Headaches

[Tally M.]

I know, I need to go see a doctor, but in the meantime, what have you found to be effective treatments for headaches?

I currently use Excedrin, and if I'm feeling too nauseated to eat something before taking Excedrin, I drink a Mountain Dew. However, the caffeine often exacerbates the nausea, or makes me super jittery and then I end up crashing--emotionally speaking. Basically, I need to find something that isn't caffeine.

[SmurfBlueSnuggie]

My mom and sister get migraines, so this is from my observations of them. Saltine crackers help them keep down the nausea. See if you can munch on enough to make the Excedrin safe. Most of their other solutions are food as well, but I'll go ask if they have any other ideas.

[blpsara]

Saltine crackers help them keep down the nausea. See if you can munch on enough to make the Excedrin safe. Most of their other solutions are food as well, but I'll go ask if they have any other ideas.

Agree. I get really bad headaches frequently as well, and excedrin is my go-to for bad ones. I know that eating is the last thing you want to do when you're nauseous, but excedrin will only make you feel worse if you take it without food.

Also, excedrin has caffeine, so I'm not surprised that the mountain dew on top of the excedrin makes you jittery.

Headaches are the worst. I get them daily, ranging from mild up to pretty intense migraines.

[Marduk]

Something that exacerbates headaches and is often overlooked (and the mountain dew would fall in this category) is dehydration. My first answer to you, before taking any drugs or anything else, is to drink a lot of water (sipping relatively slowly, that is) and see what effect that has.

[Tally M.]

I know that Excedrin has caffeine, which is why I often take the Mountain Dew in place of Excedrin—it helps me take the edge of the headache so I can start fighting the nausea.

Also, I've considered dehydration, but it happens too regularly for that to be entirely the case.

[Marduk]

My only point is that it will make any potential remedy less effective, particularly the ones that have caffeine, as caffeine acts as a diuretic.

[Emiliana]

Benadryl! I had no idea until a year or so ago that Benadryl was an anti-nausea, but it works wonders -- it's very fast acting, so even if you puke it up the first time, you might have gotten enough in your system to help you hold down a second dose. Also good for sleeping off the headache.

My personal go-to remedy is Advil, Benadryl, a cup of coffee, and a nap. (Just don't combine Advil with Excedrin unless you really want ulcers.)

If your headaches are PMS-related, you could consider going on continuous birth control pills, which reduce or eliminate periods: http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/ ... trol-pills

Other than that, I second what everyone else said.

[Tally M.]

Thanks guys. My mom scheduled a doctor's appointment for the week I'm home before school starts.

Also, I took some Excedrin before my headache made me too nauseated. So far I'm not feeling overly caffeinated or nauseated. Thank goodness.

[Portia]

When I get a stress- or staring-at-a-computer headache, showering in complete darkness really helps me.

[Squirrel]

This is just my personal experience, and it probably doesn't apply to you, but it can't hurt to throw it out there: I used to have really bad, frequent headaches/migraines, and it turned out to be that I wasn't drinking enough water, and my neck muscles were really tender and tight. A few sessions of physical therapy and no more pain. Maybe this might help? In any case, I hope you feel better soon, and that the doctor will help you. Best wishes!

[wryness]

Could your headaches be caused by issues with blood circulation? Sometimes improving circulation can be a good cure for headaches. A simple natural way to do this is to swallow a capsule of cayenne (available in most health food stores) with a meal and glass of water. (I have to take it with a meal because I get heartburn if I don't.) I think it's worth trying the cayenne and seeing if that gets at the cause of the problem, so you don't have to take painkillers all the time.

If you're curious, here are some reviews on Web MD of cayenne use (including one that said that taking cayenne was as effective as a powerful nasal steroid at treating sinus inflammation).

While on this topic, I want to make a plug for a cayenne heat ointment I've used that is GREAT for muscle pains/cramps/etc. It might not work too well on your face (and it would hurt like the devil if you got it into your eyes), but I just thought I'd mention it.

[Whistler]

whoah. Because I burned out my stomach with ibuprofen I probably can't take it for a while... maybe (cayenne) pepper spray is the answer? I have sinus problems all the time.

[wryness]

Whoof, wouldn't pepper spray be too strong? If I tried that, I think I'd probably go off cayenne for life, which would be a shame. The cayenne ointment might be a better option than pepper spray, but I don't think it's necessarily intended for that type of use--but it certainly works wonders when I've sprained an ankle or things like that, but I would be careful about putting that on my face near my eyes.

I was just reading a random article online, and from what it says there--that migraines/headaches might be caused by multiple factors, depending on the person--I think that for people with recurring headaches/migraines, it might be helpful to keep an "activity diary" (sort of like a food diary for allergies) where they keep track of what they are doing and eating, and then compare that to the timing of headaches/migraines. If you notice that you are always doing heavy exercise, or drinking caffeine or whatever a few hours or a day before a headache, that could be connected.

Whistler, if you have recurring sinus problems, you might try this herbal formula. (Hopefully cheaper at your local health food store.) My mom would always have us take that when we were getting sinus problems in connection to illness, and while I can't say that those capsules were the magic cure-all (we did other stuff too), I think they probably helped. It's certainly worth a try. I'm not this crazy herb man who never goes to doctors, but I've probably only had to make 10 or less doctor's visits in my whole life, and I think it's largely been because of natural remedies. I like the idea of getting at the cause of the problem instead of just the symptoms, so if any of those things work for you, I'd say go for it.

[Whistler]

I think ingesting cayenne might aggravate my ulcer, which is why I was excited to find a nasal spray. Doesn't it sound refreshing?? http://www.amazon.com/Sinus-Plumber-Hor ... pper+spray

[Tally M.]

So, went to bed with a headache last night, tried drinking some water though before I went to bed. Woke up with a super bad headache, forced myself to go to work (with a waterbottle) and ended up going back home twenty minutes later to nap. Good news is that it finally seems to have gone away, and I managed to get some food down.

[Whistler]

aww Waking up with pain is like, the worst thing ever, because you're losing sleep AND you're in pain.

[Emiliana]

I'm currently in a state of post-migraine dopiness... still a little bit of dull pain down the right side of my skull and down my neck, but mostly just dopiness.

[Tally M.]

:/

ETA: I know you guys aren't doctors =P but my right temple (just barely right of my eye) is tender when I lightly press on it, like there's a bruise there. This...shouldn't happen, I'm assuming?

[Giovanni Schwartz]

If you're really worried that much, go to a doctor.

If you're just annoyed, like I am when I get a headache (granted, I don't think I've ever had a migraine), then maybe get some sleep, drink some water, down some ibuprofen (or Aleve. I think that works best for me, personally), and have a bite to eat and see if you get better.

[Whistler]

:/

ETA: I know you guys aren't doctors =P but my right temple (just barely right of my eye) is tender when I lightly press on it, like there's a bruise there. This...shouldn't happen, I'm assuming?

could it be a sinus thing?