Page 1 of 1 [ 12 posts ] 

digger1
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Sep 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,485

06 Oct 2008, 7:49 pm

I have an appointment with a neurologist in a week or so about my headaches. I was hoping someone might have some insight into good headache medicine they have out there.

I've tried Imitrex but it really doesn't work for me except once I got a shot of it in the arm.

My PCP gave me this tablet that I put in my mouth and it dissolves and it's supposed to be good for headaches. Didn't touch a headache I had a couple weeks ago. He then prescribed Tylenol 3. Didn't really help. Today he gave me a script for vicodin.



Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 67
Gender: Male
Posts: 59,953
Location: Stendec

06 Oct 2008, 7:52 pm

Gach! Vicodin contains codeine! Do you really want to go ... around ... so ... doped ... ... up ... ... that ... ... you ... ... ... can't ... ... ... tell ... ... ... ... what's ... ... ... ... going ... ... ... ... ... on ... ... ... ... ... ... ? :shaking:


_________________
 
No love for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leadership, Islamic Jihad, other Islamic terrorist groups, OR their supporters and sympathizers.


spudnik
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Feb 2008
Age: 62
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,992
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada

06 Oct 2008, 7:56 pm

I was getting bad headaches and noticed that if I missed my cholesterol pill in the morning I didn't have a headache that day, so I checked out the drug online and found out that I was having a dangerous reaction, so if your on meds look up which reactions they may be causing.



EV
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 1 Oct 2008
Age: 46
Gender: Female
Posts: 40

07 Oct 2008, 8:18 am

The answer depends on the kind of headaches, you are experiencing. During the time that I was taking SSRIs (nasty little pills), I experienced terrible migraines.
The (600mg.) Ibuprofen that usually does the trick for headaches, did nothing for those. I finally resorted to taking Topamax (an anti-convulsant). The migraines disappeared, but there were side-effects; word confusion (saying one thing and meaning another) was the most frustrating. Eventually, I tapered off without a difficult withdrawal.
I would recommend that you do the research (online) before you see the doctor, so that you have some suggestions for him/her. In every case that I've received help from a physician, it was because I had done the research, beforehand and knew what I wanted.



tomboy4good
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,379
Location: Irritating people everywhere

07 Oct 2008, 10:14 pm

I use Midrin which is a prescribed medication for migraines, or Ibuprofen 600 to 800 mgs. Both work really well.


_________________
If I do something right, no one remembers. If I do something
wrong, no one forgets.

Aspie Score: 173/200, NT score 31/200: very likely an Aspie
5/18/11: New Aspie test: 72/72
DX: Anxiety plus ADHD/Aspergers: inconclusive


madderakka
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 22 Aug 2008
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 54

09 Oct 2008, 9:33 pm

Excedrin is good for migraines because it contains caffeine. I also use Midrin for the ones that Excedrin won't help. You can also try a hot shower or heating pad to relieve the pain.



YowlingCat
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,004

11 Oct 2008, 4:55 pm

Fnord wrote:
Gach! Vicodin contains codeine!

Nope, it has hydrocodone, which is an opioid. I've taken it long-term (years) for chronic pain, though not currently), and after an adjustment period (for me about a week), you have no mental slowdown. It has been scientifically proven that people who are truly in pain don't generally react to opioids as a "high" or become addicted. It can be a totally legitimate treatment for some headache pain.



Hector
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Mar 2008
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,493

11 Oct 2008, 5:03 pm

I guess my headaches, though I suspect they are migraines, aren't that bad after all because even when standard paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen-based medication didn't work Solpadeine (paracetamol+codeine) would usually be at least sufficient. In the UK and Ireland this is still available over the counter though in North America I think I'd need a prescription for Tylenol 3.



ouinon
Supporting Member
Supporting Member

User avatar

Joined: 10 Jul 2007
Age: 60
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,939
Location: Europe

25 Nov 2008, 7:54 am

Recurring/frequent headaches can often be the result of a "hidden" food/chemical allergy or intolerance.

I used to get headaches at least once a week, ( aswell as frequent colds, painful bloated tummy, and later on mood-disorder and depression ), until I cut out gluten.

I discovered that whereas cheese, chocolate, oranges, tea and coffee had seemed to be the triggers for headaches and gut problems, if/when I excluded gluten this stopped happening. The thing with hidden food intolerances is that are often so used to the general effects that you don't notice/know about them, and think that things like headaches etc must be related to one-offs or relatively infrequent factors.

It is definitely worth investigating diet if you are plagued by headaches, because, as still larva says, they are a signal, telling you that something is wrong.
.



LeKiwi
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,444
Location: The murky waters of my mind...

25 Nov 2008, 1:05 pm

What are you eating/drinking/doing? Look into your lifestyle and your habits holistically. Is there any potential for allergies, as ouinon said? Are you taking any other pharmaceuticals? Do you drink enough clean water? Do you consume artificial sweeteners like aspartame or sucralose, or eat processed foods with MSG much?

Headaches don't happen without a cause. Find a cause, you find the solution. Don't just automatically reach for a pill every time something feels sore, it'll just make you more sick in the long run. Still_larva has it exactly right.


_________________
We are a fever, we are a fever, we ain't born typical...


Hector
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Mar 2008
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,493

25 Nov 2008, 7:11 pm

Any of the aforementioned food "triggers" that have been mentioned so far I either tend not to consume or spent a period without consuming while experiencing headaches at the same frequency. All I know is that I tend to get headaches after skipping a meal, and most of my worst headaches have come in a time of abrupt relaxation immediately after a very stressful event. In the past two years every time I've reached the end of term in college I've had to miss the ensuing party because of a headache. But that doesn't explain the majority of my headaches, which are mostly small and annoying and come every few days. I've developed IBS symptoms as well, but only in the past couple of years and this did not correspond to a change of diet (it began during a stressful time in my college life).

Drinking lots of water helps but has not gotten rid of the headaches, at least.



LeKiwi
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,444
Location: The murky waters of my mind...

25 Nov 2008, 7:19 pm

Are you sure it's not a blood glucose problem them? Low blood sugar can trigger migraine and headaches in some people, so if it happens after skipping a meal perhaps try grazing through the day on things like nuts, seeds, fruit/raw veges etc and see it helps keeping your levels more stable.


_________________
We are a fever, we are a fever, we ain't born typical...