Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Anxiety Tension Headache

Question:
I've been getting what I believe are tension headaches for about 10 years. I'm going to list my symptoms as briefly as possible then ask some questions. My head feels tingly or numb above the ears, my little fingers feel the same. It's there all the time but has moments of intensity. Although never bad enough to stop me functioning, it stops me thinking straight. My concentration goes, I'm preoccupied, I can't bring things to mind and I lose track of sentences midway. The first attack was very intense, lasting at least 8 months and making me paranoid, although luckily, it's never been quite that bad since. Multifarious things SEEM to bring it on: lack of sleep, too much sleep, driving at night, chocolate, cheese, caffeine or any hot drink, eggs, alcohol, something in curry, St John's Wart, but these triggers are inconsistent. I don't know why it started; I read that neck problems can cause it but I've never hurt or jarred my neck and there were no big changes in my lifestyle at the time. Sometimes it's worse and I can't calculate what's changed. It can be bad after a stressful day or after a peaceful one eating good food. I've tried seeing my doctor who gave me betablockers but they made it worse. I've tried kineseology (sp?), acupuncture, cutting out food additives but it remains inconsistent, although omnipresent. It's my inability to pin down what's causing it that's so frustrating. Please, I would love to know if anyone shares my symptoms; some of them appear text book but then some aren't mentioned in any articles I've ever read. I'd like to be sure they are, in fact, tension headaches; if other people feel the numbness in their head all the time, just at different strengths; if anyone's found a way of deciphering triggers and controlling the problem. As I understand it there's no cure. I hate to moan, I lead a merry life but this dampens it daily. One last thing. I've never had a migraine or anything resembling a migraine in my life. Is that also true of other people, or do most suffer both?

Answer:
Migraines and tension headaches actually are very similar. Beta blockers wil definately make this thing worse, becasue does not oppose alpha effects, and alpha receptors play a large role in the tension part. Tricyclics have been found to be benefiical for these types of headaches, because they interfere with norepinephrine receptors, which are the ky componenet in this type of headache. I am surprised that you have not been labeled an anxiety patient. The symptoms you are experiencing are are textbook symptoms of norepinephrine release. Norepinephrine is released in the body to increase blood pressure when standing up and to counteract anything that causes vasodilation or a drop in blood pressure (such as allergic reactions). It is also released during stress and fight or flight situations. Part of its effect is to constrict blood vessels, increase heart rate, dilate pupils, tighten up the muscles and shiver. Although it is meant to increase blood to the brain, it causes effects in the brain that resemble ischemia. The muscle tension part comes from it, too. You cannot concentrate becasue you are in a fight or flight response. Therapy will not help if there is a systemic cause (such as allergic reactions, hypovolemia, roblems). It is importatnt to first investigate any systemic conditions that causes your body to panmic and release excessive amounts of this chemical. These need to be treated. Otherwise, a tricyclic, muscle relaxant, benzodiazapene, or alpha blocker may help, but shoudl not be prescribed until it is sure that you are not suffering bood presure drops--the most common cause of so called anxiety attacks.