Severe headaches

[Adam_W]

For the last week, I've been having cases of severe headaches only on the left side of my head. They usually last less then a minute, then they're gone, then a few minutes later, I'll have another one. They seem to worsen when I look at any kind of light. I talked to my nurse about them and she thinks they might be cluster headaches. All my vitals are normal when I have these, so I don't think it's blood pressure related. I'm going to call my primary care dr tomorrow and schedule an appointment to have this checked out, because it's getting steadily worse. Has anyone else experianced something like this?

Adam

[Black]

Sounds like migraine or cluster headaches but do get it checked out ASAP as it could be something more serious.

[kitkatz]

Get your neck checked by a chiropractor.  Something may be out of whack along the neck area of the spine.

[Ang]

adam,


           a  patient  at  my  centre  had  headaches  that  would  last  for  10  minutes  then  subside  over  the  folowing  hour  or  so.
after  extensive  searches,the  only place  left  to  check  was  his  teeth, bingo.
an  extraction  and  little  bit  of  other  work  he  was  cured  of  the  headaches  and  $700  poorer.

[Romona]

My husband had cluster headaches about 12 years ago that had us running to doctors for help. Please get checked to rule the serious stuff out. Cluster headaches can last for awhile then disappear for months or years. Good Luck to you and I hope you are pain free soon.

[paris]

My husband also gets cluster headaches.  He can't function when they hit, but then they go away as quickly as they come.  They seem to hit in the spring and fall, making us think they could be allergy related.  Doctor doesn't give any good answers.  I hope you find some relief. Let us know what the doctor says.   Also, cluster headaches are more common in men.

[goofynina]

Any news on those headaches your getting Adam?  What did the Dr. say?  Hope your feeling better soon 

[willieandwinnie]

Adam

Hope you are feeling better.

[Adam_W]

I had my dr's appointment yesterday, and he thinks it may be postherpetic neuralgia, an irritation of a nerve in my head. He put me on Gabapentin three times a day (which happens to be the exact same medicine my mom takes for seizures), which is supposed to suppress the nerve irritation. I will  also be having an MRI on Friday.

Adam

[okarol]

I hope the medication helps. Good luck with you MRI. 

[Deanne]

I hope your MRI goes well! How soon will you know if the medication works?

[Black]

Glad he gave you something to get relief from the pain.  Keep us posted.

BTW, the Lyrica I take for peripheral neuropathy and fibromyalgia, and which Mike took for RLS, was also originally an anti-seizure medication.

[goofynina]

Hope the Gabapentin is working for you Adam, please let us know how the appt. goes tomorrow.    Good luck 

[Adam_W]

I've kind of been busy the last few days, so I'll give a late update. The Gabapentin has only partially worked. It has somewhat decreased the frequency of the headaches, but they still happen. In fact, I'm getting one right now.................Ok, it's gone now. For the first few days, the side effects of the medicine were almost worse than the headaches themselves. It made me so tired I just wanted to sleep all day, and when I was out of bed, I would get so dizzy it was safer for me to remain in bed. Fortunately those have resolved for the most part. The MRI went well, but I haven't gotten the results back. I think I'm going to call tomorrow and ask about that. I'll try to remember to give updates.

Adam

[spacezombie]

I get migraine headaches which are made worse by dialysis (especially if I take a lot of fluid off at once) and also when I am anemic. But if these headaches are new for you I would definitely mention them to a doctor. Hope you feel better!

[twirl]

I am having headaches all the time.

[Jill D.]

I have been having daily headaches since the second week of March. When they started I thought I had picked up some "crud" that was going around - went to the ER, had x-rays, CTscan, bloodwork, urinalysis, flu test, spinal tap. The spinal tap only gave me a spinal tap headache on top of my "head in a vise" headache. Finally determined I had a virus that settled in my head. I don't know if the lingering headaches are from the virus, or allergies or what - but they suck. Sometimes become migraines. Had to wean myself off pain meds - have been getting some relief from my chiropractor, but the headaches are so random.
Prior to this I rarely had headaches.

[Adam_W]

Since my last update on the headaches, the Gabapentin has started working as it should, and I don't get the headaches anymore. It seems it just took a while for the drugs to start having an effect.

Adam