Please please please someone help me

[Fedupwithallthis2]

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is ruining my life. I really need help from someone but I don’t know what to do or where to go.

ive been getting horrendous headaches for the last few months and I actually think I’m going to have a breakdown about it. I’ve been to the doctors and been told different things each time, migraine, stress, tension etc but regardless of what it is, nothing is helping. I’ll describe the headaches below and I’m praying that someone recognises a feature and knows what it is and how to stop it.

1. it started off a few months ago and at first the headaches were occasional and it got worse and right now it’s everyday or every other day.
2. they start around lunchtime/afternoon and get worse throughout the day. By dinner time they are unbearable and by night time it is horrific
3. The pain is almost always on the right. It’s a throbbing ache around my right temple and right eye area. It feels like someone is actually drilling through my eye
4. random things make the pain worse- sneezing is horrific, as is coughing, moving in general but especially bending down or moving my head down eg to tie my laces and then bringing it back up. The other thing that makes the head so much worse is lying down, the light, touching my right temple/eyebrow area or physically passing stools , it honestly feels like my head is going to explode.
5. Nothing helps- I’ve had stuff from the doctor and OTC and I’m currently chewing painkillers like sweets and it barely takes the edge off it
6. I feel sick and occasionally dizzy with them. I’m not always physically sick but sometimes am from the pain
7. im not tired, I’m not stressed, I’m not dehydrated and I can’t think of any reasons this is happening
8. ive been to the optician and I don’t need glasses
9. i get really irritable with them. Little things annoy me and I want to scream and cry or explode all the time
10. lying down and sleeping for a little nap or a few hours makes it so much worse afterwards. But lying down and sleeping for 12+ makes it a bit better but then it starts to come back at lunchtime after I wake up anyway

please, if anyone has any advice or ideas I’m actually desperate this is ruining my life. My doctor won’t do anything and said even if I do get a referral it will take well over a year anyway and I can’t afford private. I’m really struggling and honestly feel like I could smash my skull with a hammer to get relief

please someone help me😢

Hi, I don't want to scare you but my friend started getting bad headaches and they eventually found out she had stage 4 cancer (thankfully she's in remission now) but any later and she probably wouldn't of made it. Please please please push for an MRI. I'll keep you in my prayers🙏god bless.

www.healthline.com/health/migraine/pcos-and-migraines#takeaway

@Fedupwithallthis2 Your irregular periods sounds like PCOS, which can cause symptoms like yours, there's treatment for this.

Insist on a referral.

also- could it be caffeine withdrawal?

ice packs help me massively with headaches- ice packs plus migraleve.

Hemicrania continua one of the worst pains- I have it. You need sumatriptan. Cut out the caffeine and only have 8 hours sleep, don’t oversleep.

Changemeforthis: GPs can be wary of touching HOOF prescriptions as those for CH are for high flow via a none-rebreather mask or ultra-high flow via a specialist demand valve mouthpiece. The cylinders are not that small or light either. I have to get the oxygen engineer to move my home ones into place for me. O2 may help with some forms of severe migraine but given the costs of home oxygen it is less likely to be prescribed for migraine alone. Most GPs will only prescribe after a neurologist has ordered and seen the results from an MRI scan to rule out some possible but very rare conditions.

OP I wondered about carbon monoxide poisoning too, have you got a meter to measure it?

You need an urgent scan and a referral to Neurology. I have headaches like this and I have intracranial hypertension.

Have you been to the dentist? In my early 20s, I started to suffer from head pain. It was like I waa being stabbed in the brain.
After a lot of gp visits, medicine etc, my dentist x rayed my teeth and my wisdom teeth were growing the wrong way (not out but in) and were pushing on a nerf that goes across the head. I had the teeth removed under general anaesthetic and I never had another head stabbing pain again.

My symptoms are similar to this when I have bad sinusitis. Painkillers barely touch the pain and decongestants (for me personally) make it worse and have triggered sinusitis pain when I only started with a cold and blocked nose, so I avoid those. (Decongestants don't work for me, but I'm sure they help most people.)

What helps me is breathing in steam with menthol (Vicks or similar) added to the hot water; avoiding bending over; keeping my forehead warm when I'm outside in cold weather (warm hat); staying really well hydrated and warm (not hot as that can hurt!) forehead/temple compresses. Sinus washes can help but I find them unbearably painful once my sinuses are at the really sore stage.

I think you should be very, very persistent and proactive with seeking further medical treatment, scans, etc, but it might be worth doing some gentle sinus treatments in the meantime, whilst you're waiting for scans and other medical appointments.

I hope you get answers soon, it sounds really awful for you!

You say you've been to the optician?

Did you have an ENHANCED OCT scan?
You usually have to pay extra for it, not much, but it's a more detailed scan of your eye and can pick up more than a routine test.

If you didn't, then I suggest pop to specsavers and request one.

*side note:
I had one as a "why not" when offered it, and it picked up something quirky and fairly serious - needed mri, lumber puncture to rule out nasties and am on medication for idiopathic intracranial hypertension - this would not have been picked up on a routine eye test.

I had/have something that sounds like this - started about 6 months ago.
Is always coupled with congestion and I’ve read up and think it’s menstrual congestion (i didn’t know that was even a thing) and that in turn is causing the bad headaches/migraines.

That being said, yours may not be that at all.
You need to go to your GP and assertively say you’d like them to urgently refer you. Make them accountable and ask what will they do if they find something serious and the GP had failed to refer.
Once they refer you, call up the hospital department and explain how bad it is. Ask if you can be seen urgently or at least that they triage your referral urgently.

This sounds like my migraines.
Iron and B12 supplements keep mine at bay most of the time.

It's worth noting that my GP ordered blood tests then said my iron and B12 levels were "normal". I was then referred to a headache specialist who said they were only normal for a normal person! i.e they were on the low end of normal, so probably too low for a person prone to headaches and migraines like me. I started taking supplements and noticed a big improvement.

For more instant relief a tens machine on my shoulders really helps too.

Hey op! I hope you're okay this evening. I feel like a few years ago I could have written this myself. I'm currently awaiting decompression surgery under kings hospital in London. What stood out to me is the random things you described making it worse. I'll give my symptoms that prompted an MRI that lead to my diagnosis.

Migraines as you described when I never suffered before, eye pain sickness also had tremors and weakness on occasion and my vision has now been compromised.

Any pressure makes it worse and gives me an awful pain in my head.. especially going up from back of my neck into my head (and random sharp pains on the side of my head that can come on sporadically) if I cough, sneeze hard, bend down quickly or strain in any way..on the loo etc (sorry to go into that but it's relevant)

I have chairi malformation type 1. Not sure if anyone has mentioned it but may be worth just having a quick look into it and asking for an MRI, regardless if you think it's this or not I completely understand it's no way to live... sometimes I'm so exhausted and in such pain I can hardly get up. It's very debilitating to say the least. I had a bad cold and cough the other week and it was awfully painful if I coughed or sneezed and my migraines were in full swing to say the least. I had a period where I seemed to be missing life because of my headaches, migraines and tremors. I became very low and not seeing the point of continuing to be honest as regardless whether someone thinks that's dramatic or not feeling as though you have no quality of life due to pain can really impact your mental well-being on top of the actual medical issue so I fully appreciate how hard this must be for you right now.

I really hope you can get an answer and treatment soon.

You need to see a specialist consultant as soon as you can. Get referred by your GP. Or if you can, look online and find a private consultant if you have a spare couple of hundred pounds.

Insist on an MRI To rule things out.

But migraines are very varied and can be really awful, so can cluster headaches. It can take a bit of experimenting to get the right treatment even with a consultant.

Could it be trigeminal neuralgia?

Hi,

I haven't read through all the messages, so apologise in advance if mentioned, but consider Chiari Malformation. The mention of the headache being worse with coughing, bending etc is very telling.

Have you been poorly with flu / covid recently? I get a very similar thing which started 4 years ago when I had flu. The worst pain I've ever had (worse than giving birth). It took about 5 months and endless trips to the doctors until one said he thought what ever virus I had had caused nerve damage and was triggering migraines. Very similar pain (right side of my face, eye, down my neck and arm). I was prescribed Amitriptyline for 6 months which was AMAZING. Just to get some relief from the pain allowed me to sleep and eat...leaning forward slightly to put food in my mouth was agony as was lying down in bed. I lost a lot of weight and was starting to feel depressed. 4 years on its still there every now and again (if I am poorly it returns) but not as bad and manageable with over the counter pain killers now. Keep returning to your GP, 111, A&E if needed. Antivirals when I first went to the GP would have prevented permanent nerve damage for me.

Look at your diet as well as seeking medical help.
Especially sugar. It might be worth going low carb for a while. Eat just protein and veg and see if anything in your diet was triggering it.

You need to take your Mum with you to the GP an advocate who has witnessed what you are going through, what you have done yourself, chiropractor, optician etc. Mum won't be fobbed off.

This my husband suffers from these they are horrendous, he was diagnosed and has oxygen tank it’s the only thing that gave him some respite while he was suffering from the headache.
We asked to be referred to a neurologist. Hope you get something sorted .

All your symptoms point to sinus pressure … I’ve had them all 🥺
Try the techniques in video

OP, you need a scan. It could be a few things but it might be worth asking your GP about this:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/chiari-malformation/

My advice is make urgent GP appt tomorrow (Monday), take your mother to the appt with you, it’s not uncommon for doctors to be dismissive of young women. Insist on being referred for an urgent MRI.

If that fails try another doctor at the practice.

If that too fails, go to A&E when you have another acute episode.

Can you afford to see a neurologist?

You must get this seen to, and you need to do it asap.

I would try something else. Perhaps go to an optometrist and describe this and see if they can perhaps see if anything is impinging on the optic nerve. They may even be able to refer you to a specialist as an allied health consultant as you are getting nowhere with your GP.