The FibroTroll has another group of regular friends (co-morbid conditions). They have a whole little gang of their own. They come in the form of migraines and multiple different types of headaches.
Here’s a little breakdown of the most common members of the Troll’s headache gang:
- Tension headaches: These commonly start at the base of the neck and will work their way forward so they eventually encompass the whole head. If I get one of these, I tend to reach for the ibuprofen and get my knight in tarnished armour to massage my neck.
- Dehydration headaches: Can be any part of the head, usually they will improve if you bend over or lie down. Movement will usually aggravate them. I rarely get these as I make a conscious effort to avoid become dehydrated. The best treatment is to rehydrate. Do this in stages, if you drink a litre of water in one go, it will not be as effective as if you drink a small glass every 10 mins. You will also need to replace electrolytes, I do not tolerate the artificial flavourings in commercial electrolyte drinks, so I prefer coconut water. There’s also loads of recipes online for homemade rehydration drinks.
- Allergy headaches: Often seasonal. They are usually generalised and accompanied by sore, itchy, or runny eyes, and a runny nose or sneezing. Antihistamines can be of more use than analgesics for this type of headache.
- Hunger headaches: Mine are usually accompanied by being “hangry” (so hungry that you are cranky). Low blood sugar can be the cause of these. Having a sweet drink, then eating some food is the best treatment.
- Medication or Caffeine withdrawal headaches: Best managed by not being too reliant on medications (easier said than done). Early on in my FibroTroll fighting days, I had to cut out the caffeine and the resultant headaches were not fun to get through. Analgesics and rest got me there eventually.
- Eyestrain headaches. Commonly in and around the eyes. Often caused by spending too long staring at a screen or driving long distances.
- And one I call The Troll headache: I haven’t found an official name for this headache, but it is a distinct one that I recognise as different to the others. It has the neck tension, but also tends to sit in around the back of the eyes. It feels as though someone has stuffed my head full of cotton wool, but without taking anything out to make room. The only things that help this one are caffeine and sleep. I usually try sleep first, but it can hang around for a few days and if it does, the only option is caffeine.
There are many more members of the headache gang, far more than I realised when I was younger. They include (but are not limited to): Cluster headaches, vascular headaches, TSS, altitude headaches, brain tumours, fever, trauma and the list goes on. But the big Mob Boss of headaches is the good old Migraine.
The Migraine is a good friend of the FibroTroll. They both have the same great enjoyment of effing your life up as best they can. My migraines manifest as an all over headache, including severe neck tension, I am sensitive to movement (mine and those around me moving too fast) light and noise and if I don’t get analgesics into me ASAP, it will progress to vomiting.
There is a very good article that goes into migraines in much more detail. I wouldn’t do it justice if I tried.
A migraine is one of the few times I will resort to codeine. I will have panadeine together with ibuprofen (check with your doctor if this is ok for you to do before you do it!) and then lie down in a dark room with as little noise as possible. I’ll use an icepack and heat packs and move them around my head and neck. I can’t explain why this helps, but it seems to for me.
These are the things I do to help reduce the occurrence of headaches and migraines.
- Try to get adequate sleep. Read more about improving sleep quality here.
- I see my chiropractor every 2-3 weeks and my physiotherapist every 3-4 weeks.
- Move regularly. I don’t mean go for a run. I mean get up, stretch, do yoga or Tai Chi.A sedentary lifestyle can predispose you to headaches, yet it is hard to get adequate movement when you are battling the FibroTroll.
- Meditate. This helps reduce stress.
- Move your eyes. If staring at a screen, or anything that stays a similar distance away, regularly look around. Focus on things that are different distances away. Put your hand up in front of your face and focus on it, then focus on something in the distance.
- Drink plenty of fluids. Have a drink of water every time you pee. And if you drink caffeine or alcohol, a glass of water for every one of those drinks.
- Eat regular nutritious meals.
- Avoid too much sugar and processed foods. Keep a food diary and try and see if there is a connection to your migraines. Many people find that food can be a trigger.
- CoQ10 (co-enzyme Q10) is an enzyme found in the body’s cells. A few published research papers have shown that for some people supplementation with CoQ10 can reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. Some of the abstracts for these studies can be found here. CoQ10 can have serious interactions with some medications, so check with your health care professional before taking it.
- Magnesium supplementation in the form of an oral powder and Epsom salts in the bath. the supplement I like is called Energy X, made by Metagenics. (I have no affiliation with Metagenics, I just really like this product.). It has a really good mix of B vitamins and other vitamins and minerals that I find helpful. As an added bonus it is flavoured with cocoa – yum!
There are medications available that can help to reduce the occurrence of migraines. I personally choose not to take preventative medications as I find that these management techniques mean I rarely get them.
I do get headaches often, but the more I learn to listen to my body, the better I am at identifying the type of headache and the treatment that is most likely to be effective.
For preventing allergy headaches though – I got nothin’. If you have any tips, I’d love to hear them!
