I've been experiencing extreme headaches over the weekend. They are more intense than normal headaches and it feels Fibro related. The headaches radiate all over my head and it makes my teeth ache because the pain is so intense.
Does anyone else experience these? If so, what has helped or worked for you in reducing the pain associated with it? I've tried icing my neck, Ibuprofen and Tylenol with little relief. I'm also going to see my Chiropractor today because it might be muscle/tension related.
I’ve been suffering from Fibro for about 13 years now and have been getting very similar headaches to what you are describing now. Just 3-4 weeks ago, my teeth were hurting really bad and I had a non-stop headache. I went to a dentist and oral surgeon. The dentist thought it was my wisdom teeth. The oral surgeon said it is NOT my teeth and rather pain in my teeth due to TMJ that may or may not be related to my Fibro.
Over the years, I’ve tried many things for this pain. I’ve tried:
Trigger Point Injections
Botox Injections
Physical Therapy
TENS unit
Chiropractor
CST
Medication (many kinds)
Lidocaine patches and ointments
Massages
Accupuncture
I’m sure there are things I’m missing on this list. Here is what worked for me, although everyone is different. The trigger point injections were very helpful, but it only continues to help if your doctor does them regularly and is willing to get closer to your neck area. (Some won’t because of a risk of injury/paralysis/malpractice, etc). The TENS unit helps greatly, but is only a temporary solution. My neck and TMJ pain usually starts at the base of my head/neck area and radiates to my head, and using the TENS helps to relax the muscles and often helps me fall asleep. There are some weeks that I use it every day, multiple times a day. CST is when they use gentle manipulations to release, I think it’s fluid or pressure buildup, along your spine. That is a more permanent solution, but you have to be committed to going regularly and knowing it may be weeks or months before you feel a difference, depending on the severity of pain. It was starting to help me, but at the time my pain was too severe to drive myself to weekly or twice-weekly appointments and I had no other way of getting there. Next is medications, the neccessary evil. I used to take Zanaflex (muscle relaxers). Those helped with the neck pain and headaches, but made me incredibly drowsy so I could only take them at night. Oddly enough, I’m on Xanax right now and it is the only thing that makes my neck pain/headaches go away in 30 minutes or less. Yes, I know it’s not supposed to - it’s an anti-anxiety med. My doctor has informed me of this many times. I don’t know why or how it works in this capacity for me, but it does. Once again, it is not a permanent solution and not something you want to start if you can avoid it. Lastly are the massages. These can be painful if you have a bad masseuse. Luckily, I have a very good one. I can only afford to go about once a month, but I feel like a new person afterward. I tell them to focus on my neck, shoulders, head, and face. (Yes, face massages are AMAZING.) If you can afford to go regularly, maybe 1-3 times a month in the beginning, it will be something that can help over the long term.
Sorry for the long post. I know it’s frustrating to read when in pain. If I think of anything else, I will add it on.
Hope this helps,
Tia
P.S. If anyone else has any “solutions” that have worked for them to ease/lessen the pain, especially when you can’t get in to see a doctor, I’d appreciate hearing about what works for you as well!
Thank you for the meaningful response : ) It is very helpful and I don't mind reading because the information was great! I do currently have a prescription for Zanaflex, but like you stated, I can only take it at night because it makes me drowsy as well. It does seem to help, but I can't take it during the day. Regular Chiropractic helps too, but I'm so tired of going to medical appointments. I should, realistically, go to the Chiropractor 2x per week, but I only go 1x per week. It is hard to plan our life around medical appointments. I've tried trigger point injections, but I didn't find those helpful enough for me and it was frustrating that they only provided temporary relief. My insurance didn't cover the cost of the trigger point injections, so I received a huge bill that I eventually paid off. I do love massages! I try to get in for a massage as much as I can because it does seem to reduce muscle tension, which decreases the headaches. I have never tried a facial massage. I will suggest that to my massage therapist and see what he says : ) I absolutely love it when my husband gives me a scalp and temple massage. It makes the headaches go away, but only for the time he is massaging. I've had this headache all weekend long and it is really starting to wear on me.
Again, thank you for the tips and I will definitely be trying some of them to help reduce the pain.
Hugs,
Sara
Tia said:
Hi Sara,
I've been suffering from Fibro for about 13 years now and have been getting very similar headaches to what you are describing now. Just 3-4 weeks ago, my teeth were hurting really bad and I had a non-stop headache. I went to a dentist and oral surgeon. The dentist thought it was my wisdom teeth. The oral surgeon said it is NOT my teeth and rather pain in my teeth due to TMJ that may or may not be related to my Fibro.
Over the years, I've tried many things for this pain. I've tried: 1. Trigger Point Injections 2. Botox Injections 3. Physical Therapy 4. TENS unit 5. Chiropractor 6. CST 7. Medication (many kinds) 8. Lidocaine patches and ointments 9. Massages 10. Accupuncture
I'm sure there are things I'm missing on this list. Here is what worked for me, although everyone is different. The trigger point injections were very helpful, but it only continues to help if your doctor does them regularly and is willing to get closer to your neck area. (Some won't because of a risk of injury/paralysis/malpractice, etc). The TENS unit helps greatly, but is only a temporary solution. My neck and TMJ pain usually starts at the base of my head/neck area and radiates to my head, and using the TENS helps to relax the muscles and often helps me fall asleep. There are some weeks that I use it every day, multiple times a day. CST is when they use gentle manipulations to release, I think it's fluid or pressure buildup, along your spine. That is a more permanent solution, but you have to be committed to going regularly and knowing it may be weeks or months before you feel a difference, depending on the severity of pain. It was starting to help me, but at the time my pain was too severe to drive myself to weekly or twice-weekly appointments and I had no other way of getting there. Next is medications, the neccessary evil. I used to take Zanaflex (muscle relaxers). Those helped with the neck pain and headaches, but made me incredibly drowsy so I could only take them at night. Oddly enough, I'm on Xanax right now and it is the only thing that makes my neck pain/headaches go away in 30 minutes or less. Yes, I know it's not supposed to - it's an anti-anxiety med. My doctor has informed me of this many times. I don't know why or how it works in this capacity for me, but it does. Once again, it is not a permanent solution and not something you want to start if you can avoid it. Lastly are the massages. These can be painful if you have a bad masseuse. Luckily, I have a very good one. I can only afford to go about once a month, but I feel like a new person afterward. I tell them to focus on my neck, shoulders, head, and face. (Yes, face massages are AMAZING.) If you can afford to go regularly, maybe 1-3 times a month in the beginning, it will be something that can help over the long term.
Sorry for the long post. I know it's frustrating to read when in pain. If I think of anything else, I will add it on.
Hope this helps, Tia
P.S. If anyone else has any "solutions" that have worked for them to ease/lessen the pain, especially when you can't get in to see a doctor, I'd appreciate hearing about what works for you as well!
I get migraines quite often. I’be taken various prescription meds, the most recent being Maxalt. Lately, I’ve been able to control them with Excedrin migraine. It has tylenol, aspirin, and caffeine in it. I would definitely talk to your doctor.
The Xanax helps to relax everything because that’s what it does. It not only relaxes you mentally, but physically as well. I used to take xanax for anxiety and had the same bonus of relaxing my muscles.
My dentist told me that what might be causing my TMJ was clenching my teeth in pain even while I sleep. He said that it tensed up the muscles in the back of the neck causing TMJ and headaches. Because of my reactions to a lot of medications I rarely use any prescription meds so I needed to find something to relax those muscles. There are a lot of natural things to help relax but you have to be real careful that they don't react to any other medication you might be on. The very best with the least likelihood of reacting to other meds is pure rose oil. To get the pure rose oil is a little pricey, about $200 for 5ml, but when you consider that you only need one drop at a time it isn't really all that expensive. Once you have you muscles relaxed you can use lavender oil to keep them relaxed. You need to make sure it is real lavender and not lavendin. Lavendin is a hybrid of lavender so here in the United States it can be sold as lavender oil, it is a lot cheaper than lavender. Lavendin can be used but you have to be careful since it is high in campfers (sp?) and they dry out the skin, also lavendin is more likely to react to medications than lavender. Palmarosa oil is good for both relaxing and keeping it relaxed but can react to some medications. I used the rose because I had some on hand from using on my husband. It only took two days using one drop in the morning and one drop before going to bed. Now I have been using the lavender for almost 3 years and haven't had any return of the TMJ. My husband and brother use the palmarosa after the rose and have had no more problems either.
Praying that you find something that works for you.
Doggie
Tia said:
Hi Sara,
I've been suffering from Fibro for about 13 years now and have been getting very similar headaches to what you are describing now. Just 3-4 weeks ago, my teeth were hurting really bad and I had a non-stop headache. I went to a dentist and oral surgeon. The dentist thought it was my wisdom teeth. The oral surgeon said it is NOT my teeth and rather pain in my teeth due to TMJ that may or may not be related to my Fibro.
Over the years, I've tried many things for this pain. I've tried: 1. Trigger Point Injections 2. Botox Injections 3. Physical Therapy 4. TENS unit 5. Chiropractor 6. CST 7. Medication (many kinds) 8. Lidocaine patches and ointments 9. Massages 10. Accupuncture
I'm sure there are things I'm missing on this list. Here is what worked for me, although everyone is different. The trigger point injections were very helpful, but it only continues to help if your doctor does them regularly and is willing to get closer to your neck area. (Some won't because of a risk of injury/paralysis/malpractice, etc). The TENS unit helps greatly, but is only a temporary solution. My neck and TMJ pain usually starts at the base of my head/neck area and radiates to my head, and using the TENS helps to relax the muscles and often helps me fall asleep. There are some weeks that I use it every day, multiple times a day. CST is when they use gentle manipulations to release, I think it's fluid or pressure buildup, along your spine. That is a more permanent solution, but you have to be committed to going regularly and knowing it may be weeks or months before you feel a difference, depending on the severity of pain. It was starting to help me, but at the time my pain was too severe to drive myself to weekly or twice-weekly appointments and I had no other way of getting there. Next is medications, the neccessary evil. I used to take Zanaflex (muscle relaxers). Those helped with the neck pain and headaches, but made me incredibly drowsy so I could only take them at night. Oddly enough, I'm on Xanax right now and it is the only thing that makes my neck pain/headaches go away in 30 minutes or less. Yes, I know it's not supposed to - it's an anti-anxiety med. My doctor has informed me of this many times. I don't know why or how it works in this capacity for me, but it does. Once again, it is not a permanent solution and not something you want to start if you can avoid it. Lastly are the massages. These can be painful if you have a bad masseuse. Luckily, I have a very good one. I can only afford to go about once a month, but I feel like a new person afterward. I tell them to focus on my neck, shoulders, head, and face. (Yes, face massages are AMAZING.) If you can afford to go regularly, maybe 1-3 times a month in the beginning, it will be something that can help over the long term.
Sorry for the long post. I know it's frustrating to read when in pain. If I think of anything else, I will add it on.
Hope this helps, Tia
P.S. If anyone else has any "solutions" that have worked for them to ease/lessen the pain, especially when you can't get in to see a doctor, I'd appreciate hearing about what works for you as well!
Hello...I've had fibromyalgia for 15 _ 20 yrs......when your teeth hurt so bad with a migraine...it is usually TMJ related.....I grind and clench my teeth all night long....I am not able to wear a night guard, but it is always recommend for TMJ...I have 8-12 migraines a month....I am on Neurontin, Tizanidine,Lorazepam,doxepin, and imitrex...try putting orajel on your gums, this helps stop the teeth gum pain.....sometimes I have the teeth pain....other times I don't....but I always have severe muscular pain and tension in the head, neck and shoulders, and mid back.....my flares also cycle.....ex...5 bad days...3 good days...and on and on the cycle goes