Dealing With Headaches

I can’t recommend a lot of the videos listed under “migraine headache” in YouTube, as they are usually hawking one product or another. Some of them also have very strange “facts” to present. But every now and then, you get a really helpful video, such as this one from FYINowHealth (which is a YouTube user name, not a website or a magazine). It very clearly lists in layman’s terms how to tell the difference between a miraine and a tension type headache.

In case you didn’t know, it does make a difference as to what kind of had pain you have in order to get proper drugs and other treatments. And also to know whether you can move around or stay as still as possible. Personally, I think migraines are worse than tension-type headaches, but I’m admittedly biased.

Speaking of headaches, I’m not doing so well today. I’m off. Enjoy the video.

It’s amazing what you can find on YouTube, although it does takes shoveling through a lot of fertilizer in order to find a rose. This little do-it-yourself acupressure instructional video has a funky Indian soundtrack of the musical combo of sitar and complianing baby. I’m more inclined to beilieve in the instruction from this lady rather than a formal instructor or doctor as she has to take care of kids. She must have a lot of experience with headaches. Her YouTube moniker says it all — “Warriorofcompassion”.

I wasn’t able to fully undertand where on the top of the head I was suppossed to press down on, but I did certainly get relief today’s sinus pressure just be taking the time to breathe in and out deeply for a couple of minutes — including a series of yawns which sure poppped open the cloggged ear canals.

Another acupressure home remedy is to roll a golf ball around your hand (although that doesn’t seem to work for me, personally).

Hope these help.

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.

This might seem like a no-brainer to most of you, but I sure forgot how powerful a strong odor is on the head pain factory. Yesterday was the usual rite of spring for me — having to give my dog a bath because she rolled in fox poo. Ah, spring — when a young dog’s fancy turns to fox poo. And in case you haven’t been exposed to the joys of fox poo, let me tell you about it.

It smells like skunk.

However, unlike skunk, fox stink can be easily cleaned off a dog with water and puppy shampoo. And boy, did I get a headache — and not just because my sixty pound dog hates baths. The smell triggered a headache (just aheadache — not one of my migraines, thankfully).

Fragrance Overload

It’s not just ANY strong smell that can trigger a headache (very few people get headaches at bakeries) but really overwheming, knock-you-sideways smells. These can include:

• tobacco smoke (certain brands of cigarettes more than others, depending on your nose)
• fresh paint
• perfume or cologne
• pesticides
• nail polish remover
• turpentine or other paint thinners
• certain aromatherapy oils (depending on your nose’s preference)
• moth balls
• automotive fluids, even gasoline
• bleach and other eye-watering cleaners
• fox poop

The Good News

Although some of these smells are not avoidable, you do have the advantage of knowing that the pain will end as soon as you remove yourself from the source of the odor. If you do know in advance that a certain strong smell can trigger an annoying headache, then you can take medication beforehand. It’s not entirely certain why the some smells trigger headaches more than others in individuals, it most likely has to do with the smell causing the body to tense up.

When you are painting, (whether artistically or for home improvement) you need to be sure your working area is well ventilated, which helps cut down on the smells a bit.

And try your best not to let your dog roll in fox poop.

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.

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.

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.

From the “why didn’t I think of that” department: One of the most effective ways for treating migraines or headaches is with cold compresses. Some hydrotherapists (and conventional doctors) recommend alternating hot and cold packs. When you have a bad headache, you need to move as little as possible. And the packs can be kinda ugly and slippery.

Well, now you can microwave a small teddy bear or stick in a cold pack to stick on your head. You could also drape it on your neck to relax tense muscles which can contribute to headache pain. This Gelly Belly Grizzly Bear is originally for kids, but why should they have all of the fun? At least it’s reuseable, cute and closes with Velcro. And, it can be used for other owies other than headaches or migraines to help you “bear” with the pain.

The packs, which can be microwaved or stuck in the freezer (you do have to remember to stick them in the freezer!) are insterted into the back of the bear and then you place bear on needed body part.

(Ducks for cover.)

Does It Come With Jelly Bellies?

Unfortunatley, no. Despite the name, the Gelly Belly Grizzy Bear has nothing to do with the delectable Jelly Belly jelly beans. Come to think of it, has anyone ever tried taking Jelly Belly jelly beans for a headache? They need to come out with an “Excedrin” flavor…ewww, on second thought, maybe not.

Interesting gift combo idea for a headache prone friend or family member with a sweet tooth — Gelly Belly Grizzly Bear and Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Am I Getting One?

Well, let’s just say that I now have one less headache about getting a family member a Christmas gift! Off to get the Visa card. Hey, I’m not slacking off by shopping on the computer during time I should be writing a longer blog post — I’m multitasking. Yeah, that’s the ticket…

Hope this helps. Have a pain free weekend.

Perhaps the most common kind of headache is the tension type headache, where stress tightens our muscles, raises our blood pressure, makes our jaw clench and gives us a headache on top of our stress. Unlike other kinds of headaches or migraines, tension headaches can be sucessfully treated. You can take conventional medicine, use aromatherapy, get a neck masssage or you could try biofeedback.

With biofeedback, you consciously take control over some bodily functions once thought as uncontrollable. But you can learn to consciously lower your heart rate and relax, thus easing your tension headache. And there aren’t any negative side effects.

Biofeedback doesn’t work for everybody, but it does work for a lot of people with tension headaches. If conventional treatments don’t seem to be helping or if you are having trouble relaxing, then biofeedback would be worth looking into.

What Is It?

Basically, you get hooked up (without needles!) to a monitor that shows you your vital signs like your heart rate, brain waves or temperature. You consciously try to raise or lower your blood pressure (or your temperature, or whatever) through trial and error (usually breathing excercises). When you get it right, you can see that you are accomplishing. You then repeat this process when you need to without the machine.

There are even video games for your PC or Mac that teach you how to lower and raise your heart rate. The only one I’ve played is called Wild Divine, and I recommend it. You go on a Myst-type adventure, but do not get anywhere until you raise or lower your blood pressure. You do have to hook fingertip monitors onto your computer instead of using a joystick, but the games are a fun way of learning how to get your body to relax.

You could also try to find a biofeedback therapist (which has to have a liscense to operate). If your doctor can’t refer you to one, try looking here.

Hope this helps.

Although it’s been a week and a half without a headache or migraine for me, I came mighty close to one these past two mornings. I am not a morning person, mostly because I feel so lousey. These past two mornings, I was faint and nauseated with a sensation of someone pressing on my forehead.

That pressure was most likely the mojo worked by my dog, Pony, who expects to be walked immediately after my first cup of tea. This takes a lot of energy and, this time of year, I have to be on the lookout for squirrels that Pony might try to chase. (Not that she would know what to do with them if she ever caught them, but I don’t want to take that chance). She’s far more energetic in the mornings than I am, so walking her is akin to a full body workout.

The Beggin’

I tried to get out of walking Pony because I felt a headache might come on, but Pony wasn’t having it. She fixes me with The Beggin’ Stare. I could be behind a wall of concrete and still feel it. I even picked up a tennis ball (her fave toy) and threw it, but she just kept right on staring.

I gave up and walked her. Such is the power of the Doggy Stare.

The Results

Although I haven’t exactly been conducting a scientific study, (for information on a migraine clinical study, click here) I have noticed that many mornings when Pony stares me out the door, I feel much better after the walk, even having headaches that I think are coming on ease.

Regular excercise is recommended for those who suffer from tension headaches, according to the Mayo Clinic. Not only does this help your body’s immune system and release pain-killing endorphins, but regular excercise also is a great stress reliever, which can help you relax, and thus fight tension headaches.

So, I guess that Beggin’ Stare is good for something, after all. If walking around helps me, then perhaps it might help you. But please don’t use this article as a substititue to going to the doctor.

The Dentalwork Headache is a kind of tension headache brought on by anything remotely connected with going to the dentist. I currently have one now because I’ve gotten a reminder card that I’m overdue for a check up. With me, that’s all it takes to set me off into Dentalwork Headache, as well as spontaneously growing gray hairs and having my teeth ache. I don’t know of any official medical classification for this varaint of tension headache; this is just what I call it.

Why I Get It So Fast

If you guessed that I have a phobia about dentists, BINGO, you are right. I freely admit it. I also urge anyone reading this to get annual dental check ups, even if your teeth don’t hurt. There are low cost dental clinicls near universities and dental schools as well as coupons offered now by “Coupon Clipper”-type faux-magazine mailings. For example, if you live around the Philadelphia area, there is a low cost dental clinic at the University of Philadelphia (which I think has now changed it’s name to Philadelphia University). I live around the Philly area and have been avoiding this clinic all of my life.

I get Dentalwork Headache because my body involuntarily tenses up when anyone mentions the “d” word. This includes clenching my jaw. Tension headaches don’t necessarily have to be brought on by tense muscles, but mine certainly do. I have to yawn in order to relax my jaw. But, because I know the “d” work triggers a headache, I tend to just take an Excedrin or sinus relief pill (depending on the time of year) to try and prevent the inevitable fit of jaw-clenching that’s bound to occur sooner or later.

Why hasn’t Stephen King written a book about a dentist? Anyway…

The Drill

After dentalwork, I do get headaches. This is because of the drill. For God’s sake, your skull is vibrating for nearly an hour, of COURSE you’re going to get a headache. Try to take headache medicines before your dental appointment. I’d recommend a good tranqilizer as well, BUT they might conteract with any anesthesia you might be given. It’s not worth the risk.

If you can possibly help it, have the day off work when you get your teeth worked on. If you are they type that thinks sitting in the dentist’s chair is no big deal and never gets dizzy or shakey afterwards from the anesthesia, then you are safe to go back to work. Unfortunately, I am not that type. I need someone to drive me and drag me in through the front door and then escourt my limp shaking form back to the car.

Not everybody reacts badly to anesthesia such as novicane. Some people do really well on “laughing gas” and that can be a viable alternative.

Mercury Fumes Causing Headaches?

Some people report that they are really bothered by the smells of a dentist office. Me, I’m bothered by the smell of old blood and bruning bone (color me nutty). But some people get ill from the smell of mercury fillings. Some people just can’t handle mercury fillings and even show signs of mercury poisioning. The alternative is porcelain onlays, but they are a bit expensive. Sometimes your dentist can do what’s called white fillings insted of silver fillings. The white have much less mercury in them.

Going to the dentist does not mean that you are going to be poisioned by mercury. This is a very rare occurrance. I don’t mean to add yet another fear to the dental-phobic.

However, that sounds like a darn good excuse to put off my dental check up for another year…

When you have to get up, you have to get up, whether for work, school, emptying your bladder or taking the dog out to empty his or her bladder. You might not consider yourself a morning person. One of these reasons may be because you tend to gt headaches in the morning. They’re not as bad as migraines, cluster headaches or getting hit in the head with a sledgehammer headache, but they are pretty painful and can definately get the work week off to a bad start.

Well, you are not alone. This kind of headache has a name — chronic morning headache. And if it has a name, then many people must suffer from it. Correct. According to a 2004 European study, 1 in 13 people have chronic morning headache. The two groups most affected were women and anybody in the age group 45-64.

What’s Up With That?

At first, it was thought that chronic morning headache was from such sleep disorders as grinding your teeth, night terrors (where you act out your bad dreams) or sleep apnea. But in this 2004 study of over 19,000 European volunteers, most of those afflicted with chronic morning headache also had some form of depression.

Depression’s worst symptoms can often hit especially bad in the morning. Not all of those diagnosed with depression will get chronic morning headaches (some feel worse in the evening and adore the mornings) but if have chronic morning headaches, be really honest with yourself that you might have depression. The disease depression (also called major depression or clinical depression) can often manifest in strange physical symptoms. At the very least, get your blood pressure checked.

If you are daignosed with depression or high blood pressure, there are many medications and diet changes you can do to help ease not only your overall condition, but your severity and number of headaches in the monring.

What If You’re Not Depressed

There are other reasons that you may be getting chronic morning headache other than depression, high blood pressure or sleep disorders. Headaches — even to the point of migraines — are a main withdrawal symptom from caffeine. The easiest way to diagnose if you have a caffeine dependency is to, on your day off, not touch anything with caffeine in it for 24 hours. That means no coffe, no soda, no tea (except herbal) and no chocolate. If you get a migraine then BINGO you have discovered you are caffeine dependent and need to start reducing your caffeine intake.

The National Headache Foundation also has this information about some of the physical changes that may be goin on when you wake up:

Between about 4 AM and 8 AM, the body tends to produce less of its natural painkillers, the endorphins and enkephalins, than at other times of the day. Adrenalin is released in larger quantities during the early morning hours. Since adrenalin affects blood pressure and the regulation of dilation or contraction of the blood vessels, it may play a role in migraine attacks.

Rarely, serious diseases may cause early morning awakening headaches. These diseases may include brain tumors, sleep apnea, and severe high blood pressure.

Treatment

If you have morning headaches for over 15 days in a row, congradulations, you have chronic morning headache. Since we have seen that there are so many possible sources for chronic morning headaches, you need to get a proper diagnosis in order to be able to treat them. The good news is that they are treatable, since they do seem to be a part of an overall health problem rather than just a mysterious pain in the brain. Many people — especially if they are caffeine dependant — find that first cup of coffee gets rid of the headache for that morning. Some people also get relief from over the counter medications targeted for tension headaches.

Hope this helps. And happy Labor Day.

We’ve all heard of the cliché’d wife who denied her husband some marital lovin’ because of a headache. Seems that this imaginary woman is both lying and telling the truth.

Research has shown that sexual activity can help ease migraine pain. This is because usually migraines are accompanied by lower levels of activity in serotonin nerves; during orgasm, serotonin is secreted in abundance.

Something should also be said for the relaxation effect a good session of lovemaking can give. Since destressing techniques such as yoga, meditation, gentle stretching and massage are commonly suggested for maintenance of tension and migraine headaches, could we not also assume that the peace that can come from a good workout between the sheets could aide as well?

Conversely, some men and women can be affected by benign coital headaches - a pain generally felt either immediately before or following orgasm. Quite severe and spanning minutes or hours, these headaches are generally assumed to be due to muscle contraction and/or blood vessel dilation in the head and neck.

More serious is the sudden new onset sex headache - one that can be described as the worst headache of the sufferer’s life. Until ruled otherwise, this unusual headache is a medical emergency, as they are usually due to a brain hemorrhage or other serious life-threatening situation. Medical attention is needed immediately.

Sources: Dr Dave and Dee, Newsnet5

sex headache, coital headache, hemorrhage, tension headache, serotonin, sex

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It makes sense that tension-type headaches are caused by tension, yes? Well, by definition, tension is stress. So, life nowadays is busy and tiring and this causes stress. Which causes tension headaches. Some people chronically have them - I’d wager they’re under a lot of constant stress. I’m not being facetious, I’m proving a theory that if you can reduce the stressors, you can probably relieve chronic tension headaches.

In addition to medications, diet and neurological assessment and good old fashioned vacations, why not try one of the following:

1. Deep breathing exercises
2. Progressive muscle relaxation
3. Meditation or guided imagery and visualization
4. Yoga
5. T’ai Chi
6. Massage therapy and self-massage
7. Aerobic exercise

Let me know what zen-type thing works for you.

tension, stress, yoga, massage, t’ai chi, meditation, imagery, aerobic exercise, deep breathing