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Complete Insanity Is...Living in Constant Pain. Please Help

I've had a nonstop headache for 5 years. The pain fluctuates but it's always there. I'm a junior in college-I'm in a sports team and have a job. I'm in constant pain yet I have to be fully functioning all the time. These past 3 days have been awful-a number 8 or 9 constantly. Medications have t worked for me so there's no way to mitigate the pain. Please, someone tell me how I'm supposed to live like this.

  1. Hi lissamill,

    Chronic pain is exhausting, frustrating and debilitating - I'm sorry you are going through this right now. Have you been to the doctor recently to let him know you're having such a difficult time? If not, I would encourage you to seek out his/her help with this. That's no way to live.

    May I ask if you take something every day, or near daily, to help relieve this pain? A problem we can unwittingly create is called rebound headache, or medication overuse headache. The thing is if we take migraine medications and/or pain medications, whether they are over-the-counter or prescription, more than two to three days a week we may end up in a rebound cycle. And if we are in a rebound cycle we can end up in a daily cycle of endless pain and our migraine attacks may be more difficult to treat. When you get a minute, take a look at this information on rebound headache; https://migraine.com/living-migraine/stop-rebound-headaches/.

    If you don't get anywhere with your doctor, it may be time to find one who will work with you to help end your daily pain. A "true" migraine/headache expert is board certified in headache medicine which is different than being certified in neurology. These articles detail how these expert doctors are different and how to find one; http://migraine.com/blog/how-are-migraine-specialists-different/
    and https://migraine.com/blog/really-find-headache-specialist/.

    I wish I had a magic answer for you, but I don't. Please let me know how you are doing,
    Nancy

    1. Hi Nancy,

      Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I do not have a regular doctor I am seeing for my pain. Every doctor I’ve seen so far has been unhelpful, some even misdiagnosing me. I’ve trued a number of medications, some preventative and some for during an attack but none work so I’m not currently taking anything.

      My most recent venture these past couple weeks has been acupuncture. It’s very uncomfortable and I can’t say I enjoy it, but I seem to have less “Oh my God, Take me to the emergency room” episodes. At this point, I’ll take that as a blessing, so fingers crossed this is a possible aid.

      Thank you for the comment, I’ll keep you updated on my acupuncture.

      Sincerely,
      Melissa

    2. Thank you Melissa. I look forward to your updates!

      Nancy

  2. i dont really know how to answer i have had non stop vise grip like headaches that fluctuate in intensity for 3 yrs now. i do not know if they are migraines. i am seeing a neurologist. started on topomax. it seems to help.the pain isnt quite as bad..i have this hissing in my ears that goes with it and it is driving me crazy

    1. Hey, how was your acupuncture treatment? In recent analysis, it is said that acupuncture is more effective than medication in reducing the severity and frequency of chronic headaches. When receiving acupuncture migraine treatment, the needles will generally be placed in a person's arms, legs, shoulders, legs, and sometimes a needle can even be placed in one's large toe. Anyone who is qualified will have gone through intense training in order to make sure that they know what they're doing, too, so there really should be no worries when one goes in for this treatment.

      1. Hello Daniel,
        Thank you for asking. I went to an Acupuncturist about 6-8 times. It didn't appear to lessen the severity of my daily head pain, but it seemed like it might have lessened the frequency of my really bad attacks. However, two weeks ago I was hit by a really bad attack and haven't recovered from it yet. I have not been back since. Acupuncture is too expensive and time-consuming for a college student if it isn't noticeably helping my pain. I'm now looking at more options. I'v called Jefferson Headache Center at least 5 times, with no call back so we will see I guess. I'm always open to more suggestions!

    2. I have lost trust in the doctors. I began looking into natural stuff that didn’t make my hair fall out and make me feel crappy from all of the side effects.I found a product that worked for me after 30 years of suffering every single day with a migraine. I consider myself at the extreme end of sufferers. Might be worth a try for some of you and the best part was its all natural (no side effects) and they offered a trail bottle. I read all of these posts on this site and it breaks my heart to know most of you are still miserable. Look them up. It might be your answer. Doctors and meds did NOTHING for me for years!!! The name is URLifeBack and I stand by it. It gave me back my life and I’m grateful. Best of luck to all of you

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