Posted by IsoM on April 11, 2003, at 22:00:50
In reply to Re: for headache see jane d post below..... » ~Alii~, posted by Dinah on April 11, 2003, at 20:48:54
Dinah, sometimes I've gotten into a vicious circle with headaches & painkillers. I really try not to use them too often or take too many, but I have very stubborn headaches. If it's a really bad one, it won't leave unless I give it a triple whammy - 3 pills totalling 1000 mg acetominephen (with added codeine), 3 pills of 200 mg ibuprofen, & 2 50 mg Gravol. My doctor knows about my cocktail but nothing else will make it go away & even then, it will stay come right back after the med effects fade.
When that happens, I know that taking more pills won't help - I've tried so many things over the years. It'll ease the pain a bit but will continue to come back. At those times, I find that the tense, *rock* hard muscles won't loosen up & that, more than anything else, is now causing my pain to stay.
Alii mentioned cold on the forehead & heat on the back of the neck. For me, any cold will seize my muscles up, so I use warmth over my eyes & forehead (as the muscles hurt there too - I scrunch my eyes tight & frown from the pain) & put a hot water bottle under my neck & the back of my head like a pillow. I take 2 Gravol & a good shot of whiskey (or any other hard liquor) & go to bed. It works best at night as I can sleep the whole night then. When I wake up, the pain & tension is gone. It sedates me enough for my body to go limp & totally relax. Nothing else works. I keep some hard liquor as medicine just for that as I dislike the taste of it. Also nice is having pleasant music to drift off to sleep when I do this.
I'm not saying this will help, but knowing what others do can help you fine-tune to fit your own self. Hope something helps you. Pain is such a downer - it really saps one.
Years ago when I read James Harriot's books about his vet days in northern England, he wrote about a sheep he was supposed to put down. He'd been called to a farmer's place to help with some lambing. As he was leaving, he saw a ewe in one pen, shaking & with her head hanging. He asked the farmer about her but was told she wasn't worth it. She'd had a very difficult lambing & the farmer didn't expect her to make it through the night. As the farmer left ahead, James paused, & in pity, drew out a syringe with enough sedative to end her misery (unknown to the farmer). As she sank into the hay, he felt he'd done some good.
But in a week when he was called back to the place, the farmer told him about the ewe. He said that it was the strangest thing as he expected her to be dead but found she was still breathing so left her. He said she slept for 2 or 3 days (I forget how much) & when she woke up, she was hungry & just fine. He never had any idea what James did. James thought that when an animal or human was in a great deal of pain, the body can't heal itself as the pain is so draining. He used that story as an example of how destructive pain can be & what we can do if it's eliminated.
poster:IsoM
thread:217360
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030407/msgs/218662.html