I have had a daily headache for close to two months. I am prone to anxiety / stress, and in the past I have suffered tension headaches, but this just doesn't seem to budge and I can't find relief.
My symptoms are:
- Pressure and moderate pain (mostly dull, but sometimes throbbing) behind my right eye socket area (occasionally left). This pain radiates down to my neck, behind my ear, and to the back of the head (mainly right hand side). It is present all day.
- Sometimes waking up with a stiff neck
- Drowsyness throughout the day
During the course of the 2 months, I have suffered a bit from hayfever and colds. However, the headache didn't respond to sinus-clearing meds, and when the doctor checked my nose / throat, he couldn't find evidence of sinusitis.
The headache doesn't seem to respond to Ibuprofen. I have just started a course of amitryptaline because the doctor thinks it could be migraine / bad tension headaches / slim chance of trigeminal neuralgia. I go to the gym 2-3 times a week but don't lift anything too heavy.
Has anyone else experienced such headaches, or can give advice on relief? I'm just a bit worried because of the duration they've lasted.
Yea. I get the same thing. I haven't been diagnosed with anything except chronic headaches.But I get tension headaches that turn into migraines if I don't take the meds.(muscle relaxers and fiorocet). Which works pretty good most of time. I feel some times they get worse when I have sinus problems. Anyway, the muscles in my neck get really tight. I never noticed these muscles until a massage therapist did a number on them. So I do sometimes try to loosen them myself. Which is tough. Right under the ear and neck all the way to the throat. I am supposed to see a neurologist. But haven't yet. Yea I get pain all over my head. But usually starts as tenstion, there are muscles all over the head. Sometimes I can't kick em and they last for days. Seems to be family parties or during times of more stress.
It sounds like it could be a cervicogenic headache, which stems from neck issues. Unfortunately these can be tricky to treat and don't always respond to medication. I've had the best results from manual therapy, like a trigger point massage to work on my neck and shoulders, but I have yet to finding lasting results. If you haven't already, I'd definitely look them up online so you can read a bit about them and see if it sounds like what you are going through. These often result from posture issues and seem to be issues for some people that work on computers or have a desk job. It could also be from sleep position if you wake up with your neck already bothering you.
