my first choice has always been an aspirin, but most of my coworkers tell me I’m wrong and I should use ibuprofen first.
What’s your take?
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Dipyrone. It’s OTC here in Brazil, but it seems to be restricted in other places.
I try to figure out what’s causing it, then treat. I get headaches from eyestrain (so I take addition and focus on something else), allergies (antihistamine/decongestant), sunglare (eyerest), overexertion/dehydration (drink water and take it easy), caffeine withdrawal (drink cola), etc.
I just deal with it unless it’s a migraine.
How do you recognize your migraine? And what do you take for it?
Many people have auras before and during migraines. These can be visual (seeing colors or black spots or colors/lights look brighter or dimmer), sensory (sensitivity to light/sound), speech-related (difficulty speaking or understanding speech), motor (impairment to movement), and brainstem (vertigo, tinnitus, ataxia, decreased consciousness, etc).
I get sensory, speech related, motor, and possibly some brainstem aura symptoms. You kind of just learn to recognize when a migraine is coming on and not a regular headache.
My migraines are actually usually without headache, just a lot of aura. That might sound not so bad, but it’s pretty bad.
They tend to start a bit insidiously, with a little bit of sensitivity to light and sound and, even more so, frequently changing or bright light and fast sound.
That’s when things start to feel overwhelming in my head, so if I’m not being obtuse, I recognize that it’s time to take medication. Sometimes my partner realizes it before I do because I’ll start covering my eyes and just mildly complaining about things being too bright or too much.
Anyway, at that point I take sumatriptan. It requires a prescription, but it’s not expensive. It works like magic for me.
Before I found sumatriptan, I would have to be in a dark, silent room with my head in a pillow.
I notice changes in sensory processing first. Reading becomes difficult and my eyes lose focus easily/take a long time to focus. I also notice a difference in my thought patterns. My thoughts start to kind of skip around. It becomes hard to concentrate on any single thing, but not in a distracted kind of way. I very much realize that this description is vague and probably doesn’t make sense unless you experience similar migraines. I do also experience visual auras, but those aren’t apparent until the migraine is about to become very painful.
A full blown migraine manifests as sensory processing mapping to pain. Light and sound are unbearable even in relatively moderate amounts. One of the worst migraines I had led to the pressure of my head on the pillow making every hair follicle feel like a a needle poking my scalp. You don’t realize how much your brain autonomously filters out tons of sensory input to keep your focus on a very small slice of interest until the filters break down and let everything through.
Over the counter pain pills do nothing for my migraines. Sensory deprivation and sleep are the only things that can actually stop a migraine for me. I have blackout blinds, a well fitting eye mask, and foam earplugs ready to go. Early detection is very important. If I act as soon as I notice the warning signs, I can usually avoid a full blown migriane. A large glass of water + darkness and silence will usually have me back up in less than an hour. If a migraine gets to the point of pain, I will need sleep to get rid of it and will still feel rather off afterwards. Also falling asleep with a brutal migraine is no easy feat. A catch-22 so to say.
I’ll go plain old paracetamol which works for me most of the time. If that fails then ibuprofen would be my next choice.
Paracetamol is acetaminophen (Tylenol) for those of us in the States.
Cheers!
If I can’t avoid it or if I’m in a hurry, I will take Paracetamol 500mg. If there is no change within an hour, I’ll take Ibuprofen 600mg. But if I have time, I will get some rest (avoid bright light, close eyes and listen to podcasts).
Known as acetaminophen (Tylenol) in the US
I have never in my life heard “medicament” before. Is there a particular reason that word was used here? Is it used often across the pond or something and I just never heard it somehow? Or is it somewhat seldom used and you just decided that was the word you wanted to use?
French?
Didn’t even notice the word the first time around, and before I read your replying assumed it was a portmanteau of medication and predicament. French could work. Dunno why the loan word though.
Ibuprofen for tension headaches, acetaminophen for the rest.
this is the only thing i found that knocks out a persistent migraine. 1 asprin 1 tylenol 1 aleve and a cup of coffee. about a half hour later the pain and nausea finally stop.
1 asprin […] 1 aleve …
That combination of two non-steroidal anti-inflammatories is probably knocking out more than you think.
Used to be ibuprofen but I gained an allergy to it so now it’s acetaminophen (Tylenol)
It depends on the cause, and your own biology.
Aspirin reduces pain signals but also reduces blood clotting, If your headache is from vasculature issues in and around your brain it’s extra insurance.
Acetaminophen just reduces pain signals in the nervous system. It doesn’t have any secondary advantageous effects but it is easier on your stomach.
Ibuprofen reduces pain signals and also as an anti-inflammatory. So if your headache is caused from minor swelling in the head it’s the obvious choice.
I feel like at least in the US most people tend to overtake ibuprofen when they’d probably be better suited with Tylenol or aspirin.
I prefer paracetamol since ibuprofen can create secondary effects in the gastric system.
Ibuprofen, but hardly ever because near 100% of my occasional headaches are migraine so I use sumatriptan (which is prescription here). Because no painkiller works for those, but 6mg of intramuscular sumatriptan knocks them out 99% of the time.
Never Tylenol/paracetamol because it has never worked for me at all for any pain. Not headache not any other pain. Like zero effect, I just feel vaguely poisoned.
Never naproxen because I puke it up - I tried it first for a migraine and assumed I’d just vomited because migraine. But later tried it for a knee injury and nope, puked it right out again.
So for the rare not migraine headache that doesn’t just go away by itself, ibuprofen because it does work.
Whichever is closest.
Acetaminophen kills your liver. Ibuprofen melts the glue holding your guts together.
What matters right now is your headache.
Usually aspirin for headaches Ibuprofen for everything else especially for inflammation
Ibuprofen or paracetamol
