Hi folks, this time I have the question. I know we have talked in the past about various headaches and pains after treatments. I would like to hear about other complaints along those lines. I have been having rather severe headaches off and on for several months now. My ENT is not concerned that it is cancer related so is it radiation related? I hardly ever had headaches before treatments. I do know that stress really bothers my neck and will cause muscle stiffness with pain. I have been pushing the outer limits of stress lately. I am wondering what some of you have noticed.

I would also be interested in anyone that is taking synthroid and if there is a relationship.

Thanks

Mark,

I rarely had headaches before my treatment and about 6-7 months post treatment the headaches started. I have pain in the top right of my head mostly and even touching the hair is really painful. It seems to subside with Vioxx. It also seems worse when I am dehydrated.

I haven't taken sythroid so I can't offer any info on that.

Ed

Mark,
I have been taking sythroid since Dec. and haven't had any problems. I get a lot of headaches too. Mine are from tension and I have allergy's which causes most of them. Hope this helps.
Mary Lee

Ohmygodyoupeopleareangels. I'm so sick of all these weird things and wondering if I'm normal.

I JUST saw the doctor today because of the pain in my neck/shoulders/head. The worst is in the back where the skin dips in at the head/neck connection. It radiates over my skull to my forehead and down my neck and shoulders. My husband makes fun of me b/c he claims my hair's dead so it can't hurt - but the folicles still do!!! My hands have even started shaking. Add that with my frog voice in the AM, and you'd think I was 90 years old!

At any rate - I noticed IB Proffin (600-800mg) was helping. The doc gave me Naproxen (500 mg) taken twice a day, which is an anti-inflamitory like IB Proffin. At night he gave my Flexeril (10 mg) which is a muscle relaxer. He says I explained tension headaches to a T. We're trying this route for a week to ten days, then we're trying something that sounds like Ana-trampoline. If we do that, I'll let you know what it really is and why it's supposed to help. he said it's better for long-term use if this becomes chronic.

Thank HEAVEN I have you people.

Sabrina

Sabrina,

I remember early in the days of wooing my wife, I used to send her emails with Japanese and she would respond with some Russian. Just to throw a loop I once sent an email that started eieio. She pondered that for a while and when I told here there was no Japanese and what it really meant, she busted a gut. Your starting of your email reminded me of that. Thanks for the smile!

I can not take any of the cox type inhibitors for very long because I sometimes start getting sores in my mouth and they progress down my throat. I found out I was one of the lucky 1 in 100,000 with THAT problem. I went with the Naproxen and Flexeril route, the Ibuprofin route, neurontin...what else? I just hope your husband is not making fun of my dead hair! I haven't cut it the past year since it started filling in and getting curly and it looks quite alive!

Ed

Sabrina,
I think the name your looking for is Amitriptyline which is an anti-depressant with a relaxing quality to it that would definately help with tension headaches and may have less side effects than the Naproxen which can be quite hard on your stomach. Hope this helps.
Karen

THAT'S THE WORD!! Amitriptyline - Anatrampoline. Same thing, right!?

Sabrina
WHATS IN A WORD? just get sorted girl, tension headaches are the pits, may be worth some lessons in relaxation, NO Ed I will not suggest the red wine, too many pills, not the way to go. I get panic attacks not as bad as headaches they don't last so long, but I feel an idiot in the ED dept, breathing into a paper bag, no heart attack.. just me being my normal silly self... so along with everything we have to contend with physically we turn our mental health upside down as well..
no wonder we all meet here!!!!LOL!!!!
Sunshine... love and hugs
Helen..(not to be taken to seriously)

Fortunately, I don't suffer from too many head-aches, but I will add what I found out about fibrosis of the muscles for those of us in the "nuked club." The muscles in my neck often become quite sore and stiff, which sometimes contributes to my headaches. I knew this to be an after-affect of the radiation, but I asked my doc about it anyway. What he told me was the irradiated muscles will always be trying to fiber up....for the rest of my life. Stretching is the only way to mitigate this. So keep stretching those irradiated muscles.

-Brett

Mark-

I've been taking synthroid for a year and haven't had problems with headaches. I do relate to the sensitivity on the scalp and have a hard time going in for haircuts. When they wash my hair and do their massage thing I grit my teeth. This is 2 years past treatment and it hasn't gotten better. Neck muscles still tighten up and every 6 months I head back to PT for deep tissue massage (which I call my tune up!) helps with mobility. Yep, probably should keep up with the stretching excerses too! Doing those right now at the computer - Kris

Sabrina,

Webster-anatrampoline: the latest Russian gymnast expected to sweep in Athens.

I am sorry that I am glad to hear others have "hair pain". It is so difficult to describe it to people as they grin and smirk!

Ed

Thanks for the replies.

Ed good humor!

I guess I'd like to know what causes this hair/scalp pain. In my case it shows up in areas that were not in the rad. beam. As for the stretching I agree we need to do it but in my case when the muscles really "go off" stretching makes it worse. I have been using muscle relaxants but perhaps i'll have to try that Anna's trampoline stuff.

I guess it is more of the gift that keeps on giving.

I don't have many headaches but I have noticed a phantom pain on the top of my head that feels sensitive to the touch, sort of like a sunburn. My wife has checked it under magnification and can't find anything (she's an esthetician and knows what to look for). I don't remember this prior to radiation. Maybe some kind of nerve damage?!?

Gary,
I have told my husband that "my hair hurts" a number of times since I finished radiation. If I put my hand on top of my head very lightly, it's as if my hair hurts just a little, like it's sore. I also still have the driest lips around. I can go hours without a drink, but panic if I cannot find my chapstick.

Gary & Minnie, This is normsl, don't ask why. The hair hurting is so real, and I mean all you have to do it barely touch it and it is like a electric shock, some of this makes absolutly no sense. Does it?? Vicki Lynn

Minniea -

Same here with the dry lips! I currently have 2 chapsticks in each car, two in my bag, one at work, two next to the bed, and one on the coffee table.

That paniced "no chapstick" feeling is the worst!

Ed -

No kidding! I'd love to transfer the feeling for just 5 minutes and see how they like it! Wipe that grin right of their face. But since yanking their hair will probably land me in jail, I guess we have to live with the smirks.

I just visualize a swift kick in the butt (Wonderful,I sound like my mother - when did that happen?). Then they wonder what I'm smirking about.

Sbrina

And I don't even have any hair on my head. So my scalp is easy to inspect and there is nothing there. I don't have an electric shock effect - just feels like I am touching a sunburned area.
Just more cancer weirdness (the so called new normal) I guess.

I had headaches in the back of my head on the right side before and after radiation. They went away after the neck dissection and removal of the remnets of the tumor which the doctor said had shrunk so much, he thought it was scar tissue from the radiation. My main thing now is a stiff neck, frozen shoulder and knot in the left shoulder blade muscle. I begin and look forward to PT on monday. It's honestly been very difficult, but also a positive challenge on finding solutions to problems and slowing down and taking care of oneself. Best Wishes, Tom

I had the "hair hurts" episode each time I had rad/chemo. Started with that, then a time period of dry scalp. Used a shampoo called "Nizoral" for about 3 weeks, hair quit hurting, scalp went back to normal, no issues. Give it a try, might help.

Bob

I know I'm late on posting on this thread, but just catching up from vacation. My husband and I spend a week playing the ponies at Saratoga racetrack every year. We stay in Schnectady NY the 'hard water' capitol of the world. Hard water require hours of rinsing. I do not ordinarily get headaches, but for some reason while on vacation, as I'm leaving the hotel for the track, I have this dull headache on the right upper part of my head every morning. It gets worse as week progresses and by the time I am driving home, my hair hurts. This is insane and has never happened before. Four days later, I'm back to my own shower and stressful job and reading your posts about hair hurting. Mine no longer hurts.

I think my problem, check if it may be yours, is that because the water is so hard in this hotel, I had the shower head pounding on the top of my head every morning trying to get the shampoo out of my hair, and I am certain that caused the headache and hair pain. this is the first time this has happended. It may be we are more sensitive due to having radiation, but I was certainly pleased to know that I'm not the only one with hair pain. A new experience 7 years out of radiation.

And yes I'm on synthroid but doubt that has anything to do with hair pain. I did have a MRI to check 2 years ago to check for possible brain tumor because I was having unexplained headaches related to nothing. Came back clean, but don't ever try to put a mask on my again. I have had a hard time getting my thyroid level back to my base line. Think we finally got it, but have it checked every 3 months.

I love this forum. So nice to know I'm not the only one with a problem. So is your shower head the problem???

Take care,
Eileen

I'm even later posting, but the above made me feel more "normal." I recently had Mod. Rad. Neck Dissection on right side and now get neck muscle spasms and right frontal headaches, so they are related to surgery (4 weeks post op) and not radiation (1-1/2 yrs, ago) or thyroid replacement (6 mos. ago). Funny thing is when I turn my head slightly to the right, it relieves the headache. Explain that one! Muscle spasms are more challenging.
Nannygranny6

Nannygranny,

It sounds like you have some blood flow restriction on your right side either because of swelling from the surgery or edema from the loss of lymph nodes. They can do a doplar test to confirm the blood flow through the carotid artery.

Ed

I hope that physicians refer people to physical therapy for their headaches. I read some of the posts and think that alot of people may be suffering from postural related problems that can cause headaches. I know from my mom that since her treatments she is more sedentary and her posture has been affected, now she has neck pain. As a physical therapist I try to have her advocate for herself to seek good physical therapy to address flexibility, strength and joint function. With all the other side effects of treatment, the last thing you need to deal with is headaches- that is probably easier to address than lack of saliva! So I hope this post may help people ask for physical therapy so that you can feel better and have less headaches!