I have suffered from migraine/tension headaches all my life. I'm 53. In the last, oh, 20 years or so, I've noticed a pattern to my incurable headaches and I'm concerned that there might be some underlying problem or condition. Let me list a few facts:
1. Headaches come on fairly quickly, and they last between a day and a week. Sometimes, they'll be frequent too, like two or three days, once every two weeks, for a couple of months. Then they'll disappear for months or even years.
2. The headaches usually happen at the top of my head and down to the neck. Neck muscles--the ones on either side of the spine--sometimes hurt, and pressing on them causes acute but dull pain. They sometimes cause nausea. The pain is a throbbing pain most of the time, but also a searing pain. Sometimes it feels like pressure in my head and neck, almost like the arteries and vessels are over-pumped. But the "searing" part is the pain.
3. The frustrating part is the thirst: when the headaches start, they are accompanied by an unquenchable thirst. I'll drink water, juice, etc. by the liter, and I will stay thirsty for days. It is as if my body simply isn't absorbing water. Frequent urination (clear), and no relief from the thirst.
4. Perhaps hydration takes time, but I don't really think of myself as dehydrated until the headaches start. Then I'm thirsty for days.
5. I am pre-hypertensive and I take Lisonopril.
6. I also take magnesium, B-complex, co-q-10 on a daily basis after a doctor recommended it for this problem.
7. I am a moderate drinker (20/wk) but don't do much else substance-wise. It is fairly easy for me to cut back or eliminate drinking when I want to. I just don't want to.
8. I am fairly fit: two-to-three times a week at the gym, occasional running (a recent 10K).
9. No significant aches and pains other than this. No weakness.
10. Significant dizzy spell preceding the latest "attack"
11. Little to no caffeine. One or two cups of coffee a week; tea; incidental caffeine from very rare sodas, etc.
12. Very healthy diet.
13. Aspirin helps the most. Advil et al. sometimes help, but exacerbate the high blood pressure, so I avoid them. Imitrex helps every time but the last time I got into a very bad cycle, the doctor thought it was "rebound" related from Imitrex (and also from excessive caffeine, which I've avoided for two years). I took imitrex a few days ago, but the headache returned yesterday. I think there's probably something to the rebound thing. I do take aspirin more frequently than I should, I suppose. I've done that since I was 14. Not daily, but close to it, at least for long stretches. Usually one dose a day when headaches seem imminent or after onset.