I have had bad and frequent headaches for the past 6 months, but before that I rarely had any. When I was on Imitrex, I was told that it acts on a specific blood vessel to limit blood flow in the temple area. For me Imitrex did not help, my headache has yet to be determined. I was told that Imitrex is used to abort a migrane. Though it made my tongue numb.

Location of headache, the feel of the headache (dull, sharp, pulsating), time of day of headaches, frequency, other symptoms that occur with the headache can help determine the type of headache.

I believe headaches are not well understood. My opinion is that headaches are caused by many different factors. Some serious and some from little things.

Things I find useful to monitor and keep regular:

Diet
Time you eat
What you eat (like caffeine, teas, sugars have a big effect on me)
Hunger headache association – I know that when I get hungry my head will hurt sometimes.

Stress- I make sure to release it.

Daily habits: Too much time in front of the computer screen, not moving enough, and leaning my head too far forward affect my headaches

Sleep – not getting enough good sleep or keeping a good sleeping pattern put me in a cycle of headaches

New Medications – some medications for headaches cause rebound headaches. Some of the prescription medications I took worsened my headache. Remember to doctor with your doctor about changing or quitting any of your medications, these really can do bad things or worse hurt yourself.

Extra things I found help me:

Regular Stretching and Exercise