Chronic Daily Headache - Anyone out there??

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post. I've just joined the forum after spending many hours on this site. Thank you everyone for all your helpful posts and information. It's been an amazing support for me. I'm about halfway through the structured program and although I've made progress, it's pretty slow. Reading success stories is such a boost and I've read many of them. However, I've yet to come across anyone who has recovered from chronic daily headache. I've had daily headaches for over 35 years. (You can read the gory details under My Story). Please, have any of you ever heard of someone with CDH who has had the headaches disappear? I know a lot of migraine folks have had their headaches go away. I've read everything on this site related to headaches and appreciate the several stories I've read, but none of them sound like my situation.

Thanks!

Camila

 

Hi Camilla,

Welcome to this site.

I can't tell you specifically about headaches, except that they can certainly be a TMS equivalent. But I urge you to be patient and keep at it. You've had TMS symptoms for many years. It takes time to change. From reading your story, it sounds like you're making lots of progress with other symptoms.

TMS can be very stubborn. Different approaches work for different people. Some get 'book cures' just from reading Sarno. Others, and I am one, have to get deep into our unconscious reasons for creating pain. Some bull their way through the symptoms, while others build confidence gradually.

Keep us posted about your progress.

David.

 

I never had a headache until I reached 82 and started to think I had back pain from aging.
I read Dr. Sarno and learned the back pain wasn't structural but from TMS, worrying about
one thing or another. I still get some headaches, but not often or bad. I think believing in TMS and
practicing deep breathing and positive thinking, and often just laughing sends the headache away.

I think it is a rare person in today's fast-paced and troubled world who doesn't have headaches.
They can be managed with relaxation techniques. This web site offers many of them, and so go
a google search and Youtube videos.

 

Thank you David and Walt. I appreciate your comments and support. Walt, I also find that deep relaxation helps me manage my headaches. I meditate every day and am convinced it has taken the pain down a few notches. I hope people don't lump sufferers of chronic daily headache in with the general population that has the occasional headache or two. This type of headache is one that you just can't shake and it wears you down when you have it day after day, week after week, year after year. It saps your energy, wrecks your concentration and seems to suck the joy out of life on some days. I'm fortunate I have been able to lead a pretty active, engaged life in spite of the headaches. Some people are quite disabled by chronic daily headache. I'm not going to be discouraged that no one has responded to this thread with a success story of a CDH sufferer. I'm hoping to fill that void one of these days with my own success story! As David said, TMS can be very stubborn and I'm going to need patience so I can gradually get better.

 

Hi Camilla and welcome to the forum.

I can relate to your situation when you talk about energy-draining, concentration-wrecking headaches that just stay day after day. I have a neck problem that triggers headaches and have had the problem for 7 years now. Let me start by saying how impressed I am that you have continued to live an active life despite the problem. That's great!

The good news is that Dr. Sarno's approach, which I've been using for a year, is helping me find relief. I'll get a full week now without any pain. It's pretty nice when that happens. I'm not at the point where I can post my success story yet, but I'll get there I'm sure, just like all the people before me who have healed from tms.

I'm glad to see you're doing the structured program. I really helped me understand tms and helped me what I needed to work on.

Best of luck on your journey!
Blake

 

Thanks Blake. I think a week without pain would be a huge success. I'm looking forward to that!

 

Hi Camilla, I am pretty new to the forum but I wanted to let you know I am having success with my chronic daily head aches. I read the mind body prescription in May and saw myself on every page of it. I had been having a pain on the left side of my head for over a year (cranial neve 7 common spot for tms). After a marathon in October it traveled down into my neck and shoulders. The pain in my shoulders and neck went away within 3 days of reading the book, but the head pain still comes about once a day for just a few minutes. I find that engaging myself in a mindful activity like sewing on a button or really listening to a favorite song helps it disappear. I'm ignoring it easily now and forget that it was there by the time I realize it's gone. Watching Bruce Lipton and Rob Williams Biology of Belief on youtube also took me to a new level of understanding. I hope this helps. All the best to you,
Tammy

 

My way of treating headaches is to think pleasant thoughts, do deep breathing, and try to stop worrying about anything.
I also like tammyg's suggestions. Pleasant distractions are very helpful.

 

Thanks Tammy, it's does help to hear other headache success stories. Walt, worrying definitely is a headache trigger for me. I'm working on lowering my anxiety level. Meditation and mindfulness is helping with that.

 

Hi Camilla

I just wanted to say that there is a nice example of a recovery of chronic daily headache, in chapter two of Howard Schubiners: Unlearn Your Pain. It's basically a 55 year old lady with chronic daily headaches for 17 years who recovered in about six months.

Thomas

 

Yes I had chronic daily headaches ranging from a 3 (minimum) to 10 in pain-level every single day for 6 years.
I started doing TMS 'work' in December and by around March I was averaging a 1-2 pain level a day most of the time. A bad day is now a 6 and they don't come as often and they very rarely become so bad that they limit my activities (compared to spending days in bed with headaches and not being able to move my head an inch without agonising pain... I won't go into detail as it doesn't matter but you get the picture)
You are making progress so focus on that in a positive way that brings hope, rather than pressure. I know now that my headaches are closely related to feelings of fear, worry, anticipation (of an event or commitment) and just generally striving to do everything perfectly.
I used to read the books/forum and because my pain was constant I found it hard to relate to advice about what to do 'when the pain comes on'. Try to focus on when the pain is slightly worse than usual, I'm assuming it must wax and wane in some fashion. This is where you think about what might be bothering you and WHY, what are the deep-seated feelings and beliefs you have about life and yourself that make you react in this way? You don't need the answer, you just need to ask the question.
Deep breathing when the pain is bad, focusing on your heart and noticing any physical change in your body (emotions are energy in motion they are things you FEEL not THINK) can be helpful.
Guided relaxations where you think about relaxing different parts of your body are great.
Another thing that has been super helpful to me is the Pain pack on Headspace - 10 mins a day to re-train your brain not to react to pain will make a huge difference.
I'm not 100% recovered, I have other symptoms and have been this way for years too, so the reality is we're probably not going to heal overnight. But the fact you are making progress shows you that you are on the right track, just keep going it will get better!

 

Hi Camilia,

I see this post is years ago and I really hope you have improved! Im curious to know if you have and hope you respond. I am currently dealing with chronic headaches and just recently realized in was my TMS showing up in a different form. It fooled me again and I was in a really bad spell of having daily headaches and NOTHING helped. It never truly went away. After linking it to TMS, it lightened up a little bit and i can have a few days on end of relief. But I havent made it a full week with no pain in a very long time. I recently did a ceremony with plant medicine, and it helped to uncover a memory from my childhood as to why I started having migraines when i was 5. Although this is a different kind of head pain that im dealing with now, it made me realize how deeply emotional this pattern is. My shaman also told me that it is some kind of energy blockage or mishap with the masculine energy, being that my pain is always on the right side of my head. I have never been told that before (that our left side energetically is feminine, and our right is masculine). When you think about what was going on when the pain initially started for you, try thinking about it in terms of which side the pain manifests, and what or who it could be linked to as far as feminine/masculine. I also notice that my pain manifests really bad before an event or some plans im really excited for this has been my hardest challenge and i havent figured out how to fully beat that yet