Headaches - how to prevent

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your journey with us. I'm so sorry you are experiencing a lot of head pain. That's very frustrating.
It sounds like you are taking step to remedy this such as drinking more water and reducing screen time.
There are over 200 different types of headache disorders of which migraine is just one. Have you thoroughly discuss this with your doctor to get an accurate diagnosis? It's vital to have an accurate diagnosis so we can learn all we can about our specific headache type and then get the proper treatment. Here's the thing - migraine can fall on a spectrum from mild to severely debilitating and everything in between; it's thought to be a neurological disease. This information will start you off to have a conversation with the doctor about this; https://migraine.com/blog/communicating-pain-and-disability and https://migraine.com/living-migraine/how-do-you-prevent-an-attack.
It's certainly possible to have screen time and dehydration, in addition to many other things trigger a migraine. Seeing as you are having so much head pain I do wonder if it's migraine. Let me share this information on what a migraine is. One word before you go on to read, keep in mind as I mentioned above, migraine pain falls on a spectrum: https://migraine.com/what-is-migraine. And here is information on triggers; https://migraine.com/migraine-triggers.
Another thought is something you mentioned regarding taking ibuprofen for the pain. We can unwittingly create another problem called medication adaptation headache (medication overuse or rebound.) This can occur when we take pain relievers, whether they are over-the-counter or prescription, more than two to three days a week. Ideally not more than 10 days a month. Here is more information on this; https://migraine.com/headache-types/medication-overuse-rebound.
I'm going to stop now as I've given you loads of information - I hope I didn't overwhelm you!! Will you let me know what you think? Nancy Harris Bonk, Patient Leader/Moderator Migraine.com Team

Hey there -- I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with headaches! They can be frustrating whether or not they are because of migraine disease. If you are having headaches almost every day and using ibuprofen a lot, it's probably a good time to talk to your doctor if you haven't already. Taking medication too much can start a cycle of medication adaptation headaches which can be even harder to get rid of. There are also other headache disorders that are not migraine disease and have any number of causes -- stress, nerve pain, muscle tension, nutrition, sleep, the list goes on.

A good idea is to take notes, both so you can share them with your doctor and look for any patterns, What time did you get the headache, how long did it last, what did you take if anything, and did anything make it better or worse? You may also consider writing down your meals, sleep times and exercise. I hear you about drinking water. It's hard! Feel free to have other beverages occasionally, flavor your water with fruit, buy sparkling water or water enhancers if you want. You also get liquids from your food.

And it can be tough to get off your phone. First, make sure you are using a blue light blocker. Keep the brightness down and use night mode when you can. Take lots of breaks. Look at something 25 feet away. It may be easiest to cut down on YouTube time by doing it a little less each day. What other things do you like to do?

We're here to support you. -Melissa, migraine.com team

I take tablets once or twice a week when it’s really bad.

The headache I normally get is on the forehead at front.

Nope not discussed propley with doctor, I just said headaches do few checks everything fine, gave advice like drink water etc.

How can I get doctor to do something like see a specialist?

I took some tablets today, it helped loads, however I still have this weried lingering headache what on earth is it and why doesn’t it go away.

I like reading.

1My aim is less time on my phone.
2Do some exercise everyday
3 Drink more water

What elese can I do, and how can I do 1 and 2 above

Wow, touch wood it stays this way


The only chnage I have made so far is before I go to sleep I do not use my phone, if I do it’s only 5 minutes.
And when I watch tv or phone use light in dark.


This small chnage, I’ve done for 2 weeks, and my headaches intense has been remove 70%, it’s been so good I’ve not had to take a signal tablet


I still get headaches, but there so weak now and disappear a lot quicker.


And not once have I woke up in middle of night, like I use to with a thumping headache.


Everything elese I still do same use phone etc


Can defiantly say this has chnaged my life didn’t realise phones are that bad.


And I use to think it would be impossible to just go to sleep it’s not it’s quiet easy, sometimes I do wish before bed I could go on phone, such a tiny price to pay to what I have now.


Instead of phone now before bed I just watch tv downstairs, or play video games


Imagine how much better it’s gona get when I start the daily walking and 2 litres of water a day.