies
• Condiments only in moderate amounts
• Absolutely NO alcohol!

After a couple of weeks, the migraines should diminish. If they do, add one food to this baseline diet per week and see what happens. Nutritional supplements are still a throny issue as to whether they are necessary for pregnanct women or not.

As with everything else you read on the web, please don’t use it in the place of a qualified doctor or obstetrician’s advice.

For more tips on handling headaches while pregnant, check out this post.

One of the alternative therapies that has some definate clout in pain relif is color therapy (colour therapy to those of you in the UK). I’m going to say up front that I do not recommend color therapy as a COMPLETE replacement for conventional medicine. But there is a large body of evidence to suggest that color therapy for migraines used in conjunction with conventional medicine can help ease migraine pain and the stress that goes with it.

Do I Use Color Therapy?

I do use color therapy for migraines, to a point. I do still take over the counter medicines, watch my caffiene intake, my diet and meditate to manage my stress levels. I also find complaining a lot helps the intensity of my migraine pain, but I have a feeling that only works for me. (”Yes, Rena — ONLY you!”)

I find pastel colors and dark colors help decrease the intesity of my migraine pain and help me deal with any panic attacks I may get as a result of the migraine. All I do is either change my clothes, put on sunglasses, handle a pretty crystal or gemstone of the desired color or even think about the color I’d rather be looking at.

There are many variations on color therapy for migraines, of which I only do a few. The advantage of color therapy for migraines is that there aren’t any side effects. The disadvantage is that in no way replaces the need to go to a doctor and follow his or her advice. There are many reasons why you can have migraines, and you need to be sure your migraines are properly diagnosed in order to get the best treatment.

Know Thyself

Another disadvantage of color therapy for migraines is that there are no hard and fast rules for what color works best for what condition. This is because we all have individula associations with each color. Although I find black to be an extrememly soothing color (especially for migraine pain), black can be a scary or off-putting color for some people. It all depends on your past experiences with that color.

You need to experiment with colors to see which ones are soothing to look at for you, both physically and mentally.

One of the reasons you might select colors the way you do could be because of your chakras. If you are studying Paganism, Eastern philosophies and healing, Hinduism or have read about them before for other health and spritiual purposes, then you might want to try choosing colors that promote your head chakra’s well being. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry about it. Colors for your head chakras (depending on what system you study) include indigo, dark purple and white.

Although there are such professionals as color therapists, you don’t really need to go to one if you spend the time to do some basic research through books, websites and articles such as this blogpost.

Color therapy for migraines is not for everyone, especially for people who don’t believe it can help. There is quite a bit of mind over matter needed for this alternative therapy to be in any way effective. But don’t worry if you don’t like the sound (or sight) of color therapy for migraines. There are many other therapies to choose from.

One of the reasons I like color therapy is that it makes me feel that I have more control over my own health. Hope this helps.

Calm down — it will take some years before the drug can be available to the general public, if further tests go well. The results of the first human guinea pig short-term study done by POZEN, Inc (in cooperation with Giant Pharma Giant GlaxoSmithKline (nee: SmithKline Beecham)) were sent to the FDA. The exact results have not been made availble to the general public.

This time, the drug in question has been given the tentative brand name of Treximet (nee: Trexima), which is a combination of sumatriptan (85 mg) and naxoproxim sodium (500 mg). The plan is to give this medicine in tablet form.

So?

Apparantly, this short-term test on humans was done at the request of the FDA over the findings of ANOTHER test done last year. (The plot gets more convoluted than a soap opera’s, doesn’t it?)

That test showed the result of in vitro studies done on Chinese Hamster ovaries (commonly called CHO). (I’m not making this up — I sware! This is acutally a common process to test on animal cells in test tubes or other cases to see what happens. This is hoped to eliminate the need for any entire hamster or other animal to be used in medical research. Don’t get me started on animals in medical research.) The FDA had concerns about “genotoxic potential” of Treximet. In other words, that means the FDA was concerned about damage to a patient’s DNA by taking the drug. Pretty serious stuff.

In the current test, people’s blood lymphocytes were examined after a week of use. Apparantly, no change happened to them. So now, perhaps, the ball will keep rolling for this new acture migraine drug to be released hopefully before 2009.

Why 2009? Well, as Migraine Blog reports, the patent for Imitrex (another migraine drug) expires and so generic Imitrex is projected to “flood the market”, making no one really eager to try a new costlier prescription acute migraine drug. Real compassionate folks in Giant Pharma, eh?

In other words…same old, same old. I’m looking forward to another Topamax study after all of that.

Last time I mentioned dentalwork headaches, I also mentioned that I had about two weeks before my dreaded dental appointment.

Didn’t work out that way.

A few hours after that post, the pain came back so bad, I thought my face was having labor contractions. And, that being Thursday, I of course could not get an appointment to see the dentist until Monday. His office put me on antibiotics and acetominophen for the pain.

And so I only had the weekend to stew. The tension of wondering how much it would hurt and how much it would cost gave me a dentalwork headache.

Today’s Dental Trip

My goodness — I made it to the dentist’s chair and back still alive. Turns out the labor contractions in my face was an abscess. So, I had my first (and hopefully last) root canal. And you know what? It wasn’t as bad as my family told me it would be. Yes, it was bad, but I’ve had worse.

I took Excedrin before the dentist appointment, to help counteract the splitting headache I usually get after my skull has vibrated a while because of the drill…and because of the panic I put myself through. Constant fear can greatly magnify any pain, including headaches…and toothaches.

In oder to deal with the panic and dentalwork headache (which is really a tension headache with the word “dentist” as a trigger), I did a few things:

• My Mom drove me there and back. That was one less thing to worry about.
• This time, I actually turned around to look at all of the instruments laid out on my dentist’s tray. Usually, I just scrunch my eyes shut and grip the armrests throught the entire visit. Being able to see the small size of the hooks, scrapers and the needle helped, oddly enough. I guess these torture chamber instruments didn’t quite live up to my imagination.
• I periodically made myself breathe deeply. This helped to relax some bodily tension, which contributes to headaches.

Dentalwork headaches are a symptom of dental phobia. In order to help ease the dentalwork headache, I had to work on my dental phobia. And now I’ve faced the fire-breathing dragon called Going To The Dentist and he didn’t even singe my eyebrows.

Until I got the bill, anyway. Ouch! Still, it was cheaper paying for work now than if I delayed until the whole tooth decayed (not just the nerve) and needed a crown (which averages about $1500 where I live).

Hope this helps others who get dentalwork headaches because of dental phobia.

In this blog, I refer a lot to auras. They are “spots before your eyes” — flashes, squiggles, blurs and other visual hallucinations that often warns you that a whopper of a migraine is on its way. When you go get treatments, you will be asked if you get auras before your migraines. Some medications are being developed specfically for auras with migraines.

Auras before migraines don’t have to be strictly visual — some are audial and some people feel euphoric for absolutely no reason at all (why can’t I be one of those people?), but for the purposes of this article, we will just stick to visual auras.

But how about if you get auras and never get a migraine? This is a sign to contact your doctor right away.

“Ewww, Gross!” Warning

Signs that you have aura-like hallucinations like flashes, “floaters” (a bright glob or cobweb that doesn’t go away) or a series of bright little spots can be the sign of a detatched retina or other deeply gross eye damage. I don’t know about you, but I faint whenever someone begins putting on a contact lens, so just contemplating a torn retina for me makes me scream inside.

If you have a history of having auras before migraines, don’t blame yourself if you think you are just getting a migraine. However, if you have visual auras without migraines, then you need to see your doctor or your eye doctor. Prepare to spend a day at the hospital to get your head examined with scanning machines of one sort or another. If you ignore a sudden onslaught of auras without migraines, the damage to your retina will become so bad that you will loose your vision in that eye.

A blow to the head, such as a fall even a day ago can be the cause of the auras without migraines. Sometimes you will get auras without migraines due to getting older. In the latter case, the auras without migraines tend to come on gradually and can fade in and out of your perception.

Why Am I Banging On About This?

I guess this discussion about auras without migraines is a little off topic, but I have had a couple of my Mom’s girlfriends ask me about this phenomenon, so perhaps there might be more.

I have had a floater in my left eye for several years after I got punched in the face (I was in an abusive relationship which I left in 2004). I was ashamed to get my eye checked. Years later, I did get it checked out and, fortunately, there wasn’t any damage to my retina. I still see fairly well out of the eye and have seen the spot for so long I can ignore it (except for right now as I’m writing about it — but by bedtime tonight, I probably won’t notice it again).

Whatever your reason for checking about auras or for taking the time to read this post, I hope this helps.

I think I’m writing this blog post. I’m not entirely sure. I’ve been up with upper jaw pain for hours and hours. Thankfully, because I researched and wrote this post, I was able to realize it was just clogged sinuses and not a toothache. I treated the pain with an over the counter sinus pill and putting a heat pad on my sore jaw. The jaw pain is much better now, but somehow (perhaps because of my lack of sleep) my Mom talked me into making an appointment with my dentist…who I haven’t seen for about a year and a half. Now I have a dentalwork headache.

Definition Redux

For me, a dentalwork headache is the headache you get whenever you think about going to the dentist. You can also get a dentalwork headache in the actual chair from the vibrations of the DRILL IN YOUR HEAD.

Can you tell I have a major phobia of dentists and doctors?

I know they are not out to get me (well, only about three or four of them are) and they can actually help me to feel better and to prevent illnesses and painful conditions, but I keep shaking at the thought of:

• The DRILL IN MY HEAD (even if I’m going to a doctor and not a dentist — I still think all doctors have a drill in their back pockets somewhere)
• The cost (perhaps I’m better off with the physical pain instead of the financial one?)
• The usual comments about my life expectancy — or lack thereof. I’m not sure why most of the doctors and specialists I’ve encountered like to inform me about when they think I’m going to die. Perhaps it’s like a carnival game to doctors. Or perhaps they really have a secret dream to work the “Guess Your Weight” booth at the state fair. Apparantly, I was suppossed to die three years ago. I’m not sure I should feel lucky or really annoyed.

My Headache Is In My Head?

Perhaps my extreme fear of dentists (or more precisely, their instruments of torture, such as the bill) is what is causing this visitation of the dentalwork headache. When anyone says the word “dentist”, my jaw clenches and I hold my breath. It’s instinctive. And worry can surely intensify any headache.

But I have to go to the darn dentist now — I made an appointment. It’s at the end of the month, so I have about two weeks to stew. Hopefully, I can come up with a plan to deal with my dentist phobia. Perhaps I could figure out how to overcome it so I can spread the information with the entire blogosphere, helping others overcome their fear of medical personnel (and medical bills) to get the help they need to lead less painful lives.

But I have a feeling I’ll just wind up being a weeping wreck like I was the last time I went to the dentist. At least my Mommy will be with me. I think I’ll bring a teddy bear, too. I’m sure the dentist won’t be shocked by seeing a 38 year old woman clutching her Mommy with one hand and a teddy bear in the other.

I am doomed…

The second in a series of blog carnivals devoted to headache and migraine care went up this week. This series of headache blog carnivals is being sponsored bravely by Diane Lee on her excellent website “Somebody Heal Me”. If you’re not familiar with the term “blog carnival”, all it means is a list and short synopsis of various blog posts aroung the blogosphere that have to do with one subject. Sadly, no cotton candy (candly floss) is sold.

Starting The Year Off Right

That’s the theme of the January headache blog carnival, so all of the posts have something to do with trying to make a new start or take our headache-ridden lived in a helpful new direction. And some of these posts are good for a laugh, which will definately help relax any tense muscles! And yes, a post from this blog made it in there (phew!)

Some highlights include:

• Carnival host’s list of Biggest Migraine & Depression News Stories of 2007 Migraines and clinical depression often come together in a pair, (I have both, for example). Also, many anti-depressants have shown to help reduce migraines. So combining the two topics is only natural.
• At HeadacheAdvisor.com, there is a thought provoking self-questionnaire to take for your Headache Resolutions of 2008.
• At ChronicBabe.com (apparantly named because she has chronic pain and that she’s chronically “babe-a-liscious”), 5 Steps To Start The New Year Right has some proactive and low cost suggestions for helping ease stress and thus helping you ease your chronic pains.

Next Month

The monthly Headache Blog Carnival is to come out every second Monday of each month. Submissions are due the Friday before publication date. If your blog is not strictly headache or migraine related, don’t worry. If your post fits the topic, Diane will consider it. In her words: “Entries on topics that are particularly useful, educational or inspirational for headache and migraine sufferers are also welcome and encouraged.”

Next month is a pretty scary topic: “how to have love & romance in your life when you also have headaches & migraines”. Calling Stephen King — here’s a topic right up your alley! I’m sure you need even more publicity…

Buyman Guyuron, MD, a professor of plastic surgery with Case Western Reserve University and for the American Migraine Center, has concluded the first study of using plastic surgery as a new migriane treatment. His results have been published in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

What Up?

Sometimes in the messy world of medical science, you can find something that you had no intention of looking for. This is what apparantly has happened to plastic surgeons. Guyuron says that patients who underwent facial surgery often reported a relief in migraines and headaches. He was able to determine two plastic surgery for migraines. They both involve needles, Botox, needles, forehead muscle incisions and needles in your head.

First, you get back or facial injections of Botox to help the surgeon determine which facial muscles get the snip. The Botox will trigger a migraine. Thanks, Doc! And I have to pay for it, too. Thank you, sir; can I have another? Then those muscles are snipped.

All together now: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME.

All Kidding Aside

Granted, I’m skeptical, but the findings in this study are hard to sneer at. And the study was smart enough to check up on the patients on year after surgery. 92% of surgery patients had a drop of migraine intensity and frequency by 50%. They also had to call out of work an average of 73% less than a control group of migraineurs.

Considering the cost of medications, doctor visits and lost time at work, it is thought that plastic surgery of the forehad is the cheaper option in the long run.

Before you go booking an appointment at your nearest anti-aging clinic, keep in mind that even Dr. Guyuron is NOT labeling plastic surgery for migraines a “cure”. Only about 100 people had the procedure and 25 didn’t (they were the control group). That’s not enough of population sample to approve a surgical procedure.

However, this study certainly paves the way for more studies and does off a glimmer of hope for those with migraines and, apparantly, those suffering from chronic tension headaches.

From the “We Have Met The Enemy, And He Is Us” Department:

On January 7, in the city of Americus, Georgia, a migraineur disciplined one day without pay won a court case overturning this decision, 3-1. Kim Watts, a city accounting technician employee, had to go home from work with a migraine. Her supervisor, Suzanne Freeman, claimed that Watts was faking her migraine and thus diciplined her with a one day’s pay suspension.

The most intersting thing about the whole case is that Freeman herself is a migraineur. Her explanation of a total lack of sympathy for her fellow migraineur Watts is of the “I gotta work with a migraine — YOU gotta work with a migraine” philosophy. Methinks Freeman doth protest too much, eh?

What Are The Real Issues Here?

Personally, I think people who have migraines are often thought to be faking the pain. It’s not only employers who think this, but family members and even doctors, too. In the early 1990’s, I had a doctor tell me to my face that he thought I was faking it. Real nice bedside manner there, Doc.

In case you hadn’t realised it, people with migraines usually DON’T fake having one for reasons just like what happened to Kim Watts of Americus, Georgia. And since Freeman was completely unsympathetic to her fellow sufferer, it can be assumed that no one ever beleived that Freeman was having genuine pain she could not control and thus had to suffer. You don’t need Freud or even Fraiser in order to see that she was obviously taking out her frustrations on her underling.

We who suffer headaches need some kind of instant brain scan to show to people who don’t believe us that we are having a migraine. Maybe even a prortable lie detector. Perhaps that will stop all this silliness and resentment which can really prolong a migraine and make you miss even more work.

If you need some tips about handling migraines at work, here is a link to a previous post entitled — surprize, surprize — “Migraines At Work.”

Tension headaches are perhaps the most common headache type in the world. Fortunately, they are also one of the most treatable types of headaches in the world. The best self help for tension headaches is to avoid anything that can make you tense, but that’s probably not going to happen in this lifetime. But there are still things you can do.

Tighten And Release Your Jaw

Tension headaches are often caused or aggravated by clenching your jaw. We all subconsciously clench our jaws when we are angry or stressed out. We often can clench our jaws and keep them clenched without even realizing it. So relaxing our jaws can easily be self help for tension headaches.

The best way to relax your jaw muscles is, oddly enough, to tighten then as much as you can, and THEN let relax them. This seems to give a deeper relaxation response. Try it to see if it works for you. Periodically, check your jaw to see if it is clenched.

Deep Breathing

Another way to quickly relax the muscles that contribute to tension headaches is to take a few deep breaths. We often “heave a huge sigh” at the end of a stressful incident — we really should get in the habit of heaving a huge sigh DURING a stressful incident. It would help not only keep our muscles relaxed, but help give our brains more oxygen in order to concentrate and problem-solve.

One of the reasons why biofeedback is used to ease tension headaches is that it can help you learn how to control some of your body parts so you can relax and get on with life. Once you learn it, you don’t need to rely on the complicated-looking biofeedback training machines or computer programs.

Aromatherapy

The only problem with this form of self help for tension headches is that you have to remember to go get the essential oils, or a tissue doused in essential oils. There are essential oils that make your muscles relax whether you like it or not. One of the most powerful is frankinsence (which is one of the reasons why it is used in religious ceremonies.) Other oils include:

• lavender
• peppermint
• rosemary (although it doesn’t work for me, it has helped others)
• marjoram
• chamomile (but it is VERY expensive!)

Neck Massage

A lot of people’s favorite way to ease tension headaches is to get their necks masaged, or to massage their own necks. You don’t need to know any particular moves — just let your instinct guide you and you should be okay.

Of course, taking over the counter medicines often help for tension headaches, as well, but they often take a while to kick in or perhaps you don’t have access to them all off the time. Some people report that they only need a half dose of over the counter medication when they also use relaxation techniques.

Hope this helps. Have a pain free weekend.

What the heck is guided imagery and is it covered by most major health insurance companies? I’ll answer the second question first : No. However, there isn’t any cost to reduce headaches with guided imagery, anyway.

Guided imagery is a fancy term for your imagination. Another term is “creative visualization”.

Don’t roll your eyes. Your imagination is a powerful tool and a great ally in helping you help yourself. Remember how Albert Einstein came up with his equations and theories, especially Brownian motion theory? (Well, pretend you once knew, anyway.) He figured them all out by use of his imagination (and a really really good grasp of mathematics).

Does It Work?

The results of a study using guided imagry to reduce headaches, stress and other chronic pains was recently published in January’s Mayo Clinic Health Letter. What? You let your subscription laspe? Click here for the summary. The practical upshot is that you certianly can reduce headaches with guided imagery. If you know that you get tension headaches, or that your headaches can worsen due to stress and worry, then guided imaegry can help you eliminate the stress that might trigger or worsen your head pains.

How It Works

With imagination, you let yur mind go all over the place. This has positive and negative results, depending on what your imagination fastens on. If you keep imagining that you are going to get fired because you keep getting headaches, this will NOT help your headaches one bit. However, if you imagine that Jedi Knights go into your head after little Stormtroopers that are setting off bombs to make you have a headache, then that can help ease your headaches and possibly your stress (depending on how much you like Star Wars.)

You can get professional guided imagry tapes, CDs or downloads. There are also clinics or classes that teach you the basics. This can help relax people who might be worried that they are “doing it wrong”. But basically, you imagine yourself getting better or relaxing in any way that appeals to you. You might want to:

• Imagine some Good Guys in your body getting rid of the Bad Guys.
• Imagine yourself in a cozy hot bath or on your own private island without a care in the world.
• Imagine yourself surrounded by healing white light (or whatever color you want).

Like anything else, it takes practice to reduce headaches with guided imagery. At least there are no known side effects to worry about.

Hope this helps.