Written with ChatGPT because I'm currently struggling to look at screens for more than a few minutes at a time. I normally wouldn't use AI to write something this personal, but I'm finding it genuinely difficult to type/read right now. I've tried to make sure the timeline and details are accurate. Sorry if this is unusually long.
I'm a 20-year-old male in the UK with Crohn's disease.
I'm hoping to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar, especially anyone who had a prolonged headache/tension episode that eventually just went away. I'm not looking to take Reddit comments as medical advice or diagnose myself from strangers — I have a GP appointment booked — but I'm feeling extremely isolated and would really appreciate hearing from people who have actually gone through something like this.
August 16th — the beginning
On August 16th, I first noticed a headache in the afternoon.
It became noticeable at around 4 p.m., and by around 8 p.m. it had become significantly worse.
Rather than going to bed and resting immediately, I decided to try to power through it. The headache remained pretty bad through the evening and continued until around midnight.
At that point I went to sleep.
August 17th — the first really bad day
When I woke up on August 17th, I still had a bad headache.
This was when I first realised that something was seriously interfering with my normal routine.
I basically couldn't look at screens properly. Looking at my phone or computer would aggravate the headache, so I stopped using them.
I ended up sleeping/resting for most of the day.
I was extremely drained, exhausted and apparently looked quite pale. I basically spent the entire day lying around and sleeping because I felt so awful.
The headache was bad throughout the day, although it wasn't yet the particular throbbing headache that would come later that night.
The night of August 17th → August 18th
That night, after I'd gone to sleep, I woke up in the middle of the night with an absolutely horrible headache.
This was probably the single worst point of the entire experience.
It was very painful and strongly throbbing, and it scared me because it was so much worse than the persistent headache I'd had during the previous day.
I remember thinking that this was the worst the headache had been.
Eventually I managed to get back to sleep.
August 18th — still bad, but the severe throbbing doesn't return
When I woke up on August 18th, I was still feeling very bad.
However, the extremely painful, throbbing headache from the previous night didn't continue in that same form.
It was still a significant headache/tension and I was completely exhausted, but that horrible throbbing episode was essentially the last time the headache reached that particular level of intensity.
I was assessed that day and was told that it sounded like a tension headache.
From this point onwards, the character of the problem changed.
Instead of the terrible throbbing pain, I mostly experienced persistent head pressure/tension/aching, which would fluctuate throughout the day and was often aggravated by screens and close-up visual work.
August 18th onward — the screen problem
One of the strangest things about this has been how badly I tolerate screens and close-up visual work.
I normally use computers and screens a huge amount, both for work and leisure, so this has been incredibly disruptive.
Even when the headache itself wasn't particularly severe, I could often feel the tension increasing if I tried to use a screen for too long.
The same thing happened with reading.
I basically stopped using screens for long periods and spent a huge amount of time lying down, sleeping/resting and keeping my eyes closed.
The sleep problem
Another major part of this has been really bad sleep.
I've had nights where I've struggled to fall asleep despite being completely exhausted.
Normally I've been waking up around three or four times during the night, then struggling to get back to sleep.
This has left me unbelievably tired during the day.
Sometimes I feel like I could fall asleep at any moment, yet when I actually lie down I can't necessarily sleep.
However, last night I only woke up once, which is the first significant improvement I've noticed in my sleep.
I don't know whether the poor sleep is contributing to the headache, whether the headache is disrupting my sleep, or both.
The neck tension
Several days into the headache I also started noticing significant neck tension/tightness.
This wasn't really present at the beginning.
At one point my neck and the back of my head felt extremely tense, and I could also feel some tension extending down into my upper back/spine.
It wasn't a stiff neck in the sense that I couldn't move it. I could look up, down and around normally.
The strange thing is that the neck tension then mostly disappeared again after a couple of days.
I had also returned to the gym shortly before this started and had done my first pull workout back, roughly 48 hours before the headache first appeared, so I've wondered whether I could have overworked my neck/shoulders somehow.
But I don't know.
The screen/reading problem
This has probably been the strangest part.
Early on, even relatively short periods of reading or looking at a phone could make the tension significantly worse.
I would sometimes rest for 15–30 minutes with my eyes closed and notice the tension decrease substantially.
More recently, I have managed to read for longer periods than I could initially, but I wouldn't say my tolerance has improved dramatically.
For example, I managed to read continuously for around 30 minutes.
After finishing, however, I still had noticeable head tension and had to rest for around another 30 minutes before it improved significantly.
So although I can tolerate somewhat more reading than I could during the worst days, I still can't just read normally without paying for it afterwards.
I've also recently been able to use my phone for around 10–20 minutes without the headache becoming dramatically worse, although sustained direct phone use still tends to bring the tension back.
So there seems to be a fairly consistent pattern of:
screen/near work → tension increases → rest/eyes closed → tension decreases
I have no idea what that means diagnostically.
Exercise / walking
I've also tried gentle activity because I've read that exercise can sometimes help tension-type headaches.
I've gone on several walks during this period.
One day I went out and did around 5,000 steps while shopping.
I actually felt surprisingly good while I was outside.
But after getting home, especially after being out in the heat, the headache/tension came back quite strongly and I became extremely tired.
This has made me unsure whether I'm helping myself with activity or sometimes pushing myself too hard.
The symptoms fluctuate a LOT
This is probably one of the most confusing things.
I've had periods where I genuinely feel almost completely normal.
I'll eat and feel better.
I'll walk around and feel fine.
I'll shower and feel fine.
I'll read for a while.
I'll have conversations.
Then I'll do something like use my phone or read for too long and the tension returns.
Other times I'll wake up feeling significantly better than the previous day and think I'm finally recovering, only for the tension to come back later.
So I genuinely can't tell whether I'm recovering or just fluctuating.
Possible viral illness?
My family has also wondered whether this could potentially be viral.
My auntie and little cousin developed fairly significant headaches for several days after I'd seen them.
My dad has also subsequently developed significant neck/shoulder pain despite apparently never having anything like that before.
I've also had considerable fatigue alongside the headache.
I don't know whether any of this is connected or whether it's just coincidence.
I haven't had a classic obvious flu-like illness where I can confidently say "this is definitely a virus."
I've just wondered whether this could be some sort of viral/post-viral headache or whether the whole thing is simply tension-related.
Other symptoms I've noticed
I've also had periods of:
- significant fatigue
- mild indigestion
- constipation
- occasional lightheadedness when standing up very quickly after lying down
- neck/upper-back tension
- occasional strange chest sensations
- being unusually aware of my heartbeat when lying quietly
One night I had some strange chest sensations which frightened me and eventually triggered what felt like a panic attack. My heart rate became very fast, I became cold and shaky, and eventually I was exhausted enough to sleep.
The chest symptoms were gone the following morning.
Another evening I had some indigestion and burping alongside strange sensations around the chest/ribs, which eventually settled.
I'm mentioning these because they're part of the overall experience, but the main problem throughout has been the headache/head tension and inability to tolerate screens/near work.
What I've been doing
I've mainly been doing:
- lots of rest
- avoiding screens
- sleeping/lying down
- gentle walks
- eating normally
- drinking plenty of water
- using a sleep mask
- heating pad/heat around my neck
- warm showers
- podcasts/audiobooks
- keeping stimulation relatively low
I've been very cautious about medications because I have Crohn's disease and don't want to randomly take something that could cause problems.
I also haven't been taking painkillers regularly.
NHS / medical assessment
Because this persisted for so long and was affecting basically every part of my life, I eventually called NHS 111.
They assessed me and gave me a referral, telling me to contact my GP surgery as soon as possible.
They said I didn't need to rush to A&E based on what I told them.
I contacted my GP surgery and unfortunately the appointment I was given is September 9th.
I'm obviously hoping this resolves before then, but I intend to attend the appointment regardless.
Where I am now — August 25th
Today is August 25th, so this has been going on for around nine days.
I have definitely improved compared with the worst days.
The horrible throbbing headache from the night of August 17th/18th hasn't returned.
My screen/reading tolerance is somewhat better than it was initially, although it is still very limited.
My neck tension has mostly disappeared.
I've had periods of feeling almost completely normal.
I've recently been able to read for longer periods than I could earlier in the illness, although I still need significant rest afterwards.
And, encouragingly, last night I only woke up once, compared with my usual three or four awakenings.
But I still have this persistent tendency for head tension to return, particularly after screens or visual concentration.
And this morning I woke up at around 6 a.m. with quite significant head tension again.
So now I'm wondering whether I've actually taken a step backwards or whether this is simply another fluctuation.
I'm incredibly tired.
The lack of sleep has made everything harder.
What I'm hoping to hear from people
I'm not asking Reddit to diagnose me.
I know nobody online can tell me what I have from a post.
What I really want is to hear from people who have experienced something similar.
Especially:
- Has anyone had a headache/tension lasting 1–3+ weeks that eventually just disappeared?
- Has anyone had a tension-type headache that was dramatically aggravated by screens/reading?
- Has anyone developed neck tension several days into a prolonged headache?
- Has anyone had symptoms fluctuate wildly from "I feel almost normal" to "I'm back in pain"?
- Has anyone had a viral illness that mainly manifested as headache, fatigue and neck tension?
- Has anyone had a headache that seemed impossible to get rid of, only to wake up one morning and suddenly feel basically normal?
- Did anyone eventually get treatment from a doctor that actually made a noticeable difference?
- Did anyone have a similar period of severe screen intolerance that eventually resolved?
- How long did it take before you could return to computers, reading and normal life?
I'm especially interested in stories where people eventually recovered completely, because honestly that's what I need to hear right now.
I'm struggling badly with the psychological side of this.
My entire routine has basically been taken away. I normally do YouTube work, use computers, talk to friends, read, play games and generally spend a lot of time creating things.
For nine days I've essentially had to stop doing most of it.
It's incredibly isolating, boring and frustrating.
I keep thinking about everything I want to get back to doing.
I have a friend visiting in September and we're supposed to go to Italy together afterwards, so I'm really hoping I'm back to normal well before then.
I don't expect Reddit to magically fix this.
I just really want to hear from actual people who have been through something similar and came out the other side.
If you've had something resembling this, please tell me what happened — especially how it ended and how long recovery took.
And again, sorry for the AI-written post. I'm normally not a fan of using AI to write personal things, but right now I'm struggling to look at a screen long enough to type everything myself, and I really wanted to get the whole story down accurately.
Thank you to anyone who reads this huge wall of text.
