Every single day headache...(currently on valproic acid)

I wonder how long this usually takes to resolve itself. I've been taking this muscle relaxer for a month and I'm still noticing headaches. Not as many as usually and not as bad. But they're still there. Starting to think this (may) be the wrong diagnosis. I'm no doctor but why would it take this long for bruxism? Shouldn't it have cleared up after a week or two. Or maybe I'm still slightly doing it, and I need to take 2 pills instead of one a night. ): I guess on the bright side of things, at least I have a pill that helps, regardless of what the problem is. Evetnually, though, I'm going to have to get off these relaxers.

Post Edited (Gator4life) : 8/14/2011 11:26:37 PM (GMT-6)

Man oh man I'm seriously starting to go insane! So I've been off the flexerill since Saturday. (about 6 days) believe it or not, my headaches have actually gotten A LOT better. As before, pressure is still there, but very slight. And some times I forget I even have one at all. That being said, I have some very frustrating news. Lately, I've been very weak for no darn reason at all. I get about 7-8 hours of sleep, but after about 3 hours of waking up, I slowly start losing energy. By dinner time, I want to lay down and do nothing. Even worse, my left leg feels really weak. More like jello, actually. My right is kind of weak too, but not as bad as my left. The left just dosnt feel right at all. Then, there's the morning thing. I wake up and part of my left calf is always tight. I stretch it out every morning and it does help. The stiffness goes away almost immediately after I get to work. Sometimes after I shower it will get this too. So strange! why am I so weak during the day? I dont have a demanding job at all. I eat pretty healthy, sleep at a decent time, take a multi-vitamin and just started excersicing again. Speaking of excersing, hadn't done it in years, so I started riding the bike about 4 miles every other day. I stopped though to see if my weakness was due to that. Been about 3 days since I rode and still feeling tired for no reason.

During my first neuro visit a few months ago, they checked my blood with a bunch of test. One of those was, I believe, for anemia. It was clean. My entire Blood test were solid accept for a few things. (nothing he was worried about though)

I hate to even think this but could I be having a heart problem, even though my blood pressure is perfect everytime they check it. Right now, as I type, I have a bad case of restless leg syndrome. Which is odd because I usually only get that at night right before bed. And very rarely too. I'm just a mess, guys! Lol I recently decided to give in to my GP's advice and take some kolonopin's. (.5) twice a day fir my anxiety. But back to the heart talk. I wonder if I have bad circulation. I get light headed VERY EASILY! I told both my docs this and they blew it off. I told them I lift my head up after picking something up and almost want to faint! How is that normal? There has to be some link between all these random symptoms!

Very easily dizzy, not to be confuses with vertigo.
Headaches- could just be bruxism, (skeptical though)
Tired easily
Recently-both legs jello like. (especially left)
Anxiety times 10

I'll be back!

Gator,

Let us know if the weakness/tiredness clears up.  Who knows, it might be related to stopping the Flexeril, and could take a week or two before it goes away.  Or maybe not.  Either way, let us know what happens.

It bothers me that you finally found something that works, and now another troubling symptom pops up.

My friend i just read all the thread from the beginning, feeling your pain and frustration in every single post you have written.

I had been suffering from chronic tension headaches since i arrived in USA as a student two and a half years ago.Due to lack of speaking English fluently i have been tremendously anxious and stressed. Also depression have contributed on keeping a really bad posture without having the energy or willingness to keep my body straight and my head erect. I had experienced exactly the same symptoms you have described on a daily basis without being able to do even the simplest tasks due to constant dull pain all over the head, particularly more noticeable in the back of my head, the temples and forehead. After countless visits to doctors and chiropractors and not seeing and significant result i decided to turn my attention to eastern medicine (or alternative medicine) as a hope to relieve the nonstop headaches.
Two months ago i came i cross with a form of soft tissue therapy called trigger point therapy. The more i was learning about this technique the more hopeful i was becoming. It didn't take me that much to give it a try and immediately i went on Amazon.com and bought one of the books that introduces this simple but really effective therapy.
I started applying the trigger point therapy once the book arrived home and i couldn't believe in my eyes how much better i was feeling the next days. After a month or so working on my posterior neck muscles and trapezius muscles on a daily basis, my headaches had finally gone! My friend i strongly recommend you to give trigger point therapy a try and you will see results right away. This is the link to buy the book on Amazon: The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief Second Edition
And this is another book from Amazon: Trigger Point Therapy for Headaches & Migraines
I would suggest you to get both books since are really inexpensive.
Finally, in order to work on the contracted muscles that cause your headaches without exhausting your hands, get this! The Original Jacknobber II
I am looking forward to your reply.Good luck my friend and sorry for my English!

Post Edited (fiercygoat) : 8/19/2011 12:38:18 PM (GMT-6)

I am glad that i am hearing that your headaches have been significantly eased! I hope they will never come back with the same intensity. Now about your legs that you feel them weak, it's nothing to worry about... It's very likely that anxiety and being stressed out all the time have caused your leg muscles to act strangely... I am positive that it's gonna go away the next days.

Hey,

I'm new here too, and I will write an introduction or something soon, but I felt compelled to reply to this post...
I was on vaproic acid for awhile, not for migraines, even though I DID have migraines at the time, but for "bipolar disorder" (a diagnosis that was later reversed when my doctors realized that my psychological symptoms were also migraine symptoms...) -- I could share my long, elaborate story, but I'm going to try to keep this brief - basically, I'm pretty sure that the valproic acid (a) made my migraines worse and (b) contributed to the shift from occasional/episodic migraines to chronic migraines. It also put (what was left of) my mind in a fog, so it was difficult to identify this shift and the role of the valproic acid in the deterioration of my health. I was also seeing an acupuncturist at the time, and she expressed concern for my liver, since I was taking valproic acid AND various painkillers that are toxic to livers...it wasn't until I made a mistake, however, that I was able to identify the valproic acid as part of the problem, not the solution, and convince my doctor(s) to let me stop taking it -- actually, it wasn't "convincing," so much as telling them that I would stop with OR without their help...so, they agreed to tell me the safest way to taper off of it, even though they kept telling me they thought it was a terrible idea. It turned out that it wasn't a terrible idea. My migraines didn't go away when I stopped taking the valproic acid, but it did allow me to have more clarity, focus, and motivation when approaching other healing/management modalities with which I could deal with the migraines. I STILL have chronic migraines, though, and it's been over a year since all that occurred...so I'm definitely not saying that the valproic acid was solely responsible for my migraines or for the fact that they worsened over time...I AM saying, however, that I encourage you to be really careful with this medication. I know there are links between migraines and depression, so if the Valproic Acid HELPS with your depression, your experience will probably be very different than mine - for me, it made it worse, and I think that was part of why the migraines worsened as well. I don't really have an explanation for the rest of what happened to me and I don't know why this drug was so harmful - but I know that it was bad for my liver (they make you get regular liver check-ups if you take it - are you getting those yet?) and I know that many approaches to medicine and healing identify the liver as crucial to one's overall health. I also know that different migraine treatments, drugs, remedies, etc, work for different people...so again, if it DOES help, I totally support that - I wish it had helped for me! If it doesn't seem to be helping, though, find out how long your doctor thinks a "trial" period should be and if that passes and it still isn't helping, I would definitely recommend talking to your doctor about trying something else, or just getting off the valproic acid for awhile and taking some time to figure out another approach. I thought, for awhile, that it wasn't having any affect on my headaches...I didn't realize until much later that it was making them so much worse. So...I hope this is at least a little helpful. And I also want to admit that I didn't read ALL the replies in this thread, so if this message is repetitive, I apologize! Best of luck!

Gator,

No, I have not been to a dentist for bruxism or clenching.  I don't think I grind my teeth, or at least it has never been suggested to me by anyone.  However, I'm an anxious person and I do often clench my teeth.  But I don't know if I do it while asleep.  I am a "clencher" to some extent.  I have a dentist appointment coming up soon, though, so what do you suggest?  Should I ask them if there could be a link between teeth clenching and head pressure?

I see my neurologist again precisely one month from today.  I still haven't tried Depakote as I was advised to do.  I'm uncertain how to proceed here.  Is it considered "improper" to try a medication prescribed by another doctor?

lemme know,

Batman

Well I got an earlier appointment for my muscle test. Let me just say that I'd rather have Chinese water torture than do that again. The nerve test (electric impulses) isn't to bad. More annoying than anything. However, the muscle test was terrible! They stick a needle the length of a pinky into different muscles, and then tell you to exert force WHILE IT'S STILL IN YOU! Lol terrible, just terrible. Good news though. Everything is working as it should. Still don't know why my legs, mainly the left, gets weak so easily; sometimes my left arm too. Anyway, afterwards, I waited around to see my neuro, eventhough he had other patients to attend to. I asked him what's next. At first he was like, "just go home and relax and I'll see you in 2 months". "your tests were fine, I wouldn't worry". I was like, "uh, what about my weakness"? Lol it's still there! Not to mention a stupid twitch in my calf that won't go away. He said we could try a testosterone test. So that's where I'm at now. Sigh! Blood work! I hate blood work!

So that was yesterday. Let me tell you, my stress/anxiety has skyrocketed since. And, unfortunately, so have my headaches. :( I think the combination of high stress, bruxism and not getting enough sleep has brought my headaches back to the level they used to be. As I type, I have a terrible migraine. Or I guess I should say terrible tension headache. I don't think they're migraines. Tonight I'm going back to the muscle relaxer. This morning I woke up with a ridiculous headache! Today at work pretty much sucked. I almost walked out early. Its crazy, I was doing so well and then all of a sudden I'm back to square one. Add to that I now have another problem with my feeling of weakness in my left leg and left arm. At least it usually doesn't bother me 'till later in the day. Sigh...

Batman, when's your dentist app.?

Well I'm back. Unfortunately, my headaches are still around. Sigh... I've recently realized (as of a week ago) I can no longer take the cyclobenzaprine (flexeril) because it gives me random feelings of GERD and chest pressure. It worked fine for about a month or so.... now I have to ask to switch to a different muscle relaxer. I HATE HEADACHES!!!

Anyway, I've been trying to find patterns in my headaches. But they're so unpredictable. The only constant is I always have a headache in the morning. Sometimes small, sometimes big. Usually small though. Then it almost always goes away through the day. Night hits and it sometimes comes back. But sometimes it doesn't. So freaking unpredictable! The night ones are the worst, that's for sure.

Jewish mother/ Batman, how's the pain? updates?

Gator,

Hi I am new here! I have read through most of you posts, I have had some of your simular problems I had headaches daily for months mostly one sided from my eye to my neck and shoulder I finally got my doctor to refer me to to a neuro and he insisted my major problem was caffeine (mind you I have been a caffeine drinker for approx 25 years or more) told me I needed to wing myself off caffeine and any meds with caffeine and then he put me on topimax so basicly to make a long story short after 2 months I am now on....
400 mg topimax 150 mg effexor xr 10 mg flexeril 20 mg adderall xr (this is to help keep me awake I work nights) and I get nerve blocks in my neck my neuro said that the caffeine caused the nerves in my neck to bunch causing my pain and those nerves were also responsible for the same areas in my head around my eye and my sinuses. so now I pretty much can say my headache have gone from 95% of the time to 25-30% of the and alot less intense something a tylenol can take care of. I am now drinking only water and I have lost 30lbs in 2 months I feels alot better and am able to enjoy doing more with my kids! I know it seems like an endless battle I have lived with headaches for as long as I can remember I grew up going to school with them and I know my mom has them and she still gets them so I am lucky I have found something that is working for now!

Good Luck and I hope you Find Something that Helps!

Batman,

I would describe the most of mine as one sided usually behind one eye (mostly the right) radiating over the right side of my head down to my neck (if you put your finger at your hair line on your neck and look up thats where it hurt the MOST) if i put pressure there it relieves it some. So when my Neuro does the nerve block he injects the meds then he takes just the needle and pops the nerves that are bunched up and I can actually feel them release. i think with the 1st nerve block he popped about 7- 10 bunched nerves. a few less the 2nd time, and the 3rd time he started the left side. sometimes I have N/V with them. alot of time it feels like sinus pressure so i guess you could say i have a combination of different kinds.

Hope this helps but my neuro seems to believe all my headache problems were coming from my love of caffeine.

Hi Gator, I read through the first posts and skimmed through as much as I could, I have been diagnosed with basilar migraines and told by 3 neuros that I have "run out of medications to try" which I don't believe. Over the past two years I have tried 5 medications, 2 of which put me in hospital. It sounds like you may have experienced a withdrawal reaction to the last one you were on. Be persistent with yourself - keep a diary, keep track of what you eat and EXACTLY what you do around your headaches, whether it be lighting candles, walking up the stairs rigorously, eating chocolate, sleeping in, not sleeping enough, arguing with someone; these are all headache triggers.

Avoiding your personal worse triggers is key in reducing medication. My disease is disabling. I have woken up blind, the room flips upside down at will on me, and constant nausea attacks at any time. Valproic acid worked beautifully for me, as I saw you mentioned it had nasty side effects for you, it did for me too but I had minimal headaches, it was awesome in that sense. Except I gained 20 pounds, and was vomiting every other day, I still wonder if I should say screw it and take the side effects but my doctor does not think it is worth it, she does not live in my head every day though. Anyway, enough with my rambling, my last try with this neurologist (I live in Canada, it takes a 6 months-1 year to see a new neurologist) is gabapentin and botox, I am tapering off topamax, spent 3 months on it and it gave me severe speech problems and limb numbness, it did not improve the headaches or migraines on any level. Best of Luck!!

Post Edited (missi182) : 10/24/2011 7:02:19 PM (GMT-6)

jewishmother, I don't see a message option anywhere on here or I would give that a whirl, have I missed that somewhere? If I am on I'd be more than happy to chat. The world of migraines is twisted, I have actually been very lucky that my severe symptoms have been rare, but identifiable. I am almost off the topamax which I strongly believe was making me feel much worse, I had a headache soo severe and constant it didn't let up for 2 solid months, then of course there were the typical migraines in between characterized by blurred vision, white spots in my vision then severe sensitivity to light and excruciating pain, weakness and nausea.

But I am not here to take over this thread, I hope you are finding some hope Gator, and that you have many a better days!