chronic headaches

do you get them?

how do you treat and prevent them?

do get them

more than enough water
mint oil
someone fronting who doesnt feel pain
and lately: hypnosis. you can reduce pain sensitivity in certain body parts with hypnosis.

prevention
makng sure that we journal and take time for everyone to express themselves
pacing
(Annett is laughing, we are not good with pacing)
there are more headaches when we are not connected well/others are not heard/when there is a lot going on in therapy

Well, you posed two questions really, treating and preventing so I'll focus on the second. Preventing them requires identifying the cause(s).

We used to get headaches all the time but rarely since soon after we became aware we had DID. We identified recognized two types:

(1) a regular headache, which might result from: general stress like work deadlines, not enough sleep, computer eye-strain, too much sugar, eating certain foods, odd chemical smells in my environment, some strong perfumes (candida-related), sleeping too long or in a saggy bed
(2) a DID headache

The latter coincided with struggles among alters, especially about control of the body or somebody trying to "get through." DID headaches had consistent characteristics that set them apart from the others. The pain was different, they could happen very quickly and subside just as quickly if we could identify and work out the "quarrel."

Actually, the regular headaches above had a lot of different characteristics since there were many causes. I bought a new bed and it eliminated most incidents of waking up with a headache.

Start a headache log. When do they happen, date and time; what's going on when you first notice one. For example, did you just get off the phone with a particular person? What were you talking about? Or maybe you were watching TV and noticed some internal reaction to something?

Record a description of the pain and the location in your head too. So is it a dull ache between your eyes, a sudden sharp pain on the back right side of your head?

We got so many in our 20s and 30s, I'm sure we read books or articles about headaches, but nobody is confirming. It's what we tend to do though, identify a problem, read a ton about it. So if you can determine they're not DID-related, researching and considering potential causes can help identify them. Then you can make any changes needed to prevent them.

I was curious and did a comparison of the frequency of posts mentioning headache or headaches in this DID forum versus other forums. The words are much more frequent both absolutely and per post in this forum than in others. Since it doesn't appear we're using the term figuratively here (my boss is such a headache!), this suggests that headaches are a more common experience in DID than in other disorders. Not scientific proof but hey.

Headaches can also be a result of serious medical condition or illness so that should always be considered. In my mid-twenties I got a headache that got progressively worse over two days until I was found delirious on my living room floor by a roommate. It turned out to be a type of meningitis, from which I recovered, obviously, so I tend to take headaches seriously.

i have been getting these #######5 ass headaches that last like 5-9 days. they arent like level 10, i wanna die pain. but not like level 4, i can handle it either. i have to take some crappy weak painkillers like candy. its not a good situation. i am in the referral process to a headache specialist. i have had headaches for all my life. and considerable head and neck trauma. just trying to get it all figured out and under control. i don't want to go through a head zapper machine though. no radiation on the noggin.

at least here a head scan is standard procedure for differential diagnosis.
I am glad we got one. we had our skull broken many years ago and I was relieved to see that it never caused more damage later.
i would advise you to get all the medical tests needed to make sure it is nothing physical.

you can ask your others if they know more about the headaches.
sometimes they can explain.

I had awful headaches that were ruining my life . Got complete work up which I think is the way to go to rule out obvious stuff.
I did a lot of reading and research from major medical centers alternative medicine sites.
I took magnesium, butter burr and feverfew for 8 weeks and got rid of them. Talked to neurology NP also for feedback / input. She knew of magnesium but wasn’t experienced with the others but had heard of them being helpful.
It worked so well I shared with coworker who sometimes ended up in ER with excruciating headaches that needed major pain meds-and it helped her too.

amnesia much?

Johnny jack you said about the frequency of headache topics. I wonder if we are the most forgetful ones!!!

hey lady slippers is there like a special cocktail like a brand or dosing on this herbal?

***I am in no way seeking medical advice on the forum because ###$ doctors so please let me slide.....**

maybe some fascia work - neck, head, back massage - not sure if you are anti-massage

I also found the magnesium works. I take the calcium with magnesium and zinc (2-3 pills). Or the magnesium equivalent. And water.

yes right. I did post that on your other thread I think.

I did magnesium too along with Butterbur and Feverfew . Can’t remember exact doses but just now when I googled it I got information from Dr Weil’s site and LiveStrong ...and many others
There’s s lot of info out there maybe read that and decide. Check out the herbals at health food store. I used NOW , Solaray, Oregon’s wild Harvest ...
Go to good health food store or even Whole Foods.

One thing I do remember is they said to take it for 6 weeks after last migraine and I did that . I also recommended to coworker who had such bad migraines she ended up
In ER on major pain meds more than once . She said it worked for her.

And talked to neurology nurse practitioner about it because I was unsure and she was supportive. I just couldn’t function with those headaches / was ruining my life