Medication Monday: Indomethacin

For the past few years, I have been getting what I can only describe as headaches that feel as if a sharp ice pick is being plunged into my head. These headaches typically last less than a minute, so it is hard to take something, because as soon as I do, the pain will be gone. But, more will come. They always do. I also get hatchet-type headaches, which sound just how they feel.

Living with chronic pain, we become used to pain 24/7, with some pain easier to ignore than others. When it comes to my ice pick headaches, I would get, on average, a dozen per day. They are brief but incapacitating. They literally make me stop what I’m doing for a brief period of time. A visit to a neurologist confirmed what I had described. I have now been diagnosed with ice pick headaches and have a prescription for indomethacin, which should help to reduce the severity and frequency of such attacks.

So, what exactly is indomethacin? According to the trusty WebMD, it is a medication that can help to relieve a variety of pain and stiffness that is associated with arthritis and tendonitis, among other ailments. It also is supposed to reduce one of the causes of inflammation, which, in turn, reduces swelling and pain. When it comes to ice pick headaches, it is thought that they occur due to a fluke in how the brain interprets pain, and can be triggered by sudden movement, bright light, and/or stress. Well, after having been diagnosed with photophobia (lazy pupils), most light is bright to me. And stress, yeah, there’s some of that too. Hopefully this new medication helps to prevent my ice pick and hatchet headaches!