How is the tension headache diagnosis made?

Question

Hi doctor,

Last week, I went to a hospital to find out the cause. Before going to the hospital, I had some symptoms for three days. I searched online about the symptoms, and I got a diagnosis of migraine online. But my doctor checked me and told me that I have a tension headache. He gave me two medications, Orphenadrine Citrate and Paracetamol, for my headache, and Benadryl for my night sleeping pattern issue.

I have taken these medicines for three days now. These medicines are not enough to deal with my headache and sleeping pattern issues. On day one, after having a checkup, I went home. I ate food, and it triggered my migraine. I also took some medications as prescribed every six hours. It triggered me to a point where I slept in pain.

I woke up in the evening around 8:30 p.m. After eating some food, I took my medications. It took two hours to get some sleep. After sleeping for two hours, I woke up again at 2 a.m., and after that, I could not sleep again. I had fatigue in my whole body and a mild headache, different from the previous headache. I spent the whole night with a feeling of nervousness and confusion.

On day two, I felt better at 6 a.m., and I tried to eat some food. So I took my medications around 9 a.m.. After taking it, I had a mild headache, so I went to bed to sleep. I woke up around 6 pm, and I felt hungry and which caused a headache again. After eating, I took some medicines at 9 p.m. I felt sleepy at 11:00 p.m., which caused stress in me again.

I felt so hot outside my body and inside my stomach. After that, I tried to make myself busy to eliminate stress. I tried watching drama. I know that it also triggers me. I spent the whole night watching the drama from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m.. On day three, I was fine and I tried to ride my bike to get some exercise in my body and to make my sleep pattern normal. So I ate my food before riding my bike.

I felt normal compared to other days. I stopped doing exercise at 10 a.m.. I took a bath. After that, I started to watch drama again from 11 a.m.. I do not know why my stomach seems to be full. So I continued watching until 2:30 p.m.. I took my lunch even though I still felt full. I did not take my medicines.

I do not have a headache, but I feel some burning sensation in my stomach. I searched online, and it showed me a result of a stomach burn. I want to know whether it is just a tension headache or any other disease. I have seen some information online about migraines, along with stomach burn and acid reflux. They are referred to as gastric headaches. What to do now?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

There are some differences between migraine and tension-type headaches. Migraine pain occurs as a throbbing one, and for many people, having slight exertion like walking up a flight of stairs can worsen the pain. In contrast, the pain associated with tension-type headaches tends to be more chronic and steady.

In migraines, the affected person can feel an aura. This means a person knows that he or she is going to have a headache. You have not provided such details, and so based on your history, it looks like a tension headache.

I hope this helps.

Kindly follow up if you have more doubts.

Thank you.