Wife's headaches seem immune to even muscle relaxants

[lofwyr]

so my wife's back and neck are filled with tension. She has had pretty brutal headaches from it for about a week. They get more serious at night and it is every night. Otc pain killers do t seem to help much, and she had some muscle relaxants left over from the part time she went through this and they heed last time, but don't seem to be doing the job this time.

So a couple of questions so I can get her dome help perhaps without resorting to google.

1. Is it unusual for tension headaches to be immune or at least resistant to muscle relaxants? The only thing scaring me is they worked do well the last time this happened but don't seem to do the job this time.
2. Is ther anything a doctor can do other than muscle relaxants?
3. Back and neck rubs from me helped a small bit, but she is starting everyday with very little pain and ending the day with monster headaches. How uncommon is that with tension headaches?
4. If you have had headaches like these what worked for you, doctor or otherwise?

Please note I am not super anxious about this (well a little maybe) but thought to look to the one place I can go without freaking myself out, it would be awesome to google headache remedies but I know I would be overwhelmed with brain tumor fears.

[Merle]

Hi,
As someone who has suffered from headaches, particularly migraine. Headaches are very common and can appear from weak to strong and overpowering. You say your wife has tension headaches, it would seem to me that it is a bit more like chronic tension headaches.

I do not suffer from migraines that often but when I do, I find that migra-stick helps a bit for me. It is made of essential oils and completely natural. Mint is very good and aromatherapy. Sometimes sinuses can also lead to headaches. I have heard that physio therapy can help with such pains, but have never tried it. Conventional medicine is great but its also great to check out other natural therapies alongside conventional medicines.

[AnxietyDJ]

I have a very good friend who suffered from headaches that lasted for literally months and months, always lingering and ranging from mild to severe... He had many tests done and they all came back clear... Eventually the headaches went of their own accord.

I know that isn't exactly comforting to think the headaches may last a while, but just wanted to say that I am sure it is nothing more sinister at work, and that, at times, the body just needs to deal with things in its own time.

Fingers crossed your wife feels better soon :)

[lofwyr]

Thanks for the answers. She starts out the day with pretty much no head ache but as the afternoon sets in they start and by evening she is pretty miserable. Repeats every day. She is going in Monday to see the GP.

That said a year ago she went through the same thing and is fine. Her back and neck are literally Rick hard with tension, never seen her shoulders this bad actually, so while the conscious part of me says it is obviously tension, the anxiety part of me says why won't the muscle relaxants help with that? Which then, obviously, sends the HA part of me to the brain tumor route.

It becomes so ridiculous when you are aware it is the anxiety talking and are unable to stop it...

[swgrl09]

Sounds similar to me. For me, the only thing that has helped is getting deep tissue massages and using ice. Muscle relaxants don't work for me, think there's too much tension to relax lol but they don't always help people. My neck and shoulders are the same - rock hard like cement. My husband rubs them in between professional massages and he has to press so hard because I hardly feel it.

For me personally icing shoulders 20 minutes on, 40 off and neck 15 on, 45 off (recommended by my chiropractor) is most helpful to cut down the swelling and inflammation. I have also been doing yoga regularly which has helped too.

[countrygirl]

I have prolapsed disc in my neck with very bad spondylosis and my neck and shoulder muscles are totally rock hard and atrophied. I can get bad pain in my temple/eye socket that alwasy starts about late afternoon and is due to irritation of the neck nerves due to the muscle spasms.

Previous post was interesting re icing muscles which I did not know and will try!

Is her muscle relaxant pill diazepam?

[swgrl09]

Countrygirl for some reason heat never really helped much, but ice did a lot. Odd, really, but it has always been my go to when things get real bad!