Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with headache

Am I losing my vision? At 22?

wild like kudzu — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:00:07 -0800

Am I going blind? All of a sudden I have a large blindspot at about 4 o clock in my field of vision. I also have a terrible headache, both of which developed today. The blind spot is large enough that I can't see my hand as I type, and my head hurts when I try to focus on that spot in my peripheral vision. This also means that if I look at someone's face focusing on their right eye their mouth tends to disappear. I remember this happening a few times before, but I shrugged it off. This time it's very hard for me to read anything on the computer. I didn't stare at anything bright other than the computer screen (simple reason?) and I don't know what the problem is. It seems to be getting a little better, but my head is still killing me. I don't have any vision problems other than needing to wear glasses to help with astigmatism. Could it just be eye strain? It's freakin' me out a little.

Calculate Possible Combinations

rahnefan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:38:19 -0800

How many combinations are possible in this grid? I have a grid with four cells in it; two rows by two columns. Each cell has a symbol in it; either Sun, Moon, Star, or Egg. Each symbol has four potential orientations; 0°, 90°, 180°, & 270°. An example layout might be:

Sun-90° Moon-180°
Star-90° Egg-270°

How many unique layouts are possible, if each symbol must appear once and only once in each unique layout? Also, by unique, I mean do not rotate the entire grid -- for example, the below would be unique because it is not the same as the example above, even though the "markup" here has been "rotated:"
Star-90° Sun-90°
Egg-270° Moon-180°

But the example below would not be unique:
Star-180° Sun-180°
Egg-0° Moon-270°
Because it is the same as rotating the entire grid in the first example.

Blue air in, Brown air out

Secret Life of Gravy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:22:31 -0800

Do you ever use visualization techniques such as imaginary trepanation? I use a number of visualizations (such as imagining your pelvis has an elevator when you do kegal exercises: 1st floor, second floor, 3rd floor and up to the penthouse and back down again to the sub-basement) and my family find it...eccentric. Actually my 16-year-old finds it weird. I ask for two reasons: to find out how odd it is and to find out if I am missing any good tricks.

I started as a child by performing imaginary trepanation when I had a headache. I would lie with my head on one side, imagine a hole on the side touching the pillow, and allow the poison to drip out. Sometimes I would also imagine a corresponding hole on the top side and pour cold water through the top hole so that it would wash away the poison on its way out through the bottom hole.

I still do that. I also visualize the air in color when I am doing deep breathing exercises: clear, blue, invigorating air, with a hint of mint going in, dusty, greenish-brown air going out.

When I am stretching, I imagine Spiderman-type silk webs shooting out from my fingers, toes, and top of my head which fasten to the ceilings and walls and pull slightly.

When I am tired/achy during exercise, I imagine myself a robot which can perform more smoothly and for longer periods of time than a mere mortal.

I'm sure there are others but these are the ones I use daily (except that I use the headache one only when I have a headache.)

Do you do any of these? Something different?

Cry cry baby

sweetkid — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:44:44 -0800

What causes crying headaches? I cried all afternoon at work (boo --private office) and now I have a massive headache, despite meds. What causes these insane crying headaches? What a bad side effect to a bad situation!

Bizarre headache

kldickson — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:28:39 -0800

Focal headache. How much should I be concerned? After my folks and I went to dinner, I noticed on the drive back that there was an area of pain about 2 inches in diameter above my right temporal lobe just to the side of the central fissure. It was very mild pain which lasted for about 15 minutes. I observed no other neurological abnormalities - no slurred speech, no vision problems, nothing.

My neurological knowledge indicates that this 1) is not a typical headache because it is unilateral and focal and not on the entirety of my head and 2) because it is focal, may or may not be indicative of either a meningeal issue or a cerebral issue.

I'm not sure whether I should be worried about this. My first impulse is that, because the pain was relatively mild, I shouldn't be, but the headache was abnormal.

What kind of a headache can't be treated by morphine?!

buzzkillington — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:55:01 -0800

[CancerFilter] Fighting leukemia is bad enough, so WTF with this headache?! My late-30s sister is enduring her second attempt to rid her body of leukemia. She's been in the hospital for 2 weeks and has gone thru her first round of chemo. Now, she's picked up an infection that is spiking her temperature (up to 103), giving her a cough, the chills and the sweats, but the worst is the headache.

She has had a TERRIBLE headache - migrane-esqe if you will. The hospital has given morphine, demerol, and percocet and nothing has worked to take the pain away. She usually has headaches, but this infection has made it almost unbearable.

I know YANAD/Oncologist, but does anyone have any experience with this? Or any possible idea of why the headache is so bad and untreatable? Also, is it dangerous to be pumping her full of all these painkillers?

Sudden headache onset

psc1860 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:27:48 -0800

I am an old guy who has lived a healthy life: Don't smoke, exercise daily, eat right, happily and serenely married. Take medications for blood pressure and cholesterol, pretty deaf, even with hearing aids. No changes in years. Haven't really had a headache in about 25 years. A couple of months ago, I started waking up with a mild frontal lobe headache which would generally last all day, every day. Varying intensity. My lifestyle hasn't changed in years and I'm looking for a way to solve this problem.

What might be causing this strange headache?

Jenesta — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:15:19 -0800

What might be causing this strange headache? I suffer from stress headaches frequently, but I was actually feeling kind of good this morning. Then all of a sudden, white sitting at my desk at work, I felt a single throb of pain in my right temple. It went away for 30-60 seconds, and then it happened again. The third and fourth ones happened 5-15 minutes apart (I'm really not sure) and have now stopped. Now I just have this light and dull ache throughout the entirety of my head. I'm not thinking as clearly as I could a few hours earlier.

I get all types of headaches: migraines as a teenager, menstrual migraines, hunger headaches, stress headaches, headaches from too much caffeine or sugar. But I've never had something like this happen before. Any thoughts? Should I just let it go since I get other types of headaches all the time? I feel like if I could figure out possible causes, I'd know the best way to get rid of it...

orgasms aren't supposed to be a headache :(

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:57:31 -0800

I get headaches when I masturbate. Give me advice and hope, please? I'm female. I'm in my twenties and seemingly healthy. Until recently I was enamored of my Hitachi magic wand and the orgasms it brought me. (It's been the only way I've been able to orgasm--my hands don't do it for me.) But for the past few weeks, every time I start using it, I get pain in the back left part of my head within about sixty seconds, and it tends to escalate into a headache that lasts for several hours. I've been abstaining for a few days to a week and then testing the waters again, but so far it's still happening (and I stop immediately once I feel the pain - it seems to remain more mild if I stop masturbating right away.) Today I tried after a ten-day break, in a chair sitting up instead of lying down (in case I'd been moving my neck in a bad way while lying down and that was causing this) and still got the pain :( Taking aspirin an hour before hasn't helped either, sadly, nor has the small dose of propranalol I happened to have around. (Sometimes that's prescribed for this problem.)

I've done some googling and discovered that this happens to some people. I also realize you are not my doctor and it would be wise to speak to one, although I'm waiting for my health insurance to kick in before I do that. I'm hoping to hear anecdotes or advice about this, especially from other women - apparently the phenomenon is more common in men, so much of what's online is about/by men.

I'm finding this pretty upsetting, maybe even more so because I've never had sex (yet). I'm worried that this will never go away and I'll never get to enjoy sex with another person without worrying about this crappy problem and (if they even work) preventive meds and whatever else modern medicine might sugest. Did this happen to you? Did it go away? What sort of doctor/workup/treatment did you have? Was it related to your emotions at all? If it happened with a vibrator, did it also happen during sex?

Anonymous email address for follow-up questions or things you don't want to post publicly: blarger@gmail.com

“Every head has its own headache”

Sassyfras — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:24:19 -0800

I am woken up each and every night with a pounding sinus headache. What remedies can you suggest? I would love to hear any ideas/remedies to get this taken care of.

A little background info on me - I am a 33 yr old female. In relatively good health. I exercise at least an hour every day. I am at a normal weight. I eat a healthy diet. I went to an allergist a few years back. I do have some mild environmental allergies, but not enough that I would have qualified for allergy shots. I don't know if this is what is causing my sinus headaches anyway. I have had these headaches since in my teens.

About once a year (some time between October and February) they get so bad that they cannot be ignored and I take a trip to the doctor. He prescribes antibiotics, thinking I have a sinus infection. The antibiotics lessen the severity of my headaches to where they are tolerable, but it doesn't get rid of them all together.

In conjunction with your remedies for me, if you could let me know (if you know) of the time your remedy would take to have an effect, I'd be most grateful.

Should my wife wear her sunglasses at night?

cptspalding — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:35:06 -0800

What can be done to stop or minimize the occurrence of headaches due to oncoming headlights? Lately, my wife is finding that driving at night is a recipe for a headache. She says the light from oncoming cars trigger migraines. The high-intensity beams are the worst, but even run of the mill, regular headlights can cause a headache if there's enough exposure to them (say a long drive).

Wearing sunglasses doesn't really help. She's tried wearing them when I've been driving and bright lights still give her a headache, plus they don't seem too safe for driving.

Other potentially relevant information: she's prone to migraines when exposed to flashing lights (police sirens, strobe lights, etc.) She's never really had strong night vision, though the headlights haven't always caused this reaction. She wears contact lenses, if that's important.

Has anyone experienced this problem?
Would those glasses they advertise on infomercials help?
Are there specialized night driving glasses that would help?

Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful.

Will drinking coffee daily help my headaches, or just make them worse?

katala — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:51:10 -0800

Will drinking coffee daily help my headaches, or just make them worse? Dear MeFites, I seem to be super sensitive to caffiene withdrawal and think I need to take an all-or-nothing approach to avoid constant headaches. This for me means:

All - Drinking one small cup of coffee first thing in the morning, and one again in the afternoon.

Nothing - Avoiding ANY form of caffiene - coffee, black tea, coke, chocolate, all out.

I don't *love* the taste of coffee like I know many people do, but it does seem to help reduce the severity and occurence of my frequent headaches. Also when I feel a migraine coming on drinking a good strong cup of coffee nearly always hits it on the head.

I know that medically-speaking I should avoid caffiene as it's not meant to be good for people who get a lot of headaches, but I don't want to be in the awful position of falling asleep at my desk on a Monday afternoon and having no real way to wake myself up that won't give me a withdrawal headache the next day.

- Has anyone else been in this situation?

- Do you get constant headaches and find that two cups of coffee a day is more helpful overall than harmful?

- Or do you find your headaches much better when you avoid caffiene altogether (and in which case how do you stay alert without it)?

I would welcome any advice you have to give me, thank you!!

What is the nature of my headaches?

raikkohamilonso — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:11:17 -0800

I get headaches that start at the base of the back of my head, then seem to radiate over my brow. Warm compresses almost always help. What is the likely cause of this? I've had this situation since I was a kid, off and on in varying degrees of intensity/re-occurence. I'm trying to determine if it's muscle based, sinus, stress, chemical, etc. The thought that a warm compress almost always helps I find curious and indicative of "something", but "what"?

There once was a time it was so bad that I wouldn't go out of town unless I knew the hotel room I was staying in had a microwave so I could heat up a moist towel....

what's the working ingredient in migraleve and what else can I take to get rid of my massive migraine?

krautland — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:24:26 -0800

what's the working ingredient in migraleve and what else can I take to get rid of my massive migraine? I'm spending a week in germany and have left my trusty migraleve at home in the UK. they don't seem to be selling it here (at least I couldn't find it) and I already know ibuprofen and tylenol won't do anything to help me. will aspirin work? (I kind of doubt it...)

so what is it in migraleve that makes it so effective and what could I ask for here (prescription free, I need something NOW and most MD's are closed) that would help me?

(caffeine is sadly not an option)

Daily headaches & migraines - how can I be free of them??

katala — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:24:02 -0800

Dear MeFites, please help me find a way to live without these constant headaches. I have had chronic daily headaches, and at least 2-3 migraines a month, for the past ten years. I have tried everything I can think of short of surgery but nothing besides taking painkillers seems to help (and those only a little these days). My background - I'm female, 30 years old, I'm on the pill (Yasmin) and anti-depressants (Xydep - 100 mg) and a few vitamin supplements.

I've never had children, I work at a computer most of the day (although I do try to maintain good posture and stretch regularly). I've had a cat scan and my eyes checked but there's no apparent problems there.

My diet is generally very good and I drink lots of water. I don't exercise much as anything more than brisk walking gives me an exercise headache - I do wonder if lack of exercise has something to do with these headaches?

I wake up every morning with a low-grade headache which 90% of the time turns into a bad headache by mid-morning, and sometimes a migraine.

I would really welcome any and all suggestions for what long-term solutions have actually worked for you to give you a headache & migraine free existence (or as close to as possible, ie - one bad headache a month).

Thank you very very much in advance.

I'm dizzy and I can't turn my head.

chez shoes — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:54:00 -0800

Low grade fever, intermittent sore throat, lots of dizziness, extremely stiff neck and upper back, and headache - what's happening to me and how can I make it better? First, I know you're not my doctor. I'm seeing her tomorrow morning and I've talked on the phone with her associate, who said it sounds like a virus and nothing to run to the ER with. But I've never experienced anything like this before and it's getting a little tiresome.

Woke up last Monday with the stiff neck and upper back. Thought I slept in a weird position, dismissed it, and went out of town on business. During the course of the week, the above symptoms developed. As soon as I got back in town, I spoke to my doctor's office partner, who told me to come in as soon as I can get an appointment, but don't bother rushing to the ER. I'm not too worried, since the fever hasn't gone over 99.8 or so, sore throat has almost entirely gone away. The neck stiffness and dizziness remain.

Have tried Advil, aspirin, and tylenol - headache finally went away, but there's been no change in the neck pain/stiffness. No idea what to do for the dizziness, outside of cutting back the caffeine (which I've done).

Do any of you medical folks have any suggestions as to what's going on, or what I can do to feel a little less icky between now and my doctor visit tomorrow morning? Thanks much.

If I at least knew what to blame...

lisawin — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:36:49 -0800

Started with a god-awful headache early Thursday morning, developed back pain/spasms later in the day, and a fever (102.9F) that night. Everything else has subsided, but the back pain persists. So I've got a few questions... I'll try to keep this as brief and fact-oriented as possible:

--Went to bed Wednesday night with a mild headache, figured I'd sleep it off.

--Woke up 7:30 Thursday morning with what has to be the worst headache I've experienced to date. Pain was in my forehead and up, pretty consistently hurt and was worse with motion/movement.

--Took two advil (400mg total) at 9:30. Went back to sleep, woke up at 11:30 at least 40% better, took a third advil (another 200mg).

--Later in the day (I don't quite remember when), the headache had gotten mildly better, but I'd developed lower/almost mid back pain.

--Sat around with a heat pad for the back pain, headache worsened again. Turned the heat pad off for a while so i can lay down on my side and rest my head. After an hour or so I realize I have chills, and lo and behold, I have a fever of 101.6.

--Within an hour or so, my fever progressed to 102.9, so I took a tepid shower and some tylenol to bring it down. Got it down to 102.5 before going to bed.

--Woke up around 11 on Friday, temp was down to 100.5, took more tylenol for the back pain (muscle spasms). A few hours later my fever was completely gone, and my back was allowing me to function, so I got some packing and laundry done.

--Woke up yesterday and today with the back pain/muscle spasms having returned, to the point where getting out of bed or a chair is a process.

Whew. Okay, so... Other things that should probably be mentioned: I'm female, 22 years old, in decent health. Prior to Thursday, I hadn't done any heavy lifting or exercise that could've resulted in back strain. Common sense tells me that the fever was the result of an infection, but I don't know of what. Now that the muscle spasms have mostly subsided (leaving me with a stiff lower back and random little spasms if I push my luck), I'm left with some mild pressure in the lower back and to the sides a little.

So, a couple of questions (I know YANAD or YANMD):
1. Any guesses on what the heck is going on?
2. What are the chances this is something internal (my mom's theory is that it's a kidney infection, but I hesitate to jump to things like that), and not just back muscle strain or something with my spine?
3. Should I make an appointment with my GP or a chiropractor?

I'm probably forgetting something, and I tend to rant, so feel free to ask for clarification.

My head hurts

Neonshock — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:34:44 -0800

What do you do when you have a headache? I am a fairly regular migrane sufferer, every 2 months or so i have a massive headache. I sit in a dark room for a few hours really uncomfortable, the headache is usually ceremoniously brought to a finish by vomiting, then i usually feel a whole lot better.
Right now I've had a headache for two days, its similar to my migraney feel but less intense (as in, i can type this question, im not in a angished ball on the floor) and usually i can go to sleep and feel fine the next day, but not today im afriad.
Anyway, it got me thinking what you usually do for a persistant headache, do you have any remedies?

(drugs have been taken, im also wearing sunglasses)

ta

Why do I get headaches from resistance training?

ludwig_van — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:11:27 -0800

Why did I start getting sudden, brief, migraine-like headaches when performing a high number of repetitions of a strength training exercise? I am male, 23, 6', 158 lbs., generally in good health. I started strength training about three months ago. I weighed about 145 when I started.

The routine I've been following consists largely of sets of 5, and I haven't had this problem with those exercises for the most part; although as my squat has surpassed my bodyweight I've started to notice it creep up towards the end of a set.

But when I'm doing an exercise like the pullup, chinup, or dip, and I'm trying to perform as many reps as I can, after 6 or 7 I'll suddenly be struck by an intense headache. I started to feel it today after about 25 pushups. It doesn't feel localized in any particular part of my head. It lasts for a minute or less and then fades gradually. It's similar to (but more intense than) the pain I experience if I cough or sneeze the day after I get a migraine. I've experienced migraines with auras a few times a year for the last several years. The last one I had was a few weeks ago.

This wasn't happening when I started strength training. I worked my way up from being unable to do a chinup to doing a max set of 8. I've also done up to 10 weighted dips with no problems.

I spend about an hour lifting three times a week, although I do pullups and chinups much more frequently as I have a bar at home. I always eat before exercising and drink plenty of water between sets.

What's going on here? Should I make a doctor's appointment or will it go away on its own? Do I need to take a break from training? I've been avoiding increasing my max number of reps on these exercises and have been doing ok, but obviously this isn't ideal.

Curse you, estrogen!

fairytale of los angeles — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:05:17 -0800

You're not my docs, and I will call my doc on Monday and try to hammer out a solution. What the heck do you other female MeFites do for menstrually-related migraines? Anything really work for you? I'm 32 and in decent health, aside from hypertension that's controlled by an ACE inhibitor and some stable but permanent eye problems from a car accident with associated medical anxiety issues. There is a long and nasty family history of migraine-- my mother got incapacitating migraines every single weekend when I was growing up, my sister gets three or four migraines a week, my grandfather had optical migraines and sometimes actual migraine pain.

Needless to say, I got 'em too-- first when I was 19 or 20, a full-on neurological migraine with numbness, slurring, visual disturbances, tunnel vision, you name it. I got off combined BCP and went on a beta blocker and the migraines remained a pretty rare occurrence-- maybe two or three in ten years, tops, usually under serious stress. (You ever do an eight-hour job interview while you couldn't feel half your body? And come in second for the job? Been there.)

Cut to two or so years ago, and the minipill-- which went fine for a year and then, wham, neurological migraines every night within three hours of taking my pill. I quit the minipill and they went away. Decided hormones were not for me and haven't gone near them since.

Now, though, I have migraines every time I'm ovulating or near my period-- combinations of visual disturbances, headache, and numbness. "Hormonal issue" immediately jumps to mind-- although I'd like to think I haven't hit perimenopause at 32, thanks!

(I'd also like to think that I don't have a blood clot or a brain tumor. Hence why my doc and I are about to have a chat about neurology consults and whether or not I need an MRI.)

Has anyone else had this sudden increase in migraine frequency? What did you do about it? What therapies did your doctor recommend, and how did they work for you? How do you cope with the inevitable "three days before my period, here comes the neurological freakout?" How do you reassure yourself that no, this isn't the time the brain tumor's come for your life?

Thanks, guys. I dunno what I'd do without strangers on the Internet to reassure me that my head's not about to pop off.

New glasses, new problems...

SNWidget — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:17:23 -0800

I've just got a set of new glasses after a few years of having the same pair. I'm used to it taking a while for the new prescription to settle and become comfortable, but there's a new problem. When looking out the tops of my new frames, everything gets smaller - that is, my entire vision squishes. I can look straight out, and then by moving my head down to look out of the top of my lenses, everything gets squishy, and less in focus.

Background: I am nearsighted, and I have a strong astigmatism. I'm used to wearing round or oval glasses, but these are the first I've had that are more rectangular in shape.

Conjecture: I noticed that when they fit these glasses to my face, the angle of the lens to my face is a lot more than my current glasses. That is, where as the lenses on my old glasses point straight to the ground, the lenses on my new ones point in more towards my face. Could this be causing it?

I can't go back to get them readjusted for a day or two, and the bending/squishing at the top of my vision is annoying enough to make me the slightest bit motion sick.

Does the hivemind have any clue what could be causing the squish, and what I should do about it, even if all it involves is having my glasses readjusted?

Stop the Headaches after working out.

philosophistry — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:20:16 -0800

How do I stop getting headaches after working out when I'm out of shape? I don't work out that often, but I often end up doing an intense work out after having not worked out for a while. And then I get headaches. How do I stop that?

Blackberry Ringer Woes

extraheavymarcellus — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:58:03 -0800

Hivemind, help me make my ringer louder on my Blackberry 8830. I have a Blackberry 8830 through Sprint. I loaded my own MP3 as a ringer and it plays fine through the media player but, even with the profile set to load, I can barely hear it when it rings. I have missed several calls due to this and it is driving me crazy.

Google has several options that have not worked and in one attempt, bricked the phone.

Job Preferencing Software

Wilder — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:12:37 -0800

Job Preferencing Software solution required. Do I need a bespoke solution or is something already available? I have googled and looked at past AskMe’s. All solutions seem to be for recruitment advertising, rather than preferencing. So Hivemind, 100-200 Candidates coming for interview for 50 jobs.
There are 9 job-types (A-I) available in 17 different geographical locations (1-17).
Before they arrive we want them to number all the jobs available in order of preference by type & location, through the website. So Candidate XX might put A1, A2, A3 if she/he will only accept this job type, while candidate XY might put A13, B13, C13, if he/she feels the geographical location is more important.

At the end of the interviews, we want to be able to rank the candidates, then match their highest preference of job and offer them that.

Confused? I thought not. So, is there something available I can buy off the shelf?

Mysterious sharp head pain is mysterious.

Memo — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:57:00 -0800

Head-pain-filter: 50 year-old woman suffers from pain both internal and external, in the right side of her head above her ear. The pain feels as a sudden prick that goes from the small circle to the big one.

Externally, the skin in the area feels painful to touch, similar to the oversensitivity after a burn. This dissapears and appears along with the internal pain.

The pain is not permanent. When it happens she can get dizzy if she opens her eyes. There are days when it happens more frequently than others.

She will go to the doctor in the near future, but before she would like to have an idea about what it could be.