hey moms! i have been brought to my knees yet again so i just thought i would get your opinions. i occasionally get these "headaches", they are normally brought on by stress, or perhaps not drinking enough water, or a mixture of these and other things. they are rare - once every few months. i have been getting them for more than ten years -the first i remember was in college. i don't always get them that often, many times they are less often than every couple months. but when i get them, they will go from a normal "headache" (which, i very rarely get regular headaches) and then within a couple hours escalate into this terrible crushing pain. a mixture of pressure and pain. many times it is difficult to keep my eyes open. normally they happen on the weekends for some reason, i think because i don't eat as well and don't drink as much water as during the week. today it happened at work. around 3 i started feeling a headache coming - i took some aspirin. by 4 i was feeling slightly queasy and pretty miserable. i left work at 4:30, picked my son up from daycare, started crying in the car on the way to the house, and within ten minutes of getting home, vomited. that is a first. they have never caused me to throw up before. but normally i can curl up and sleep it off, too. that wasn't an option today, due to some awful timing. i curled up on the couch after that, and after a couple hours of barely being able to open my eyes or answer my husband talking to me...i am feeling much better now, able to sit here and type this. normally they are pretty quick like that. this one, about 4 hours give or take. i am positive i don't have a bug or anything. i have heard migraines last a lot longer. is this a tension headache? they are very rare so i have never spoken to my dr. about them. maybe i should...but my aunt gets migraines also, only much worse that last for days. so part of me thinks this is just my life, and i am grateful they aren't as bad as hers.
thank you all for your advice! a couple of you mentioned blood pressure - my normal blood pressure has always been perfect, last time it was 100/60. during the episodes, i don't know, but i can hear my ears ringing and i know that often that is caused by high blood pressure - and i know that other times i have been in severe pain, it has gone up, so that makes sense. i willl definitely try the excedrin migraine, like a couple of you mentioned. i really just didn't know that migraines varied so much - i figured if that was what it truly was, that they would last longer. i am very blessed that they go away so fast apparently! thanks again for all the advice!
I get migraines. I'm usually down for a day with the headache and nausea. The next day the pain is gone but I'm wiped out. Aspirine doesn't help me but sometimes caffeine does.
I used to get migraines and they lasted 3 days. So this is probably a stress headache. You should tell your doctor. Have you had your blood pressure checked?
I agree. Sou.ds like a migraine. The same exact thing happens to my sister. She doesn't get the usual "signs" they just hit her fast and hard and have sent her to the er. We are still trying to find the trigger. I would let your doc know that way at least when one hits you will have some relief. Hope you feel better.
I've been getting migraines since I was 4 and it really sounds like that is what you are getting. Aspirin never helped me, the only thing that helped me BEFORE the migraine came on was Excedrin Migraine, but I had to take it when I felt that first twinge. I also took the prescription med Imitrex. I could never take anything while I had a migraine because I would just vomit it right up. They last for about a day for me and I am exhausted the next day. Some people get different symptoms with their migraines. For instance, an aura is a common symptom of a migraine coming on, but I've never gotten one. I would talk to a doctor because you don't want them to get worse. Mine were at their worst during high school, sometimes I would have them for two days. Then they tapered off in my late 20's, but I've starting getting them more frequently now after I've had my kids. Good luck to you and try the Excedrin!
This sounds like a migraine to me.
You should contact your Primary Care Physician when you have one - stress the importance of being seen RIGHT THEN - or go to the Urgent Care - this way - they can run tests on you WHEN you have the migraine to actually see your brain "working"....
If you still have it - go to the Dr. get checked out. Migraines are NOT fun and they can be VERY debilitating!! I'm trully sorry you are going through this!!
have you check your BP when you get these headaches, not sure if it is for everyone but is it in the back of your head on left side. This sounds just like when I had BP issues a while back headache so bad you can't function, so painful you feel so sick to your tummy. Definately check you BP next time it happened. Mine would be wel into 200/130 when i would have this issues Well any dystolic (the lower number) over 95 caused it.
I tend to get headaches (top of the head and behind my face) in the spring/fall when we have huge 30-40 degree temp changes daily and the weather fronts are moving through rapidly.
Some days all I want to do is stay in bed with a heating pad over my face.
Tylenol or Excedrin Migraine sometimes helps or at least takes the edge off.
Once the weather settle down (doesn't matter if it settles hot or cold) my headaches go away.
Since your symptoms are changing from what you are used to, it's time to discuss it with your doctor so you can figure out a best way to handle these things when they pop up.
Find a way to stay better hydrated. There's no excuse for not having a water bottle near you all the time no matter where you go or what you are doing. You have a child to take care of now so you must take better care of yourself and your symptoms. There are all kinds of headaches and different kinds of migraine headaches, too. You can keep a headache diary so you can learn if there's a pattern to what triggers them for you (weather, diet, hydration level, menstrual cycle, etc).
They do sound like magraine, when I get those the only over the counter medicine that works for me is Excedrin Migraine. I will aslo advice to check with your doctor just to make sure is a migraine and not something else more serious.
Poor mom, try to get some sleep.
I would have to say that you are getting migraines. I get them too. But mine start off with squiggly lines and then just go away. I had them very badly when I was a teenager and they would make me throw up. Then they just went away and the started up again in my 30's. I take Advil Migraine. They seem to work the best for me. Asprin will not make them go away. Your sleeping it of is what is making them go away. I tried using excedrin but that only made the pain more intense. Try small bottle of OTC migraine meds and see what works best for you. If that doesn't work then go see your DR and get a prescription med. I know how you are feeling. Hang in there. Everyone is different so try not to compare headaches. Lack of sleep, not eating and drinking water will bring on a migraine. I used to take a prescription med but it got too expensive so I stopped taking them. Now I just use Advil migraine and it does the trick within 20 minutes or so. Good luck and I hope you feel better.
I am a self claimed head ache expert. I had a stoke 7 years ago and have a head ache daily. Somedays I can take an aleve, other days it down to the doctors for a shot. I get migraines and tension head aches due to the brain damage cause by the stroke. It is hard to tell the difference between two both are very painful. The migraines are more light and sound sensitive than the tension. The migraine is more at the front of the head into your eyes and the tension more at the back into the neck. The best think to do it if you feel one coming on to treat it with pain med as soon as possible. I like Aleve, other med can give rebound headaches according to my Neurologist. A cold washcloth on the forehead and back of the neck is the best of the migraine in a dark quite room. The tension a hot pad on my shoulders to relax. I take a muscle relaxer at night to help with the tension. Another odd thing with the tension headaches my balance is before I get one. This doesn't happen with the migraines. Sorry, if this doesn't read well, strokes make it hard to communicate what I'm trying to say.
It sounds like you're getting a stress migraine. Talk to your doctor about getting put on Elavil for a few months and see what happens. It's technically an anti-depressant but it was amazing at keeping my migraines at bay ... also, is there any chance you may be pregnant? Good luck!
