I find it interesting to see that some of us have been perfectionists. I was one too, maybe still am. I wonder if there could be any connection.

I was a good student, but I did procrastinate as I basically knew myself, and didn't procrastinate when I knew that I couldn't. I certainly strived to do well, but most law students do, though once I realized the extent of my loans, I certainly increased my pressure to do well, and nope, I'm not a particularly anxious person, though I certainly was nervous about the bar exam. No high blood pressure at all and no vascular problems that I know of. I don't think I have poor circulation, though my legs will fall asleep if I cross them for too long at the the movies or something like that.

I just wanted to say that I am not happy that you or any of the people that replied to this have to deal with NDPH but I am sooo glad that I finally found some people who have the same thing as I do. I am 24 and have had NDPH for 5 years now its been a very very long road. I did start out with treatments at the jefferson headache center but had to stop them due to the fact that the medicines that they were giving me were affecting my short-term memory and I was having alot of trouble completing college. Now that I graduated last May, I have decided to go back to Jefferson for a second try at this. I haven't been on any medication for three years, have tried allergists, homeopathic remedies, etc... and have achieved no results with the headache just going away on its own. And its at the point now where the pain is starting to wear me down.

Jefferson is really my last hope at getting my pain-free (or little pain) life back. As many of us with NDPH I didn't have any tpe of headaches before this and it has just disrupted my life since then. It's good to hear that there are some people with NDPH and that you are getting some treatment that helps with the pain.

My short-term memory is not great either, due to my meds. It was worse during my senior year, but we stopped the main cause of it (Lyrica), especially since Lyrica wasn't even helping me much pain-wise. I'm on Topamax (200mg) and Cymbalta (60mg) daily, and the Topamax is also known to be a memory loss culprit. It's not as bad as when I was on Topamax AND Lyrica. I was really bad with everything then.

Jefferson's been the first place that I've gotten major relief (I'm from CT/MA) but I am certainly not out of the woods at ALL. I'm still "riding the pain rollercoaster" as I call it, but I don't hit as many 6-8 levels as I used to, thankfully. None of the homeopathic "stuff" or other alternative treatments helped me out either, unfortunately.

I think this can go for us all, including myself:

PLEASE don't say that Jefferson is your loast hope at beginning pain-free. I know that I have been guilty of saying that at times, but it's not going to help any if we think that way. I've heard of other big-name headache clinics (for example, there's one in Chicago that I almost went to) that we can always try out. I am not a psychologist and certainly have been touched by the depression that our headaches bring, but when we start using words and phrases like "last hope," that can bring about very negative thoughts. We don't want that. Do your best to remind yourself that as much as it may SUCK, this is another visit on the "Let's Get My Headache Figured Out Train". There's other places we can go to after this. There are.

Let's keep in touch I think it would help us out a lot.

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter too. Like joanna I too had botox and had little success with it. I also had nerve blocks which are a set of quite a few needles in your head. You get pain from the injection sites so you still have a headache. But then again what doesn't work for one person may work for another. Good Luck with things

Just wanted to say how happy I am that you all found each other - these kind of things really move me (well, I guess that's why we started MDJ to begin with ).

Joanna, I know you requested to set up an NDPH support group, we're working on it as fast as we can - please be patient with us

All the best,

A

Hi everyone. My name is Jessica and I suffer from depression.