Why does my head hurt so much?

Hey There! I can honestly say, this has been the worst spring I have ever had for allergies. I was sick for 5 weeks
with sinusitis, chronic terrible sinus headaches/migraines, ashtmatic bronchitis and allergic rhinitis. The tree & grass pollens have been extremely heavy this year.

I still can't go outside even for 15 minutes that I don't have issues still. Oak & Grass Pollens still. Go to Pollen.com and log in in your zip code and it will give you the pollen count in your area. It seems oak pollen is still high here.

I use Flonase & Astepro in the morning and then 2.5 ml of Chidren's zyrtec. This seems to help. I drink lots of
water to help thin the mucous. I take Vitamin D3+K2, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2 & I get B12 injections for my
immune system. Please ask your doctor before trying these.

Try a teaspoon of local honey as this helps some people with allergies I have been told.

Try and get off sugar as this increases and aggravates inflammation.

Praying for you as I know how miserable this is. Blessings...

Hey, sorry about your headaches. I suffer from chronic migraines ever since radiation and chemotherapy 8 1/2 years ago.
Medications don’t work for me and I’ve been on Botox for a few years now.
You mentioned your neck pain. Your headache could very well be from your neck.
My migraine care provider started injecting the Botox into my neck on my last visit and it gave me 2 months of relief!
Rather than going to an ENT maybe your primary physician could refer you to a neurologist?
Just my thoughts.

MOJO

Tagging a few other members who've mentioned migraine or headache in the context of allergies or possible allergies, @mercedes713: @scy @covidstinks2023 @bruizersmom @astaingegerdm @hicopd @mikaylar. They may be able to provide some support for you and also may have ideas on what might help with the really bad allergies you have been experiencing with headaches for 2 months now.

@mercedes713
I’m sorry to hear about your persistent headaches.
I have suffered from sinus related headaches for many, many years. I also have had allergies most of my life.
I’m doing well now- after being treated by ENT and Allergist.
Keep your ENT appointment and make an appointment with an allergist.
The ENT did a complete exam in addition to ordering a CT of the sinuses.
The allergist tested for allergies.
If these specialists can’t help you-make an appointment with a neurologist.

Thank you. Unfortunately the neck pain started after my head started hurting, however, they could be related somehow. So sorrow to hear about your migraines, but at least we can all suffer together🩶

Thank you so much. I looked into the pollen website, it is super useful! I will keep you in my prayers also🩶

I know right. It’s nice to chat with people that actually know what we’re going through. When normal people ask how we’re doing and we say still battling migraines etc you can see that they really don’t understand the battle.

MOJO

I used to have migraine headaches all the time.
I do think you do have to identify the trigger before you can treat.
I did try all kinds of medications, therapy, diet, etc.

For allergy "headaches" I make sure and have local honey every day. After I am outside and in for the rest of the day, I make sure and use just simply saline spray and make sure to take shower and also use AccuSoft eye cleaner.
I also take OTC Zyrtec.

When the pain moves to my neck, I use peppermint/lavender oil. I make my own.
You can buy little roller tubes and carrier any where.
70% peppermint, 25% Lavendar and 10% almond or coconut oil as carrier.

it could be 1 million things, but it does sound like trigeminal neuralgia or optical neuralgia, which is why they’re sending you to an EMT doctor. I’ve had so many things I didn’t wanna go back to an EMT doctor and I suspected that might not help but I didn’t need to Because my wisdom tooth cracked in half! And I went to three dentist on Monday morning the third one extracted the tooth and that was the end of the migraine headaches the face aches, the sinus pain and everything else that was excruciating. They can’t detect cracked teeth on x-rays. I go to three fabulous expensive specialist and I go every year to the dentist and have x-rays and it was missed. It started about four years before it finished with me being taken down to the worst pain ever experienced the month before the tooth cracked. I ended up Getting the pain back a little bit and went back to the dentist and they found that the lower wisdom tooth had issues and I said take it out. My wisdom teeth were always impacted as a young adult, but by the time I was 68 they weren’t and they pulled them out in a snap. I didn’t even miss a meal! I never had the pain return. It also like you to know, I’ve had lifelong allergies and I don’t know where you live, but some years are especially excruciating because it rains more and then it’s dryer so that the pollen is picked up into the air and my allergies are worse. I am very careful about the medications I use and the only one that seems to work for me is ipratropium. It’s a nasal spray. I take a multiprong approach and use pad a drop that goes into my tear ducts of my eyes and then the opium which goes up my nose. I went for allergy therapy for a couple years but when you stop at the allergies come back. I tried Fantine Claritin all the allergy medication’s, but in part they dehydrate you and at 68 I have to be super careful of dehydration, so I don’t use those except on special occasions. Dust is an incredible allergen for me so I have to have a housekeeper come to remove the dust that accumulates in my house here in North County San Diego you wouldn’t believe it. Especially after the fires we’ve had even as far away as Los Angeles and northern California and Arizona. It’s unbelievable the allergens that settle in my house. After the housekeeper comes, after she has swept, vacuumed and washed the carpet and hard flooring. My sinuses are noticeably clearer. I am in the process of pairing down items in my home because they make my sinuses bad. The other problem I have experienced is cervical in nature. I had two cervical spine surgeries. They didn’t entirely fix the problem because it was my muscular. I would get headaches if I didn’t have routine MFR treatments, acupuncture, and trigger point injections. They told me I will be having those for the rest of my life because my posture was poor. I was born with it and my repetitive work working long hours as an artist. I have to break up the glued muscles That are now pulling on weak bones. Many things can go into what you were talking about. I always suggest looking at things with the top down approach, which means starting with an orthopedic surgeon and letting him rule out impinged nerves in your neck that work up into your face and head And then going for the other treatments. Having cervical spine surgeries are no walk in the park, but my body at 68 is in degeneration so I just have to deal with it. I was put on bone medicine which for the first two months was an adjustment as it gave me headaches. But they went away as I adjusted. Make sure you’ve looked into your salt intake because I have edema and salt was always a concern and monosodium glutamate gave our whole family headaches. Make sure you hold your phone in the correct position and limit your time on it. Make sure you’ve been to the eye doctor and have had your vision checked. High muscles get weak as we age, and that could be a source of headaches as well. Good luck.

Hi @mercedes713,

I totally understand how frustrating and overwhelming persistent headaches can be. I was in a similar situation where I had ongoing headaches that wouldn’t go away despite trying many treatments. What really helped me was exploring headache surgery as an option.

I found a lot of useful information and support at Headache Surgery, which helped me learn about surgical options for certain types of headaches that don’t respond well to medication. After consulting with specialists, I underwent a procedure that significantly reduced my headaches and improved my quality of life.

Of course, every case is different, but it might be worth looking into if your current treatments aren’t giving you relief. Wishing you all the best and hoping you find the help you need soon!