Options for Headaches

I’ve tried Gabapentin twice and no success for my pain.

But I didn’t have headaches... and I was only willing to go so high in dosage. My LLMD said I should have continued to raise the dose.
I was also prescribe a second med with it - Oxycarb..,. Something like that - apparently together they can work well.

My LLMD has suggested I try lyrica as it can work better for some people when Gabapentin doesn’t.

When my symptoms got to be intolerable I found gabapentin helpful for my headaches, sleep, and nerve pain. The trade-off was that it made me feel like a zombie. That said, I don't regret it, helped me when I really needed relief. I think LDN helped as well. I also sometimes take full spectrum CBD, that can be helpful.

Pretty cool that your neurologist is aware of these infections and that they can cause such symptoms.

My tension headaches and back of head pain were mostly related to babesia, has gotten better over time as I treated the infection. Constant crushing headaches have been the most debilitating symptom for me.

It basically worked right off the bat for me, but doc told me to take it at 1200mg, 300mg in morning and afternoon and 600mg at night. So I think depending on what symptoms you are dealing with (for me bad nerve pain at the time), you need to go with a certain minimum threshold dose to see some effect.

sebreg said...
It basically worked right off the bat for me, but doc told me to take it at 1200mg, 300mg in morning and afternoon and 600mg at night. So I think depending on what symptoms you are dealing with (for me bad nerve pain at the time), you need to go with a certain minimum threshold dose to see some effect.

You’re off it now?

And do you have to wean off it?

Noah2112, The most effective drug I have used for headache is Fioricet. It has been a lifesaver.

This variety of infections has caused me many types of headaches, too, often debilitating and generally occurring for most of most days, to some degree. I do very poorly with pharmaceuticals, so there are many I have not tried. None of the triptans (like Imitrex and Frova) or beta blockers (like propranolol) worked for me. Mine also are triggered just terribly by barometric pressure drops. I see the top headache specialist neurologist in Boston (although she's not an LLMD, she very much encourages an integrative approach) and she's on-board with everything below:

What I found helpful were:
- Vitamin B2 and magnesium! These helped more than anything. Every day, and more if I know there's a headache trigger lurking. They reduced the frequency and severity of headaches of all sorts.
- Essential oils take the edge off many of my headaches better than I thought they would. I use a few drops of peppermint and frankincense, on my forehead, temples, and back of neck. (Always use essential oils topically in a carrier oil - coconut, olive, grapeseed, etc. - to prevent skin irritation.) Inhaling the scent can help, too, or placing it on a handkerchief nearby, or using a diffuser. There are many ideas online for essential oil combinations that help with headaches.
- Ashwagandha, an adaptogenic herb that I take in liquid form. It helps to balance my adrenal system and manage stress, and it lessens the severity and frequency of most headaches when I take it regularly.
- Staying very well-hydrated with water.
- Managing my circadian rhythm well. No napping, and the same bedtime and wake time every day, and turning off the blue light on electronics (or avoiding electronics) after dark. I am bed-bound right now, so it also means sleeping on a different part of my bed than where I hang out during the day, and using a full-spectrum light lamp since I cannot get outside. If insomnia crops up (curse these infections) then I take a tiny dose of melatonin (liquid, so i can titrate the dose) just before bedtime.
- No stimulants, including coffee, tea, chocolate, etc. No sugar.
- Moving my body, even just stretching each day, and making sure my neck alignment is healthy.
- Craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, and massage. (Note: acupuncture often brings on a headache behind my ear area, as those muscles relax and release stuff they don't release any other way, for me. The headache is a "healing response" and goes away within a day. I welcome it! But it can happen and be painful, so don't be discouraged by it.)
- Meditation and guided visualizations directed at pain. (The Kaiser Permanente wensite has some good free guided visualization exercise podcasts, and the chronic pain app Curable is helpful as well.)
- A mind-body approach to chronic pain, meaning exercises that help to re-train the neural pathways that cause many of our symptoms. (See the Curable app!)
- Epsom salt baths for detoxification and muscle relaxation.
- Ice packs on the head, for an active headache. Some say ice packs on the head with heat on the mid-back simultaneously.
- And anything that helps with herxing and detox - Alka-Seltzer Gold, lemon water, detox baths, dry brushing, massage, regular elimination, unprocessed diet, etc.

That's what comes to mind for now. Hang in there.
Sara (Lyme, ME, HPA axis dysfunction, POTS....)

This is a random thing that was recently recommended to me, an acupressure mat. I actually really like it, relatively cheap too. Seems to help some people with pain and things like that, maybe helps for lymphatic system as well? If you tried that I'd get the pillow as well so you can target your back of head area. Saraeili's suggestion of craniosacral massage is a good one. Ha, the suggestion of the ice packs!!! when I was bedridden I used to lie all day on ice packs on the back of my head (always had hot, throbbing pain there). The cold helped distract from the pain, they were lifesavers.

Bv cream on neck with some mint in diffuser always nips my headaches