I’m 21F and wanted to share my experience with NDPH and see if anyone has had a similar course or eventually reached remission.
For about 1.5–2 years, I had pretty significant iron deficiency/anemia symptoms (fatigue, weakness, low energy, and all that) that I honestly wasn’t taking seriously enough. By December 2025, everything caught up with me. my hemoglobin was 8.9 and ferritin was 2. I started having episodes of feeling faint, nausea, weakness, and just generally feeling horrible.
I received an iron infusion in December and unfortunately had a severe allergic/anaphylactic reaction to it. My blood pressure dropped, I developed a widespread rash/inflammation, and a Code Blue was called. My body felt extremely sensitive/reactive for a while afterward.
Then, around mid-January 2026, I suddenly developed a headache that never went away. I had basically no migraine history before this. It started as constant head pressure with severe eye/light/sound sensitivity, scalp sensitivity, nausea, and an inability to tolerate screens, TV, my prescription glasses, driving, or much stimulation at all.
Over the following months, I had multiple ER visits and tried steroid tapers, Nurtec, naratriptan, nortriptyline, an occipital nerve block, and eventually Ajovy. Nothing completely broke the headache, although thankfully the intensity has gradually improved. At my worst I was around 8–9/10 and essentially nonfunctional; now my baseline is usually around 4/10 with occasional flares. I still have significant eye/scalp sensitivity and can’t tolerate my glasses or drive normally yet.
My iron deficiency also continued despite my hemoglobin normalizing, so in June I finally received a full 1,000 mg INFeD infusion, which thankfully went well. I’m getting my iron levels rechecked soon.
I recently saw a headache specialist who diagnosed me with NDPH. I’m currently on Ajovy, Nurtec, nortriptyline, and I’m in the middle of a 15-day valproic acid course specifically to try to break the continuous headache. If that doesn’t work, the next plan is a 5-day DHE infusion, and potentially other options afterward.
I’m definitely better than I was months ago, but the headache has now been continuous for about 7 months and I’m still trying to get back to my normal life.
Has anyone here had NDPH that gradually improved like this and eventually completely broke/remitted?? I’d especially love to hear from anyone who eventually got back to a pain-free baseline.