Dealing With Headaches

I went to my doctor yesterday and broke the news ablot proplanalol not working for me. I thingk he was more disappointed than I was. So, I’m going to try a new medicine, verapamil, as a daily preventative as well as try out a couple of samples of Zolmig nasal spray. Actually, both verapamil and Zolmig (zolotripltan) have been out a while, so they’re new for my body but not on the migraine medical scene.

I didn’t realize I’d have to try the Zolmig so fast.

Flipping Pills

Why the nasal spray samples when I’ll be taking pills and don;t have trouble taking pills? Well, when I get a migraine, my stomach gets really upset and sometimes I throw up. When my doctor heard this, he said the nasal spray works for people who have trouble “flipping pills”. I had to have him repeat that.

Note to self: Latest medical euphamism for vomiting is “flipping”.

Now, I will never be able to hear the term “flipping houses” again without having a really bad mental image.

I’ll Give It A Nine

I got a migrine this morning. This was a scary kind — one that comes on without any warning (unlike most of my migraines or migraines in general). This hammered the left side of my head instead the right (as is usual for me). On the scale of 1-10 for my migraines, this was a 9.

Trembling, I ripped into that Zolmig box, where the instructions are written in everyday English and have color photographs as to how to take it (which was great, because at that point, I couldn’t focus my eyes enough to read).

You only need to shoot it up one nostril, but remember to inhale and THEN shoot it. Otherwise, it will drip out of your nose. I was so desperate, I licked what dripped out. Then, I staggered off to lie down. My Mom was alarmed when she saw me.

It was worth licking what dripped out of my nose. An hour and a half later, I felt good enough to sit up and eat lunch. Two hours later, I could go back to work.

Granted, this could in part be a placebo effect kicking in, but at this point I really don’t care.

Now, I guess I really should get that prescription for verapamil filled…

Here’s one from the “Say It Ain’t So!” Department:

A study from the University of Pennsylvannia has come in about how barcodes on medication given at hospitals were to cut down on errors. Turns out, barcodes don’t seem to make a positive difference and also seem to contribute to errors by already overworked nurses.

Perhaps the Hospital Had A Bad Day?

Nope, sorry. The study lasted a lot longer than a few days — it lasted a few years covering five different hospitals that have a barcoding medication system already firmly in place. The study also suggested that the barcoding system that we currently have often cuases more problems than it solves. When a harried nurse encounters these problems he or she will try to use shortcuts in order to get whatever medicine they think the patient needs.

The conclusion from the study wasn’t “Technology is bad.” Rather, it was, “We can make this SO much better by concentrating on changing these areas.”

And, quite frankly, we need all the suggestions we can get with our hospitals. Another study which came out in 2007 showed that errors in hopsitals (including being given the wrong medication or wrong dosage of your medication) rose 3% from 2003-2005 alone.

But I Gotta Go To The Hospital Tomorrow

As medical systems go, ours is still about the best around in care (if not cost). If you have surgery scheduled for tomorrow, don’t freak out reading this! Still go for your surgery, please. But there are some things you can do to help reduce the chances of medical errors while you’re loopy on painkiller.

• Put identification tags on your luggage or daybag to help nurses coming on shift idenify you while you’re loopy in your hospital room
• When you get your ID bracelet, make sure they put the right name on there (no, I’m not kidding).
• When you have a test done in the hopsital and never hear about the results, that could be a mistake. Unless you are specifically told “no news is good news”, keep asking about the results.
• Write down a list of your allergic reactions and medications and tape them to your forehead.
• When you can, ask what any medicine is and what is it for. When my Mom had her last surgery, she called me to Google information about the drugs the nurses wanted her to take. I was able to help confirm that she was to get the meds.
• If you’re in the hospital and loopy and can’t figure out what’s going on, call someone you know to call or visit the hospital and find out for you and then give you a report. If you don’t have a friend or relative to do this, call your primary doctor to do it.

Hope this helps

Since I keep banging on about how important it is to keep a headache journal, you might want a quick review of just what you’re supposed to write in the journal. This video is quite helpful. Keep in mind that it’s a guide and not Gospel. You don’t have to follow it’s suggestions exactly. For example, you can get a journal with lined paper rather than the blank paged version shown.

Also, I have no idea why it’s flanked by a bunch of sex-related videos. I see they are all put out by Illumistream (which sounds suspisciously close to Illuminati, doesn’t it?)

Then again, sex and headches just seem to go together, don’t they? Just thinking about sex can give many a headache. Any coincidence that this tip went onto YouTube of Valentine’s Day? Anyway, if you watch this on YouTube instead of here, try to ignore the thumbnail images of sexy couples groping and just concentrate on the Headache Journal video.

Since we don’t know what exactly causes migraines (despite what the doctor in the bright white coat says in the tape), we do know that if you are observant and keep a headche journal, you often can avoid some of the most common triggers unique to you. Hope this helps and have a pain free weekend.

First off, I still haven’t figured out how to pronounce it. I already have a stutter and trying to pronounce this beta blocker high blood pressure medication must really look comical to onlookers (I say through gritted teeth.) I’ve been on propranalol for about a month and I’m really not impressed (as you can probably tell from the title).

I’m fighting a migraine now. I’ve been getting migraines and headaches like barometric pressure headache at the same rate since before I was taking this stuff. The only noticeable change I see is that I have the squirts and I’ve been farting really loudly (much to my dog’s amusement). (I know, too much information, sorry). My doctor warned me that I would get constipated. Hah.

The Next Step

I’m suppossed to be on four mini pills a day of propranalol, but I haven’t been able to move past three because of the nasty digestive effects. Personally, I’d like to dump the rest of the pills down the toilet (it would save time) but there’s already too many prescription medicine in the public water supply.

My doctor said that the next drug I was to try was Imitrex, which I’m scared of. Not nightmares of huge Imitrex pills chasing me through a forest scared, but “how’m I gonna pay for this crap?” scared. “Maybe this stuff will make me feel TOO good” scared.

Don’t Be Put Off By My Reaction

Although my body doesn’t seem to like propranalol and your doctor sugests it for your migraines, don’t be afraid to try it. It works for a lot of people. I just happen to be one of the lucky ones where it makes me run to the bathroom a lot.

As always, be sure to let your doctor know about all the medications, vitamins and herbal prescriptions you are taking before you start popping propranalol. Even though your doctor will have your charts right in front of you, he or she can still not actually read it.

Some says, I think it’s easier to just suffer with the migraines and be sone with it rather than try a new treatment.

Gee — guess what you think I’m going to say. Universal health insurance coverage is a big issue in America (where it doesn’t exist) and England (where it’s dying fast). Americans, especailly older generation Baby Boomers, have been conditioned to pay through the nose for health care. They have had it drilled into their heads that you only get what you pay for — so if it’s free, avoid it like the plague (sorry about the cliche and the pun).

And this attitude is killing them fast, as well as their children. There are more than 47 million uninsured Americans and who knows how many underinsured Americans. Underinsaured is actually about as worthless as not having insurance at all. Underinssured could mean that you have to pay a few hundred dollars of your own medical bills before the insurance will begin to cover it. Some means that they will cover emergency trips to the hopsital — but not prescription drugs or routinge office visits. The list of exclusions goes on.

What About Comunism?

I had this argument about universal health care coverage with my Dad (who is of the afore-mentioned generation) and he argued that socialized medicine could lead to Communism. He said that paying doctors more than in other countries encourages America to get the best doctors. They studied hard — they had the right to get paid more than other doctors.

This was before his wife (my stepmother) was dropped from her health insurance company. Now, he sings a slightly different tune.

But, you can see what proponents of universial health care coverage are up against.

What About Long Waiting Lists?

One of the biggest arguments against universal health care coverage is that the countries that have remnants of it (Canada, England) have long waiting lists for operations or to see specialists. This wouldn’t be the case if there were more doctors and dentists in the program. When given the choice of going into lucrative privitization practices or sticking with the NHS, are you really surprised that most English doctors and dentists remove themselves from the NHS progam?

Doctors, hospitals, Big Pharma and medical insurance companies have turned something that can save lives into big business. And, as we know, Big Business is sacred and not to be touched.

We deserve better than this. It’s our lives that are at stake. We don;t pay the police very well and we don’t pay firefighters anything (or next to nothing), and they save lives. Why should the health care business bleed us to death? If you insist on paying them fabulous sums of money, then we need at least a 40% rise in wages, free marijuana or free something to counterbalance these outrageous health care costs.

Perhaps if enough people die (or enough celelbrities, or politicians, which apparently count as more than one person), then maybe something will happen. Until then, we all suffer.

This blog tends to go into medications and alternative therapies for migraines and chronic headaches, my personal misadventures like the pain and other details on trying to manage the pain and on the debilitating symptoms (with a whip and a chair, preferably). But perhaps you need a quick review of the basics.

First off, migraines are different from headaches. Yes, the pain is still located in your head, but also becomes the center of your world. There are a lot of other symptoms and debilitating problesm with migraines. To go over the basics, here’s a neat little video by Illumistream that I discovered today on YouTube. I’m especailly glad that they note that “there is no such thing as a typical migraine.”

Just a couple of personal critiques on the video. When I have a migraine, my dog knows. She also knows when I’m trying to fake it. (I wonder if migraines put off a particular smell?) So, the chances are very good that the Golden Retriever at the beginning of the video, knew the model was faking it.

One critique — they say a migraine can last “as long as a week.” My longest migraine lasted TWO weeks.

Also, be sure to check out the visuals around “Feeling Off Balance.” Just think of what Stephen King could do with that character!

And, as always, don’t use any YouTube video (or a blog post) in the place of a qualified doctor’s diagnosis.

Ok, truth be told, I didn’t make the appointment — I chickened out so my Mom made the appointment for me. I have a phobia of doctors that are nearly as bad as my phobia of dentists. If you find you keep putting off making an appointment with a doctor for whatever reason, mention this to someone who cares about you. They may make the appointment for you. My date with destiny is May 8.

What’s Old Is New Again

My Mom made the appointment with my new doctor — who turns out to be the doctor I went to twenty years ago. I remember him being the first person to write a prescription for me ofr a brand new medcine “said to be the bees’ knees” for menstrual cramps. This new wonder drug was called ibuprofen.

(Yes — that’s how old I am, folks.)

Now I’m worried that when I meet my old doctor again that he’s going to look a heck of a lot better than I am. I also wonder if I’ll wind up being the “example case” for every other patient. “My God - eat your vegatables or you’ll wind up like Sherwood!”

I Have Health Insurance Now

The only reason I can complain about my old/new doctor is that I have to shell out $250 per month for health insurance. I’ve had to take on three more clients just to cover the health insurance premiums. I’m working about ten hours a day. I’m beginning to wonder if I was better off among the ranks of America’s 47 million uninsured.

Well, back to work. I have to go write scads of articles about relaxing from stress, hedge clippers and treadmills (not all in the same article, though). I also am still trying to track down one client who seems to have skipped this planet after I delievered my articles. I’m working so hard because it’s good for my health.

I love YouTube. It’s even more entertaining than going through the auctions on eBay (where in 1999 I once found for sale a kid brother, a false leg and turtle models with human genetailia molded on. Not all from the same seller, though). I slog through YouTube in order to benefit you, Gentle Reader.

Today, I finally found something that might help with headches. I haven’t tried it myself and — as I’m suffering from bad allergies and thus have severe balance issues — but it’s as natural a headache relief solution as you can get.

I like My Yoga with Granola — How About You?

It’s a yoga pose (shown in the image with this post). Actually, there’s a whole series of yoga poses, breathing exercises and prayers for headache sufferers. However, I don’t think a lot of people with severe headaches are going to have the patience to breathe in a prescribed manner or take the time to do a prayer that they actually want a Deity to hear.

The videos are brought to you by ExpertVillage and are only a couple of minutes long, so you won’t drop to sleep during them.

Before you do any yoga poses, wear clothing that allows you to bend and have firm footing. Preferably, you should do any yoga poses that involve bending with the use of an exercise mat (like those sweaty ugly mats used in gym class — only a smaller, better version).

Down dog pose is only recommended for tension-type headaches. They also recommend you take deep breaths and loosn your arms up before doing the down dog. One stretching pose they recommend is sitting cross legged on the ground and put your hands together in the traditional prayer position — but with your hands behind your back. You need to do this with your spine as straight as possible.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

I’m going to apologize in advance for any sloppy appeareance or any disjointed reasoning in this blog post (well, more disjointed than usual, anyway). I was up to three m last night with a killer of a headache in the front of the right side of my face. I assumed it was a regular sinus headache, as my nose had been dripping all day. So I took over the counter Rite Aid sinus medication. Not a lot happened, except I was in a lot of pain and couldn’t get much sleep.

It felt like the day after you get punched in the eye. (And I have been punched in the eye before, so unfortunately my basis of comparison is accurrate).

Mom to the Rescue

Mom and I have to vote today (PA primaries — ugh) and so I have to leave the house eventually to do my civic duty. Mom had allergy medication — not sinus medication , one specifically for allergies — and urged me to take a pill. (I’d like to tell you the name of the stuff, but there is no name on the prescription label except PSE 120/MSC 2.5). I ran it through Drugs.com, but they said it’s probably a generic not in their directory.)

In less than an hour, about 90% of the pain was gone. This leads me to assume that my current head misery is caused by allergies and not sinuses.

But aren’t they the same thing? I mean, if you have allergies, doesn’t that mean you will automatically have sinus problems? And perhaps I shouldn’t be taking this stuff even though it works because I can’t identify it?

Yup

Basically, a sinus headache and an allergy headache are the same thing. However, if you can cure the pain with sinus medication, it’s a sinus headache and if you can cure it with your Mom’s allergy medication, then it’s an allergy headache.

Now, some doctors or nuerologists define an allergy headache as a reaction to a food you are allergic to. If you don’t have the post nasal drip, sore throat, stuffy nose or nausea, itchy eyes or sore eyes, than it’s probably a food allergy headache. You really need to see a doctor about that.

I’m not sure what I’m allergic to. I have all of the signs of a sinus infection, yet the sinus medication did zip on my pain.

I know I’m allergic to mowed lawns. When I lived in England, I lived mostly in the woods where the grass, nettles, snapdragons and other greenery grew to well over six feet tall. I never had any allergy problems. Now, I return to America with it’s constantly mowed lawns and my face feels like it’s been on the recieving end of a phone pole.

Oh, time to go vote. I have to go now so in the future people can blame me for the choice of Democratic presidential canidate for 2008. Can’t let all of you down.

Since I bang on about Prozac (fluoxetine) a lot on this chronic headache and migraine blog, I thought I should check to see if my cherised Prozac is currently being using used to treat migraines. (It seems like almost every drug having to do with your head is). And well, whaddya know, I found that it is. Even the National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain list Prozac and family members Paxil, Sarafem and Zoloft among “migraine abortive medications”. These are all anti-depressants. Even more powerful anti-depressants like Wellbutrin are also prescribed as migraine preventatives.

I wonder why? Well, perhaps one kind of misery in the head can lead to another. There does seems to be a lot of migrainuers who also have depression (of course we’re depressed — our heads are killing us!)

My Case

I take generic Prozac for major depression, also called endogenous recurring depression (which I probably got in my past life as a hamster). I’ll tell you right now that I take the pills pretty faithfully (except for this one time recently when I accidently took two) and I still get migraines.

Also, if I forget to take my Prozac, then I get a mild headache in order to remind me to take it. And yes, I admidt that sounds like a classic withdrawal symptom to me. But since Prozac helps with my depression, it’s a cross I’m willing to bear.

Now Prozac is great for helping me get regular sleep and an appetite when I’m stressed out. Being able to eat and sleep regularly has made a big difference in my quality of life. But as for preventing migraines, Prozac sucks.

But apparently, it must work for somebody, as it does seem to be used regularly as a migraine preventative.

Side Effects

One side effect Prozac gives is that you often gain weight (it does stimulate the appetite strongly, as does most anti-depressants). Imitrex is also suppossed to have you gain weight and feel sluggish.

I felt horribly sluggish for the first two weeks when I was on Prozac, but then my body adjusted. Whenever my dosage changes, I do get dopey for about a week before my body readjusts. This can be a problem for some people.

For a more comprehensive list of Prozac side effects, check out this article on Prozac by Magnum.

Hope this helps. Have a pain free weekend.

I recieved word last week that I have been dropped from Medicare, with added overtones that they thought I was trying to pull one over on them. I know I shouldn’t take it personally (the workers are overworked and underpaid), but OWIE.

Big confession time — I make $425 a MONTH as a freelance writer (before taxes). That’s it. (And yes, it’s the best job I can get — if you don’t believe me, just try to get a job in the Philadelphia area when you have only a mere two college degrees and can’t drive). It if wasn’t for the fact that I live with my Mom, I’d be long dead and cremated by now. Mom wants me to go on Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance. It’s $300 a month. My Prozac will be $100 per month (I have to be on Prozac or I become suicidal). Lord only knows what my monthly Excedrin bills are.

That means my entire earnings would have to go to paying for medical stuff. (Oh, excuse me — I’ll still have a whopping $25 per month before taxes to live on.)

In other words — I’m screwed.

At least I’m in good company.

Hello To The Other 47 Million Uninsured Americans

According to the US Census, about 47 million Americans do not have medical insurance of any kind. There is some general quibbling as to how accurate this number is — there may only be 30 million without any health insurance whatsoever while another 17 million have the barest minimum health insurance that still does not adequately get anywhere near meeting their health needs.

Could this be one reason why there are more than 29 million migraineurs in America?

My Propsed Health Plan

If the government is going to kowtow to the outrageous price tags on even basic health care, then they should at least send us free ice cream every week. I’m not even asking for Rocky Road or Moose Tracks — vanilla or Neopolitan will do. Preferably, they should make their own brand of marijuana ice cream and send it to all 47 million of us to keep us in line. Sure, we still get sick and miss days off of work, but who cares? We’ve got marijuana ice cream!!! Not only has the pain been reduced, but we get the munchies taken cared of, too.

This is a much more sensible universal health care plan than anything propsed so far by just about anybody running for President. (As if they would actually do a damn thing about health care no matter who gets elected. Yes, I’m still going to vote, but I have very low expectations from any of the canidates when it comes to affordable health care). Sure, there will still be 47 million of us in agony and poverty, but we won’t care so much.

Off to bang my head against a brick wall so it will feel so much better when I stop.

Going to any doctor is no fun, contrary to what certain represenatives in Congress might think. You have to struggle to get the appontment, struggle to get time off of work to go to the appointment, then struggle to find the doctor’s office, find a parking spot or ticket system (rememeber to get your ticket stamped!), sit in the office, fill out forms, wait forever and that’s just before you get to actually see the doctor. By then, all you want to do is go home, pull the blankets over your head and whimper. But you need to try and make the most from your doctor’s appointments – otherwise, you’ll have to go through this happy dance all over again next year (ideally, sooner, but who has the money for that?)

Write Questions Down Ahead of Time

You’ve got a lot of questions and not a lot of time with your doctor, nuerologist or whatever. Don’t trust your memory. You’ll be so frazzled by the experience of getting to the doctor’s appointment that all of your questions will fly out of your head at just the crucial time. Write them down before hand and bring the list with you.

Note When The Problem Started

You will be asked when your chronic pain started, so know the answer before your doctor’s apponintment.

Bring a List of All Medications, Vitamins and Herbal Supplements You Are Taking

The doctor will ask you that, too, so you better have the list ready in advance. Vitamins and herbal supplements and any altenative treatments can mix badly with certain prescription medications. This is why you need to let your doctor know what you are taking.

Try Not To Take The Doctor’s Attitude Personally

All medical professionals are severely overworked for one reson or another. Sometimes, the emotional strain of feeling a person’s pain leads them to seem very cold. You will often be referred to as a set of symptoms rather than your name. Don’t take it personally. They are doing the best they can.

If The Doctor Recommends A New Treatment

Remember to ask if there are any adverse reactions you should know about and when you should expect positive results.

Doctors Are Your Servants, Not The Other Way Around

You don’t like them, tell them that point blank and ask for a recommendation for another doctor. They have to tell you. You don’t owe a doctor anything except the current bill. You do not owe them loyalty. The doctor will most likely be just as relived as you are to have you under the care of someone else. There’s no need to be rude or threatening to a doctor, but it is best to be honest.

Use your common sense, though. If you are stuck with one doctor becuase of insurance or Medicaid, then ask them, “What can I say or do to get through to you what it’s like to have my pain?” I’ve even asked a doctor, “You don’t believe I have migraines, do you?” and he confessed that he had been lied to before by patients and couldn’t trust anyone claiming to have a migraine. This helps clear the air and relieve stress, if nothing else (but with headaches, sometimes less stress is a great pain reliever).

Hope this helps.

Perhaps the label has faded on your bottle of pills. Or, perhaps you found some suspiscious looking pills in a corner of Grannie’s purse. Most likely, you just like looking at cool internet sites that are interesting as well as informative. Previously, in order to identify mysterious pills, I’d ask a Magic Eight Ball. Now, I can go to Drugs.com’s Pill Idenitifier.

The Ususal Disclaimer

Before you can use Drug.com’s nifty Pill Identifier, you have to agree not to sue them if things go horribly wrong in the misidentification of a pill. It’s the usual “I Agree/ I Disagree” sort of thing. In other words, you promise to use your common sense. If you know you are severely lacking in common sense, then don’t take ANY pills you can’t at first recognize.

Also, the Pill Idenitfier is for an American audience. Sorry, every other country in the world (including Canada). You could try the pill identifier at RXList.com, but it doesn’t look as easy to use as Drugs.com’s.

Easy, Peasy

All pills have some sort of number or letter or combination thereof on them. These are quite small, so you may need a magnifying lese in order to see them. You enter this code into the pill identifier. You can enter the color and the shape of the pill, but that info is optional.

Not only are you given the name of the drug, but photo “mug shots” as well. You are also given a list of the drugs codes most searched for, which can be amusing when you are in a certain frame of mind. If you still can’t find out what your mystery pill is, you can try the Perscription Drug Forum and cross your fingers.

And if you do not know how old the pills are, just assume they are past their expiration date and throw them out. Please don’t take any pills that are past their expiration date.

Greetings, Gentle Readers. Although I try to give equal time to both kinds of medical therapies for treating headaches and migraines (conventional and alternative), a ton of recent drug news releases have monopolised most of the posts here on Dealing With Headaches. To try and even up the balance, I will present links to past posts on alternative treatments for headaches and Migraines.

I’m hoping this will make it easier for anyone seeking to compare alternative treatments. Since last week’s FDA investigation before Congress proved that the FDA is on the verge of collapse, it looks like we Americans are going to have to rely on alternative treatments for headaches and migraines more than ever.

Hope this helps.

Seven Folk Remedies For Headaches Includes crystal healing, drinking hot peppermint tea and more.
Animal Magic For Headaches How pets help ease the pain.
Golf Ball FORE Headaches About a simple reflexology technique requiring a golf ball.
Product Review: HeadOn Migraine Homeopathic rememdy that is similar to Ben Gay, according to one reader.
How To Make A Cold Compress One of the best ways of easing pain yourself.
Five Ways To Help Ease Your Headaches
Walking Dog Helps Ease My Head Pains The benefits of regular exercise for the headache-prone.
Feverfew As Migraine Preventative About the herb feverfew.
More Folk Remedies For Headaches Including potato slices, sticking your feet in hot water and accupressure.
Bee Venom Therapy For Migraines One alternative therapy I don’t recommend.
Alternative Medicine vs Conventional Medicine An overview.
Biofeedback Can Help Ease Tension Headaches
White Noise Treatment For Migraines? “Turn up the signal — Wipe out the noise” — Peter Gabriel, “Signal To Noise”
Alternative Treatments For Pediactric Migraines
Colon Cleansing Can’t Cure Migraines
Reduce Headaches With Guided Imagery
Self Help For Tension Headaches
Color Therapy For Migraines
Nutritional Therapy For Migraines In Pregnancy

Have you ever thought this when you get a migraine or another kind of headache? “I have a headache — it’s bad — I must have done something bad in order to deserve this headache.” Well, you are not alone. It’s very common for people to associate any kind of chronic pain with some sort of fault in their own characters. This fear that we are somehow deficient or bad can keep many people from seeking help for their headaches.

Myth: The Migraine Personality

Stewart Tepper, MD, associate clinical professer of neurology at Yale University of Medicine, talks in the latest issue of Better Health & Living about the myth that only wimps or the morally defcient get migraines:

>”The idea that there’s a “migraine personality”-that people who get them are worriers or have some kind of mental or physical weakness — is a myth. Migraines don’t hit just one type of person. And they are truly debilitating: The World Health Organization counts them among the 12 most disabling illnesses for women.”

So, there you have it. Although headaches and migraines might drive a person crazy and make them not too much fun to be around, having head pains does not mean you are mentally ill or somehow a wimp. Yes, technically I have a mental illness (endogenous recurring depression) and am “haedache prone”, but don’t let me scare you from seeking proper medical attention for your chronic head pains.

It’s Not Your Fault

The vast majority of chronic head pains are not from the results of anything done by the patient (or anything not done by the patient). They can happen because of the weather, because of your genes or even from glare of a light making a bright spot on your computer. They also can be signs of other medical conditions that need attention.

Now, if you picked a fight with a gorilla by insulting his mother, and the gorilla punches you in the head, giving you a headache, then in that case you DID do something to deserve that headache. But those cases are usually rare.

Lots of times, you get headaches and migraines for no other reason than life is not fair. That doesn’t mean you have to suffer.

You Have Powers

Although your head may be the cause of a lot of your pain, your head can also be the source of managing the pain. There are many things you can do to help yourself. You also should pair these suggestions with a visit to your doctor.

• Keep a headache journal. Let your doctor read it. This can greatly help identify the triggers for your pain.
• Get regular sleep of about seven hours a night. Lack of sleep can aggravate any pain. Who knows — lack of sleep could be the major trigger for your pain.
• Get regular exercise, which also helps you get regular sleep.
• Learn how to better manage stress, such as with meditation, aromatherapy or massage.
• Cut back on caffeine in both your beverages and your painkillers.
• Learn all you can about headaches, migraines and alternative therapies to help you help yourself.

Remember what the third Dr. Who said: “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”