Intense headaches during exams
May 11, 2011 6:22 AM
Insanely intense headaches during important time-pressure exams- solutions?
You are not my doctor, but any ideas for these insanely intense headaches I get during important time-pressure exams? I remember getting these in high school during AP exams, and years later I still get them whenever doing similar exams. Lately I get them while doing practice LSAT exams. I'm taking the LSAT in less than a month, and am pretty sure that I would do a lot better if I could just not have a head throbbing in pain, with insane tension in my neck, during a considerable portion of the exam. Yes, simply improving my ability to take the exam so I'm not so stressed out will help, but that's a long-term strategy tied to one specific exam when what I want are day-of strategies that I can use every time I will have this problem.
If you have any particularly funky ideas please share those as well as I will run anything intense (such as prescript. drugs) by a doctor, but could use the actual ideas to bring to him.
Gracias :)
You are not my doctor, but any ideas for these insanely intense headaches I get during important time-pressure exams? I remember getting these in high school during AP exams, and years later I still get them whenever doing similar exams. Lately I get them while doing practice LSAT exams. I'm taking the LSAT in less than a month, and am pretty sure that I would do a lot better if I could just not have a head throbbing in pain, with insane tension in my neck, during a considerable portion of the exam. Yes, simply improving my ability to take the exam so I'm not so stressed out will help, but that's a long-term strategy tied to one specific exam when what I want are day-of strategies that I can use every time I will have this problem.
If you have any particularly funky ideas please share those as well as I will run anything intense (such as prescript. drugs) by a doctor, but could use the actual ideas to bring to him.
Gracias :)
Absolutely, exercise. It doesn't have to be intensive cardio or anything; even simple stretching while you lay on the floor, walking (with headphones so you turn off your stress-brain for 20 minutes), or swimming. Particularly swimming, in fact - since there's something pleasurable about the weightlessness and skin contact of water. It could be, if you're spending a lot of static time in front of books/monitors, that you're immobilizing all those muscles in your neck and upper back - moving them will keep them from seizing up.
posted by media_itoku at 6:48 AM on May 11, 2011
posted by media_itoku at 6:48 AM on May 11, 2011
Totally experiencing the same thing right now as I try to finish a paper and instead look on MetaFilter. Sigh.
Temporary:
--Ice can work. You can bring an icepack into an exam. Same with heat. You can switch around and see which works for you.
--Ibuprofen and caffeine (it's essentially the same as Excedrin Migraine).
--Exercise is good, but I get it if you don't have time during exams. But try to relax -- give yourself time off every day (which is the long-term solution, really) so the pressure doesn't keep building.
--If it's mostly in the spring semester, you might have allergies or sensitivity to the barometric pressure changes. You could try some allergy meds like Claritin, etc.
--Finally, make sure you are eating right. I forget to eat during exams and then I feel horrible. Have lean protein, drink enough water (LOTS), etc. Don't significantly change your caffeine intake -- I know I start to drink WAY more coffee, which messes me up.
Doctor/Prescription:
--Indomethican can help with severe, random headaches.
--The Imitrex shot is also immediately effective. I don't tolerate triptans well, but the shot is helpful for a lot of people. You can self-administer this one (so if the headache starts in the exam, just shoot up -- good for intimidating your colleagues).
--I have lots of luck with Tramadol -- I've been taking it so long that I don't get loopy or anything.
If you do go the medicine route, be sure you give yourself lots of time to adjust. Nothing's worse than passing out during a big exam (And I know from experience).
posted by mrfuga0 at 6:49 AM on May 11, 2011
Temporary:
--Ice can work. You can bring an icepack into an exam. Same with heat. You can switch around and see which works for you.
--Ibuprofen and caffeine (it's essentially the same as Excedrin Migraine).
--Exercise is good, but I get it if you don't have time during exams. But try to relax -- give yourself time off every day (which is the long-term solution, really) so the pressure doesn't keep building.
--If it's mostly in the spring semester, you might have allergies or sensitivity to the barometric pressure changes. You could try some allergy meds like Claritin, etc.
--Finally, make sure you are eating right. I forget to eat during exams and then I feel horrible. Have lean protein, drink enough water (LOTS), etc. Don't significantly change your caffeine intake -- I know I start to drink WAY more coffee, which messes me up.
Doctor/Prescription:
--Indomethican can help with severe, random headaches.
--The Imitrex shot is also immediately effective. I don't tolerate triptans well, but the shot is helpful for a lot of people. You can self-administer this one (so if the headache starts in the exam, just shoot up -- good for intimidating your colleagues).
--I have lots of luck with Tramadol -- I've been taking it so long that I don't get loopy or anything.
If you do go the medicine route, be sure you give yourself lots of time to adjust. Nothing's worse than passing out during a big exam (And I know from experience).
posted by mrfuga0 at 6:49 AM on May 11, 2011
Caffeine
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:53 AM on May 11, 2011
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:53 AM on May 11, 2011
I used to suffer from this too. I then realised they came because on the day of an exam or presentation I was nervous and so avoided coffee to stop myself being even more jittery. The headaches turned out to simply be caffeine withdrawal.
Of course there could be a million things that cause the headaches you are experiencing, but sticking to my normal diet and normal levels of caffeine consumption on exam days worked for me.
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 7:00 AM on May 11, 2011
Of course there could be a million things that cause the headaches you are experiencing, but sticking to my normal diet and normal levels of caffeine consumption on exam days worked for me.
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 7:00 AM on May 11, 2011
I agree with the caffeine statements above, and coffee/Excedrin have gotten me out of the woods more than once, but I would just caution that a drawback to relying on coffee/caffeine is dehydration, which can nurture even more debilitating headaches than a simple caffeine headache. ABH (Always be hydrating.)
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 7:00 AM on May 11, 2011
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 7:00 AM on May 11, 2011
Are you grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw? You may not be aware that you're doing it, but a lot of people do this in stressful situations and it can produce a nasty headache and neck tension. Some people even do it in their sleep, meaning that you can wake up with a headache.
Stopping clenching your teeth in exams might be a matter of giving your jaw something else to do (eating something), or pausing every few minutes to consciously relax your jaw. You also might need to see a dentist to make sure you're not damaging your teeth.
posted by Coobeastie at 7:04 AM on May 11, 2011
Stopping clenching your teeth in exams might be a matter of giving your jaw something else to do (eating something), or pausing every few minutes to consciously relax your jaw. You also might need to see a dentist to make sure you're not damaging your teeth.
posted by Coobeastie at 7:04 AM on May 11, 2011
thanks for all the input so far. Just to be clear, this only happens during these types of exams- and I really want to know what I can do the day of the exam. I don't experience these type of dehibilitating headaches much otherwise, but consistently get them during these time-pressure-seem-so-crucial-for-future exams. Please help me :/ So far I have tried taking small 'breathing breaks' to breathe in and out and 'un-clench' during the exam. This seems to help a little bit, but not nearly enough. Last time I took one of these I took some tylenol with me and tried taking it...didn't help. Wasn't a high dosage though. I think this pain is too strong for small doses but high doses make me worry it'll affect my performance...
posted by saraindc at 7:31 AM on May 11, 2011
posted by saraindc at 7:31 AM on May 11, 2011
Try taking some Advil 1/2 hour before your test. If I'm going to be doing something where I know it's likely I'll get a tension headache it can sometimes help to take Advil beforehand. It never works with Tylenol, only ibuprofen.
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:58 AM on May 11, 2011
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:58 AM on May 11, 2011
Just to be clear, this only happens during these types of exams- and I really want to know what I can do the day of the exam.
Right. And people have advocated you exercise, drink appropriate levels of caffeine, and stay hydrated on the day of the test. I don't see any answers that appear to have misread your question.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 8:06 AM on May 11, 2011
Right. And people have advocated you exercise, drink appropriate levels of caffeine, and stay hydrated on the day of the test. I don't see any answers that appear to have misread your question.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 8:06 AM on May 11, 2011
I think the exercise answers are very good, as are the caffeine/ibuprofen ones, but if you do find that you're just so tense during the exam that you are still getting a headache, it could be beneficial to take just a minute every once in a while to stretch. Just close your eyes and stretch out your neck and shoulders so you are consciously relaxing. This could also help if you're pondering an answer and you need to concentrate for a moment.
Here and here are some pretty easy neck stretches that won't be too obnoxious to do while taking a test. Self-massaging your neck and shoulders could help ease the tension a little as well.
I'm also going to suggest yoga before the test-- even the night before, just to help relax and stretch.
posted by lockstitch at 10:46 AM on May 11, 2011
Here and here are some pretty easy neck stretches that won't be too obnoxious to do while taking a test. Self-massaging your neck and shoulders could help ease the tension a little as well.
I'm also going to suggest yoga before the test-- even the night before, just to help relax and stretch.
posted by lockstitch at 10:46 AM on May 11, 2011
Cultivate a relaxation technique that you can implement reliably after you arrive at the exam venue before the exam starts. Yes, you may have to get there early and you'll have to cultivate an aura of "i will kill anybody who dares come and approach me right before the exam" to stop people interrupting your relaxation right before you walk into the exam hall. And yes, that may be antisocial but to me it was always more important to pass my exams...
Until you learn to relax your muscles at will do that take a reasonable dose of painkiller half an hr before the exam starts. By that I mean the maximum allowed dose of something you know works for you.
posted by koahiatamadl at 11:03 AM on May 11, 2011
Until you learn to relax your muscles at will do that take a reasonable dose of painkiller half an hr before the exam starts. By that I mean the maximum allowed dose of something you know works for you.
posted by koahiatamadl at 11:03 AM on May 11, 2011
This is a little off-the-wall. Set aside one evening between now and the LSAT and read this short book: Healing Back Pain, by John Sarno. I didn't believe in this approach, but I read the book 20 years ago just to shut up a friend who kept recommending it, and by damn it worked. The pain associated with muscle tension in the back or neck hasn't dared to come near me since.
This author's more recent book(s?) try to apply the same approach to a much wider range of illness, not just pain from muscle tension. That hasn't proven effective for me, but for tension headaches and muscle-related back pain, this method quenches pain like water quenches thirst.
In the longer term, yoga will help teach you to live with your muscles in a more relaxed way.
posted by Corvid at 12:18 PM on May 11, 2011
This author's more recent book(s?) try to apply the same approach to a much wider range of illness, not just pain from muscle tension. That hasn't proven effective for me, but for tension headaches and muscle-related back pain, this method quenches pain like water quenches thirst.
In the longer term, yoga will help teach you to live with your muscles in a more relaxed way.
posted by Corvid at 12:18 PM on May 11, 2011
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posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:39 AM on May 11, 2011