Why do I get Headaches Everyday at The Same Time?

Suffering from headaches the same time every day is not only inconvenient, it is bone-wearyingly painful.  Anyone who has had a headache knows how they can affect your mental state, movement, and everyday activity level; now consider experiencing that situation day after day without relief.  This is the life of someone who endures the fate of chronic headaches.

Contents

Facts about Chronic Headaches Every Day

Headaches remain somewhat of a mystery to the medical world.  Even though these painful conditions are one of the most common complaints among humans, it not completely clear what actually causes a headache.  It is known that a vast network of nerves, muscles and blood vessels encase the skull, the neck, and the face, and these highly sensitive nerves can be triggered by a number of different scenarios.

Stresses, anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, tension as well as certain medical conditions all serve to activate pain sensors in nerve cells, which then transmit signals to the brain; the resulting sensation is a headache.  Different types of headaches can be experienced; primary headaches, tension headaches, migraine headaches and cluster headaches are the most common headaches diagnosed.  Everyone has or will experience a headache, but for most people, it is a temporary occurrence.  There is a certain percentage of individuals, however, that have headaches that occur 15 or more days in each month for a period of at least three months; the definition of a chronic headache.

Those who suffer from chronic headaches are separated into two classifications according to their endurance. Those experiencing headaches every day are divided into groups of less than four hours or more than four hours.   Tension, migraines and daily persistent headaches can all become chronic headaches when they occur with frequency, with each type exhibiting particular features.  Yet another form, called hemicrania continua, takes on new aspects of pain by persistently providing no pain-free episodes.

People afflicted with chronic migraines commonly experience pain on only one side of the head and are accompanied by an extreme sensitivity to certain stimuli, such as lights, smells and sounds.  The movement only serves to aggravate the pain, so many must remain prone in a dark room in order to be even mildly comfortable.  In severe cases, symptoms such as nausea and vomiting can be felt.  Treatment for these ailments generally includes triptan or ergot medications.

Tension headaches will usually be felt on both sides of the head; pressing or constricting around the head without pulsing.  They may cause sensitivity to sounds or sights, or they may create slight feelings of nausea but never both at the same time.  Since these headaches are not made worse by physical activity, most individuals will attempt to continue with their daily lives while enduring the pain.

New persistent headaches every day will more often than not develop into constant pain within a short time after the first one is experienced.  Occurring on both sides of the head, it may be described as having a band around the head that is tightened, causing modest pain.  Those who experience symptoms of persistent headaches every day will report either a light / sound sensitivity or mild nausea.

When chronic headaches repeatedly occur, consulting your doctor is strongly recommended in order to rule out certain disorders.  If the headaches worsen even with the use of pain medication, or if additional symptoms such as the sore neck, seizures, double vision, numbness or a fever are also present, immediate medical care should be sought.

Those who suffer from chronic headaches every day know how debilitating they can be, modifying their everyday activities in order to alleviate the pain.  Until more knowledge is obtained about the causes of headaches, there is no cure for this painful condition.

Treatment Options

Painkillers Might Not Help

Lots of people take over the counter pain relief pills for their headaches. For a headache brought on by eye strain or poor posture, 2 to 4 hours of pain relief may be enough time for the underlying symptoms to go away, and the headache won’t return.

But for chronic headache sufferers, the headache is all but bound to return and when it does the “a rebound headache” will likely be stronger than it would have been if you had skipped the pain pills.

This can lead to people taking more painkillers than recommended in a certain time period, which can lead to serious health risks and organ damage.

Not all painkillers are created equal, so ask your doctor or pharmacist which medicine is best for you with the medicines or health conditions you have.

Anti-depressants Might Help

Anti-depressant medication has been used fairly successfully to treat chronic headaches. Various anti-depressants, when taken daily, have been found to reduce the number of headache days, reduce the duration of headaches, reduce the pain of headaches, or a combination.

Two of the leading causes of headaches are stress and lack of sleep, and antidepressants help many people to deal with their stress, which in turn gives them a better night’s sleep. Even if you don’t think of yourself as depressed, a mild dose might help reduce your chronic headache symptoms and improve your quality of life. Ask your doctor is this course of action is right for you.

Exercise For Headaches Every Day

Physical therapy has very high rates of success treating or even curing everyday headaches. The colloquial notion that we “store” our stress in our shoulders or jar or neck is not literally true, but it is certainly a fact that people subconsciously clench certain parts of their body in times of stress.

A physical therapist can help you to identify those areas and give you targeted exercises that will both strengthen the muscles and also make it easier for you to notice when you clench them and stop, preventing headaches before they can begin.

A physical therapist may also help you with your posture when you sit or stand. Slouching, hunching over and craning are all common ways to put extra strain on the muscles that support your head, which causes headaches. Your physical therapist will probably also offer massage therapy, which will help to both ease clenched muscles and also to alleviate some of the mental stress which contributes so much to headaches.

Talk to your doctor to see if any of these options are a good fit to treat or possibly cure the headaches you get every day.

Why do I get Headaches Everyday at The Same Time, Last Update: 12/6/2017

2 thoughts on “Why do I get Headaches Everyday at The Same Time?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.