an investigation to my headache...

i've been having headache lately, the pain stretch from the back of my head, neck to my shoulder. it has gotten so regular that i even have a "schedule" for my headache now. it occurs between 8pm - 10pm on the daily basis or right after my dinner.

i used to have headache problem when i was working for my ex-agency but it was understandable cos' i was a junior back then in the no.1 advertising agency in the country. so naturally, i was to give my best & work extra harder to cover back the "missing years",  so i worked for about 12 -16 hours daily and left the office at 12midnight. my "lucky days" would be leaving office at 9pm. and sometimes up to 2am or don't sleep if needed. so headache stayed with me sometime or whenever i was stressed. i never like to tell people i have migraine, i find migraine is an overstatement and often being abused by most people, so i assume it was just a normal headache caused by stress & lack of sleep.

over the years, panadol/paracetamol has ceased working for me, i only rely on ponstan/mefenamic acid, a type of NSAID pain reliever. nevertheless, i don't take painkiller as often. i rather endure the pain as i believe the more we rely on chemical the less our body can function as the natural suppressor to pain. so unless it's really necessary, i would rather just try to sleep, or relax with tv and chill, and write them down so stop myself from thinking too much. or get a massage, or if i'm lucky..... a great sex is a better painkiller, well, it's scientifically proven in fact.

i did some research and i was surprised that i could probably having a combination of migraine headache & tension headache all these while with several others. there are many types of headaches and the some of the more popular ones are:

1. tension headache - the most common type of headache that caused by stress, sleep deprivation, eyestrain, irregular meal time, sitting posture etc..
2. migraine - a neurological syndrome, that can be from mild form to life threatening and could induce photophobia & phonophobia or hyperacusis, extremely sensitive to sound.
3. idiopathic intracranial hypertensione - often associates with visual problem.
4. cluster headache - occurs periodically. 
5. brain freeze aka ice-cream headache - caused by sudden coldness intake.
6. red wine headache aka histamine headache - it can occur within 15min after consuming and induce nausea & flushing in random areas.
7. rebound headache - occurs when pain medications (analgesics) are taken too frequently to relieve headache.
8. hangover - caused by heavy alcohol consumption.
9. sex headache - rare. it occurs during sexual activity before reaching orgasm. the pain can last for few minutes to few days. thank god, i don't have this problem. yes, i'm very sure ;)

it's also known that food can cause headache. i'm actually surprised that the "list of headache trigger food" is quite long. food such as cheese and liver contain tyramine can cause headache. red wine contains both tyramine & histamine, so if you have headache almost immediately after drinking red wine, now you know why. if we are heavy & regular coffee drinker, lack of caffeine intake/caffeine withdrawal after 8 hours, we get headache too. some food with additional addictive can cause headache too, mostly found in asian food. however, as headache is part of the low blood sugar symptoms, a glass of orange juice or ribenna may just help. but diabetic sufferers have to be careful with the insulin intake.

so, it's quite certain that i have tension headache due to my work, facing monitor for long hours, lots of future planning & thinking (perhaps thinking too much of someone?) and irregular meals or eat take-out too much. i could be having migraine headache too, cos' i usually get very sensitive to glare & really hate noise, but soothing voices from someone dear soothes me greatly. so potential nagging wife stay away from me, please.

at least, i'm now certain that why every time after drinking red wine i get headache & flush, guess i'm histamine intolerance. so no more red wine for me, can someone pass me a glass of whisky-coke please? ;)

also read, international headache society & the national headache foundation

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