You have a headache - what do you do?

If sleep is an option, I take a nap. I always feel better after a nap.
If that's not an option I either ride it out or take an Advil, depending on how bad it is.

Varies: lie down, take Tylenol, massage, or nothing.

Beat my head against the wall.

Oh wait..you mean afterwards..Not what caused it. Well....beat my head against the wall.

I heard that coffee was supposed to be good for a headache.

Ibuprofen and caffeine (usually tea or coca cola). Water is good too, to make sure I'm not dehydrated.

> I heard that coffee was supposed to be good for a headache.

I get a horrible headache if I dont have my coffee.

Motrin works fine, I always have it at hand.

Ibuprofen.
Drink a glass of water.

And no, it's not the same glass of water I'm using to down the pills - I almost always swollow pills with no water, water is there just to make sure my headache is not due to dehydration.

It depends on what kind of headache it is. Is it a tight band around my forehead, after a day spent squinting at a computer screen or hunched over books? I'd take paracetamol (acetaminophen). Is it related to earache or blocked sinuses? I'd take ibuprofen, and probably paracetamol too. Was it preceded by a large blind spot, flashing lights and nausea? I'd take an anti-migraine tablet and lie down in a darkened room. Is it severe and keeps waking me at the same time each day? I'd take whatever pain relief I could get my hands on, make an appointment to see my GP and slam my head in the door a few times while I'm waiting. Is it the worst headache ever and did it come on like a thunderclap? I'm taking myself to accident and emergency.

I usually ignore it. I think I don't get very bad headaches or I'm somehow able to ignore them. But, if it bothers me enough, I'll take ibuprofen. If I suspect I'm dehydrated, I'll drink a big glass of water.

take ibuprofen and lie down.

Take ibuprofen (Brufen, Motrin, Advil, etc.) ............ but TBH its very rare for me to have a headache

I don't feel as good either if I don't have mine -- sluggish.

I have just in the last few months, since my stroke, have had headaches. Before that, when I was younger as in my 20's, I had SEVERE migraines. After the age of 30 until a few months ago, NO headaches. I take NO drugs for my headaches...I lie down, with ice, I notice everything regards to my diet. I just haven't been good with the exercise. I did good up until about 3 weeks ago. I get into my hydrotherapy spa almost every day, helps with relaxation.

I have a friend that depended on drugs for her stress and headaches. She is now readying herself to have hip replacement, and in six months she's having both her knees replaced. Getting to see the picture now? She loves her colas, fast foods, and oh absolutely her prescribed and unprescribed drugs. She, along with her emotionally personal life, her health is declining. Well, at least I can say she hasn't had a stroke. I was warned yet did not heed the warning. But, haven't had the severe arthritis. I have turned myself around with my diet, with the exception of the heavy exercise...I haven't the energy. BOTTOM LINE, take care of the root cause of the headache....by diet, activity, and emotional care. Take time for yourself. You can't separate the mind/body/spirit.

and stop thinking about school, homework etc...

I don't get many headaches.

I usually have a drink of water - I don't ever get thirsty for some reason and as a consequence often get dehydration headaches.

Lay down in the dark if possible, smoke a little pot, eat something if that's the problem, and I might take Ibuprofen as a last resort for a normal headache.

I have a bottle of percoset that is for severe pain. I rarely get headaches like that.... I use it more often for kidney stones.

I hate taking percoset. Makes me feel like dog crap the next day.

Tylenol, Tylenol, thank you for not making me a drug addict!
Migraines to the max, all I need is Tylenol.
Aneurysm didn't help them, just made the migraines appear on nary a moment's notice
Tylenol is just enough, yay!

> It depends on what kind of headache it is. Is it a tight band around
> my forehead, after a day spent squinting at a computer screen or hunched
> over books? I'd take paracetamol (acetaminophen). Is it related to
> earache or blocked sinuses? I'd take ibuprofen, and probably paracetamol
> too. Was it preceded by a large blind spot, flashing lights and nausea?
> I'd take an anti-migraine tablet and lie down in a darkened room.
> Is it severe and keeps waking me at the same time each day? I'd take
> whatever pain relief I could get my hands on, make an appointment
> to see my GP and slam my head in the door a few times while I'm waiting.
> Is it the worst headache ever and did it come on like a thunderclap?
> I'm taking myself to accident and emergency.


Someone said something interesting to me one time. Maybe you would be interested. He was a holistic type of person and said that Ibuprofen did not work on people with by blood type which is 0-negative. This was in response to my telling him that I 'saved' a migraine to try Ibuprofen and I ended up having one of the worst ever. Comments?

Ifobrufen - Nurofen. Thank God for drugs!!!!

Take two Extra-Strength Tylenols

I crack open another beer.

Advil or Excedrin. But I have to eat first, or the medicine would make me sick.

Make an herbal tea with catnip, chamomile and willow bark.

> Is it the worst headache ever and did it come on like a thunderclap?
> I'm taking myself to accident and emergency.

Well, a headache like that sounds like perhaps you indulged in an ayahuasca ritual, then ate an inappropriate food (over-ripe fruit, raspberries, or a banana) too soon after taking a monoamineoxidase inhibitor. But then perhaps that's just because I'm me and it sounds like the kind of thing that might happen to me if I'm not paying enough attention to detail.

> I hate taking percoset. Makes me feel like dog crap the next day.
>
>

Yeah, opiates suck big time. I'll never understand junkies.

I've always felt the same way.

My old childhood friend is now a pill junkie of the worst degree. She even gave up the custody of her children for this life.

It seems that pills have a different effect on her than they would on me. Anything that would knock me flat on my ass (percoset, vicodin, oxys) seems to give her a buzz and wake her up a bit. I wonder what's up with that?

After some surgeries 5 years ago, I found myself addicted to the pain meds as they were weaning me off. It did get to the point where I could never sleep.... and everything felt very surreal a lot of the time. I don't get why anyone would want that. It was a scary feeling to me.

Drugs, and lots of them...

I would highly consider an enema. Or naproxene. (I like the little buzz it gives me too)

Well, that may be an alternative cause of a headache coming on like a thunderclap - but I think it would be an unlikely cause in me! I think subarachnoid haemorrhage is the safer diagnosis for my exams as well

> Someone said something interesting to me one time. Maybe you would
> be interested. He was a holistic type of person and said that Ibuprofen
> did not work on people with by blood type which is 0-negative. This
> was in response to my telling him that I 'saved' a migraine to try
> Ibuprofen and I ended up having one of the worst ever. Comments?

Sorry for the super-slow reply - I'm spending most of my time away on placement at the moment (with a very bad internet connection, when I can get one at all), and this is the first time I've been home in a while.

Generally speaking, most claims that are made about blood groups by "holistic type people" can be taken with a pinch of salt (like the Blood Group Diet). I think this particular claim falls pretty well under that heading - ibuprofen is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs, and O-negative is a pretty common blood type, yet I can find no mention of any problems in my British National Formulary. Your bad migraine could well have just been a chance bad migraine, or you may have developed a side-effect of the ibuprofen unrelated to your blood type (which can apparently include headache and photosensitivity, which would mimic a migraine) though some of the listed side effects may only occur at high doses or after long duration of treatment. I'm no pharmacology expert though - far from it!!!

> Well, that may be an alternative cause of a headache coming on like
> a thunderclap - but I think it would be an unlikely cause in me! I
> think subarachnoid haemorrhage is the safer diagnosis for my exams
> as well

That may be true. But I'll bet anything you would have a far more interesting time getting such a headache my way!

Possibly, but I'd also be far more likely to get myself thrown out of medical school!

I do have a headache I've had a lot of headaches lately *sigh*

This may sound weird, but it often works quite well. If you have someone you know well enough, have them massage your feet. Yeah, I know, but like I said, it often works, almost like magic.

I could see that working quite well for a tension headache, but I think I have a migraine! I think I'll have a nice warm shower and then get into bed with the lights off to listen to (rather than watch) Question Time (political discussion, which controversially is featuring the leader of the British National Party - who are anti-immigrant, racist, national-socialist thugs - this week).

Migraine, huh? Are these related to cluster headaches? So as not to disappoint, I figured I'd point you to this article on a radical treatment for cluster headaches from the MAPS page.

Lie down and have a nap. 9 times out of 10 when I wake up it's gone.

A"headache" is indicative of pain referred to the part of the cranium,for example- temples,(eyestrain/stress),forehead,(trauma perhaps-concussion- migraine,neuralgia via inflammation/vasocontriction.Specific.... extremely severe headache due to such referable pain from cerebral vascular accident-(stroke) -IF INTENSE/very severe-I would go "STAT" to the ER. Usually, in most cases- in MY situation anyway, overwork,is the case- amenable to Tx W/ hydrocodone 10/325mg APAP(aceataminphen/Tylenol or Vicoprofen-hydocodone 7.5mg/ibuprofen 200mg. Typical migraine is 75-85% treatable w/ Imitrex,(sumatriptan)in combination with the NSAID naproxen sodium.... if ingested/injected within 3-5 minutes. -personal experience in MY particular situation. NO SITUATION IS typical/identical to others head pain. Always consult your RPh/MD/other for YOUR individual diagnosis! NOTE: THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE! NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH!