Lifestyle | Living With Tension Headaches

16 months ago I woke up with a headache that didn't go away, it started at the front of my head and as the days went on it spread to under my eyes and around my head. It was a dull and painful headache that seems to ease before coming back fuller and more hurtful then the last one. Around this time I was dealing with ear infections/sinus infections and stress, I put two and two together and carried on as normal treating all my problems.




I lasted three months and was taking 6-8 paracetamols a day to try and treat the headaches, I finally caved and went to the Dr's to see what was going on and what I was dealing with. He tested me out and confirmed there was no other infections I just had tension headaches. Once I knew what was up I thought great I can now treat it and deal with it, but 13 months later I'm sat here with you guessed a tension headache.

Turns out there not that easy to treat and it can take a while, I was given tablets amitriptyline to cope and was told to keep increasing the dosage when they got bad and to keep going until they went. Cue me clearing the headaches stopping the tablets and then the headaches returning over and over until I almost cracked. Turned out I had chronic tension headaches that last around two weeks each month and just keep coming back, there is no real reason for a headache to come on it can be a few things mainly stress and eye strain.

I've found ways of dealing with the headaches mostly having short lie downs where I close my eyes and keep the sun of my face for 30 minutes to try de stress, I have regular eye tests and limit my screen time, if I feel a headache coming on I will take half or one paracetamol and also go back to my Dr if I need to to get more tablets or just to check in so he knows how it's all going.

This is something I live with now and will probably have for the rest of my life, I'm hoping there will be a reason soon and it will hit me in the face so I can deal with it, if you feel you are suffering with tension headaches then please go see a GP as 16 months of headaches is the last thing I would want anyone to go through.