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Chronic severe nocturnal hypnic headaches
Sleep Health | Last Active: Oct 4 1:13am | Replies (240)Comment receiving replies
Hi Cheryl!
If you google "hypnic headaches" and read many of the summary articles by research physicians, you might see case reports of people not being able to lie down with them, since lying down can make the pain severe. That is my case also. Once awakened by them, I bolt out of bed and pace for hours upright. Before I used preventatives, I would become exhausted (usually about 3 hours of pacing, when no acute meds were helping). I would then sit on the floor with my back pushed tight (upright) against the wall. Sleeping on a propped wedge did not help me, but your idea of nearing standing while sleeping is amazing! and Clever!
I am so glad you are getting relief from caffeine. I met a Vietnam Veteran who had terrible headaches, and his only help was to drink coffee on and off all day. The VA system did not diagnose his headaches as hypnic, and offered little treatment; but he figured out that he felt better walking all day, rarely sitting or lying down. Very sad.
I do hope that caffeine continues to help prevent your headaches, and that your siblings will also get some much needed assessment and treatment options. The literature on migraines sadly relays that undertreated migraine can lead to stroke, and also to brain lesions. I do believe my own hypnic headaches stem from brain trauma due to under-treatment of migraines, for years. Every case may be different. I'm so hopeful that research on Hypnic headaches and Migraines will lead to more effective, well-tolerated treatments that are not terribly expensive.
Thank you for your well-wishes! I have not met another person that has hypnic headaches, and though we are not positive that yours are, it is really wonderful to connect with you and hear about your creative solutions to treatment! If I find other solutions, I will let you know. I am now taking a class in Qi Dong and finding it very relaxing--it's a bit like Tai Chi, but more about the breathing and healing component. Time will tell!
Taterjoy
Replies to "Hi Cheryl! If you google "hypnic headaches" and read many of the summary articles by research..."
I have had them daily for 10 years as well. I am also hoping to get better treatment.
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I’m in bed right now awake at 3:45 am waiting for a horrible hypnic headache to pass. The pain is extreme and I know everyone here understands completely. I have taken my caffeine and am waiting patiently and trying not to cry. This has been happening now every single night for weeks and each week the pain ratchets up a notch. The neurologists at my regional Headache Clinic confirm that this is hypnic headache although sometimes a migraine piggybacks on it. While caffeine and Imitrex eventually help, taking them every night has destroyed my waking life too since after taking caffeine I’m wide awake and grinding my teeth for the next four hours. This cycle happens every single day. Excruciating pain followed by upset stomach ,
drowsiness and depression. If this is my new normal then it’s time to research suicide because this quality of life is not sustainable for me. I’ll obviously think hard and consult a psychiatric specialist before taking any kind of action but if this severe daily pain is a permanent condition I don’t want to grind on for decades. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have this unbearable pain and also suffer from dementia. It could explain the patients screaming in nursing homes. Perhaps they are in the middle of a horrific migraine and no one knows or cares. I watched my beautiful mother—a triathlete who developed Alzheimer’s — weeping and thrashing in her bed, unable to speak and clearly suffering. The nursing staff couldn’t figure out what she was experiencing so just gave her Ambien. But what if it was acute migraine? Please god no one should suffer like that. Being trapped in this pain with no hope or help is my deepest fear. Doctors are sympathetic but in the end they DON’T know how you feel and can go home and forget about you. Which of course they do. It’s human nature. I’m realizing that ultimately the reality of a life dominated by pain will not be sustainable for me. Lots to think about.