Post ictal headache magical mystery cure.

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kirsten

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These post-ictal headaches are really getting to me these days. They take a good 16 hours to go away and they are so painful I can't do much but lie there wishing they'd go away. For the moment, I take ibuprofen and paracetamol but they don't really do too much to help. I can't take codeine and I can't take post-op painkillers, so I'm hunting for something that will help. I guess as far as meds go I only have the option of anti-inflammatories but I was hoping some of you would have some suggestions for super-powerful NSAIDS or some sort of magical way to get rid of them.
 
I wish I had a major cure for you but with all the other meds I take in addition to E All I can take is IBU but I will take four at a time for a total of 800 mg. I will also drink a couple of mugs of of strong hot coffee and the caffeine seems to help (helps my migraines too) but I am a caffeine addict and it doesn't seem to bother my seizures. Hope you are feeling better soon hon! :)
 
I've been doing 800 myself. I'm going to add the caffeine and see what happens. I hadn't thought of that. Thank you. Years back a friend who was a doctor told me that caffeine made some painkillers more effective. There's a name for it but of course i forget. At this stage of the day I'm feeling really desperate, so I appreciate your suggestion.
 
I've been absolutely desperate about post seizure headaches as well. A hot compress helped me when nothing else did. Just be careful not to make it too hot.
 
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:agree:

my painkiller of choice is also ibuprofen, and coffee helps too.

i looked into that a few years back and was amazed at how much caffeine can actually do for us when needed 'in the moment.' helps focus and stay alert, the headaches, and one i appreciate the most is the tummy when you feel off. i find that if food isn't sitting well or i feel really bloated a couple strong cups really takes the edge off.

on that note, happy saturday morning and enjoy your coffee ladies! yum yum! :cheers:
 
For the moment, I take ibuprofen and paracetamol but they don't really do too much to help. I can't take codeine and I can't take post-op painkillers, so I'm hunting for something that will help. I guess as far as meds go I only have the option of anti-inflammatories but I was hoping some of you would have some suggestions for super-powerful NSAIDS or some sort of magical way to get rid of them.

Kirsten,

Sorry about those miserable headaches. I woke this morning with a terrible migraine myself. What I found that works for headaches, post-ictal and migraines is Excedrin for migraines. My neurologist suggested it many years ago after trying many prescription meds for migraines.

Excedrin for migraines actually contains caffeine and Acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol), plus aspirin, which is an anti-inflammatory. It is OTC.

So along with the Excedrin and my first cup of coffee, plus sleeping-in this morning, my headache is subsiding now. Hope you find some relief soon.
 
I've been doing 800 myself. I'm going to add the caffeine and see what happens. I hadn't thought of that. Thank you. Years back a friend who was a doctor told me that caffeine made some painkillers more effective. There's a name for it but of course i forget. At this stage of the day I'm feeling really desperate, so I appreciate your suggestion.

I think pain releivers and caffeine have a synergic effect.

Other synergic effects are a combination of tizanidine (muscle relaxer) and food.

Narcotic pain relivers and dextromethorphan (cough medicine).

Lots of meds work better in combination with other things,
 
:cheers:Well, after a strong cup of coffee, 800mg ibuprofen and 1000mg paracetamol, it got better pretty steadily and went away within two hours, so hooray for the coffee.

As for the hot towel, I think I'll get one of those odd-ball chemical things that you twist and they instantly turn hot (god only knows how.) They're cheap and if they get too hot, you can wrap them in a thin towel.
 
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As for the hot towel, I think I'll get one of those odd-ball chemical things that you twist and they instantly turn hot (god only knows how.) They're cheap and if they get too hot, you can wrap them in a thin towel.

That does sound better than risking getting burned just for a hot towel. Hope it works. I wouldn't want to take that risk again as I've already suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns from hot water.

Glad you're doing better.
 
:cheers:Well, after a strong cup of coffee, 800mg ibuprofen and 1000mg paracetamol, it got better pretty steadily and went away within two hours, so hooray for the coffee.

awesome!!!!!! :rock: glad it helped!
 
That does sound better than risking getting burned just for a hot towel. Hope it works. I wouldn't want to take that risk again as I've already suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns from hot water.

Glad you're doing better.

The other option is the good ol' fashioned hot water bottle (with an Angry Birds cover, of course.)
 
Yeah, I'm not trying to get anyone burned here. I didn't have a hot water botel and/or whatever twisty thing people are talking about. I was in agony. I was careful. I'll edit my post.
 
Yeah, I'm not trying to get anyone burned here. I didn't have a hot water botel and/or whatever twisty thing people are talking about. I was in agony. I was careful. I'll edit my post.

I didn't think it sounded like a hot water bottle. I do have one of those and have used it often.
 
Yeah, I'm not trying to get anyone burned here. I didn't have a hot water botel and/or whatever twisty thing people are talking about. I was in agony. I was careful. I'll edit my post.

You don't need to edit your post. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, or with a hot towel.
 
I've tried just about every type of prescription pain med out there but none seem to work for any type of pain, not just headaches. My neuro even gave me some meds exclusively for headaches but they did nothing. I don't know if my epilepsy meds has something to do with that or not?

I put a bag of ice on my head, tried heat but that made it worse. I put something over my eyes to block out the light and put my headphones in to block out noise.

I'll usually fall asleep after this. When I wake up the headache is better but a good bit of the time it's still there. Mine don't sound as bad as yours though because the worst I've had only lasted about 12 hours and they ease up through time.

I did find a bottle of Mucinex 600mg in the cupboard after the last headache I had. I took two then laid down and did all the other things. I woke up about 4 hours later and the headache was nearly gone. I fell a few weeks ago and hurt my tailbone really bad took the Mucinex for that and I can't believe how much it helped.

I remember hearing along time ago about coffee/caffeine helping headaches. Might try that too next time. Caffeine causes me to have seizures however. Has anyone had a problem with drinking it for headaches?
 
Caffeine can definitely make me have seizures but these days my tonic clonics stick to night times and I put the coffee down at 16:00. Certainly, though, if was doing all the good things for my epilepsy I would be cutting it out entirely.

Valeried, are you having headaches or migraines? I know migraines are way more difficult to get rid of. Another thing you can check out is whether you have muscle spasms that are causing the headaches and preventing the headache meds from working. A doctor can do it, but in the interim, if you run your hands VERY hard over all your neck muscles and those between your neck and shoulders, and that makes your headache instantly worse, you have spasms, which would do with some muscle relaxants and special stretching exercises instead of normal pain killers.

That you fall asleep so predictably during these headaches is something to mention to your neuro. Mine told me to look out for that happening. Could be those headaches are seizures.
 
Valeried, are you having headaches or migraines? I know migraines are way more difficult to get rid of. Another thing you can check out is whether you have muscle spasms that are causing the headaches and preventing the headache meds from working. A doctor can do it, but in the interim, if you run your hands VERY hard over all your neck muscles and those between your neck and shoulders, and that makes your headache instantly worse, you have spasms, which would do with some muscle relaxants and special stretching exercises instead of normal pain killers.

That you fall asleep so predictably during these headaches is something to mention to your neuro. Mine told me to look out for that happening. Could be those headaches are seizures.

The only time I have the headaches/migraines (not sure which because of what you said) are after seizures. I really don't get one any other time, even just a little one.

I've never tried rubbing my neck during them. I'll do that next time and see what happens. The pain is mostly on my upper forehead and/or in my temples.

I believe that I did go to a dr who specified with headaches, memory's not too good so I might be wrong. I was prescribed a shot, either by the headache dr or neuro, to take when I had the headache which didn't do anything.

I've told my neuro, and probably the headache dr, that I do fall asleep when I have them and they never said anything about it. After any seizure, headache or not, I do fall asleep though too. It's always been that way. I've told my neuro about this and he's never seemed to concerned or have anything to say about it either.

I've taken muscle relaxants for other problems that I've had and those things really knock me out.
 
Yes, those muscle relaxants are pretty vicious. Voltaren is always an alternative--the tablets are less hectic than the injections and way better than those other muscle relaxants. My brother in law does stretching exercises every day and if he gets headaches and he says they work amazingly well but then, you'd have to know if your headaches are actually caused by muscular problems. Still, you'd have to find a doctor who took your headaches seriously enough to look for the cause and a treatment that works.
 
Unfortunately, the only thing I've found to help is sleep. Call off work, enlist your spouse to do housework, and sleep it off like a bad hangover. :/
 
Unfortunately, the only thing I've found to help is sleep. Call off work, enlist your spouse to do housework, and sleep it off like a bad hangover. :/

A nice dark, quiet room and hours of sleep seem to be the best medicine for my headaches, too.
 
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