Constant pressure headache - private mri?

[Hammyfan]

Hello,

Have had a headache for weeks now.

Firstly was occasional, now it's from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to sleep. Paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin, sinutab have all had no effect. Nurse said I could take codeine but concerned about possible side effects whilst looking after children. Have had my eye pressure checked (I have glaucoma) and my blood pressure - both fine. Sleep normal, eating normally, stress levels normal. Recently seen the dentist and no problems.

It feels like a ton of pressure in my head. I don't think it's a migraine, as I understand those involve flashing lights and acute pain, neither of which I have. It just feels like there's constant pressure in my head (and occasional nausea). Especially towards the front of my head.

My cousin had a series of aggressive brain tumours which sadly killed her by the time she was 40, so I don't want to leave anything to chance.

I have only spoken to a nurse so far and have a GP phone call scheduled for Thursday. To be honest, I think I just want to push ahead now and get a private mri scan. Worried at how long an NHS referral might take and if there is a tumour, how much it might grow whilst I'm waiting? I would have seen a GP last Fri if it hadn't been for the bank hol weekend - they have been closed for the whole long weekend.

I thought I might phone the local private hospital and see if they have anything this week (£££) or have found some treatment centres in London that I could visit on Sat (cheaper but as good as visiting a hospital)? It would be just about affordable.

If I don't get something this week I will be stuck until the end of the Easter hols as no childcare.

Any advice or experience welcome, please! Feels like loads of money to spend if I'm just being paranoid and there's nothing there. I've never done private health care before. But what if there is something....

Aargh.

You should be able to arrange a private mri quite quickly although private hospitals are busier than usual at the moment because of Covid. But you do need a consultant to interpret the results of the scan which obviously costs more.
I was in a similar position to you a few years ago and had a private mri. The radiologist (I think) at the hospital looked at the scan and relayed their comments to my GP . They were actually wrong and I was given quite seriously wrong info which I still feel traumatised by. I very much wish a specialist had looked at the results first.
It really all depends whether you can afford the private fees. If you can, I’d go for it. Contrary to the saying, you can buy peace of mind! There are many other things it could be rather than a tumour but that “what if” feeling is very difficult to overcome

The worrying about it is probably not helping the headache either, I would try and arrange a private scan if you can afford to.

I done the same recently for my dd, it was worth every penny for peace of mind.

Thanks @pointyshoes. I hadn't considered that the consultant interpreting the results might cost more. Sorry the radiologist gave you the wrong info, that sounds awful.

Thanks @Bananarama3star, you're right, the worry is not helping!

I’m in a similar position OP. I’ve had a headache for most of every day for nearly 2 months. First the GP thought it was caused by the mini pill, so I stopped taking it. Then they thought sinus infection so I’ve had antibiotics and nasal spray. Since that didn’t work either they asked Neurology what to do and they said MRI so it’s booked for a couple of weeks time. Initially I was worried about brain tumours etc but recently have felt I’d have probably developed other symptoms by how if it was something serious. If there aren’t medication issues to rule out and you’ve already tried sinus meds over the counter then they might refer you quite quickly for an MRI on the NHS.

I'm in a similar position OP, pressure headaches, though they come and go (sometimes all day for a week, other times just upon exertion, some days the pressure is gone, but I get pulsing pains in my temples) and twinned with other weird symptoms (tingling head / face, dizziness).

I've seen a GP and a neurologist, the latter referred me for and MRI (it's in a few weeks). He didn't rush it through as I felt much better that day, so we both thought I was improving.

But much like @WetWeekends I tell myself that if it were a brain tumor I'd feel much worse by now (symptoms started at the begining of Feb).

I just had a private mri. There are lots of companies online if you google. The wait was ten days and it cost £400 for my knee and foot. It's pricey but you are paying for peace of mind or in your case potentially life saving knowledge so I would do it.

Oh and that price includes a consultant interpreting the results.

You need a lumbar puncture and a CT before an MRI. I have a intrcranial pressure and I am shunted so I know these symptoms well go to A&E and they will do this for you. Xx

I know this sounds weird but have you had your eyes looked at at any point? I found out about a condition which put pressure on my brain (too much spinal fluid) and the only way I found out was by having an eye test which spotted swollen optical nerves (a sign of pressure on the brain). They sent me straight to hospital which kickstarted the process of diagnosis. I’m not sure if this is helpful or not, but it may be?

@rainbowdashsneeze

You need a lumbar puncture and a CT before an MRI. I have a intrcranial pressure and I am shunted so I know these symptoms well go to A&E and they will do this for you. Xx

This is misinformation, in your case, after the CT it was determined that the intercranial pressure would be alleviated by a lumbar puncture. If your scan had showed a tumour, you would have been sent for an MRI to look at it in more detail. A lumbar puncture at this point would be fatal. CT scans are used as a first port of call as they're quicker (both in terms of waiting lists as there are more scanners around and actual scanning time).

OP, I second the eye test route if the GP can't give you an appropriate time frame for a scan. I hope it's nothing serious and you receive good care to get to the bottom of the headache issue.

An eye test is a good idea . If you can arrange one quickly, and then decide on the mri depending on what the optician says. But, just to reiterate, there are so many things that could cause these symptoms, not just brain tumours

This is probably something you've already thought of but have you been and had a sports massage on your neck and shoulders?

I have a lot of trouble in that area and if my traps are tight it makes me feel like my head is going to explode. Like a pressure cooker.

I forgot to mention the GP sent me to get my eyes tested as well. That was all ok other than she said my eye muscles aren’t working properly. She said that can’t be causing the headaches though.

I also have IIH and was discovered via eye test as I had high pressure and other issues going on, CT, MRI with dye then followed by lumbar puncture to release the pressure, lost 7 stone and in remission.

I have eye checks every year at hospital and neurologist check ups yearly and medication to control the migraine.

I thought I had a tumour but it was alright in the end. The medical name of IIH means false brain tumour as it’s symptoms present like a tumour.

I would have paid to be seen because I was driving myself mad worrying.

Book an eye test in the mean time

I have had a private brain mri this year (mine was to check I had nothing causing seizures - I did not).

I'll be honest, it was a bit slow for private care - had to wait 4 weeks to see neurologist then another 4 weeks for my mri but this was around Christmas/jan so just as things were getting dreadful COVID wise. Hopefully may be quicker now.

I did get my results looked at by a radiographer and 2 consultants actually and got them back very swiftly so that bit was good. Oh and my gp got them too.

I have medical cover through work but got to see the bill as I had to pay a small excess and my total costs for all of it was around £600 and that included a couple of other tests.

It was genuinely the right think to do for me and I knew that any diagnosis which needed long term treatment went back into the nhs. I was lucky (or a mild medical mystery as no one can work out what's wrong, just that it isn't serious...).

Good luck.

I would check with GP (and eye test too). Ds was sent for a head MRI a couple of years ago with headaches. They were fairly confident there was nothing there to see, but wanted to check everything, and it was only a couple of weeks.

Have you had a blood test to check your ferritin levels? When my ferritin level drops I get awful headaches.

Migraines can be almost anything — I’ve occasionally had them in my teeth only and now have them without pain but with aphasia — but if they think it’s a migraine couldn’t they try you on a migraine treatment to see if it helps?
Otherwise a muscle relaxant? Didn’t help my migraines but my neurologist wanted to try it to see if there was anything in the neck.

My daughter was off school for a month with continuous migraine. Three trips to GP and one to A & E and it was still a four months wait just to see a consultant (this was in 2018). So hassled them to refer me to private (I had to have a gp referral) and after them stupidly referring me to 1) a hospital that wouldnt see children and 2) a gastrointestinal doctor, finally found one 50 miles away. It was £660 for head and cervical MRI and £250 for two ten minute appointments with private consultant. Nothing was seen so she referred me back to the NHS. I was relieved there was nothing abnormal but my daughter is still under investigation now. NHS is great until you actually have something wrong with you.

I’ve had daily headaches for about 3 months now. I think (I hope!) they are a long term effect of Covid and I’ve been self medicating with ibuprofen and paracetamol. However, the painkillers are having less and less impact and I think they may even be causing the headaches now. Known as medication overuse headaches or rebound headaches. I’m going to try contacting my GP this week but in the meantime, am trying to cut down on the meds and using a 4Head stick to see how that works.
Hope you get sorted out soon!

Thank you for all the replies, much appreciated and reassuring. I will look into an eye test and perhaps a massage as well.

Do it

DSIS had progressively bad headaches for a couple of months, eventually got a date for an mri
The week before it, the tumour that was causing all the problems nearly killed her when the pressure became too much

She was very lucky to have been found and survived, but she does have lasting physical damage

We try not to think "if only we'd pushed harder, gone private etc etc" as the tumour would have still needed dealing with, but we'll never know

Yes do it. Or go to a and e. Dh had headache which I thought was man flu, was a stroke.

I have exactly the same. My GP sent me to Eye Casualty who sent me to my optician who sent me to A and E after telling me that the results of my field vision test suggested either a tumour or aneurysm was pressing on my pituitary gland. 😣
After a 6 hour wait thinking I was probably going to die, I had a CAT scan which indicated a severe sinus infection.
I am now on heavy duty antibiotics and a nasal rinse.
Oh and the doctor at the hospital told me Sudafed makes sinus pain worse. I hope this turns out to be sinus related for you too. I am so relieved but sadly still in pain.

YY to massage. I’m seeing an osteopath for neck and shoulders. I had constant headaches, pressure in my head, so much so that I thought I had a constant head cold. Always worse at the end of the day. One session and headaches went. It’s my neck muscles that have seized up. Causing pain in front of head, even my face. Seeing fortnightly now. Honestly feel I have my life back.