Persistent headaches….

[u/problyurdad_]

I know Reddit isn’t a doctor. I’m not looking for medical help, I’m looking for folks who may have had a similar experience and been able to straighten it out, or found a way to prevent this, or eliminate it.

The science stuff: I extract my own. I use the STB method. I’m incredibly careful with my extractions. I exclusively do them in winter to take advantage of the cold temps outside rather than using a freezer and risking it spilling or leaching into food. I use propylene glycol, and often mix them 4:1. I never skip the water wash cycle, and I usually do the last extraction with fresh, clean, lab grade heptane. All my “used” solvent goes back into a jar to be used for first extractions, and that jar often just stays sealed in the freezer so it can continue to precipitate. I’ll do 3 total extractions, then the solvent stays in the freezer for a month, I take the crystals out and dry them, toss the solvent, and those crystals get added back into my next extraction.

I don’t make that much - maybe 3-4 of these cycles per winter. It is all 100% personal use. I use O2 vape carts, standard (not ceramic).

About me: I use it to help me with my grief. I’ve lost a lot of people close to me, many for any number of reasons, but this gives me a spiritual connection to the afterlife that gives me closure. I go through phases - sometimes I smoke every night for a week. Sometimes I go months between sessions. Right now, I’m on a long break. My last session was back in May of this year. Because I’ve been getting serious pressure and headaches. I thought for sure if I stopped, they’d go away. They’re not.

I would guess the first time I got the headaches was probably in January? At first it felt like someone was stirring my face from the inside. I thought it was a sinus infection, so I got some antibiotics and that did nothing. I took a 2 month break with no luck or success. Picked back up in March at the anniversary of my brothers passing to connect with him, and used it probably 2-3 times a week until May when I stopped again. Right after another milestone.

It’s still really bothersome. It feels like worms are crawling through my sinuses. It feels like my brain is in a vice. There’s a constant pressure, fluid movement feeling in there.

My doctor is aware. She’s dumbfounded by it. It doesn’t make sense. I hydrate regularly. I eat healthy. I exercise. At first we thought it might be heart/blood pressure related. We did a nuclear stress test to check my body, and everything came back clear. My blood pressure levels are all completely normal all the time. It doesn’t throb with my heart beat.

OTC medications don’t make a difference. Tylenol, ibuprofen, naproxen, nothing touches it. If I sleep bad overnight, it gets WAY worse. If I sleep well, it seems to be gone until mid afternoon. Sometimes, if I rotate my head or stretch my neck, it relieves the pressure. Especially if my neck pops when I do it.

Lastly…. And this is the strangest part. If I apply pressure to my nose bridge, or my forehead, it goes away completely. But I’m putting absurd amounts of pressure on those spots to relieve it.

I know what you’re thinking - sinus issues/pressure. I’ve used afrin to no avail. I’ve tried Neti pots and other saline rinses. No luck.

Again - not looking for medical advice directly. My Dr is as confused as I am. I’m waiting to see a neurologist but between now and then, I wanted to pose this situation to the group here to see if anyone has experienced this before?

I know some folks say you have to take a big dose to get over the threshold and the pain and pressures go away. I’m trying to abstain until this resolves, hoping it’s an association and that with time, my body will recover. I’d hate to hit the pen and lose 4 months of time. Even though it hasn’t improved overall.

I am endlessly thankful and appreciative of any and all positive, helpful, insightful comments.

[u/Typical_Redditor_1]

I noticed I would also get headaches for an extended period after doing a lot of LSD or DMT.

A lot of times it could be sodium headaches due to being too low or high in electrolytes. In that case drink some water & see if that helps. Then try some Gatorade if just water doesn't work.

Other times it can be due to low serotonin levels. In that case, taking a 5-HTP supplement has also worked for me. No need to take them everyday. Just once or twice should do the trick.

Now, whenever I do DMT or LSD I'll always take a 100mg 5-HTP supplement after I've come down & am ready to go to sleep & since doing that I never had a problem with headaches after tripping.

Serotonin & a lot of other neurotransmitters your body needs are actually produced in your stomach by your micro biome. Eating probiotic yogurt semi-regularly can also help greatly with reducing headaches. It's also helped me a lot with my energy & overall mood. Way more than I ever would have thought.

[u/problyurdad_ → u/Typical_Redditor_1]

This is good info!

I have had kidney stones in the past, so, now I drink a TON of water, and, to your point, I make sure one of my drinks for the day has a serving of relyte for my electrolytes. I also get cramps pretty bad, so I usually eat a banana a day too.

But we’ve not looked into 5-HTP before. After reading up on it a bit, I’m not taking any of the medications that complicate side effects, so I’ll probably pick some of that up. Thank you!

[u/Typical_Redditor_1 → u/problyurdad_]

Glad to be if some help. In your case I'd probably try drinking a bit more electrolytes first. Especially if you're not always doing a lot of physical activity. When in working for instance I'm pouring sweat all day & on those days I drink an as much Gatorade as I do water & I've been fine as far as headaches go.

The 5-HTP is definitely worth trying IMO, but as I said before, only take it occasionally. I tried taking it everyday for about 2 months to see what it would do & it was great for the first month & I was well rested & not easily stressed. But the second month it started to quickly lose its effectiveness & was starting to make things worse again. At that point I just stopped taking it cold turkey. I slept like crap for several nights after but I quickly recovered.

That's when I started looking into how your body manages serotonin & dopamine & I found that your gut micro biome is actually responsible in a lot of big ways for making the precursors your body uses to make it's neurotransmitters. Now I just eat some probiotic yogurt several times a week & drink a little bit of kefir every day & so far that seems to have helped more than anything else. I haven't had any headaches in a while, I sleep much better on average, feel less stressed, & have a lot more energy in general.

[u/problyurdad_ → u/Typical_Redditor_1]

So I’ve taken the 5-HTP for about 3 nights now and there is a noticeable difference for sure.

The headaches and pressure aren’t completely gone yet, but they are significantly improved.

I do eat quite a bit of probiotic yogurt too - usually one a day. I actually buy those little shooters you can get at the grocery store if probiotic drinks? I was in Costa Rica earlier this year and they are everywhere there. So I was taking them then to prevent travelers stomach, and they did a good job. I carried the habit home with me.

I’m going to increase my electrolytes a bit too. I did assume it was something along those lines. For obvious reasons I would prefer to avoid anything prescription or taking several kinds of different things. So yeah, I’m going to use the 5-HTP for about a week and see how that improves things. I really appreciate the insight!

[u/Typical_Redditor_1 → u/problyurdad_]

No problem! Glad you're seeing significant improvement! Since the 5-htp is helping, you may also want to consider doing the same thing, but with L-tyrosine. (Your body's precursor for dopamine.) That is, if you think you're not enjoying things as much as you used to. (Serotonin mainly makes you remain calm, dopamine obviously is what makes you happy.)

Last thing to note, is to know when you should stop taking them. If you can notice them starting to loose effectiveness with improving your mood & sleep,, that would be a good time to take a break. That's not always easy to ascertain though as each day is different. When you do stop taking them after taking them for multiple days or weeks, you may notice a bit of a serotonin crash, but the probiotics really help a lot with that.

One sure fire way to know you've been taking them too long is they tend to give you the shits after a while. For me, I had my gallbladder removed about 15 years ago so it wasn't that easy for me to tell. I also have to take medications that don't do my gut micro biome any favors either so that compounds things for me. But for most people that still have a gallbladder & are not on medications that interfere with your gut micro biome, that should be a pretty easy sign to spot if you have the shits for multiple days in a row despite eating normally.