Hi chronic tension headache sufferer - ruining academic work

OP

[Qwxw

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 83

Laura120792

Original post by prinay123

Oh i see i have pain all over my body my arms and legs feel very heavy and weak, i cannot play football anymore, its very nice to talk to you. What other things did you try to do for treatments? The headache, was it one big headache taht never went away or headache's (plural), becuase mine in ONe headache (singular) never ever gone awawy or decreased in pain since 2010 feb

Mine was multiple but there would be hardly a break imbetween having them, I really feel for you, I couldnt imagine having a constant headache, I would definitely go back to your doctor and try and get a higher dose of amitripyline, I'm suprised they havent given you stronger already! I didnt try anything else for them, my doctor recommended going for head massages but I couldnt really afford it and when I did try it I came away with a massive headache that lasted for days. I think there was something on the news about a year ago about having botox injections to stop headaches if 3 or more treatments hadnt been successful, I dont know if youve tried that but you can get referrals from your gp for it if youve tried several other methods!

Reply 84

OP

Original post by Laura120792

Mine was multiple but there would be hardly a break imbetween having them, I really feel for you, I couldnt imagine having a constant headache, I would definitely go back to your doctor and try and get a higher dose of amitripyline, I'm suprised they havent given you stronger already! I didnt try anything else for them, my doctor recommended going for head massages but I couldnt really afford it and when I did try it I came away with a massive headache that lasted for days. I think there was something on the news about a year ago about having botox injections to stop headaches if 3 or more treatments hadnt been successful, I dont know if youve tried that but you can get referrals from your gp for it if youve tried several other methods!

hi there yes the amount of money ive spent on massageds, and therapy is ridiculous , it has made me reallt want to start earning but of course due to my illness i cant even work unfortuneately, Gp's in this country are absolutely useless, well mine is

Reply 85

Hi, I can sympathise with you, my headaches started just before I started my GCSE's and have never for away, just got worse. I am just about the sit my A2 exams as we speak an its hard. I struggled like you with my headaches and dealing with my AS exams so much so that I failed two them, causing me to have a rethink about how I continued my studies. I have seen two neurologists at two different hospitals and also had an MRI scan (a waste of time) I have tried all the type of medication possible after I gave in an said I would as to begin with I refused as I didn't want to become dependent on them. I have tied nortriptyline which does the same as amatriptyline but is easier to take, gabapentin, which we thought would work but the side effects were too great and the results weren't good enough, the dr finally gave in and I was given pregabalin but this affected my studies as I suffer may side effects including memory loss and lack of concentration, it also cause me to put on weight and have an increased appetite. I am now back on the nortriptyline as i have had to compromise as was the most effective as it levelled out my headache at a 7 (I rate my headache degree on a scale of 1 to 10) this is something that I have had to come to terms with. I am hoping that once I have completed my A levels an have started university that the headache will start to decrease and become less occurrent. I like you would just love to have one day in which I don't have a headache even 1 hour would be nice. Have you looked at triggers that could set your headache off or make it worse, little things,chocolate, caffeine; such as diet coke and coffee even tea! I now wear glasses for school and computer work to reduce the strain on my eyes an I see and osteopath on a regular basis with help to relax my neck and release any tension around my head. You need to find the medication that helps, it may not get rid of it but it will ease it and help you through the exam pressure. Feel free to ask anything, it's nice to find someone in the same position xxx

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Reply 86

OP

[wxw

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 87

Rybee

2

Gabapentin is one of the most effective drugs for chronic nerve pain. Better yet, if you can get your hands on Pregabalin, that's incredibly good. Though Pregabalin is £56 per packet to prescribe so very unlikely that the NHS will pay for it, though you can always pay for it yourself. I was fortunate enough to get 600mg Pregabalin prescribed to me on the NHS.

Reply 88

WildBerrySpirit

15

My sympathies are with you OP. I've been experiencing something very similar, for a fair few years now. The headaches I tend to experience on a daily basis. Although rarely painly, they are incredibly uncomfortable. Alongside them, I also suffer from migraines, which for the majority of the time occur sporadically, but they are so damn painful. I've tried just about every single medication dedicated to relieve headache/migraines, but all to no avail. There were certain medications that just exasperated the symptoms. I've now decided to just stop with the medication altogeather, and opt for accupuncture instead.

Just a suggestion, but have you considered having tests for food intolerances? A few years ago, I initially thought that I may have suffered from CFS, due to my constant tiredness and sore muscles. However, since cutting out gluten from my diet, I've noticed a huge decrease in my symptoms. The moment that I do consume gluten, my symptoms just seem to magnify.

Reply 89

Rybee

2

Original post by WildBerrySpirit

My sympathies are with you OP. I've been experiencing something very similar, for a fair few years now. The headaches I tend to experience on a daily basis. Although rarely painly, they are incredibly uncomfortable. Alongside them, I also suffer from migraines, which for the majority of the time occur sporadically, but they are so damn painful. I've tried just about every single medication dedicated to relieve headache/migraines, but all to no avail. There were certain medications that just exasperated the symptoms. I've now decided to just stop with the medication altogeather, and opt for accupuncture instead.

Just a suggestion, but have you considered having tests for food intolerances? A few years ago, I initially thought that I may have suffered from CFS, due to my constant tiredness and sore muscles. However, since cutting out gluten from my diet, I've noticed a huge decrease in my symptoms. The moment that I do consume gluten, my symptoms just seem to magnify.

I doubt this very much... The list of drugs for migraine prophylaxis is almost unlimited.

Reply 90

hey, I'm 18, will be 19 this year. I know what you mean about friends, it took mine a while to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't exaggerating, I really did have a headache and I wasn't just saying it!! some physical activity does tend to aggravate my headache, mainly activities such as running and sports such as football and cricket, luckily I'm not really a sporty person :smile:

I find that swimming help though as I can just float around and I takes some of the pressure off of my neck. even the osteopath that I see if frustrated, it got to the point where I had seen him for at least a year and he couldn't make a big enough difference and pin point the main issue, so he stopped charging me for nearly 2 months as I was seeing him every week!! when I first went to see the osteopath he pointed out so many things that were wrong, it almost became a joke, saying that I had the body of an 80 year old inside! :P and although some things have been sorted there are others that he just can't fix, such as the fact that I cannot relax at all, and he can't understand why, neither can I really. he did say though that things from my childhood could have had an effect so he suggested a hypnotherapist, don't know whether you have tried that?? I didn't like it and refused to go back but it wasn't the right time for me to take about the past, and is something that I will need to do in my own time. its a shame that you feel you can't go to uni yet but you have got the right attitude!! think positive, its the only thing to do. xxx

Reply 91

OP

[wxw

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 92

sad that you can't do the exercise and clubs that you enjoyed :frown:

with regards to studies i'm still planning on going to uni next year, if the grade are right I am planning on studying at UWE Bristol, I think that I need a change of location, I love being in the west country so that where I want to be :smile:

I've got 4 exams coming up, how about you?? hope your year out is successful, use it do to something that you enjoy, maybe that will help you take your mind of the headache?? love your attitude!!! my osteopath still tries and I still see him regularly, my friends find it hilarious that both my osteopath and my doctor got Christmas cards and presents from me this year :P xx

Reply 93

OP

wxw

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 94

Original post by prinay123

hi there. i have 10 exams. lol. Its too much stress, with regards to the headache , do you still suffer from it? has it decreased in pain? Is it still stopping you from studying or slowing it down? Grades i know i am capable of getting are AAA however, Thinking in reality I will get ABC/D

10 exams!! that must be playing havoc with your headache!! :frown:

yeah I do still have the headache, never had a day without it since it began and the pain gradually got worse and at the moment it is quite bad with all the revision and stress of exams going on :frown:

I do find revision harder as I lose concentration really easily and day dream quite a lot so it takes me a lot longer to revise one thing compared to my class mates. I do wonder what my grades would be like without the headache, I wonder if I would have passed chemistry and physics last year, but I suppose you just have to deal with what you've got and work with it. I am predicted AAC but in reality I think it is likely to be nearer ABC but I can't be sure. one on my exams is an art exam which is slightly different to the other as you don't have to revise but the work load is higher which is a problem when my head is bad as i'm not in the right frame of mind to actually be doing the work so the quality isn't as good as it could be. how about you, do you struggle with revision?? how do you find class work?? xx

Reply 95

OP

wxwx

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 96

Original post by prinay123

Ah isee, as for me , in al of classes i get lost and if the teacher asks me a question its hard to to answer as i dont know what he has just said. This applies in french most of all (this is my favourite subject) but i feeel worst about this as i love it soo much but i have difficulty for example re telling what a video was about or what was said in it, and most of the time my teacher would be talking and she would ask me but i wouldnt know as i wouldnt know what she said. Its like hearing words but not understanding anything. I've never handed in hw on time. I can never work as late as i want to. Work rate is 4x slower than what i am capable of and Biology is also one of the hardest subjects as it requires a lot remebering and this is the hardest with my headache. HOwever subjecs like maths are easier but in the exams, maths is way harder as i it pains me to concentrate and think when doing a sum. Its so hard. I given extra time in the exams, but the number of mistakes i can make in the exam unknowingly is ridiculous. And sadly this is all down to my headache. Normally i would have to read a line 6-7 times before i can understand and even then if i were to write it out without looking at it, i woudl struggle immensely. So waht is the cause of your headache, definately posture related? have you got proper chair? People just do not realise how much of an intense and heavy pain it is. They just think it's a normal headache. Plus admitedly i have got drunk once in the past two months and after that the hangover was a headache on top of the CTH . Pain unbelievable. Also driiving as it uses concentration, when ever i drive for 30mins plus, il come home and my headache will be a third worse as i will have a headache on top of a chronic tension headache. Also do you struggle with speech> The most upsetting thing for me as i hav mentioned previsouly my passion for french, i have an oral exam coming up very soon and due to my concentration i cannot understand what the teacher asks me and i make silly mistakes in speech pronounciation very often unknowingly and this is going to reduce my mark. This is the worst thing in my life for me. It really upsets me as i cannot perform to my ability and therefore get better results than everyone else. It really depresses me often. But i dont think of it.

life is so unfair sometimes!! I see where your coming from with French, and although I don't take a language at a level I did at GCSE and everything took 3x as long as everyone else to learn. I struggled last year with chemistry and physics for the same reasons as you do with biology, I just couldn't remember the calculations or what symbols when with what equation. I took up ICT this year to replace the two sciences that I failed and consequently dropped. I though this would eb easier and although the work is easier working on a computer for 8 hours a week doesn't help with my headache. when I was taking the gabapentin I struggled with things like speech and I couldn't type at all. all the sentences that I wrote made no sense and when the teachers asked me a question I would end up feeling really stupid as it could be the easiest of questions and a topic that we had just been studying but I couldn't remember what we had done so I would have to get them to repeat it two maybe three times and by that point the class are getting annoyed and I just gave up in the end and said I didn't know. this was really frustrating as I did know it but I could take me around half an hour to actually remember it, which by that point it was too late! the pregabalin had similar effects but I couldn't remember anything, I would be asked to go and do something, then walk out of the room and completely forget what I was asked to do. it got ridiculous an in the end I came off of it and went back onto the nortriptylin. the doctors and my osteopath have struggled to pin point the exact cause, it is slightly posture related as I don't stand up straight and I never relax my shoulders. but some of it could be to do with events that happened in my childhood, that lead to stress. do you struggle with chairs at school? i used to sit on a stall in my science lessons for around 3 hours a day and my headache became worse as time went on. school chairs don't help with posture at all! are your school aware of your headache? do they understand? xx

Reply 97

OP

xw

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 98

username1054067

2

What are you're sleeping patterns like btw? how many hours do you get? Cause I've heard it's different for each person.

I think i suffer from chronic fatigue and mild headaches too, but I just think it's stress for me.

I force myself to get 9/10 hours of sleep every day. I love my sleep. I feel so peaceful. And on weekends I just lay in bed fo ages and it helps me a lot

Reply 99

OP