Not Drinking for 60 days , still getting headaches
 

Hi,

i havent had a drink since 2nd December, but im getting headaches a lot, really bad ones pain behind the eyes migraine types,
i had them years ago but not had any for years, but since i stopped drinking ive been getting them a lot. nearly every day really, sometimes i have them in themorning when i wake up other times i get them later in the day but they arent good.

ive been at the doctor for other stuff recently and had blood tests so im pretty sure its nothing sinister,

is this a normal thing when you stop drinking?
i wasnt a drunk for years type, id been drinking too much (40 Cider pints a week) for a year or so.

hopefully its something that will go away in its own time.

I can't say that has happened to me, but I guess all I could recommend is going to the doctor and telling them what you mentioned here. It could be nothing, but why suffer when you don't have to? Be upfront with the drinking if you haven't already - that might be something that might be of interest.

60 days is wonderful, but still early. The body still is recouping. I was dead tired for the first two months. It wasn't until about 90 days that I started to feel better, physically.

Nonentheless, get checked out, and hope you feel better!

Some folks get them for months after finding recovery some don't.

I have to say, it may not be serious, but to be sure, go to your doctor for just this
specific thing. Tell them how long they have been going on.

I know from my own experience it did turn out to be migraines and has taken for-
ever to find what works and what does not.

You really need to discuss this with your doctor as headaches can be a symptom
of so many other health issues.

Congrats on your 60 days!!!!!!!

Love and hugs,

I am slightly ahead of you in sober time and I still find the headaches happening at times. What I'm learning about myself is that I leaned on alcohol as a way to deal with stress. Now that I"m not drinking I need to learn new ways to deal with my stress. I'm not very good at it yet and hence the headaches! I've done the recovery "thing" before and I know/agree with the fact that it takes the body/mind quite a while to adjust to the change of the lack of alcohol. I'm also working on trying to adjust my diet too. Too much junk in your diet could also contribute to headaches I suppose. Hope you feel better soon!

I found myself getting bad headaches at around 25 days but they went after a week or so.

My headaches lasted for months, but you've just reminded me because I can't remember having many recently so they do go :) I also had awful headaches when I gave up caffeine once. Maybe it's a detox thing...

I agree. Had someone describe caffeine withdrawal head aches the worst. I started getting sober headaches recently. I've been sober just over four months. Some mornings I feel like I have a hangover and the headache persists through the day. The headaches sort of came in as the pangs of cravings mostly eased off. Guessing after years and years of abuse, the body is slowly recovering and adjusting itself.
I had an acoustic nueroma removed in 2007 and the nerve damage and palsy it left to one side of my face is slowly recovering as the nerve repairs itself very very slowly. I guess the same applies to the rest of my body now that alcohol is removed. Recovery is a spiritual, mental and physical process and it takes time and never really ends.

I'd go back to your Dr - headaches for 60 days is not fun at all, baddog.

D

Thanks for all the comments folks.

as i have a history of migraines and stuff (and they were checked out) i dont think its anything sinister.

my migraines used to be stress triggered mainly, and i think that my drinking was definitely a way of coping with stress. so althought the drinks gone the stress hasnt. also have way too much caffeine and have a crap diet so none of these things are going to help.

i think i need to start taking care of myself a lot more.

the hard thing at the moment , is its like i have a finite "pot" of strength, and at the moment such energy is being cunsumed on not drinking and getting better that theres not a lot spare to gp round.

im hoping that as i continue in recovery iill be able to spend more energy and thought on other issues.

Chiropractors can help with headaches,especially stress related.
The headaches were pretty bad for me,but I had them before I quit also.
Mine are posture related and a Chiropractor was the cure.
Fred

you should try meditation or massage therapy.
probably alot of built of stress.

I had them too. I found out they were actually allergy headaches. I was masking the pain before with alcohol. I was on Claratin for a bit. I took a Claratin before bed each night and made certain to drink enough water every day. In about 4 days they began to ease up.

If you go back to a doctor ask about possible sleep apnea. I personally had issues and did feel hungover all the time.

Hi, ive actually had sleep aponea in the past and had a CPAP machine, but i had a gastric bypass 2 year ago and lost most of the weight and the aponea went away, this isnt so much like aponea, more i think maybe im egtting dehydrated, im drinking a lot of tea at work but not so much water.

some days i get them bad then other days ill be ok, definitely stressed a lot though , but trying to get that under control, im already on citalopram(20mg) for anxiety and have been for around a year. ive dropped that down from 30mg when i was more anxious.

falling to bits really ;)

Yep, I've got them still, four months into my recovery. Not sure if meds related, dehydration, or just plain old PAWS. Seems to coincide with brain fog and concentration problems, when those flare up. Anyone else still having them who posted to this thread?

Welcome to SR CometJO. Have you seen a doctor at all about the headaches? Might be worth a visit. Just so you know, the thread you posted to is several years old so you may not get any replies from the original posters.

About the headaches, this was my answer. They are finally gone!

Thanks, Scott. Yeah I have a follow-up appointment with my PCP this coming Monday, so I will be asking him about the headaches then.

Yep, it's an older post, but I thought maybe some of them were still active.

Good luck at the docs CJ

Yeah, maybe that's what's happening with me, as I'm just over four months, too. Yesterday I discussed the headaches with my doctor but he's not sure what's causing them. I gyess it's just PAWS or possibly tapering off the clonidine, now that I seem to need it less as times goes on. I guess for the time being it's gonna be ibuprofen and/or tylenol for me...never really had headaches in my life before.