Headaches, drug allergies, etc. (long)

Lyrajean said:

Willowbark contains the same active ingredient as aspirin so if the OP is allergic to aspririn and not a filler that won't help.

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That's why I was wondering whether it was worth a go... Pam's allergic to so many different drugs and they tend to use similar fillers.. it may just be the problem.

Lyrajean said:

Willowbark contains the same active ingredient as aspirin so if the OP is allergic to aspririn and not a filler that won't help.

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That's why I was wondering whether it was worth a go... Pam's allergic to so many different drugs and they tend to use similar fillers.. it may just be the problem.

Also, Peaches08.. Yes the withdrawal from caffeine can be the instigator.. I meant to clarify that so thanks for bringing it up.  I just don't drink enough coffee for it to be an issue (I'm not a daily caffeine person).  And I have a friend who is like me with coffee and finds it helps her headaches too .. It's a mystery

Has anybody ever tried one of these? http://www.hammacher.com/Product/76528?promo=search I know cold packs and pressure usually give me some relief. Scalp massages have worked as well. Obviously with migraine the main issue is that blood is trapped in the brain and this creates pressure. Pressure= pain. The reviews for these types of products are either really good or so-so.

Another thought... I don't think anyone has mentioned the triptan class of drugs. (i.e. Frova, Immitrex, Zomig, etc.) I can't take them b/c of a reaction they have with another drug I take. However,I have taken Frova in the past (before I had the drug interaction) and it worked really well.

I probably should get an epi-pen, just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the idea.

No scalp massage....when the pain is really bad, my hair even hurts. I know how silly that sounds, but it's the truth. My hair hurts.

Caffeine withdrawal really isn't an issue for me, especially since we got the Keurig. I drink one cup of coffee a day, usually in the morning. Most of the time I will drink one diet Mt. Dew a day, again in the morning, around 10 or so. So there's always some caffeine in my system.

When my head is bad, I found that a caffeine soda (Dew, high octane Pepsi) with ice will help the pain (something cold more so than hot). Sometimes I'll take a cold washcloth and lay it on the side of my head and that seems to help. And when the pain is so bad that I think my head is going to explode, I'll wrap the band from my robe around my head and tie it very tight. Looks stupid. I don't care. It helps.

Bed, obviously, no music, no light, no sound when it's at its worst.

Have not had a Cranial Blood Flow MRI....will ask my doctor. Thank you. When I was young (about 10 years old), my parents did have several tests run on me for the migraines. Nothing ever came up positive or anything. It was just "one of those things she'll have to deal with". That was almost 50 years ago.....obviously, medicines and tests change. But my neurologist never found anything either and that was less than ten years ago.

I haven't gone the herbal route, but will talk to my doctor. We did try Immitrex....it did nothing at all. But that was awhile ago.

The thing is, I can go for months (months!) without any kind of headache at all. And then, out of the clear blue, wham! And I'm down. It usually starts at night, wakes me up out of a sound sleep. It's like an ice pick going through my temple. And then just gets worse and worse. It can last for a day or two, or a week or two. And then it's gone and I can go for months again. I keep a food diary (I started doing so years ago) and there's nothing we can point to (chocolate, red white, deli meats, etc. I eat chocolate often and I drink wine about twice a week or so). There's nothing that we can identify as a trigger.

Advil helped. Excedrin for Migraines did wonders. But since the swelling thing started (and they all do cause swelling), I can't take them anymore.

One thing Rick and I were talking about last night. And a light bulb went off.....I started using Splenda again in my unsweetened tea. I started last week. And that's when the headache started. I've been reading about Splenda and it's not a good thing. I quit using it again and I don't think I'll go back to it. I hate completely unsweetened tea, so Rick suggested that I make a regular batch of tea for him and a very lightly sweetened with sugar batch for me. We'll see how that goes.

I just saw your thread, Pam. I am so sorry that you are dealing with these issues. The last two months I have been waking with terrible headaches and sinus pain. I have never had allergies before and everyone I talk to says that allergies do not cause headaches. How can that be? The headaches are in the eye area and I do have mild sneezing on some mornings with that zingy pain in the sinus. I know, I should just go and see the doctor. I talked with the pharmacist yesterday. She recommended taking Sudafed PE. So I bought some and took two last night. No headache this morning and I could breath better through my nose. BUT Sudafed PE is not for allergies? So not sure what is going on with me. I wonder, have you tried Sudafed PE?

I also have tried the Benadryl Elixir on and off the last few weeks. It does seem to help but I only take it at night. It knocks me out. I don't like taking something like that though because I need to be a light sleeper so I can take Wilbur out two times over night. I have also resorted to taking Excedrin. Which is not good because of the caffeine which I am not suppose to have.

I have never had anything like this before. I wonder if the new area in which we live and the heavily wooded lot are the cause of my symptoms. Anyway, I know how you feel on a smaller scale though. Your headaches sound so much worse than mine. Still, I just don't feel great and the headache is wearing me down.

Pam, I also stopped using the Splenda and Equal in my decaf coffee. I went back to regular organic sugar. I honestly think that has helped me as well to tone down the headache believe it or not. I am trying to eliminate certain things one at a time to see if it helps. I think keeping the food diary is an excellent idea, Pam. Even to keep track of what you are drinking too.

Low BP is normal for me. Actually, I can get too low, all on my own. Then I do feel dizzy, light-headed and foggy. But I don't think that is the problem I am having right now. I think it may be something I am allergic too. Larry says it is the cat's. :wife:

I'm with Lauren on the sugar substitute thing.. I think those chemical substitutes are really bad news, and they could be the problem.

I use xylitol.. it has a third less calories than sugar, is natural and has some good health benefits.

I do hope you can get to the bottom of it, Pam... headaches that go on like that are just awful

Sinus allergies can cause bad headaches, Lauren. Just ask dear Richard. He has them and they are nasty. Also chills and fevers and the like. His doctor has him cleaning his sinuses out now every night before he goes to bed because his allergies are that bad. I can't remember the name of it, but it comes in a powder and he mixes it with water. NeilMed Sinus Rinse is what it's called.

The fact that this has come on for you right around the time you moved makes me suspect that it could be the new area you live in now and your woods. It may mean that you just have to get "used to it" for awhile until your body adjusts. I hope that's all it is. 

I have used regular Sudafed in the past, but was it, primarily because my doctor told I could for a cold. But that's it.

Benedryl completely knocks me out! I had a lip-swelling episode a few months ago (when I couldn't take the headache anymore and took Advil). The Advil caused my lip to swell and I took some Benedryl. It worked on the swelling, but about 60 minutes later, we left to go out to dinner. I was so embarrassed! I couldn't stay awake.....I just couldn't. Rick thinks the waitress probably thought I was drunk....that's how bad it was.   I almost fell asleep at the table. Needless to say, we got out of there as soon as Rick finished eating. (I've heard of people actually taking Benedryl to help them sleep....it does work, I'll say that.)

Thanks guys. I'll get to the bottom of it, but it may take awhile. Meanwhile I am off the Splenda again.

Consult with your HCP about Sudafed and cardiac meds to be on the safe side. Actually, anything OTC including herbals. Some combinations can be bad.

I get sinus headaches related to allergies. I have to stay on Zyrtec and Singulair year round.

I too get awful migraines.  Mine are mostly triggered by the weather, and fortunately don't seem to be associated with any of the normal food triggers that people tend to experience.  When I was living in Alaska it was an absolute nightmare because I had a pretty much constant migraine during the winter months (all 6-7 months of the winter!).  I'd end up in the ER about once a month or so because I would have a migraine for weeks on end with extreme pain.  They'd give me an injection of Toradol (kind of like an extra strength Ibuprophen is what they told me it was) with an injection of an anti-nausea medication and that normally worked to knock the migraine out. 

Now that we're living in Hawaii the headaches have really become less and less because of the mostly sunny weather (of course when it rains I'm right back to pain central).  But now in Hawaii I'm having severe allergies due to the pollens that I've never been exposed to elsewhere, so I guess you have some trade-offs no matter where you live  I'm also sensitive to medications, but luckily I don't seem to have any allergic reactions like you do.  That's really scary, and I'm so sorry that you're dealing with the Russian Roulette of trying different medications and seeing which you react to! 

Over the years I've tried a wide cocktail of both preventative and abortive medications (beta-blockers, natural supplements, pain killers, depression medications, etc), and some even helped for awhile, but others I've had bad reactions to, though luckily not quite as severe as yours.  I've tried Topomax, and like BigPerm it gave me the stupid feeling where I really didn't know what was going on and had zero short-term memory.  I've tried Triptans and like you the Imitrex did nothing to help, then I tried Relpax and it made the migraine worse and made me sick, then it was on to Maxxalt which put me in the ER because my limbs felt so heavy that I had trouble moving them and I was having trouble breathing.  Fortunately, it wasn't an allergic reaction and it was more or less a panic attack that caused the difficulty breathing because I got so scared about not being able to move my arms or legs.  Honestly, with your history of drug reactions I'd be really leery about even trying Triptans again because it seems like there's some powerful stuff in them.  I'm so sorry that you're having such a hard time being able to find or take anything that helps, and that you're actually able to take without a bad reaction.  I agree that it sounds like you should carry an epi-pen around.  Have you been to see an allergist by chance?  They might be able to help you narrow down what it is that's causing you to have these types of horrible reactions.

For me I currently I don't take any preventative medication and my neuro has given me Fiorecet, which works well if I catch the migraine early enough.  Fortunately, (I guess) I've recently started to get the aura so I know when it's coming on.  For all of the years before now I've never gotten the aura, so medications like this that have to be taken at onset were hard to take in time.  If the Fiorecet knocks you out though, you could also ask to try Midrin which is a combination of Isometheptene Mucate USP, 65 mg, Dichloralphenazone USP, 100 mg, and Acetaminophen USP, 325 mg.  This is what I used to take, but it seriously knocked me out.  My neurologist told me that strangely enough some people are knocked out by one but not the other, and since they're both about as effective that they'll try first one and then the other for people.  It seems like it's more difficult to find a pharmacy that carries Midrin nowadays, but you can go to a compounding pharmacy and then they can make it up for you.  I believe that they can do the same thing for the Fiorecet.  I think that Midrin and Fiorecet are the only prescription medications on the market that are specifically for migraines and not something that's actually made for a different condition but that can sometimes help with migraines.

It's unfortunate that the beta-blocker that they have you on hasn't helped and been a type of preventative medication for your migraines.  I was on one of those for a couple of years as a preventative and it was one of the few that actually worked to help prevent the migraines with minimal side-effects. 

A more natural preventative medication that my doctor had me on for awhile, but unfortunately didn't help, was Magnesium supplements.  Apparently, low magnesium can lead to recurring migraines in people.  Another one is vitamin B6.

I also get the dizzy spells due to very low blood pressure, and I suffer from motion sickness, so the doctor has prescribed me Meclizine (same thing as Dramamine).  He's also prescribed me Zofran for when I get the really bad nausea from the migraines and I used to take Phenergan, but it stopped working for some reason.  The Meclizine might be helpful in your case due to your dizziness issues.  Though, is it that you're actually dizzy where the world feels like it's spinning, or you feel like you're spinning...or is it that you're feeling lightheaded?  I get both issues, and the doctor told me that it'll help with the actual dizziness, but probably wouldn't help much with the light-headed feeling.

Since you're so sensitive to medications have you tried acupuncture or seeing a chiropractor?  Both my mother and grandmother also suffer from migraines and both have been seeing a chiropractor for years, and it's helped them a lot.  I'd try one of these options, but my insurance won't cover either of them and they're too expensive to do totally out of pocket  You could also try a bio-feedback therapy where they help you to learn to adjust your breathing so that you can relax and hopefully reduce the pain.  This is actually the next thing that I'm hoping to be able to try because I am so sick of medications!

Oh, I also did the Botox injections while I was in Alaska because they've done studies that it can help with migraines as a preventative.  It's supposed to help especially with migraines with tension headaches because it numbs the muscles.  Unfortunately it did absolutely nothing for me and, oh my goodness, did those injections hurt!!!

Sorry to ramble on, I'm just trying to give you an idea of some other options from my own experience.  I'm so glad that your migraines have gone away for now and that you're pretty sure you've tracked to cause of this episode to the Splenda.  Question though, you say you drink Diet Mt Dew, there's no Splenda in that is there?  I don't drink it, so I have no idea, but I thought that some diet sodas were made with it these days.

Good luck on your continuing migraine-free days!  Stay well.

Oh, I wanted to add, if you're in the U.S....I found these gel pads at Walmart that I use when I feel a migraine coming on.  They're actually fever reducer pads and are marketed to use on children to help reduce their fever, but they work so well for my migraines!  They're just a gel sheet that reacts to the air and becomes cold.  They're sticky and you stick them right onto your head.  They also stay cold for a really long time, unlike the regular ice packs I was using.  Unfortunately, they're pretty expensive for what they are.  They only come 4 sheets to a box and are $4 a box!  I don't remember the brand name, but they have pictures of Mickey Mouse and friends printed on the box and on the gel pads themselves. 

Wow, thank you, ArcherBaby, for taking the time to write all that out! I do appreciate it.

Yes, I have been to an allergist. His advice was pretty much, "Well, don't take the medications that make your face swell up!" And that was that. But it's difficult to find a med that works on the pain and doesn't make my lips swell. And now I'm so leery of taking anything so I've just been dealing with the pain. Especially after that incident with Tylenol last week.

There is an acupuncturist in town and I just told one of my friends that I'm seriously considering giving him a call. He's also kind of a friend/co-hort as we're on many of the same committees and such around town. I like him and I trust him.

I don't think there's Splenda in diet Mt. Dew, but will have to check on that. I drink one pretty much every day, sometimes two when the headache pain is bad. And, when doing so, I also tend to put the cold soda can on my head in the area where the pain is the worst.

Somebody mentioned perhaps trying the Advil liquid-gels instead of the regular pills. I said something to Rick about them and we're both just too leery at this point to try them.

Luckily, I've been pain-free for several days now and I feel very well! And I will probably stay pain-free for a month or two before it starts to kick in again. I still think it's a combination of migraine headaches and cluster-type headaches. Dr appt is coming up in June and will keep you all apprised. Thank you!

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think you answered my question about Triptan drugs. If you can take them they work miracles for migraine sufferers. You might want to ask your doc for some samples when you go.

This is out of left field, but you just never know.....

I've had headaches, sinus pain etc for a couple of weeks that has gone to my neck, shoulders then upper back.  I stopped doing my new physio exercises thinking that was it.... then stopped knitting   but it was getting worse and worse.  So I googled all the symptoms and it came back with my jaw.  Two and a half weeks ago I had fillings in the backs of my front upper teeth that changed my jaw line.  Such a tiny thing has made life a little hellish.

I know it's really unlikely, Pam, especially with the on again/off again nature of it, but it may be worth getting your bite checked.

Also, without rereading everything, you've gone down the hormonal path?

Winchester said:

Sinus allergies can cause bad headaches, Lauren. Just ask dear Richard. He has them and they are nasty. Also chills and fevers and the like. His doctor has him cleaning his sinuses out now every night before he goes to bed because his allergies are that bad. I can't remember the name of it, but it comes in a powder and he mixes it with water. NeilMed Sinus Rinse is what it's called.

The fact that this has come on for you right around the time you moved makes me suspect that it could be the new area you live in now and your woods. It may mean that you just have to get "used to it" for awhile until your body adjusts. I hope that's all it is. 

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for dear Richard.

I am certain it is the small "forest" :lol3: we live in that surrounds our house. I will say that oddly enough the Sudafed PE has been helping me tremendously. I am feeling so much "clearer" and no headaches in the AM the last few days. I take it at night. Last night instead of taking the two tablets - I took the one. I hate taking medications and always think less is more. The one tablet still did the trick. I may not take any tonight. There was just an article in our local paper that the Chicago area is having one of the worst seasons for allergies. Many people complaining and suffering alike.

More and to you, Pam. I was glad to read in your last post that you are on a good path for now and feeling better. :cross:

The Triptans don't sound familiar, so I've probably not tried any of them....will talk to my doctor.

Yes, I do have TMJ. It was compounded when my GYN put me on Fosamax, which is truly a dreadful drug. Within one week of starting Fosamax, I had terrible pain shooting through my jaw. And after two weeks, I ended up in the ER with a suspected heart attack. Turns out it was the Fosamax creating all of that. I stopped taking it immediately, but still have the jaw pain; dentist says I'll probably have trouble now for a long time. All because of taking Fosamax for two weeks. Just two weeks. I'll take my chances with falling and brittle bones; no way am I taking that stuff anymore.

And yes, I took hormones for about 27 years, give or take, and stopped taking them last spring after a breast cancer scare last April. I wasn't taking Premarin, rather it was a special compound drug made locally. My GYN was very upset when I stopped taking the hormones because I'm still fairly young, but the cancer scare was too much. But I do feel worse in general since I stopped taking them.

I used to take just regular Sudafed.....it was pretty much the only drug my doctor would recommend when I had a bad cold. She felt safe with that and my blood pressure. I hope you feel better, Lauren.

Yes, the headache seems to have pretty much gone away. Thankfully!

I've been writing things down for my next doctor appt!