Heads Up

Think of the last time you had a headache. Close your eyes and try and remember.

Until experiencing the wonderful and diverse range of post concussion symptoms, I’d never really experienced headaches before. Not like these anyway. Words can’t really describe them, but I’ll have a go.

There’s the eyeball squeeze where the socket around my eyeballs aches like crazy and my eyeballs feel like they’ve run a marathon. Then the back of the head ones that feel like someone’s taken a plank to the bit just above the base of my skull. I’ll call it the Skull Thumper. Then the  Throbbing Temples which are sensitive to touch and which flare up when I press on parts of my neck. Then there’s the Oil Slick - the weird creeping ones that I can feel rising up from the base of my neck into my brain. Those ones always accompany the brain fog. Then there’s the run-of-the-mill Forehead Frowner, The Midbrain Moaner from bright lights and the One-Size-Fits-All general fuzzy headache that’s hard to place, but just sort of fills everywhere.

So I have a veritable A La Carte menu of headaches to choose from and any given day can see any number of them come and go. I think in the last six months, I’ve possibly had three or four days with no headache at all.

What helps?

I’ve found…

- Hot and cold showers, particularly when putting my head and neck under the cold. Nasty, but worth it to feel the headache disappear. I do them daily.

- Sauna followed by cold shower, as above, but with bells on.

- Swimming in a pool or the sea is miraculous and works within minutes.

- Liquid cold packs (like the ice packs, but not frozen) on the neck and head.

- Sunglasses to block out piercing electric light.

-  A walk outside, particularly in a park or away from stinky cars.

- Exercise, particularly high intensity to get my heart rate up, which obviously depends on the other symptoms going on.

- Paracetamol doesn’t seem to touch them, sadly. I personally steer clear of stronger medication that can have side effects.

I long for the headaches to be gone.  If you’re suffering from these too, my heart (and head) goes out to you.

For more information about the pathophysiology of post concussion headaches, have a look at the Concussion Alliance website.

2025 EDIT - I started using Pain Reprocessing Therapy techniques in 2024. My longing was realised - headaches mostly gone!