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I JUST HAD ANOTHER reminder that, when managing our health and the costs that come with it, we need to be our own best advocates.
Last September, I started developing headaches. Every day, I’d wake up with a dull ache in my left temple area. The headache would often build during the day and, by evening, I was feeling washed out and pretty miserable.
I’m fortunate not to suffer from migraines, but tension headaches have been the bane of my existence for many years. They were the price I paid for working in the high-octane corporate world, where I had global teams to manage and demanding bosses who didn’t know a weekend from a weekday. Tension came with the territory, and so, for me, did the headaches.
But those tension headaches would usually go away when I took a couple of ibuprofen and got a good night’s sleep. But these recent headaches weren’t going anywhere. They were there every single morning when I woke up, hovering in the background like gremlins aiming to ruin my day.
For anyone who has suffered from frequent headaches, you know how debilitating they can be. They steal your joy and make it hard to find the motivation to get anything done. Headache sufferers also know how hard they can be to diagnose. Many things can bring them on—stress, dehydration, alcohol, sinus congestion, allergies, to name just a few.
I was pretty sure that stress wasn’t the primary cause of these headaches. I’m retired, after all, and am no longer pedaling on the hamster wheel. While I have responsibilities in my new, second-act career as an author and communications consultant, they’re nothing compared to what I used to face on a day-to-day basis.
I drink a lot of water during the day, so dehydration wasn’t the culprit. Neither was alcohol since I’m a lightweight in that department.
Sinus headaches? Nope. I’ve had them in the past and know what they feel like.
Allergies? Unlikely. I don’t suffer from allergies and wasn’t sneezing or experiencing other symptoms.
Down the list I went, trying to figure it out. I hate going to the doctor, especially now that I’m insured through the health care exchange and have a high-deductible plan. I bore with it, week after week, hoping the headaches would resolve themselves.
When January came around and I was still having them, I bit the bullet and went to see my primary doctor. He scratched his head and diagnosed me with something called a “new persistent daily headache,” a broad term for a sudden-onset headache that goes on for months without resolving itself. Unfortunately, he told me, no one is sure what causes them.
At his suggestion, I went to see my dentist to rule out bruxism (teeth-grinding) or a jaw dysfunction. The dentist suspected a temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and put me on a soft diet. If that didn’t work, we could go the route of a custom mouth guard. But that, he warned, would not be cheap.
I was hopeful I’d found the answer. But after a month on a soft diet, I didn’t notice any difference in my headaches. As a test, I picked up a store-bought mouth guard and started wearing it at night. That, too, didn’t make a difference.
At that point, I made an appointment with the neurologist recommended by my primary doctor. After an examination and blood tests to rule out anything serious, the neurologist said I was likely having muscle spasms and put me on a 10-day regimen of heavy-duty naproxen.
All the analgesics did was mask the pain and, after 10 days, the headaches were back in full force. By now, I had shelled out a few hundred bucks on doctor visits and tests. The neurologist’s office wanted me to come back to evaluate other more invasive—and expensive—options like Botox injections, but I didn’t go back.
Then one day last March, while I was out walking the dog, I struck up a conversation with a neighbor who had just come back from an adjustment at her chiropractor. I asked her why she was seeing the chiropractor and she told me she’d been having daily headaches for years. After a few weeks of regular adjustments, though, the headaches were remarkably better.
I’d never visited a chiropractor, believing they were quacks. But desperate for relief, I made an appointment that day. The following Saturday, I was sitting at the chiropractor’s office getting evaluated. An x-ray showed that the cervical region of my spine had lost much of its curvature. Likely, the chiropractor said, my headaches were cervicogenic in nature.
I found it interesting that none of the other doctors I’d visited had said anything about my headaches being cervicogenic, but it made sense to me. I’d been having neck pain, on and off, for years from all the decades I’d spent staring turtle-necked into computer screens. Now, it seemed, I was paying the price.
I signed up for a three-month plan with the chiropractor covering 40 visits. I started noticing improvement in the headaches after my first few adjustments, and the improvement has continued since. I also started seeing a physical therapist (PT) to work on stretching and strengthening my neck muscles.
The combination of the chiropractor and physical therapist has been miraculous. My headaches are now largely gone—without the need for expensive interventions.
Just as important, I’m better educated now. Both the chiropractor and PT have taken the time to show me how the cervical spine, neck and head muscles work together, and why it’s important to approach pain in a holistic way. Every day, I’m doing the neck-strengthening exercises recommended by the PT. I’ve woven them into my routine.
What I’ve learned is that every medical practitioner comes to a health issue with a bag of tricks that he or she is familiar with. It’s up to us, as patients, to be aware of all the options out there, so we can make informed decisions about our health.
James Kerr led global communications, public relations and social media for a number of Fortune 500 technology firms before leaving the corporate world to pursue his passion for writing and storytelling. His debut book, “The Long Walk Home: How I Lost My Job as a Corporate Remora Fish and Rediscovered My Life’s Purpose,” was published in 2022 by Blydyn Square Books. Jim blogs at PeaceableMan.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesBKerr and check out his previous articles.
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I am glad to hear you have found relief with the chiropractor. As another commenter pointed out, there are good and bad people in any field. Years ago I went to a fantastic chiropractor who did not prescribe the “see you next week” regime. I went for neck and shoulder spasms. Usually one, maybe two treatments and I was fine for over a year. Unfortunately, he retired. Then I went to another chiropractor, and she wanted to do an MRI, among other things. I found a great massage therapist instead. You are absolutely right, we have to be our own health care advocates.
As a retired orthopedic Physical Therapist, and certified Athletic Trainer my philosophy was to give my patients the tools (education, exercises, and modalities) to eventually independently manage/relieve their symptoms. I found that Chiropractors tended to preach a dependent relationship (having to receive perpetual treatment)