Frequent Stress Headaches

"When I was a young stay-at-home mom--and I only had one baby for whom I was responsible--I had a phase of bad headaches. As it turned out, I wasn't getting enough rest and wasn't exercising enough or eating as well as I could. I was also trying to work from home and take care of the baby. It was a rough period. The exercise and balanced diet do a lot for me in helping me manage stress, even now. Fortunately, that phase passed. But that's a decidedly rough time. I think that's lovely that you're a stay-at-home dad." Quoted from birdgirl...I was going to say the same thing as bird girl! When my son was a baby/toddler I would get so tired from the sleepless nights and having to stay on the go all day I would get very rough headaches from the lack of sleep, energy, and as bad as I feel to admit it, the boredom sometimes. I also wanted to say good for you being a stay-at-home Dad. It can be a very tough job, especially with two under two years.
My field of expertise is psychology and I have concerns over your doc giving you Lexapro for this. Did the doc ask you very many questions about your life situation? Seems like an awful quick jump to start you on such a strong medication that you may not need. Of course I am NOT your Doctor, so this is just an opinion.
I hope you find the root cause of this pain. Headaches can be so debilitating. They are coming out with new pharmaceuticals for migraines. Did your doc say they were migraines as well as tension headaches?
I wish you all the best. I still have tension headaches and migraines often myself. I have a condition called eppstein barr that causes my tiredness, which causes my pain. Sometimes the headaches can be a result of a condition such as this. Just a thought...
Take care, WWW :)

Ooooh, Epstein-Barr. You have CFS, WWW? That's not fun. I had mono when I was a kid, so I have an idea what it might feel like chronically. Not good, that's for sure.

jee whiz thanks for the solid info. Yeah it's sort of a lurid area to me, medication for better mental functioning. I think it goes profoundly deeper. We live in a manufactured, arbitrary civilization that is more and more detached from our natural ancestral roots. I believe that a root of many psychic problems lies in the fact that we simply don't have a collective lifestyle that promotes optimal mental health. People base their ideologies and perceptions on the "concrete" surroundings that they inherit from an increasingly consumerist and avaricious preceding generation. Our whole lives are based on what we've created, not what created us, so when we accomplish all that we think we need, there's something lacking and we have no idea what it is. And that is a good recipe for mental insecurity. Why not apply medicine from the only known world?

The principle I mentioned of not relieving emotions with a substance would have more relevance in a civilization that wasn't based on something so unstable in the first place.

It wasn't my intention to go so abstract; after all I'm trying to cut DOWN on headaches.
My normal dr. was on holiday, so I met with a different guy. He asked about my lifestyle and asked if I actually chose to be a fulltime dad (I suppose because if I didn't, it would indicate a more significant albeit underlying stress source). He was pretty choosy with the meds. I told him these didn't work: ibuprofen, naproxen, vicodin, imitrex, axert, and maxalt. So i guess there were some variables that made him decide on lexapro and topamax.

I don't care for those so far. The lexapro makes me stoopid and distorts my perception of time. The topamax f's with my sleep and gives me mad gas. I guess I'll give them a few more days and if my body doesn't start tolerating it better, I'd rather just deal with headaches. He also prescribed massages, which isn't covered by ins. and we can't afford. :)

I give great credence to evolutionary biology and anthropology. We have evolved with cannabis and, to a much greater extent, alcohol. However, we have not evolved with many modern stresses and most prescription medications. I also believe that "modern medicine" is highly overrated, and not nearly as advanced as many people would like to think. We have a good understanding of most organ systems and so forth, but relatively very little understanding of the brain and mind. Taking mind-altering prescription medicines may certainly help, but they surely are no substitute for actively, naturally coping with the causes of stress. Stress and pain are there for a reason, and in terms of evolutionary biology, those feelings are not there to tell you to take a pill.

And I just remembered something, insurance that doesn't cover massages should still cover physical therapy, you may be able to get a month or two of appointments for neck tension.

I agree, sombrero. I didn't want a drug that changed my daily awareness so much. The data sheet said the lexapro restores levels of seratonin without really altering general brain activity. I don't know about that-i don't feel like myself at all. I remember taking zoloft once and it reminded me of this antidepressant cuz they both surge at you when you yawn. It seems like my emotions are artificially leveled out, something I dislike. I enjoy the ups and downs of normal human emotion cuz it makes you cherish the good times much more and yields an artistic, honest view of the universe. All I wanted was some headache relief; if there was some way to still have stress and anger and let it not result in immobilizing physical pain, that would be ideal. But like you said, modern medicine is overrated

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Originally Posted by birdgirl73

Ooooh, Epstein-Barr. You have CFS, WWW? That's not fun. I had mono when I was a kid, so I have an idea what it might feel like chronically. Not good, that's for sure.

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Hi Birdgirl,
I DO have CFS, it sucks! I also had mono when I was a kid and they think that is what manifested itself into the epstein barr. I hope you never show signs of CFS from that case of mono. Although I can't imagine it manifests that way in too many people. I may need to research my conditions some more! It's so hard to get through the day exhausted all of the time. It has made my immune system crash, so if there is any contagious illnesses near me I usually end up ill with that too...crazy! Thank god for weed or I would be in even worse shape!
Take care, WWW :jointsmile:

"All I wanted was some headache relief; if there was some way to still have stress and anger and let it not result in immobilizing physical pain, that would be ideal. But like you said, modern medicine is overrated"
__________________quote from burnable...

Hey there again! I get incredibly stressed very easily. If it is not an appropriate time for me to have a quick hit on a joint, I whack the heck out of punching bag. I feel a lot calmer after I get that angry feeling out! I get angry when I watch the news mostly! Nasty people hurting children and then being let out of prison to hurt and murder again. That is mosty when I feel so angry I could burst. I can't beat the pervert to death, so I beat the bag hanging in my garage to death! It gets out the adrenaline in a safe way. Maybe something like that could help get out the stress? Maybe not that exactly but something like it to get out the tension.
I am determined to help you relieve the headaches!
I wish you the best,
WWW :)

I've tried stuff that like for venting. I'd go in the other room and punch a soft chair till I felt calm. It seemed like if I tried to zen the anger away, the headache would worsen, and if I vented the anger out, the headache would worsen. often I'll wake up in the morning with a headache and it will be there till I go to sleep that night. THese topamax have made the headaches less frequent, and when I have them I can tell they're just as bad, but the lexapro makes me not care that it hurts. weird shit.

so i just noticed that these drugs lower my pulse when I'm doing my daily cardio. Normally it's 140-150, but on these pills the same workout only yields 110-120. Do you guys think it's just as effective even though it's a slow pulse, or should I work harder to get my pulse back up? My goal is general cardiovascular health and cholesterol management (my LDL was like 280 on july 16. I've been on a nazi-diet and exercising 6 times a week since).