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I just had two days without a headache.

Now there's the "value attribution problem" - how do I know which of the many things I tried, helped? It might have been random variation as well.

My best guess is acupuncture. That's the last thing I tried - I've done four sessions, and as far as I can tell my average headache level has decreased monotonically since starting.

There are other possibilities - I started taking vitamin D supplements around this time. But it's either Other or Unidentifiable/Random regardless. Since they are on 10% and 20% right now respectively, even though my best guess is acupuncture, I'll resolve both to 50%.

@colorednoise woohooo! may your headache-free streak last many more days

are you taking acne medication?

male or female? if female, on any bc?

@KepLumen oh interesting, what's the connection with acne medications? is it like how tretinoin can cause migraines?

@goblinodds saw that colorednoise is taking zinc for acne (3mos ago anyway) so figured i'd ask if they are taking anything else for it so i could research. asked about bc for similar reason though, potential reduction in testosterone does nothing but bad things for the brain/vitality of men and women both.

i'd be curious to know the ferritin level of op as an aside. not that I expect they've tested it, but would be cool if they did.

running strenuously (currently untrained so that doesn't mean much actually in terms of volume likely done) relieved symptoms for an hour. @colorednoise do you recall roughly how far and how fast you ran to get an hour or so of relief? are you comfortable telling us your height and weight? clarifying if M or F?

+1, microdose or otherwise, or triptans

added physical therapy bc of this reddit comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/migraine/comments/13404em/comment/jiciyji/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

have you tried and noticed any difference after anything that relaxes your muscles? e.g. massage, THC, someone in that thread said benadryl works for them

do you grind your teeth (and if so do you wear a nightguard)?

Need to see your neck posture.

@MattFreeman I met someone who specializes in posture (I think it was a physical therapist)? He said that other than shoulders that are too far backward (the opposite of the usual problem as I understood it) my posture is good

@colorednoise That could still be a cause. Pulling your shoulders too far back can be a way of compensating for other stuff. I haven’t been impressed with physical therapists when it comes to chronic conditions. They don’t seem to appreciate the compensatory tricks the body can build up over years.

It’s very difficult to write anything meaningful about posture because it’s a complicated 3D object and we don’t have that many words for things. Try standing, relaxing everything, drawing your shoulder blades down and together (not “back” except to the extent required to bring them together) aiming to pull everything toward an imaginary point at the center of your back. Don’t overdo it. Let your neck and upper back relax into this position. Hold this for 5 minutes. If this does nothing, then never mind, and good luck with your headaches.

is it a migraine or a different sort of headache? (have you seen a headache specialist?)
have you taken anything since the headache started (apart from excedrin the first time-- like are you still taking excedrin and if so how often?)

@goblinodds My original headache was diagnosed as chronic tension headache, from one doctor Central Sensitization Syndrome as well. Since I've had it for seven years I've seen a headache specialist multiple times, but not again since the last change. Over the years I've read many books on headaches, and I read studies as they come out. I'm usually aware of anything any of the doctors say already, so I believe it's probably pointless. I think I would still fit the same diagnosis as before.

I'm taking Aspirin/Paracetamol when the pain spikes, it happens maybe once every two weeks. Taking them either does nothing or returns it to baseline (impossible to tell if it's just regression to the mean).

@colorednoise ok yeah, wanted to make sure you were sure it was a tension headache and not a migraine or something else, and also that you weren't stuck in a medication rebound headache loop. i've been getting migraines once a week to once every three weeks for the last 10 years and for the first year or so i thought they were sinus headaches, before a headache specialist was like "lol that's a migraine"

i get tension headaches occasionally (upper back tension --> neck pain --> a headache is the giveaway for me), sometimes every day for a month or so and then it just... goes away. in the meantime weed helps a lot; i think it's bc it relaxes muscles

Some questions:

How would you describe your mental health?

Have you ever had a serious head injury?

Have you had any sinus issues recently?

How would you describe your posture?

What is your blood pressure?

Can you give a brief overview of your diet?

You say your sleep is "weird". How weird are we talking, exactly?

@NBAP

Mental Health - I'm probably more anxious and depressive than average, especially the past few months.

Serious Head Injury - The worst one was in third grade and led to me having a scar on the back of my head where hair doesn't grow, but according to my parents I didn't even have a concussion. Did not have headaches until 6 years later.

Sinus Issues - Yes, I don't care about them much. I successfully solved them for a while with a neti pot but it didn't help the headache so I stopped.

I had my posture checked, tense shoulders but generally good. Exercises for posture don't seem to help the headache.

Last time I got checked I think it was 10 above the healthy range on the high side? But the nurse asked if I'm anxious, I said yes (I was) and she said it's probably that since I'm so young (early twenties).

Diet - I eat generally healthy I think. Healthy weight. I'm not following any specific restrictions, but I try to choose whole grain over not, and I avoid red meat and added sugar.

Sleep - since then I fixed my sleep, it's no longer weird (didn't help).

Have you performed allergy tests?

@shankypanky I have, I do have allergies, but I take antihistamine and they help a lot, but not the headache

@colorednoise I ask because as a teen I got headaches multiple times a week and was really irritated with the level of care (lack thereof) that I got when I asked a GP. they would ask me to keep a food diary and come back in a few months but wouldn't offer any suggestions. a friend of my mum's said her granddaughter was getting very regular headaches then discovered she's allergic to peanuts and was eating peanut butter sandwiches regularly. could also be autoimmunity?
of course I'm writing this on day two of a migraine and the best I feel like I can do at the moment is try to stay hydrated, remember to eat, and consider my stress levels. I feel for you. ❤

@shankypanky thanks :) hope the migraine ends soon

Also, how long does your headache need to stop for this to resolve? Eg. What if it stops for a day, and then comes back?

@Reality I'll resolve it if the headache is gone for two days in a row, if it's just one day I'd say maybe it was a temporary painkilling effect and it wasn't really "stopped"

Have you tried cardio?

Intense cardio (exercise: running until exhaustion on a treadmill in particular) helped a friend of mine who was facing something similar.

@Reality I used to run everyday in the past at 17 years old, and I didn't feel it significantly reduced the number of headaches I had (though for the first month or so I felt it was helping).

I don't think I've done any cardio in the past two months though (I just lift), I'll try "running till exhaustion" sometime today and will update

@Reality Do you mean it helped them immediately, or do they believe it helped them over time?

@Reality Update: ran until exhaustion, I think there was a reduction for about an hour afterward but now it's back