When I’m stressed, anxious or sometimes out of nowhere, when I lease expect it, I can feel it coming on. A tightening or burning pressure on the left side of my head. Sometimes it feels like a little pulsing hammer that won’t go away. My neck tightens. My eyes hurt or feel strained. I get sensitive to heat, light and loud noises and a building nausea in my stomach. I get migraines. Sometimes they last a short while and its manageable to keep working or continuing my daily life, but sometimes the build up lasts hours and take me off my job, or away from activities I could be enjoying with friends and family.
A lot of people get migraines or sometimes severe tension headaches that are similar to migraines and don’t really know how to handle them or what might help. While there are a lot of medicines on the market, both prescription and over-the-counter, they can be pricey. I can’t afford to pay for a medication and sometimes, I have bought an expensive medicine only to find that they don’t always work or they have bad side effects. Since I didn’t want to keep trying medications and taking a gamble on their effectiveness, I did a little research and talked to other people who get them and other kinds of bad tension headaches. I came up with a few small things I could do to increase my comfort and sometimes combat or hold off the migraine altogether. I have tried a lot of suggestions from message boards, support groups, advice from other people and holistic professionals and these are just a few things that help me cope. I find that the same methods also apply to my bad tension or stress headaches (that are not technically migraines).
Please note: I’m not a medical professional and recommend speaking to your doctor about your own personal treatment plan and what would be good for you, especially before using any over-the-counter medications that may conflict with any others that you are taking. Also, these kinds of things are not one-size-fits-all! I have spent a long time experimenting and finding what works for me. I’m sharing my top six, in case I have found something that you have never tried. I hope one or more of these will bring at least a few people, some comfort!
1. A small cup of black coffee. This might seem like a joke, but its my first line of defense. As soon as I feel that first sign of tension and pressure in my head, I reach for a small cup of coffee with nothing in it. The caffeine dilates blood vessels in your head and releases pressure. Sometimes this is enough to stop the build up of a migraine and avoid a full-blown migraine altogether. I pick black coffee and a small amount because I try to cut back on caffeine and sugar when I am feeling stressed anyhow and too much wouldn’t help overall. No additives, like the ones you find in soda, really help to not complicate it with other potential triggers for me (I have blood sugar problems). However, if you can’t get to coffee and can get to a soda machine, that might do the trick as well.
2. A few Ibuprofen tablets. (Advil) Unlike other painkillers, Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory. What that means is that instead of just masking the pain, it actually works to bring down tension swelling. I find if my head and neck relax, that can help stop the migraine cycle, or at least make me a lot more comfortable when I am trying to cope with it.
3. Drinking lots of water. I’m not really sure why this helps. I’m guessing that sometimes on my most stressed days, I forget to drink as much water as I usually do and therefore might be a bit dehydrated. Dehydration is related to a lot of illnesses and irritability, so it could be related to the headaches and migraines. Regardless of why it works, I know now that if I force myself to drink a lot of water in a short amount of time, it appears to help lessen the degree that I’m feeling pain and nausea. Make sure to fo it at the first sign of the migraine though, because I have tried to chug water when I’ve already been nauseous for a while and can sometimes make me feel worse.
4. Ice packs or cold compresses. This one is a no-brainer. Its intensely comforting to have a cold compress on your head when its in pain and like Ibuprofen, if there is any tension swelling, it brings it down.
5. Breathing exercises, laying down in a dark room. Without light, heat or sound distractions, I get less irritated and therefore can focus on relaxing. I used to freak out and be thinking “ugh…why is this happening again!! I hate migraines!!! Whats wrong with me!!!” and other such negetive, panic-inducing thoughts. Now I try to ignore that line of thinking and just keep taking deep breaths. Eventually the nausea and room-spinning and pulsing and irritation seems to subside. That also could be because I’m just waiting it out, but it certainly is easier waiting without my temper flaring up and panicking!
6. Benadryl or Advil PM. (or suitable generic substitutions that contain the same drugs) I went to the emergency room once with a migraine that wouldn’t go away over a period of 6 hours. They gave me a prescription dose of the same drug found in over-the-counter Benedryl brand, Diphenhydramine. From what I understand, it works on migraine sufferers the way it works on people with hives or extreme allergic reactions – it just brings down the “flare-up” reactions of your nerves and tissue. Advil PM contains the same drug, Diphenhydramine, plus Ibuprofen, which brings down any tension, as mentioned above.
I use this as a last resort, because it makes me drowsy, so obviously, I can’t take it if I’m driving or at work. However, in the case when I’ve been suffering so much that nothing appears to be helping and all I can do is lay down and feel ill – I take the recommended dose of Benedryl or Advil PM and generally I fall asleep or can at lease relax peacefully. In a short while, I can get up or wake up pain-free. Please note, if you are having to do this frequently, please see your doctor because there could be a great many things wrong that should be checked out. However, if its only in occasional and urgent cases, I find its good to keep a box in my cabinet. Its a lot more affordable than prescription migraine medication and you don’t have to take it everyday for it to work.
If you are someone who suffers from migraines or severe tension headaches, I hope one or more of these helps! Please leave me comments and let me know if there are some other things I could try! I’m always open to suggestions!
