Sunday, February 19, 2006

Damn Headaches!!!



Ok, so yesterday, I had another one of those headache episodes, the one that keep me bedridden for the rest of the day. I finally go and see my doctor yesterday and advise that the medication he suggested just isn't strong enough. He didn't want to prescribe anything to me because I've had little to no health problems in the past. He did a history on me then did a thorough examination before he was convinced that I suffer from muscle spasms. About a year & a half ago I was in a car accident that, at the time, I believed I walked away unharmed. Unfortunately, ever since, I would have very tense neck and back muscle pain that would come and go. At first, I thought my positioning when I slept was the cause but it never explained why I would have the headaches. At least once a week I would get a sharp pain on one side of my head, mostly the left side. The headache would appear when I woke up in the morning, but also at the end of the day when I was tired. My neck would hurt the same side my head would accompanied by nausea. The accident apparently cause the muscle spasms but it seems it's been compunded by my bad posture (I have minor scoliosis).

My doctor explained that my headaches were the result of muscle spasms in my neck. When a muscle on one side of my neck goes into spasm it causes not only a one-sided headache but also pushes on the vagus nerve in the neck which causes my nausea. He sat with me in his office to go over some stretching routines I must do before I go to bed and when I wake up. He said, he suffered from muscle spasms for years before he was correctly diagnosed last year. He said most doctors would just prescribe medication for the headaches not really examining the cause of them. He also gave me a noninflammatory prescribition to counter the headaches.

At first I thought my doctor was bullshitting me about the muscle spasms so he wouldn't have to prescribe me anything but when he tucked my neck this striking pain flashed through me but when he made me do the stretching exercises the headache, which had intensified over the past few hours, had reduced considerably. He said I might have to see a physical therapist if the headaches persist because it would be indicative of me needing more extensive physical treatment. For now, I'm taking the medication and stretching every few hours. I didn't realize how soar my back was. Thankfully, I know what is causing the headaches and now I know there are things I can do about it.

posted by Jbrit @ 2:51 PM