Sort. Variety. Species. Manner.
My types of headaches are all kinda different. I figured that this was the next port of call in explaining and conveying to you exactly what it is to have Chronic Daily Tension Headache. For myself, in any case.
1. Constant, dull ache: this is the 'base' headache, the headache I have every minute of every day. The headache I have had to get used to. I suppose if I have gotten used to it, it can't be that bad. And compared to what I get sometimes, it isn't. It's pretty self explanitory - I feel a dull ache constantly in my head. I usually feel it around my head like a band, but sometimes it intensifies and its a strong dull ache all around my head.
2. Throbbing: I suppose this is what most people would describe when they say they have a headache. Your head throbs, and feels as if it is pulsating on it's own. For me, this situates itself in the forehead and the temples, and I supposed this is typical of headache. When you see people complain of a headache, they tend to clutch their forehead and rub their temples.
3. Inside pressure: Often, doctors have asked if my headache feels like a band around my head. I think this is what most doctors think of as tension headaches. But just as I have my dull ache which does tend to feel like a band around my head, I also get a type of headache that feels like the pressure is coming from the inside, as if my brain is expanding and trying to escape.
4. Muscle headache: Again, I think this type of headache might be particularly symptomatic of having a "tension" headache. Since I developed my headache almost 5 and a half years ago, my neck and shoulder muscles have become more and more damaged. I feel as if my shoulders are bricks that I carry - I don't think my shoulders have been completely loose for a very long time. Every masseuse I see comments on how big my knots are, but they never quite get rid of them. In an hour session there is only so much they can do. But I think a headache has developed from this muscle tension. I feel the tension in my neck and shoulders everyday, but some days it feels worse. And I feel a headache creeping all the way up from the base of my neck. This kind of headache makes me feel more positive, however, because if I can solve the muscle tension problem properly, I could certainly have an impact on my headache. It's just that I don't have the money (or sometimes the time) to have a massage once a week, or even once a month. I'll talk about therapies I've tried in another blog, and this includes several type of massage.
5. Stabby pains: I get stabbing pains in various places, and it's usually in addition to have a throbbing, or to having simply a dull ache. But often, if I have a dull ache and a stabbing pain on top of it, it leads to a throbbing pain or an inside pressure. I usually get stabbing pains behind the eyes, or just beside in the temples, but I have had them at the base of my neck and right at the back of my head.
6. Migraine - Migraine is in itself a whole other type of headache to Tension headache, but I thought I'd mention it in here anyway. I have had a few migraines in the past, and sometimes the headaches I get (usually throbbing) can feel like a migraine. My original diagnosis was Migraine/Tension headache. I have migraine medication to take in the event of a migraine.
As I write this, I continue a battle that has been raging for a number of hours, a headache which fits into two categories in a way. My head feels like it has a tight band around it, but also it aches from the base of my neck. I took two paracetamol earlier, but it didn't do anything, and I have had to have a nap to get rid of the feelings of fatigue that were beginning to come along with it. Sometimes having a headache can really drain me. The one thing that I don't seem to realise, is that having a constant headache really bothers me. It really upsets me. When I sit down and take stock, like today I said to someone that now I have had this for 5 years and 5 months, that's when I realise, that's when it hits me, and I get upset. I mean, what am I meant to do? What can I do that I know will work? I feel like all this information is at my fingertips, but these days I am not willing to try things and see if they work. I don't want anymore trial and error, I just want it to work. And when my headache has a good period, I forget about trying to cure it, I just get on with it. In all honesty, I do just get on with it. Maybe that's what's wrong.
