Physical therapy can help alleviate head pain.
I recently received a personal story from a reader about her struggle with New Daily Persistent Headache and the treatment she used to lead to a recovery.
I’m sharing it here with the hope that it will help someone reduce, or even eliminate their pain.
From Carla in San Antonio:
” I was diagnosed with NDPH back in January 2010. My headaches started late November of 2009 and after visiting several neurologist; I was finally given the correct diagnosis. The reason I am reaching out to you and everyone else is because I want to let everyone know that there is hope out there. I lost an entire year of enjoying my 3 yr old because I was in bed with so much pain. I was extremely sensitive to noise and well, 3 year olds make plenty of wonderful noise. Maybe it’s premature but I’ve been NDPH free for 2 months. That in itself is a miracle. I wanted to let everyone know what helped mine go away and maybe give some hope out there to those who are still suffering.
The doctor that diagnosed me was Dr. Randolph Evans from Houston. Then my follow up doctor was Dr. Yanko Yankov from San Antonio. I’ve been through every test (MRI, MRA, MRV) and have taken so many medications including the worst one, Topamax. Dr. Yankov shares a facility with a physical therapy team. I asked him if we could try physical therapy as part of my treatment and he definitely thought we should give it a try. He is a wonderful doctor with an amazing bedside manner. We basically treated what could be some triggers. I had a lot of tension in my neck and back so I went to physical therapy. I was given massages and treatment to ease the tension and I also saw a chiropractor for adjustments. The physical therapy was the trick. I started going 2-3 times a week and eventually went down to once a month. I saw results within the first two weeks and I dwindled off my medication. I also had a tendency of grinding my teeth so I went to an oral surgeon (Dr. John Young- San Antonio) that made a “proper” mouth-guard that I wear every night. The headaches never fully went away until recently but I noticed incredible results and my headaches were more manageable and less frequent. I hope this is helpful to anyone out there. I understand how incredibly painful it is to have this condition and how it can test your faith. Try to find the triggers and alleviate them one at a time and hope your pain improves and eventually goes away.”
If you have any questions for Carla or for me, please leave them in the comments section.
Wishing you a low pain day-
Amy
Hi Amy,
Have you had any recent improvements? My husband has been suffering since February 2010 and is at the end of his rope. I just found your page today and have reads lots of great information. Please keep sharing!
Hi Connie, I’m currently being treated for Lyme, and I still have headaches, but not daily anymore (which is a wonderful improvement). I have days here and there (like today) where I’ll have a bad headache and then days that are free of head pain completely. I truly believe that my NDPH has been Lyme all along and I’m hopeful that I will make a full recovery.
I know how hopeless it can feel to go on and on in pain for so long. Keep searching for a solution. If there is any chance that your husband could have Lyme, (even if the blood tests don’t catch it) pursue that path. Keep trying things. That’s where I made a mistake – at several points over the years I would give up and just live with the pain and accept it. I felt like “what is the point of taking more meds when none of them work?” It’s terrible to feel so powerless – but you just have to keep looking for a solution.
I hope your husband finds relief soon. He is lucky to have your support.
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headwise