Tension Headache Pain is Intermittent Not Constant
Daily headaches are relentless in their frequency: they occur every day or nearly every day. Though only moderately intense, they are notoriously difficult to treat, and understandably, they often produce anxiety and depression. To make matters worse, most people with daily headaches also experience more severe headaches on a regular basis.
Most daily headaches develop from intermittent tension or migraine headaches, although about a quarter of people with the condition developed it without any precursors. When daily headaches evolve from intermittent headaches, the process takes about 10 years and generally occurs before age 40. The change isn’t merely one of frequency. The characteristics of the headaches evolve as well.
A daily headache usually begins in the morning and worsens through the day. In contrast, a tension headache generally starts in the afternoon then wanes, and a migraine often develops at night. People with a history of migraines who develop daily headaches find that the pain starts to resemble the steady, vice-like grip of a tension headache although throbbing often continues at the temples. In addition, the aura (see “The aura”) often diminishes. Meanwhile, those with a history of tension headaches often develop nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light and noise, and throbbing in the temples, hallmarks of a migraine. This range of commonly experienced symptoms highlights the problem, in some cases, of trying to classify headaches as either pure tension or migraine.
Overuse of medications as a cause
The transformation of an intermittent headache to a daily headache often results from the overuse of over-the-counter or prescription pain-relievers. As many as 50% to 80% of daily headache sufferers report having used headache medicine every day, but how these medications might lead to a daily headache remains unknown. Researchers suspect that continued, regular use of such treatment interferes with the body’s natural painkilling system. Because pain-killers only mask the symptoms of the pain, its actual cause may worsen. As the pain becomes more intense, medications are less able to control it.
Patients with tension-type headache do not typically report any visual disturbance, constant generalized pain, fever, stiff neck, recent trauma, or bruxism.
A thorough headache history should include questions about the type, amount, effect, and duration of self-treatment strategies. Patients typically self-treat their tension-type headaches with OTC analgesics, caffeinated products, massage or chiropractic therapy for symptom relief. A headache history should also include discussion of any lifestyle changes (e.g., smoking) that may have preceded or exacerbated the headache.
Patients who have chronic daily headache present with the typical pain characteristics of tension-type headache but have symptoms that occur daily or almost daily. A careful history will generally reveal that the daily tension-type headache was preceded by intermittent migraine-type headaches
Rather than intermittent tension-type headaches.
The progression of either migraine or tension-type headache into chronic daily headache can occur spontaneously but often occurs in relation to frequent use of analgesic medication. Repeated use of analgesics, especially ones containing caffeine or butalbital, can lead to “rebound” headaches as each dose wears off and patients then take another round of medication. Common features of chronic daily headache associated with frequent analgesic use are early morning awakening with headache, poor appetite, nausea, restlessness, irritability, memory or concentration problems, and depression.
buy cheap esgic plus headache free prescription pills
FedEx overnight shipping free prescription online pharmacy