Hello, my daughter is 17 and has had constant headaches for over a year now. Started in May of '08. Went to the doctor and she said she was probably depressed and gave her some Naproxen. That didn't work at all (and she was a little offended that she accused her of being depressed!) so then after a few months she went back to the doctor, and she gave her some migraine medicine which didn't work. She has another appointment on Sept 8 and if this doctor still does nothing, we are going to a new one. Sick of her not doing anything! My poor daughter is in constant agony from the headaches. They are throbbing and are constantly there--even when she wakes up, they cause some dizziness too. Excedrin extra strength seems to control them by taking the edge off, but they're never really gone. Went to the eye doctor, got a new prescription, and he said that it didn't sound like it was related to her eyes. Plus, I don't know if it's related, but she has had her period for 5 years and is still not regular. Recently she went from April-August without a period. Gets very crampy, too. And no, she isn't pregnant... I mean, obviously since it's been over a year...

Any ideas? We're pretty much desperate!

What part of her head hurts the most? Has she tried a sinus medication?

My mom used to have horrible headaches. After years of suffering, she saw an osteopath. This doctor spent an hour massaging her neck and shoulders. She is now headache-free.

I would insist that your doctor refer you to a neurologist.

For your daughter to be having debilitating headaches such as this is ridiculous.

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Originally Posted by simoneaugie

What part of her head hurts the most? Has she tried a sinus medication?

My mom used to have horrible headaches. After years of suffering, she saw an osteopath. This doctor spent an hour massaging her neck and shoulders. She is now headache-free.

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She said that it hurts mostly in the front of her head but throughout her head as well. We tried some sinus medication but it didn't seem to do much. Plus she isn't having pain when touching her cheeks or forehead. I also gave her some medication for neck pain and it didn't seem to do anything either... will have to talk to the doctors about some possibilities.

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Originally Posted by artlady

I would insist that your doctor refer you to a neurologist.

For your daughter to be having debilitating headaches such as this is ridiculous.

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I definitely agree. I figure I'll have to push her and if she doesn't I'll definitely be going to a different doctor with her that is willing to do a test--ANY test!

WHat does your daughter eat and drink? This could be diet related,its certainly worth looking into.

Pretty basic. She drinks water and pop, sometimes juice, iced tea... a lot of milk. Normal food, some junk but who doesn't? Haha... Gets vegetables regularly with dinner, meat and potatoes as well

What kind of pop and juice does she drink? And how often? Is it sugar free or low sugar at all, does she chew gum,suck on mints etc?

The reason I'm asking is because artificial sweetners can cause symptons, and chronics headaches are one of them. Im not saying it is this, but if doctors can't find an answer to this, then I would look at her diet. Also could be the cause of her cramps too.

She drinks orange juice and coke, mostly for those types. Sometimes other fruity juices. It's regular, not any low sugar or anything, I think... Though her orange juice doesn't have pulp if that counts for anything? Her gum is usually sugar free, though. Juicyfruit. I'll definitely suggest this Tuesday at the doctors and see what she thinks.

Im just wondering about the artificial sweetner 'aspartame' as I know that's in most gums and sugar free,low sugar drinks and food, but its also in normal stuff too, and diet coke, although I believe it isn't in regular coke, I believe that coke itself can cause headaches. Maybe try eliminating the chewing gum and the drinks and just see if that makes a difference,but yes discuss with your doctor first,although doctors don't tend to listen to this sort of thing. So I would suggest maybe seeing a nutrionalist.

Sorry forgot to say that I don't know what pulp is?

Go and check the labels on the drinks and see what it says.

This lady maybe able to come up with some possible suggestions and advice. You can ask the question on here and see what she says.

Ask Dr. Hull Alternative Health Web Forum

Thank you so much for your help :)

I just hope that you can get to the bottom of it, she must be going through hell with it.

Please report back and let us know if you manage to get to the bottom of it. Did you read the labels?

I agree with spiritcharms what you eat can trigger migraines.
Cola, caffeine, message and other preservatives as well as sugar and any food allergies, etc... can cause a migraine.

These are two good books
Amazon.com: Brain Allergies: The Psychonutrient and Magnetic Connections (9780658003981): Willam Philpott, Dwight Kalita, William H. Philpott MD, Dwight K. Kalita PhD, Linus Pauling PhD: Books

Amazon.com: The Crazy Makers: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children: Carol Simontacchi: Books

Had an appointment today with her doctor. We are now booked Oct 13 with a new doctor. The doctor today said she is probably having allergies from our pets and gave her Nasonex nasal spray. We aren't impressed at all. Took a long time for an appointment with a new doctor... Starting to consider taking her to the ER and see if they can do anything.

Well if her headaches are severe enough and you are really worried about it,then yes take her to ER, that's the most quick route to start getting to the bottom of this. It is possible to have allergys from pets, but wouldn't have thought it would cause severe headaches,but I don't honestly know. You know yourself if that information feels right or not, so trust your intuition and take her to ER.

Hope you manage to find an answer to all this.

Sorry for the delay... had 2 appointments with the new doctor now, we are pretty satisfied with her. She said that my daughter could possibly be going through caffeine withdrawal from the Excedrin she takes and the drinks she has. We are to see her on Nov 17 and if the headaches are still there, she's putting in a referral to a neurologist. Finally.