Chronic headaches and depression

[Squirrelmonkey]

Hi everyone. Not a very pleasant subject for a first thread after years lurking on here but I am not in the best of places at the moment so thought I'd try and share my problems a bit.

I'm in my 40s and have had severe SA since childhood which means I've never had a job but I have been a carer for a close family member who died recently so the bereavement has really exacerbated things. I'm finding myself having really horrible headaches- something I've always suffered from but they seem to be quite a bit worse lately. I just wondered if anyone had any advice on how they coped with pain or just to share experiences with anyone who has similar problems?

Also wondered what medication people might be on and if it helped. I know this forum is pretty quiet at the moment so don't know if anyone will reply but will give it a go. Thanks.

[Jen.]

Have you ever tried taking a vitamin D supplement (or a multivitamin that contains it)? Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to headaches, depression, fatigue and other issues. It's difficult for everyone to get enough vitamin D during the darker months of the year anyway, even if they're outside all day long. It sounds obvious but I think there might be a cycle where depression makes people want to stay inside, but then doing so makes their depression worse, and so on. Staying inside a lot/probable vitamin D deficiency often seems to be a factor I've seen on mental health forums when people bring up having headaches, feeling tired all the time or having trouble sleeping.

[Mr. Nobody]

don't want to alarm you,. but you might want to contact your GP for a check-up,

the idea of *frequent horrible headaches* really doesn't sound good to me.

[Squirrelmonkey]

Hi Jen, Yes- funnily enough I've just started on Vitamin D and I am really hoping it will make a difference.

mr nobody- The person I was caring for who I lost recently died of a rapidly progressing illness at a young age. I very much doubt if my headaches are anything scary as I've always suffered from them and I think stress has played a big part in how bad they've become. It would be a bit much having just lost someone from a serious illness to discover I had one too!!

[Seagull]

I get debilitating headaches on occasion, but because they don't meet the migraine criteria/aren't migraines the doc won't prescribe Sumatriptan, the only thing that will shift them, fortunately I have an alternative source. Anadin Extra are the only over the counter headache pills that will touch my 'more regular' headaches.

Agree with you that they are nothing to worry about, just severe tension etc headaches. Awful things.

[Moksha]

Have had an eye test recently? I used to get terrible migraines until it was discovered that I had a weakness in my left eye. That was causing eye strain and thus headaches.

Insomnia often triggered migraines as well. Oh, and a poor diet, especially one full of sugar, can cause them. From what you’ve said, it’s probably chronic stress.

[Squirrelmonkey]

Seagull- Will try Anadin extra- thanks for the tip. I've tried paramol without much success- I know that's one of the strongest over the counter painkillers. I'll have to google what's in Anadin in a minute.

Moksha- Yes, you could be right about eye strain making it worse. I haven't been to the optician for ages and my glasses probably need strengthening

[alpha]

Hi SquirellMonkey, I've had chronic headache for many years, also suffer depression. I don't have any advice for coping with it sorry as frankly I haven't coped with it that well over the past few years. With regards to medication, it depends what type of headache you get but the gold-standard preventative seems to be amitriptyline, not that it ever worked for me. They also often prescribe anti-convulsive drugs like gabapentin. You might want to consider getting referred to a neurologist, preferably one who specialises in headache (they do exist).

Standard painkillers don't usually work well for chronic headache though and can make things a lot worse in the medium-long term (see here)

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

don't want to alarm you,. but you might want to contact your GP for a check-up,



the idea of *frequent horrible headaches* really doesn't sound good to me.

You're completely right about getting it checked just to make sure. But most headaches are primary headaches (no secondary cause), even chronic ones I believe.

Originally Posted by Seagull

I get debilitating headaches on occasion, but because they don't meet the migraine criteria/aren't migraines the doc won't prescribe Sumatriptan, the only thing that will shift them

That's not acceptable that they won't prescribe you sumitriptan if it works, just because you don't tick all the boxes. I would ask to be referred to a neurologist as I said above if your GP is being obstructive.

Sumitriptan is available over-the-counter by the way. Although unfortunately you have to fill in a tick-box form to get it, which basically checks whether you fulfill the migraine criteria! Sumitriptan is not just prescribed for migraine though, e.g. it's also prescribed for cluster headache and certain other similar types of headache.

[Tonkin]

I get a lot of headache and have tried things like massage, osteopathy, chiropractic etc, with mixed results.

Amitriptyline is some times prescribed for headaches, although it was originally depression and anxiety (I think)

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/amitriptyline-for-pain/

https://www.drugs.com/comments/amitr...ty-stress.html

[Seagull]

Ooh that’s interesting Alpha, I’ll have to look into that. Thanks for the heads-up, mine can be very debilitating, but don’t seem to be either cluster or migraines, just (possibly) overwhelming tension headaches that only Sumatriptan can shift in my experience. I might have to be somewhat economical with the truth.

[Squirrelmonkey]

Alpha- thanks for all that info. I should maybe visit the doctor and see if they will try me on amitriptyline if I meet the criteria. I probably assumed that most Gps wouldn't take headaches particularly seriously and would just tell me I needed to learn how to relax more. I will certainly give it a go.

Thanks everyone for all that advice.I am feeling quite lonely at the moment so it's nice to have some sort of communication with other humans even if it's only discussing headache medications online! I will have to be a bit braver and start more threads I think.

[Tonkin]

My GP mentioned amitriptyline when I talked to him about my headaches.

If you Google "nhs headache pathway" then read some of those documents, you'll see it listed as a treatment for chronic tension headaches.

Maybe your local NHS Trust has their own pathway...

I'm tempted to try it myself but don't want to take anything too extreme!

[Seagull]

If you compare Sumatriptan and Amitriptyline on the NHS website they are two very different animals, Suma used as required like an instant headache pill, Amit as an ongoing course and one that can take up to 6 weeks to work as a painkiller plus drowsy side effects!

[Utopia]

Well for me my headaches went away after taking antidepressants also actually, some headache disorders (cluster headaches) are treated with drugs that target specific serotonin receptors so there is a link. For me my persistent headaches as a child and teenager also went away since taking them. Social anxiety has been shown to be treated with antidepressants also, so there is link between SA and headaches actually. Low serotonin manifests itself differently in different people, for me the SA and OCD was first (as a child) - then the depression hit me later.

[Dougella]

I find that ibuprofen works better for my headaches than paracetamol, so you might want to try that if you haven't already (and it's ok for you to take ofcourse).

[Seagull]

100% true Utopia, although such headaches aren't just the lot of SAers (appreciate you're not saying that). A friend of mine suffers debilitating cluster headaches much worse than mine and is far from being anxious or a worrier.

[Utopia]

Yeah I don't think I had cluster headaches but just persistent headaches as a child that were worth complaining about, but it was worse than normal every now and then. Cluster headache will definitely not be treated by paracetamol or ibuprofen actually, but it wasn't that bad, but may have similar causes because the ssris helped me with that also.

Actually just looking at the wiki article and I think I did suffer from a mild form of cluster headaches, which is no longer a problem for me.