Headache for 8 weeks now

**elipson** · Posted On: 3/03/2011 7:27pm

CT scan showed nothing wrong. That's good but also kind of annoying. I just have a headache that wont go away!!!

He gave me a prescription of neprosyn. We'll try that for two weeks and se if it helps.

Tomorrow I'm gonna book a chiro/massage. Now if only I can find one with a happy ending....

**elipson** · Posted On: 3/06/2011 6:22pm

The massuese said ALL the muscles in my neck were tensed up and that my posture was awful (guilty). I've been stretching my neck muscles, doing to exercises for posture at the end of my gym sessions, and putting heat on my neck. That combined with the painkillers are definitely making a difference.

I hate posture exercises. So boring and unrewarding.

**2groggy** · Posted On: 3/06/2011 9:46pm

Not a DR but...
Is the pain localized or spread out? I've had a situation where a problem with a wisdom tooth caused pressure on a nerve, causing pain elsewhere. With all of the infections that you have had, there could some connection. Antibiotics cleared it up in a couple of days.

yes, I'm over 40 and still have all of my wisdom teeth. So there is still hope that I may eventually smarten up.

**elipson** · Posted On: 3/06/2011 11:26pm

The headache is at the base of the skull and also the temples. It's on both sides and moves around during the day. I have no wisdom teeth and was on anti-biotics for the pnuemonia (doxycyclin). The massuese actually guessed where the headache was based on the tension in my neck muscles. I was impressed by that.

**beardedtaco** · Posted On: 3/07/2011 12:02am

Damn man. That sucks. I hope it just goes away so you can get on with your thang. Good luck and recover well.

**Snake Plissken** · Posted On: 3/07/2011 10:44am

I had a similar experience with my chiro. He did heat/massage/acu/adjustment.

He referred to it as "muscle guarding"
http://www.rennwellness.com/chiropra...-guarding.html

**elipson** · Posted On: 3/07/2011 2:39pm

Ya I saw a chiro right after the massuese, but came away with a bad impression. She was a small lady who had trouble cracking my back, and she was really giving me the hard sell on coming for additional sessions. Almost like she was trying to make me feel guilty.... I'm gonna hold off on further chiro trips till ive got the cash, and probably go to the other place in town.

I might ask the massuese on her thoughts of acupuncture, since she offers that as well.

**Q_wer** · Posted On: 3/09/2011 7:38am

Bilateral head pain plus tense neck muscles very much indicates tension headache. As such everything that loosens up your muscles is a good idea. Taking pain killers on a regular basis is never a good idea, if it can be avoided, especially not without examination and prescription by a doctor - abuse can even provoque nasty headaches by itself...

Muscle tension and pain often turns into a vicious circle where the pain provoques additional muscular tension via a neuronal passway: Pain is transferred as a signal to your spinal cord which while transmitting the information to your brain also sends a demand to the muscle groups to contract themselves.
There is good scientific evidence for the usefulness of acupuncture in headaches - depending on the study between 55 and 90 percent of patients experience a significant decrease in pain. If your therapist knows what she is doing, i would give it a try.
You could also try tetrazepam 50 mg (Myolastan for example) but do not take it more often than 2 following evenings. It is a benzodiazepine which causes allover relaxation (you really do not want to drive or drink after having taken it - it's actually best to take it before going to sleep) and can cause addiction when taken over longer periods of time.
Works wonders for many of our patients suffering from whiplash symptoms.

(i am currently working as a surgical intern in germany - as far as credentials are concerned)

**Prince Vlad** · Posted On: 3/09/2011 11:46am

I had a headache before that came on from coughing and got worse when I coughed a lot. At the time I was stressed out like crazy and work and had a pretty dirty diet (plus I was drinking a bit too much booze and coffee). I went to the doc and got my bloods and bp checked. Turned out I had slightly elevated blood pressure caused by stress which was the culprit. A month of clean dieting, loads of water and some cardio focused training and my blood pressure was back to normal and the headache was gone. Worth checking that angle.

**elipson** · Posted On: 3/10/2011 11:47pm

Taking pain killers on a regular basis is never a good idea, if it can be avoided, especially not without examination and prescription by a doctor

I did mention that ive seen the doctors numerous times and am taking naprosyn on their advice? I know what you are saying about rebound headaches though.

I actually went to the clinic today for a refill and was greated by a different doctor, this being the third one who has seen me at that clinic (one doc working at a time, small clinic).

This one actually had some constructive ideas as to whats causing them! He suggested, in addition to the Naprosyn, another kind of med that is typically an anti-depressant in high doses (300mg) but that its been used to treat some kind of condition involving headaches but with a smaller dose (10-25mg). He also suggested getting an ultrasound of my heart, as there is some additional noise coming from when he was listening to it. I had a minor heart issue years ago, and he thinks it may be related. Something about a tiny hole in the heart, or something. He also felt it may be migraine related. He seemed to know a lot about nuerology, and seemed to have experience working in nuerology clinics, which rocks because I was thinking of seeking one out.

No definite answers yet, but I'm encouraged that there are some avenues to pursue in finding this out. The tension headache idea seemed odd to me because it never gets better, even with massage/heat.

I've taken benzodiazeprine several times before and was going to ask about that today. I forgot about it though listening to the doc rile off the different possibilities he was considering.

It's nice to have a third opinion without having to go to a different clinic!