Sort of just venting here but who knows maybe someone will have helpful suggestions =) Two things -- bad, constant headaches and I can't sleep. Both have been going on way too long. Headaches started Sept 99 and I haven't been able to sleep since Jan 2002. I used to be an amazing sleeper, I could sleep though anything. I started a new job in Jan 2002 which involved me having to listen to a baby monitor at night (long story) so I had to train myself to wake up at every little sound (great baby training 6 years too early). Sounds at night freak me out. I can't sleep with windows open anywhere in the house, especially the bedroom which is a bummer because I love fresh air. I hear everything, my kid coughs and I hear it, it doesn’t matter if I'm 2 feet away or 3 rooms away. I could be sound asleep and I jolt awake at the slightest cough or other noise. I finally got a sound machine within the last year and I can't sleep without it now. I can actually fall asleep with it which is great. Although being summer time I have the fan on at night and that noise works fine too. Okay so it's almost 2 am and I'm not tired. If I go to bed right now it will take me at least 30 min to fall asleep, if I am lucky. I'm off work for the summer (I go back on Monday) so it hasn't been that big a deal for the last 2 months. But in just a couple days I don't know how the heck I'm going to get up in the morning. I am hoping after a day or two of getting up early my body will realize it HAS to go to bed early...hoping and praying. I'm also super paranoid at night. Not so much when the hubby is home but sometimes. He's been home since March but prior to that he was travelling for work and was gone for 3 months (only home 2 weekends a month). My doctor put me on Zanax just so I could sleep at night those couple months. Never had a break-in or anything like that but when he is gone I sleep with pepper spray. I see an alarm system in my future someday, not now though. Not sleeping, is this something I'm just going to have to deal with forever? I don't want to take medications, I've heard those kinds can be addicting and I don't want that.
My other problem: headaches. I have a headache 5-7 days a weeks, sometimes (not often) I get migraines. Nothing helps. I went to the doctor 12 years ago when they started. I went to a campus doctor, they did a CT scan and said it was clear and that I was imagining things. Nice huh. I have mentioned it several times to doctors over the years and every time they each ask when I last had an eye exam. I thought they could be right since I didn’t have great vision. So last November I finally went for an eye exam. I now wear 1 contact =) 20/20 vision in the Right eye but left eye isn’t so good. Headaches haven’t stopped. So back to the doctor a couple weeks ago. He told me to try an OTC med for migraines and come back in a month. So far it’s not helping, I don’t think it helps at all actually. He said he will send me for an MRI if I want, he doesn’t think it will show anything. I don’t think it will either, it’s been almost 13 years since they started. Do I have to live with headaches too? Oh, and if 1 more person posts on facebook that their migraine is killing them I’m going to punch them!!!! I have migraines and playing on FB doesn’t help it! In fact when I have a migraine it takes every ounce of me just to open my eyes.
Okay, that’s enough venting =) Maybe I’ll search the internet for headache diagnosis while I can’t sleep =)
Thank you for all of your quick responses to my "rant". Just for the record, I'm not mental =) I don't have the crazy paranoia when my husband is home. His big out of town job ended at the end of February and he has been home every night since. The OTC medication my doctor suggested isn't helping, I go back to see him on the 13th. I am 32 yrs old with an almost 2yo and a 4yo but hormone problems are definitely worth checking into. I may look into a chiropractor too, I'll check with my insurance and see what my coverage is like. I think I will go ahead and do the MRI, it can't hurt (other than my bank account) and it's better to be safe than sorry. I've tried melatonin in the past and it only worked for like 2 weeks. My body tends to build up a tolerance for medications and then they don't work anymore, even the natural supplements. My doctor has run a blood panel in the past including thyroid levels but I don't know how in depth he tested for thyroid because I know there are several tests they can do. In terms of foods, I don't eat hardly any of the things mentioned. If I drink wine it's white wine and probably only 1-2 glasses a month. I rarely eat peanut butter, cheese varies. I don't eat cheese everyday, it's probably incorporated into a meal 1-2 times a week. I can't remember the other foods off the top of my head. I will keep a diary documenting my day (food, headaches, sleep, etc) and see if that may help. A sleep study/test has occurred to me but it's not practical with work and kids. I'd have to find someone to take my kids overnight, it would have to be a school break or something. So I won't count it out but it's going to have to wait. I think that anxiety is the real key to my sleep issues. When I'm not crazy paranoid about sounds what keeps me up is thinking about all the things I need to do the next day. I may try and find a different internal med/family doctor. I'm not all that sure this one is right for me even though I've been going to him for 2 years now. So thank you everyone. If anything else happens I will let you know.
For the headaches, find a really good chiropractor. Like any profession they are not all created equal. Professional massage can also make a huge difference for headaches.
For sleep: no media (computers, TV, etc) before bed, take a melatonin (not a drug, it is a natural substance that your body just might not produce enough of) about 20-30 minutes before you lie down in bed, keep a regular bedtime.
Go see a naturopath. There are many chiropractors who practice holistic medicine - I'm learning that unless there is something wrong with you that can be seen in an image or via blood tests, conventional medicine doesn't have many answers other than "take this pill." I still get headaches when I don't get enough sleep (that alone could be your trigger) but much fewer than I did years ago. I saw a chiropractor a few years ago who did nutrition counseling with diet and supplements and after a few months of supplements, I had way fewer headaches and didn't need to continue taking supplements.
Insomnia and anxiety can be from nutritional deficiencies, as can headaches. Alternative medicine costs more but your health and sanity are worth it.
I take 1/4 to 1/2 tablet of an antihistamine (Chlortrimeton) which helps me fall asleep, then I take another 1/4 at about 3:30 am when I get up to go to the bathroom (I actually set my alarm so I can take the other 1/4 tablet so I sleep through the night. This is pretty harmless as far as "medications" go.
I run a fan for white noise, I also wake up very easily at every little sound. This helps a lot. Also, try to get your room as cool as possible...heat usually disrupts sleep.
You may also try taking a bath about 2 hours before bed (sometimes, too close to bed makes me too hot)
Make sure your room is totally dark and dim the lights about an hour before bed.
I do get migraines, but only sporadically. Mine are hormone related. Haven't found anything that works well, but I'm a little older now so my hormones are probably dropping. I haven't had one in a while.
Maybe look into your nutrition, or try some magnesium. Mag is good for headaches and insomnia. (I type this wide awake, at 1 am, after taking my magnesium! ;P--but I took a pain pill that keeps me awake...) also could be you need to drink more water to relieve the headaches. Sorry, hope you are better soon! I hope you get some helpful answers. Don't stop searching!
Do you have allergies? If mine start acting up I get headaches so bad that I can't function. I talked to my doctor and she suggest Claritin, or the generic one from Costco, and it is amazing. I used to take Sudaphed the real pharmacy kind every day almost, but now I only need it a few times a month. I don't know where your head hurts, but if it is anywhere in the front, it could be cause by your sinuses. I would try some Sudaphed from behind the pharmacy counter and some ibuprofen and see what that combination does. I hope it works for you since its so simple. But, if it doesn't, I think I would ask to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat doc to see if they can find anything that you doc didn't. Sometimes you can have polyps that docs don't see because they are in your upper sinuses and they can't really see those I don't think. Or, you may need to see a nuerologist....I have had a few headaches like the ones you are describing, and it is so bad, I feel so much for you. Oh, and my sister is taking a migraine medicine from the doctor and she said it helps some, so maybe you could try that. But, they are not normal and don't stop til you get help.
Maybe acupuncture could help if western medicine doesn't?
Melatonin can help you sleep too, I had to take it a whole week before I saw any results though, so one or two nights may not be enough for you. Don't give up !!!
I get those symptoms when my thyroid is out of whack. I discovered it was not working right when I had some hormone tests done for some other reason. I had this wonderful OB that looked at all the very specific tests for thyroid. I had been to my family doctor and he had done thyroid blood work and found nothing. I guess are lots of tests for thyroid and most doctors just do the very basic and it doesn't tell you much. Anyway I like doing as much as I can naturally. I ended up on a supplement of T3 and I slept like a baby, had no worries, and my headache was gone.
I'm sure your headaches have to do with your terrible sleeping problem. I feel for you.
I would try chiropractic, acupuncture, a sleep study, a nutritionist, exercise, the whole enchilada. Bless your heart, make this your new job. And yes, have that MRI. You need a doctor to rule stuff out. One of our dear moms here on MP found out she has a tumor in her pituitary gland - thank goodness the doctors found it out now instead of later.
Dawn
Ok headache should be looked at deeper most definately. There's tons of possibilities. One could be a tumor or blockage I would do MRI. Than another thing too is your left eye do u get floaters? If your retina is detaching or you have something going on behind your eye ball it can cause headaches. Than u have food possibilities you could be allergic to the food u eat. Like my sister in law gets migraines if she eats chocolate. So maybe something u eat that day or the day before is bringing it on. There's tons of possibilities n I definately wouldn't wait on it I would get a dr that cares.
For the at night sleep. That's mental. You sound stressed n anxious. I think a lot of it is anxiety. Can you start walking? Take 20mins to a half hr just for you? Just walk. If you do that take time for u it may help. Plus your stressed need to relax.
For sleep - melatonin and L-Ornithine.
I occasionally take Valerian but it sometimes gives me some wild nightmares.
If I want to sleep at night, I can't have any caffeine after noon.
If I want a 9pm bedtime, I can't exercise after 6pm.
I need a cool dark room and no noise (although white noise is ok - I have a warm mist humidifier that makes a bubbling boiling water sound that I just love).
Headache is more tough.
The light sensitivity really sounds like a migraine headache.
See a migraine specialist/neurologist.
Keep a headache diary.
Note when you get a headache, how long it lasts, how painful, what the weather was (pressure, temp, etc) what you ate, what supplements/medications you take, when you had your period, your temp and blood pressure, etc.
This is to help you learn if there are patterns and/or triggers.
You've been dealing with this for 12 years - at the very least you need a pain management plan.
http://www.medicinenet.com/migraine_headache/royal-oak-mi...
The other posters so far have had good ideas for the headaches etc. I would also suggest that instead of being on the computer when you can't sleep, that you pick up a book instead. The lights from a computer screen alter your ability to feel sleepy. Cozying up on the sofa with comfy pillows, a blanket and a book often make me sleepy, even when I don't feel the least bit tired sitting at the computer or up and about doing other things.
Good luck.
Although you might be younger than 40? have you considered having some bloodwork done in order to check your hormones..??? even when younger, women can experience hormonal imbalances, which in turn can cause anxiety, migraines and a whole range of symptoms.. before you consider staying on the Xanax, consider the blood work. I find it so despairing that doctors ASSUME women need meds... this without first checking what could be hormones... They will also do a CT scan and eye exams and although they find nothing, again, no word about one's hormones..
give that a try.. it might truly be the culprit.. if you don;t have an Gynecologist who will do the blood work, then find one that will...
good luck to you!
Everyone here has mentioned most of my journey through migraines and sleep issues. I go to my chiropractor for nutrition deficits as well as adjustments. He was able to pinpoint thyroid and adrenal issues through a resistance test. I am on supplements to rebalance myself.
The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is imagery. I had terrible stress for years due to job and such. I learned imagery as a way to fall asleep. Imagine yourself in your most peaceful place. How does it look, smell, feel? Concentrate on the senses and then let whatever happens in that space take place in your mind. I made up stories to put me to sleep. A few short minutes and I'm out. I also read most nights before bedtime, just a couple of pages, and now the mere thought of reading relaxes me.
This sounds weird but check out Jin Shin Jyutsu. It's hard to explain, but google it and see if you can find a practitioner in your area. My massage therapist is a Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner and I am currently going for treatments to help with adrenal fatigue and migraines. Sleep problems are part of that and it's helping so much!
So, if you want, check it out or PM me if you have any questions.
I hope you feel better soon.
Have you tried a noise machine or fan in your bedroom? They can help soothe you to stay asleep. Make sure there are no lights and/or TV on. There are natural ways to help you sleep that are not addictive and safe to use every day.
I used to get really bad migraines too. Going for regular chiropractic adjustments has helped so much that and I don't get them anymore. I had them really bad when I was 19 (41 now), the CAT scan and MRI showed nothing, neither did my blood work. There are certain foods to stay away from which should also help. Try to avoid red wine, deli meats and other foods with preservatives or nitrates. Just and FYI I had them all the time not just when getting my period. I couldn’t stand any lights, noise and certain smells. I would also become extremely nauseas.
I was getting consistent migraines. Two things cause mine. Certain foods are a trigger for me. Zucchini, green peas, canned tuna, peanut butter and red wine are the big culprits. Unbalanced hormones also play a big part. I get them just before and during my period. Eating a non-processed food, no refined sugar (only fruit) whole grain, lots of veggie and protein diet has helped with the hormones.
I'm not sure if the headaches and the anxiety at night/sleeplessness are necessarily related. If you can afford it, get that security system for your house. It is worth it if it can help you sleep better at night. I head that headaches can be cause by a food sensitivity so maybe you should keep a food diary and see if you can find a connection. For example, a friend of mine got headaches from sulfites (found in wine), and also from cheese.
