Ever since I went off the Pamelor, I have had some real doozy headaches. Yesterday I fought off the headache in the morning with no drugs and by last night, it was almost gone. But this morning at 5:30, I wake up and my whole right hand-side of my head is throbbing. I have to get up immediately when this happens. Laying down only makes it worse.

So, I get up and take 2 Alleve. I'm not sure if it will help because I haven't taken this before. My Dr. told me that Alleve does not cause rebound headaches. An hour after taking them, nothing. Well, maybe the throbbing isn't quite as bad. The pain is over my right eye, on top of my head and down the right side of my neck.

So, I get really tired and try going back to bed. I fall asleep for about 45 minutes (have a really weird dream) and wake up with the same pain. Now that I've gotten up, eaten a little and drank some, I feel a tiny bit better. So much for Alleve.

I'm so depressed. I just can't understand what is going on with me. I have had headaches since I was 5 years old (I'm 32 now). But I have also had periods in my life when I was virtually headache-free for long periods of time. For example, this past summer, I hardly had a headache. Once in a while, but maybe only once a week. And not that bad. I was even drinking a beer a day or a glass of wine with no problem. Then, the fall hit and they came back, only worse than ever. I have a headache probably 5 days a week. Waking up is the worst and as the day goes on, they usually get better. I have worried about rebounds, so I suffer a lot instead of taking something.

The Pamelor was working wonders on me. I am half tempted to start taking it again and deal with the bad side effects. But another part of me says to just wait until tomorrow (I see my Dr. again) and see what else I can try. I was so amazed at how good Pamelor worked. I took it for 2 weeks and only had one tiny headace. And I was sleeping all night like a baby - waking up feeling great (well, tired and drowsy, but that's better than pain). I am hoping that if Pamelor worked so well, than another drug that does a similar thing might work just as well. I don't know...I feel so sad.

People who don't have headaches don't know how good they have it. I try not to feel sorry for myself because I know there are a million other pains I could have. I guess I'm fortunate to only have head pain. It's just so hard sometimes. I had a good cry this morning and I'm sure that added to my pain! ;)

Oh, before I forget, one other thing I'm wondering if anyone else experiences...when I wake up during the night and I'm sleeping on my back, that's when I usually notice head pain. When I fall asleep on my side, it's much better, but if I fall on my back again, it's worse again. Also, if I wake up after having a vivid dream, I usually have a bad headache. I do wear a bite splint, but I know I still clench. I had a CAT scan about 3 years ago. Nothing showed up.

Anyhow, thanks for listening to my sad story. I feel like no one else really understands how debilitating these headaches can be.

Jane

I would definetly stay away from Aleve too much, take generic naproxen if anything, Aleve adds caffeine, which can help some people but can be the rebounders worst nightmare too. Anything over 3x a week is a rebound risk, but if you have one bad headache a week(ha) believe me a rebound headache is so much more tolerable than a severe migraine, annoying, but tolerable, unless you get caught in a rebound cycle.

I guess you've already seen your doctor, I hope you got some new meds, there are always other forms of trycilics anti-ds, I would really try an good SSRI(low side effect one like wellbutrin or lexapro) since chronic pain goes hand in hand with depression. Trycilics don't normally do enough. And boy does depression suck! I never realized how horrible it was.

I would recommend getting a pilow that is shaped with curve for your head, that helped my clenching, I still do when I'm really stressed and hurt. Also PT(I know that asounds wierd) helped because I helpd my head too far forward so that made those muscle want to clench. If you haven't tried PT and want to try something in addition to meds, I found it useful.

Hope you're feeling better,
AJ

People who don't have headaches don't know how good they have it.

I have thought this numerous times myself. I started getting headaches at that age of 7 (over 20 years). However, I didn't grow up in a family that goes to the doctors or hospitals unless someone has lost a limb!

Anyway, I have had doctor's try to refer me to neurologists and have tried to prescribe medications to try and see what would work for me. But, for whatever reason, I have a fear of 'playing guinea pig' with all the chemical treatments there are for headaches. I think this is because no one has yet pinpointed the actual reason some people are afflicted with this.

I keep searching for 'natural' ways to attack the ones that I get and have found a couple things that are worth looking into if anyone feels the same way I do. Please understand that I am in no way pushing how I feel on anyone here. I know how debilitating these things can be and each person has to decide for themselves what they want to do about it. I just wanted to relay what I have found in case anyone else is interested.

One thing that has worked on me is to take Feverfew daily (or 2x daily) over a period of time. It will not help an existing headache, but has helped me in a little over a week of taking it. It's shown to prevent blood vessels from constricting (one thing that causes headaches).

I have never been to a chiropractor, but have recently had a couple of visits with a kinesiological chiropractor. After speaking with this person at great lengths, I am planning on going in for the purpose of a spine alignment to relieve pressure that also contributes to headaches. This individual gave me some information about headaches that I thought was interesting. I'll post some of it below:

"headaches are not illnesses that require treatment - although many certainly feel that way. Headaches are merely symptoms, distress signals sent by your body. Dulling the pain with medication, without treating the cause ignores these urgent cries for help. Nor are headaches all in your head. Many start out as a spinal misalignment in the neck. Add poor posture and/or stress to that misalignment, and tension headaches are all but unavoidable. When stress and certain trigger substances interact with spinal misalignment, the result is frequently migraine headaches. Both types of headaches are avoidable." This article goes on to explain 'the anatomy of a headache'.

Although I am a little excited about looking into this, I am still skeptical.
I realize that there are studies and articles on probably every type of treatment out there - depending on what someone wants to believe. I truly hope that you find something that helps you. I understand how frustrating this can be.

Shiloh