I have frequent headaches too! I'm in the process of getting rid of one right now. I can typically link mine to caffeine, hunger, stress, eye strain, or allergies. When Adam was a kid, he had migraines every morning. They went through typical trigger foods and would cut them out of his diet for a week or so. He found out that he's allergic to bananas! He had one every morning before school and it would result in a migraine. Boo on headaches! It makes having to get out of bed that much harder. If I happen upon anything else, I will let you know.

I was also told that my headaches that were sometimes migraines were stress induced. I saw a different doctor and he told me I wasn't getting enough caffeine! I know that sounds crazy, but I wouldn't eat any chocolate or drink any pop or coffee prior to being told this. Now I am told to take caffeine pills in the mornings, or drink a very small glass of sprite in the evenings before heading to bed. It works miracles! and now I rarely have headaches unless I skip my caffeine. So power to the chocolate honey :)

Meggie, That's what I was hoping! After a week of being chocolate free I would also be headache free. Mystery solved. Story over. No more chocolate and I would have no more headaches. Maybe I'm allergic to something else. I have no idea what, though.

Britani, I love your thoughts! Maybe I need MORE chocolate. Maybe I'm just not getting ENOUGH! That sounds good! I've never been a pop drinker, coffee drinker (although I could sit in the coffee aisle or starbucks for the rest of my life smelling the delicious aroma), and I've tried to lay off the chocolate since I've been losing weight. I've never heard of needing MORE caffeine. I'm going to have to check into this cure that's worked for you. Hmmm....how long did it take before you saw results from this caffeine therapy? (Right now it takes at least 800mg of motrin to put a dent in one of my headaches.)

orange juice and cheese always gave my mom headaches. foods can be crazy like that! I had bad headaches for a while and I found out that my teeth were out of alignment along with the rest of my body and I have TMJ which makes me really sensitive to light as well. I guess I grind my teeth pretty bad, now I have a special mouth guard and I found an amazing chiropractor and it has been awesome! Good Luck, that's the pits!!

I had the same thing for years--if I didn't wake up with a headache, I would get one by noon. After years of doctors appointments and trying all kinds of medications, diet changes, quitting caffeine and chocolate etc., I sort of gave up and decided to just try and make the best of it. I sometimes felt like different doctors just sort of dismissed it as a "real" problem and I got a lot of the same "Oh, you have too much stress" sort of answers. It was really frustrating. Then I started going to physical therapy for what seemed like an unrelated problem---I'm a cellist and I was having neck/shoulder/hand/back problems. It was actually the physical therapy that got the headaches to stop. Years of poor posture and repetitive motion injuries and just general total-body tension was causing the headaches for me. It might be worth a shot to investigate if this is the problem for you. I immediately started feeling better and not getting as many headaches as soon as I started working on improving my posture and strengthening the correct muscles. They suggested I start pilates and yoga--which I did, and also gave me a morning/night stretching routine to do every day. I also started getting a weekly massage at their suggestion. Anyway, it took a few years of doing all this to get my body to unwind, but now I can feel when I am starting to reach a headache point and I know what to do to fix it for me. Really, it has changed my life--I really feel like it's a miracle. I know how awful it is to go through life with a non-stop headache. I don't know how I ever got anything done during those headache years. Anyway, just thought I'd share that--it was a answer found in an unexpected place for me, one that none of the many doctors I saw ever even suggested. It took trying about 4 different physical therapists for me to find one that really knew what he was doing...but in the end it was worth all of the searching! I hope that helps!

Ahh, Davina, headaches abound here as well. Mine seem to be closely related to stress & tension as well. And currently, a horrible sinus infection. When I got hormonal migraines with my second (yes, it's as awful as it sounds - haha!) I had to have caffeine (really strong black tea) 1-2x a day and then I would use one of those aromatherapy heat wraps around my neck/shoulder area. I am the same way though, I seem to live with headaches weekly if not daily. And the migraines I've had - whew - those have knocked me on my butt. Do you do a lot of walking? I do find that has helped to some degree. I wish I knew the answer! Heck, that's why I opened the comments, I want the answer! :)

Going to a chiropractor and masseuse on a regular basis (at least once a month) has made a huge difference in my life. It helps adjust your spine and definitely keeps my headaches at bay. It seriously changed my life!

I have frequent (though not daily, sometimes they last many days) headaches, too. I rarely go a week with out at least one or sometimes many headaches. I truly hope that chocolate isn't a headache trigger for me and I am not even sure I am willing to find out :)!! I am not always sure what the triggers are, but I have narrowed down a few for me. Hormone fluctuations are probably #1 and at least twice a month I will have headaches that last many days because of these hormone fluctuations. Lack of sleep seems to be another trigger for me. If I have a late night I can almost certainly plan on some days of headaches, too. I have wondered about a food allergy, but have no idea where to start with that. The caffeine thing intrigues me a little. I dislike most drinks with caffeine in them (cola, coffee, etc.) but am willing to increase my chocolate intake if needs be ;)!

I had a headache for 3 years. Corn and gluten allergies. The only time I get a headache now is when I am not careful about what I eat. I eat tons of chocolate.

My suggestion would also be a chiropractor - there are many chiropractors incorporating nutrition/diet into their practices now as well which could be helpful. Unless you have to due to an allergy - going without chocolate would be my last resort! I hope you find a cure soon!

Have a full allergy test. They are painful and cost a ton if you dont have insurance but well worth it. Good luck. My BFF had headaches everyday, but found out she too was allergic to wheat and a few other random things. It has really changed her life :)

Brent actually gets HUGE migraines from Chocolate... really bad and he isn't even able to function with them. It's hard because chocolate is everywhere too! I think you need a massage! Maybe it's all that sitting at the computer too... have you tried a hot neck pillow? You can buy those pillows that you put in the microwave to loosen up your muscles with the heat and keep rotating while you are working at the computer. 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.

that's my only solution! ;(

I hope you STOP HAVING THOSE headaches soon though, they are ZERO FUN!

Davina,

Please give this a try. Take one Prilosec (heartburn medication) in the morning. Give it a couple of days....

I've gone to a specialist (ear, nose and throat) and he is having good results with this....it worked for me....

Many of his patients are headache free....just using this over the counter med....good luck!!!!

Hi Davina~ I used to suffer from the same thing and you know what it was? Birth control pills! I'm not sure if you're taking them, but if you are it may be the cause. Once I stopped them I was better within a couple of weeks. Good luck :)

Oh, so sorry to hear that you have been experiencing so many headaches. Isn't it frustrating that something so yummy as chocolate can have so many negative side effects -- as indicated could be something else as well. I have said good bye to much of my sugar loves and am feeling so good. Also, can't say enough positive about yoga and its benefits for my physical as well as emotional health. Today I tried my yoga class in the am before work and love it -- also love it at the end of the day. My daughter has gone off milk and has found many benefits including less headaches. Good luck ... it is such a process to find the culprit.

That stinks, Davina!

What would I give for a square of Dove dark chocolate right now? I'd probably commit a BIG crime.

Anyway, I've been off sugar and yeast completely for 10+ days now, and it's SUCKED. But it took at least a week for all of the awful aches and pains to work themselves out. So, what I'm saying is a week is a GOOD start, but might not be long enough. Can you bare it for another week or two? Honestly, that's what I'd try.

And on a side note, doesn't it just IRK you when a doc tells you you're "too stressed" and that's their MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. I was told that about my abdominal pain. Seriously, like 7 doctors and 2 surgeries later, I think it's narrowed down to a food sensitivity (note: this is NOT the same as a food alergy). Check out https://www.alcat.com/index.php and see if you can find a doc to do the testing.

Best wishes!

I worked at a chocolate shop a few years ago and noticed more frequent headaches for sure. It took me a while to realize that the chocolate was giving me the headaches-bad ones. Dark chocolate mostly, so i just opted for milk or white and allowed myself only a bit of dark chocolate. That helped a lot. I do get headaches every morning too, but it's cleared up after coffee. It all makes no sense because you'd think coffee and dark chocolate have similar properties. I dont get it, but i do get headaches! I feel your pain!

My father in law gets a headache every morning, but it's caused by dust mite allergies (from sleeping on linens that inevitably get dust every single day). No matter what he tries, there's no stopping it, so he's just learned to live with it. Maybe an allergist would be work seeing though? At least to rule that out.

Wow! I knew that I couldn't be the only one suffering with headaches but I had no idea that so many people were battling them everyday.

I received an email from a friend after they read this post and they recommended the book "123 Heal your Headache" copy and paste this address: http://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-Program-Taking/dp/0761125663/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264473180&sr=8-1

It's supposed to help you heal chronic headache problems. I'm seriously thinking about purchasing it. It's gotten great reviews. Over 250 people have posted their thoughts on the book and the majority believe the process has cured or at the very least lessened their headaches.

One of the things I guess it talks about is foods that may trigger your headaches. I'm thinking I may try taking refined white flour out of my diet for a week and see what happens.

Thank you all for your ideas and thoughts. I've been leary of chiropractors but it sounds like many of you have had great success with them...maybe I should give them a try.

I've not even thought about birth control. I have had an iud for about 3-4 years. Hmmmm...that may coincide with when I started getting headaches.

Becky, I love yoga but really haven't done regular practice...ever. I tried doing yoga every morning last week and initially felt good to start the day, although I still had my headaches. I think I'll keep it up this week though. It seems that there's no way yoga could have a negative side effect! :)

Millie! I don't want my headaches to be from chocolate! That would be tragic!! The neck pillow sounds really nice though. I'll have to keep a look out for one of those...

Prilosec...what exactly does that do to ward off a headache? Is that an allergy medication?

Gale, I definitely think sleep plays into the intensity of my headaches...which is why I was so perplexed last week. I consistently got to bed earlier last week than I have in a while and still...headaches. I'm going to keep trying to get to bed earlier and see if it helps.

Thank you all again for all of the wonderful advice. These are all great suggestions that I'm willing to try. I'm tired of having headaches. I can't even remember what life is like without them...

Thank you! Thank you!

A very dear friend of mine was suffering from headaches daily. Two weeks ago she gave up sugar as a test. And her headaches have disappeared. The problem...Now she cannot have sugar unless she can deal with the headache!
Maybe have your sinuses checked also?
If the headaches are in the forehead or you feel pressure behind your eyes, could be sinus headaches.....