Holy crap fuck me

Xaviar

So I have a searing headache far worse than I've had before. It is right at the base of my skull top of my neck, wrapping around the back of my head kind of like that computer thing lobot wears in star wars.
It is seriously making me cry and super nauseous. I can barely even think.
I need to be sleeping right now because I am working a 12 hour shift of super hard work tonight at 11.
Mostly I am posting this because I'm hoping for some reason expressing my pain will make it less.

Thank you.

Casual

You're having a migraine. Take some aspirin and go to bed.

Bedlam

Yeah lay down and try not to do to much. Even if you cant sleep you need to rest.

bowen

I'll concur with migraine.

Donovan Puppyfucker

Masturbate if you can. The endorphins will help relieve pain.

Essee

Yeah, take plenty of pain medicine (don't overdo it or anything, though) and-- this is important-- do whatever you can to minimize how much noise you hear, and ESPECIALLY block out whatever light you can. If you have anything you can put over your eyes, do it. Migraines almost always come with light sensitivity. You also may want to try to massage anywhere you feel tension or tenderness (the temples of your forehead and the back of your head are common places, but check your neck and shoulders too).

Xaviar

Oh my god I want to die.

I would legitimately put this at about a 9 on the pain scale. I believe the worst I've felt before to be about a 7. I can conceive of more pain than this, but only a little.

I have taken aspirin ibuprofen and paracetamol.

adytum

Whenever I have a migraine, I find that applying pressure to my forehead alleviates the pain somewhat. It generally involves sitting on all fours and burying my head into a pillow or the carpet.

Also, stop looking at a computer screen.

Essee

adytum wrote: »

Whenever I have a migraine, I find that applying pressure to my forehead alleviates the pain somewhat. It generally involves sitting on all fours and burying my head into a pillow or the carpet.

Also, stop looking at a computer screen.

Yep, both of these are good ideas. If you're going to look at your computer screen, make sure you turn the brightness down. And for god's sakes I hope you're using Ye Olde Style on this forum right now or you're basically searing poison into your eyes due to all the white (not ragging on the default forum style, but it's covered in white and that's the brightest thing you can possibly look at on any monitor). You shouldn't look at any site that's bright right now, and ideally you shouldn't really look at your computer screen at all.

Casual

Xaviar wrote: »

Oh my god I want to die.

I would legitimately put this at about a 9 on the pain scale. I believe the worst I've felt before to be about a 7. I can conceive of more pain than this, but only a little.

I have taken aspirin ibuprofen and paracetamol.

Be careful there, I know it's over the counter stuff but you still don't want to overdose or mix an match a cocktail of drugs or you may have more than a headache to worry about.

JebusUD

Caffiene helps with migranes. It's part of what is in excedrin migraine. Won't help you sleep though.

Gigazombie Cybermage

Wait a minute. Is it the "back" of your head? The "worse headache you've ever had"? It could be a brain aneurysm. People can take the time to post online about their pain when they have a brain aneurysm, can't they?

...

Okay! Migraines... Lights can make it worse. Get off of the PC and try to sleep it off. I'd also drink something warm and comforting. My mother used to get em bad.

Julius

also, you know, go to a doctor.

Handgimp

The location doesn't sound like a migraine. Are you seeing any weird patterns with light? Typically described as an aura?

Regardless, things that have helped me with migraines are absolute darkness and a cold compress on my forehead/across the eyes.

zepherin

Ibuprofen is what I use because acetaminophen messes with your liver, drink a bunch of water, take some form of cold, a compress, frozen peas ice pack and put one on the back of your neck right at the hump and then another one on your face, eyes and forehead.

Now this may or may not be applicable to you, but personally I have found alcohol to help with super bad migraines. It thins the blood and dulls the pain. So I have been known to chase my Ibuprofen down with 5 shots.

NotYou

Having hot water pound on my head in a shower helps my migraines. It doesn't make the go away, but I can't feel them as much as hot water is pouring on my head. I've sat in a tub for over an hour before waiting for the pain to stop.

KalTorak

Advil et al never really does anything to my migraines (though it probably varies); they usually stick around until I sleep. Sometimes a longish nap will get rid of it, a night's sleep always will.

Julius wrote:

also, you know, go to a doctor.

Yes, this - you can get prescription meds that will work a lot better than Advil, provided you take them soon enough after it starts. Might need to get a referral for a neurologist though.

TheOtherHorseman

This may be resolved by now, but it is never a bad idea to go to a hospital if you are having a headache that is far beyond anything you've had before. Yeah, it is probably a migraine, but until you know it is on without having a baseline level of migraine pain to compare it to you are going to want to rule out serious things like bleeds in the brain.

Stormwatcher

First, go to a hospital. Seriously.

Second, that's sounds nothing like an actual Migraine.
Migraines are not "strong generic headaches", they're something specific. Migraines are usually unilateral (left OR right side) and pulsating, also causing nausea (which you have) and photophobia. Regular painkillers don't usually help, specific non-analgesic medication is a thousand times better.

I know that because I have very bad (and doctor-diagnosed) migraines and saw several neurologists about it. Of course, not all cases are the same, but migraines are not very random.

TheOrange

Wisdom teeth pains can masqrade as a base-of-the-skull-headache too.

ceres

Let us know how you're getting on, @Xaviar.

Zombiemambo

I'm currently in medical training, and there are tons of symptoms that could (I stress could) be signs of a heart attack, and they include intense pain radiating in the neck and nausea. If you're having a 9 on the pain scale, you need to get yourself to the doctor. I'm not trying to alarm you, but seriously, don't just take Ibuprofen and go lay down.

Bendery It Like Beckham

Oh hi, I get these on the regular. I've been to 3 specialists and gotten nothing but a gigantic bill because my insurance fucked me over. Few things that have help me...

Acetaminophen is generally more helpful than Ibuprofen, but go ahead and make it a cocktail because they both do help.

If i were to take a guess as to what the cause of mine is, I would say it is swelling in my sinus cavity and in my neck. Lots of fun nerves getting pushed on causing a shit ton of pain.

Hot shower, the steam helps, as does the heat. But it sounds like you're at that "personal hell" point where not much helps immediately and there is nothing you can do to alleviate the pain. Drink lots of water, i find that when I'm nauseous this actually makes it worse so I switched to gatorade, it helps trust me.
Take your shoes off, stand on a cold floor, and pace. This walking gives you something to focus on and the cold in your feet helps lower your body temperature, which if it is anything like mine, has spiked like a mofo and you are having trouble getting warm.

Get your Dr. to prescribe you "Flonase" generic is fine. For me, an actual steroidal anti-inflammatory taken in a nasal spray helps to keep them from recurring. I unfortunately don't have medical insurance currently but found a few old Prescriptions which are helping me manage my current headaches.

Also, breath... I know its a bullshit line everyone says, but rhythmic breathing (in through your mouth, out your nose) will help calm you and also give you something to focus on.

When it starts to go away, a cold compress on the back of your head at the base on your pillow will help that pain you feel on the top of your head.

Xaviar

Okay. Thanks all for your comments and concern. I'm cool now. Mostly I posted because there was no one around and I had (besides the pain) a driving urge to express how poorly I was feeling. So thanks for letting me scream at you.
Looking back, it started around 10:00am-ish as just a regular headache, and then got worse and worse and worse. Around 1:00 or so it started getting pretty unbearable, and I pretty much just hid in my bed with my head under my blankets. Had to turn the brightness all the way down on my phone to post that. (Sidenote: picked up my phone later, and holy crap the lowest brightness is a lot more dim than I remember it being during my headache). I did end up calling in to work. Which I feel terrible about, but whatever. (Also was my last personal day until July =( )

I did end up throwing up, which was weird. Have never had pain-caused nausea that bad before.

Eventually the pills did kick in, and they took the pain down to about a 6. (I spent a lot of time contemplating my pain..) But it was weird. Normally, pills just make the pain less or go away or whatever. This time, it didn't take that extra pain away, so much as put a glass wall in front of it, if that makes sense?
It is a weird sensation to describe, but basically it was like I could see, or feel, or whatever you call it, all of the pain still, but there was a sheet of glass between it and me. And I knew if that glass wasn't there, it would still hurt just exactly as bad. If that makes any sense at all.

Anyway, managed to fall asleep after that, around 5:00 or so. When I woke up it was mostly gone, though I did have just a little bit of a normal headache. Drank some water, ate some food, chilled out, and it got mostly better.

People have suggested I should have gone to the doctor, and at the time I can tell you not only was I unable to drive myself because of the pain, but even had someone else offered to drive, no way were you getting me out of the house, let alone sit me in the ER waiting room or a doctors office. That was a very unpleasant thought for me.

I am scheduling an appointment for later though. I assume it was just a migraine, but as I haven't previously had one, seems like something I should get looked at.

Again, thanks everyone for your concern and your helpful comments. Though next time it happens (if it does.. *fingers crossed*), @zepherin , I don't think I'll be taking shots with my pills