Apex Headache Clinic cleared my headaches, allowing me to enjoy life again
56-year-old Alison Chambers from Banbridge had been suffering horrendous headaches for 4 years. During these terrible years, she had tried everything in the hope of getting even a little relief, but nothing helped. She came to the conclusion that headaches were something she was going to have to live with but after hearing about Apex Headache Clinic, with nothing to lose, Alison decided to try it out. Here, she shares how the clinic’s unique regime of specialist manual physiotherapy treatment for headaches, called The Nelson Headache ApproachTM, cleared her headaches, meaning she could finally get her life back on track.
Alison, when did your headaches begin?
My headaches started 4 years ago and it started with a real burning feeling at the back of my head, like my head was on fire. The burning sensation went into my back and down my spine. The pain was excruciating and would go on 24 hours, day and night with no let up at all for about 6 weeks at a time. This seemed to happen about twice a year. In between this I would have short bouts of pain for maybe a week which would start in my back and the pain would go right up into my head. At times the pain was so bad I even lost my vision and had to be hospitalised as they thought I was having a stroke.
How did the head pain affect your life?
This affected my life completely! When the pain was excruciating my blood pressure would rise significantly resulting in me having to be hospitalised to get my blood pressure down which is something I had never had before these headaches. This also really affected me at work as I had to travel for work and when I had the headaches along with the high blood pressure it was a concern and I even had to come off a flight at one stage. This ultimately led to me having a fear of flying which was something I had done all my life for work. The headaches affected every aspect of my life, both my home life and my work life and I had to take time off work sick for long periods.
What led you to Apex Headache Clinic?
I was in the dentist’s surgery when I read an article about Apex Headache Clinic but I didn’t think anything else of it until I was chatting to a friend about my headaches and how I really was at my wits end. During the 4 years I had suffered with this I had been everywhere to see if I could get some help with my headaches and the pain. I had seen Neurologists and gone privately and couldn’t get to the bottom of it. It was only when my friend said she had heard about a clinic in Belfast which specialised in treating headaches that I thought that must be the place I read about. My friend then gave me the name and phone number and I organised an initial consultation at Apex Headache Clinic. After this initial consultation I came out feeling emotional as this was the first time in years that anyone had understood and knew the type of symptoms I was having. When I first started seeing my Specialist Headache Physiotherapist, I was given advice on things that I was doing that could be making my symptoms worse. Implementing these changes to my day-to-day life along with the manual physiotherapy treatment has meant that I haven’t had a severe headache since I started treatment. I have had the odd twinge here and there but it is a year past in August since I had my last severe headache, which is unbelievable!
How has your life changed since having treatment?
Having treatment at Apex Headache Clinic has been a life saver for me as my headaches were impacting my life and my family’s life for years. I am getting much better at getting on flights and when I last travelled for a conference with work, my colleagues were commenting on how well I looked as they knew how much I had been suffering with my headaches and the pain for such a long time.
What advice would you offer someone suffering from headaches?
I’ve tried reiki, pilates and acupuncture just to name a few things that I have given a go in the last 4 years but to no avail. It was only when I came to Apex I started to get relief. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough and I know that if I have a problem I can lift the phone and they will be there to help me. If anyone is suffering from headaches I would definitely say, go to Apex Headache Clinic.
To book an appointment at Apex Headache Clinic, call 028 9048 4153. No GP referral is necessary.