Be Excellent To Each Other

I regularly get headaches, so much so that when I don’t have a headache, I consider this abnormal. The migraines I get are the worst and can put me out of action for days!

I do spend a lot of time in front of a monitor at work and, like most folk, I do play games most nights so I’m sure this has something to do with it.

It’s got to a point now where I’m actually going to do something about it! I’m going to the Doctors on Thursday to see what he says. I’m also going to get my eyes tested in the coming weeks to see if that helps.

Also, this week I’m giving up fizzy drinks to see if that helps with my cause. It’s not that I drink a lot, just one can of Pepsi a day with my lunch and an energy drink on the way home from work but my dad suggested I try giving them up and see if that helps.

So… Does anyone else have any tips/hints on what can help? Apart from the obvious painkillers etc..

I get a lot of headaches, but I mainly just medicate, finding nothing else to be particularly effective.

If you really want to find out whether your diet is a cause, go through a whole programme of getting rid of red meat, dairy, gluten, nightshades, etc one by one until you've either eliminated everything or found a cause.

Yeah, I was thinking about this long term. Starting with the fizzy drinks this week then seeing how I get on with giving up stuff in other weeks.

My diet isn't the most varied though... but next week I think I'll try chocolate/sweets (basically working my way through things that are bad for me)

Stop or reduce your caffeine intake and defo get your eyes tested. Dehydration could be a factor too, do you drink plenty of water?

Just as Supreme Commander Zardoz said: water is the key.

Dilute yourself a bit and help theblood flow by chugging a load of water (or cordial if that's too plain) and you'll quickly eliminate most headaches.

If you are getting full blown migraines then the steps you are already taking are brilliant such as getting your eyes tested and visiting your GP.

I've a habit of clenching/grinding my teeth & that's the usual way I end up with a heidache, dehydration is next most likely & having to squint constantly when I'm out on a Sunny day without sunglasses is the only other way I can think of that I get one (apart from things hitting me on the heid mind).

If it's migraines you're getting then that's a different story. I'm still not sure what causes mine, all I know is that when I start getting the warning signs I've only got a wee while to swallow my pills or the whole day & often the next is a write off. I used to get every other week when I was a teenager, but thankfully they're quite rare these days.

Yeah, they hit me from time to time, one every few months or so. When I feel them starting I know I just have to have to lie down for an couple of hours and they'll pass without having to take anything. It's shite when they start at work though.

I do try to drink loads of water but sometimes I forget.. I'm making an effort this week to drink more. I'm on my 4th cup already which is an improvement.

When I feel a migraine coming on I take some tablets and then lie down otherwise, like Wullie, I can forget about doing anything the next couple of days.

I once had a migraine come on while I was away from home for the day but I tried to ignore it.. that didn't work.. I was physically sick with it. Horrible.

The fizzy drinks could definitely be a factor, especially as your drinking stuff that has a lot of caffiene in it there. I know when I was at school I used to get headaches all the time. Then I decided to stop buying a can of Coke to go with my lunch every day and the headaches started to clear up.

I have always tried to never medicate my illnesses. Craster's comment got me thinking about that.

As I've got older though I have found a paracetemol to be effective every so often. It's just that I'd prefer my body to cure itself.

I'm trying not to be too reliant on medication. I don't have a massive hang up over it, I just don't think it's going to do me any good in the long term.

It varies. The only thing I medicate (other than under medical supervision) is headaches - because I know that getting rid of the headaches without it means doing something about either my diet or my sleep patterns. And I like my diet and sleep patterns to a greater extent than I care about popping a few Ibuprofen.

I medicate with as much water as I can stomach for headaches.

If I get a streaming cold though I will have a lemsip to try and alleviate the blocked nose feeling.

Bowl of boiling water, head, towel is the best combination for doing that.

Not if I'm at work!

I do similar though at home, by taking a hot steam-filled shower.

I find I only really get headaches when I'm stressed out with work, or I've been completely neglecting to drink enough water. I tend to force myself to keep a glass of water on my desk, and I naturally find myself just taking a swig every now and again. I've come to quite like the taste of the water here now, to the point where water anywhere else (and especially bottled water) tastes weird.

Cordial FTW!!

I can only drink apple and blackcurrant though. Don't like orange, lemon, barley, summer fruits etc.

If it hurts a lot more when you move/shake your head (like stabbing pains in the temples) - it is probably dehydration. Drink 2 pints of water in the next hour, take some painkillers & wait. Drink more as a habit & you wont get em.

If it hurts more when you lie down compared to standing, it is probably sinuses/congestion. Sinutab or similar stuff, lots of hot drinks (tea/coffee)

Cut back on caffeine too, cos that can give you regular headaches in the afternoons/evenings if you only drink several cups of high caffeine stuff in the morning (not to be confused with dehydration caused by the diuretic effects of caffeine - another good reason to cut it right down if you can)

These are the 3 most common kinds of lifestyle-induced headache, and they all feel different. The vast majority are dehydtration based tho (one way or another), so you need to find a drink you like to keep drinking through the day

A school friend of mine suffered really bad migraines and was advised by her doctor not to eat chocolate as it was one of many triggers. Sure enough, she got a migraine anytime she had a bar. In fact, I believe it was a chocolate induced migraine which saved her life on the day of the Madrid train bombings as she was too ill to get up for work and therefore missed her usual train, which blew up.

I go for the alternative option of drinking lots of caffeinated drinks all day.

I only drink decaff at work, and lots of Vimto Coridial (diet)..

It is hard to get enough water when I travel a lot..

Do you smoke? too much nicotine gives me a headache.

How long has it been since you had them tested? I'm surprised I don't get headaches considering how much time I spent staring at screens, all day at work and in most of my free time at home too.

I have two main causes of headache:
Not enough water and not enough sugar. I can generally tell which sort it is, and most times it is water. First thing I do is down a pint of water and then repeat a max of 1/2 an hour later.

I don't smoke and I haven't had my eyes tested for about 16 years... yeah, I know.

I have been drinking water all day though AND I haven't had a can of Pepsi! I don't miss it either... My head still feels a bit dull though.

Did Goldberg kick you in the head?

I fully endorse this message.

I don't get headaches very often at all, not even when very hungover thankfully, but when I do I have found that striking the bump on the back of my head (the occipital protuberance) quite hard with the heel of my palm a few times seems to help. I know this sounds quite strange, but it really does seem to work for me. Perhaps my brain sloshes about in my skull releasing some pressure or something. I do get a slight feeling of nausea when I do this but it passes in a moment.

Not a lot of people have that bump on the back of their heads. I am one of the club though.

It’s day two of my no fizzy drinks week… It’s going alright today, I have a bit of a dull headache but nothing out of the ordinary. I can’t shake my head without it hurting. I wonder if this is normal?

I’ve only taken 2 painkillers this week so far too! I could take more but I’m trying to resist.

I’m also drinking loads of water! Loads and loads…

You will get headaches from caffeine withdrawal for a few weeks so it will probably get worse before it gets better. I had headaches for years that were cured by glasses (although I still get migraines).

Don't drink too much tho...

I think if you're drinking enough that your pee goes clear you're fine.

If pee is yellowy orange or darker, then more water is needed.

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Day three of my no fizzy drinks week...

I had a migraine last night which made me sleep from as soon as I got home till about 9pm. I was wide awake after that with a fuzzy head. Horrible!

I woke up this morning with a bit of a dull head but the fresh air on the way to work seems to have cleared that.

I continue....

Went for my eye test today and it turns out I could benefit from wearing glasses... Well who would have thought it!

Just for reading and using a PC though.... but man, aren't they expensive?!?!

Yes

Btw, if you went to one of the chain opticians I'd recommend getting a second opinion at a "proper" opticians (I've heard of several folk being told they needed glasses, when they didn't) & I'd say definitely buy your glasses from a proper optician. They tend to do a better job with the lenses & they (usually) work to finer tolerances.

DON'T get any of the fancy coatings wherever you get glasses from, they scratch worse than the glass does!

When you say proper optician, what do you mean? Do you mean like Specsavers etc as I went to a local shop in my town.

Also, thanks for the tip on the coatings! I was almost sold on the anti glare/anti smear coating that would have been an extra £60!

And you call yourself TheVision?

Nah, I meant wee local shops like that. They tend to do a much better job than chains like specsavers.

Anti-scratch is OK but for the love of god do not get the anti-smear coating. My gf did this, and had to argue with Specsavers for weeks before finally getting them changed FOC.

It was bizarre, it was as if they'd spent millions of pounds researching a way to make glasses automatically smudge and smear without even touching them. Seriously odd, and they wouldn't accept that it wasn't fit for purpose.

I have the anti glare on mine so that I look sexier when facing someone at a slight angle to the sun.

But in seriousness, it does stop them reflecting back as much.