Benzos Muscle tension and INTENSE tension headache

[Mracid]

Hi all, I have general muscle tightness and sudden spasms all over my body and BIG tension headache specially in the forehead and the orbit of the eyes, along with junction of the neck and the back of the head and not to say the least pressure on temporal parts of my head. They usually start gradually from 12am to 5pm where it peaks and plateau until 9pm and slowly reduce.

I have always had that but it seems to get worst every year, self medication or not.

I haven't found the perfect self-medication routine, what works best is high benzo dose but it has memory, concentration and lack of avability problem, I also need something reliable that leave my cognition intact (along with my memory)

Recently I came across LOW amounts of Baclofen for acute muscle spasm and realized that even 10m dose helped me get rid of my headache for about 2 hours and of my general dystonia and tightness close to completely for 4 hours, all that with no cognitive inpact. Next time I am going to try a 20mg dose at the peak of my headache to see if it gets rid of it still with no side effects.

If baclofen is able to treat my spasticity but doesnt cure totally my headache, do you guys think that it would be unusual and wierd for a doctor to prescribe benzodiazepines short half life as a non-daily med to help with intense attack of tension headache while being prescribed baclofen as a daily muscle relaxer? Like using baclofen for study/work and using the other used during evening/weekends to get a break from that chronic unbareable pain?

PS: I live in Canada and in the province of Quebec where they are strict as hell.

 

[starting_over]

Does this happen every single night? Or can you go a week or two without symptoms?

And have you tried flexeril (cyclobenzaprine)? Works great for me, taken with tylenol 500mg. On the rare occasion that I get a bad tension headache / migraine I do have to lie down in a dark room with no sound though.

The full 10mg dose does make me sleepy, but taking 5mg with tylenol 500mg I find I can do daily tasks as normal.

Unlikely in my opinion that the doctor would prescribe benzos but it's worth a shot. They would probably exhaust all other options first. I would assume you have seen a physiotherapist? Perhaps acupuncture or massage therapy can help you as well.

 

[Mracid]

Flexiril up to 30mg does litterally nothing to me (not even sedation). I see a physio every month at least, he sais he never saw some1 my age with such muscle tension. I have not been diagnosed yet. (but will soon, I hope)

If you count the fact that it starts at 12am a break, then I have a break of a night+6h everyday, but 10hours of waking constant debilitating pain everyday too, and this doesnt have a calendar its daily and chronic.

I have tried nearly every prescribed psychoactive drugs as initially docs thought it was psychosomatif, including a variaty of anxiolytic,antidepressant, atypycal antidepressant, old antidepressant, even atypical antipsychotics (every of thos tries lead to discomfort, waste of time and sometimes nearly permanent loss of cognitive/emotionnal landmark (sounds better in french) made me totally confused for 2 months just by trying to treat insomnia, boy I regret trying that one).
I use clonidine at night one of the 4 kind of muscle relaxer, a2 adrenoreceptor agonist which is ok for sleep.

They probably won't try anti-migraine since it doesnt affect my senses and it is not a migraine it's really all around the head/face pain.So ruling out monoamine reuptake inhibitor /monoamines agonists/monoamines antagonists, ruling out anti-migraine and ruling out a2 adrenaline receptor agonist the only thing left would be;

Aspirin/paracetamol/Ibuprofen, which I tried and it doesnt work for me,
Baclofen, as I hope to get a script for everyday use,
Anticholinergics wich are awful for cognitive/memory performances (Bad for my study for chemistry)
Mabe unusual anti-epileptics I don't know much about those
Low opiate, like tramadol or codeine
And at last Benzodiazepines/barbiturates

But my guess is that she (my family doc) will first try anticholinergics, then anti-epileptics, then tramadol or codeine, then benzo and/or barbs. That or she will just stop after trying anticholinergics and send me to a specialist who will be doing the same. I mean with the list of meds I have tried and that did not work they are kind of cornered here.

I also think I wasn't really clear so; What I want to know is what you guys think about using baclofen daily (for school and work) to make the problem bearable instead of debilitating, and use benzo or barbs on the worst days when I don't study/work to take a break from both my pain and baclofen.

PS; I hate alcohol so I know that won't be a problem, and the only drugs I like to use when I am not trying to get rid of a debilitating pain are indole psychedelics and pot once in a while so I know there is no interaction possible with my recreational use of drugs (yes if I get properly medicated I will be able to get rid of self medication ,yay).

 

[starting_over]

Surprising that 30mg flexeril doesn't do anything for you.

I take it you don't have a family doctor... I would try to find one for your chronic condition. Going to drop-in clinics and asking for a benzo script is unlikely to work... most of the walk-in clinics here have a sign at the receptionist desk that specifically states they will not prescribe opiates, benzos, etc.

I would still try acupuncture... it helped me tremendously.

Sorry I can't be of much help re: daily baclofen. Best of luck.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

do you guys think that any doctor would be willing to prescribe benzodiazepines short half life as a non-daily med to help with intense attack of tension headache while being prescribed baclofen as a daily muscle relaxer. Like using baclofen for study/work and using the other used during evening/weekends to get a break from that chronic unbareable pain?

Sorry, but no one can answer this and it's against the rules..

 

[Mracid]

let me rephrase, my bad I guess I translated this part wrong.

 

[Mracid]

Surprising that 30mg flexeril doesn't do anything for you.

I take it you don't have a family doctor... I would try to find one for your chronic condition. Going to drop-in clinics and asking for a benzo script is unlikely to work... most of the walk-in clinics here have a sign at the receptionist desk that specifically states they will not prescribe opiates, benzos, etc.

I would still try acupuncture... it helped me tremendously.

Sorry I can't be of much help re: daily baclofen. Best of luck.

Yeah it is odd, I have a REALLY strong waking system, but my sleep is AWFUL tho, but don't get me started about that cuz I could take all day about this. If you want an example of how impossible it is to make me sleep; I once took, not for sleep but for an experiment regarding something completely different, 750mg dxm, the equivalent of1200mg diphenhydramine, 150mg oxazepam and plant extracts of Chamomile and lemon balm all together during the day and didnt even need to take a nap, I also had insomnia that night. I am even currently taking clonidine which I am slowly stopping because 0.5mg have become worthless. Ok I'm done.


Also I never ask for any medication to doctors, I always state my symptoms and go with what the doc wants to try, that way I get to try the solution of some1 with different and more informed insights and the trial and error makes me try until something works just gotta be patient. Also in Quebec,Canada, doctors are focused on addicts and try not creating new ones so any1 who ask for a benzo script gets a script for not getting anything else than SSRI or atypical antipsychotics, hell I didnt even ask for one and all the psychiatrist I have seen tried nearly every of them.

I do have a family doctor, but only since last month so its kinda cold, but since most of my last psychiatrists had me try EVERY possible alternative to actually treating the condition, you know the solutions that makes you forget you have a problem(SSRI). I am pretty confident that with time I will be getting relief and am open to every suggestion that is left to try. I am not the doctor after all, I am only an informed patient.

But It doesnt mean that I don't have my theory about it and that I don't appreciate the opinion of others about my theory, that's why I made this thread. To know the opinion of BLers about what I think will help me; baclofen daily for prevention and other spasms/cramps and benzo or barbs and/or low opiate for when the hard days happen on a off-work day.

 

[Shaleh]

Have you looked into getting Botox injections? I haven't had a migraine in 2 months since my 1st injection.
I'm one that can't tolerate benzos. They make my symptoms worse - grumpy mood, muscle aches, etc.

Hope you find relief soon.

 

[Mracid]

No I did not, but i'd be open to try, and thanks for the support.