I’ve been struggling with a headache that just won’t go away for about three months now. To make matters worse, I’ve also been dealing with cough variant asthma. The violent coughing fits make my head throb as if I’m being hit, but even when I’m not coughing, there’s this constant, heavy, dull pain. I wondered if it was related to my Meniere’s disease. About two months ago, I was worried enough to go to a headache clinic for an MRI, but they didn’t find any abnormalities in my brain. They prescribed some painkillers and preventative medicine, but nothing worked. I was really at my wit’s end.
Meniere’s, cough asthma, and persistent headaches—I was seeing different doctors for each one, but I started worrying about how they might all be connected. So, I decided to talk to my industrial physician about all of it. The advice I got was quite unexpected: “Since you’re feeling unwell across your whole body, it might be worth visiting a Kampo (Japanese herbal medicine) clinic.” I hadn’t even considered Kampo, but it actually made a lot of sense to me.
Yesterday, I visited the Kampo department at a general hospital. After a detailed consultation about the headaches—which were my most pressing concern—here’s what I found out:
- There’s a high chance my headaches aren’t “migraines”
The “triptan” type medication I received at the headache clinic is a silver bullet for migraines, but it doesn’t work for other types of headaches. Since that didn’t work, but over-the-counter Tylenol helps to some extent, it suggests the cause lies elsewhere. - The possibility of “tension-type headaches”
I hadn’t really noticed it myself, but between work and my personal life, I spend a lot of time on screens (VDT work). This causes severe stiffness in my neck and shoulders, which likely leads to tension-type headaches. However, tension-type headaches can have many different causes, and they can be difficult to treat with Kampo alone (apparently, Kampo is often more effective for migraines).
Luckily, there happened to be a specialist there who covers both general internal medicine and neurosurgery, so I was referred to see him right then and there.
At the internal medicine department, I had an even more detailed interview. Even though my previous MRI was clear, the doctor suggested a CT scan just to be safe. The results were the same as the MRI—no concerning abnormalities. Also, since the timing of the headaches lined up perfectly with when my cold turned into cough asthma, the doctor mentioned it might be “cough headaches.” The diagnosis was that this might linger for a while longer, and I made a follow-up appointment for a month from now. Whether it’s cough headaches or tension headaches, both are related to muscle tension, so I was prescribed the following:
- Goreisan (Kampo medicine) – Used for swelling, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, migraines, hangovers, nephritis, and edema.
- Myonal Tablets 50mg – A muscle relaxant that suppresses nerve signals causing tension, helping to reduce stiffness, tightness, and paralysis in the muscles.
- Calonal Tablets 500mg – Used to reduce fever and relieve pain (acetaminophen).
I was feeling pretty anxious because these unexplained headaches were persisting and my usual meds stopped working, but now I feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m hoping that the combination of Kampo for symptom relief, exercise and massages in the bath, and the Myonal to clear up my neck and shoulder stiffness will finally do the trick.
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