To expect an emergency referral to hospital?

[breaksinthedayforyou]

Unsure what department exactly but I've got some worrying symptoms.

Headaches, every day. Not migraines, although I'm getting those a lot more, but headaches with nausea. No appetite and being sick because of it, always having a slight nausea about me all the time.

I have become more emotional and snappy, very much something I don't do. And my vision has become more blurred at times.

I am really tired, and sometimes want to have a cry with just how tired I am, despite a good nights sleep.

For starters, I have suffered with migraines with aura (where I'd lose my eyesight and feeling in the left hand side), since about age 13.

By my late teens, these developed into hemaplegic migraines. They mirror a stroke - facial drooping, unable to string a sentence together, slurred speech, paralysis on one side, dizziness and clumsiness during at attack. I was referred to neurology who did an MRI. It was then ruled out as anything serious and diagnosed with hemaplegic migraines. I can't take meds for it due to a form of a minor heart problem I have that could have serious side effects on it

GP says there's no need to refer in as it's probably a side effect of having more frequent migraines. I said something feels off with it though, it's seperate from the migraines

He really seemed to disagree and said worrying would be giving me headaches too

He did agree to do a run of blood tests which all came back normal so tiredness not linked to anaemia for example, although I'm taking good supplements anyway

AIBU to expect a referral? I've tried getting an appointment with a different GP and got one today, who said he was a locum so couldn't refer but to try mindful breathing

The locum said as the bloods are all normal there's no need to panic and wait it out for a while and return if no change

Addisons can cause vomiting and tiredness. One of the signs is an increase in melatonin - do you have a tanned face? (Or other parts of your body)

Sorry this might sound like a totally amateur response but hear me out

I went to the gp thinking there was something very very wrong. Symptoms like you are describing

Headaches with nausea
No appetite
Being sick
Constant nausea all the time
Emotional and snappy - could cry at the smallest thing
Couldn't think straight. Someone would be speaking to me and I couldn't focus on what they were saying as my head was being squished
Could sleep standing up with the over-tiredness

It was basically going too long without food and was well over hungry. It was diagnosed as malnutrition. When I was really at the worst I was freezing cold. Once I realised I was cold because of malnutrition it frightened me into eating tiny bits here and there and taking a multivitamin every day and I felt better after 9 days and couldn't believe I'd done it to myself without realising
It's scary to read but have a look

This is the NHS much gentler read www.nhs.uk/conditions/malnutrition/symptoms/

I had the symptoms you describe and eventually, after a long time was diagnosed with Coeliac.

My dd had several days of severe headaches when she was twelve. The GPS was useless, like yours, so I took her to an acupuncturist and he started asking about PMT and cramps, which suffered severely from. With one treatment her headaches disappears and her PMT and cramps were a lot less severe. It sounds like your headaches might also related to a hormonal imbalance

Hi OP
I have suffered with migraines for years so feel your pain! Might be way off here but everything is worth considering when you’re this fed up- are you taking painkillers daily for the headaches? Before I was diagnosed with migraines I went to my GP to ask for stronger painkillers to help with my daily headaches as over the counter meds (including full strength solphadeine) weren’t relieving the pain anymore. She diagnosed me with medication overuse headaches and told me to go cold turkey on the pain meds (the panic!) and to try natural remedies such as ginger tea etc. It was a rough few weeks and the natural remedies don’t do a lot but it definitely helped to reduce the frequency. I was later diagnosed with migraines and now take a daily preventative called Pizotifen 1.5mg each night. Hope some of this helps as you have my sympathies x

This.
Seek a third opinion

When you saw your GP did you mention your periods and how they are becoming infrequent. This could be linked to endocrine problems.
My DSis was having daily headaches which were initially diagnosed as migraine but because we have a family history of pituitary problems she was eventually tested for hormone anomalies and diagnosed with pituitary problem. Both myself and my DM had similar problems. I was diagnosed in my early 20s my DM and DSis in their 50s.
Hyperthyroidism could also explain headaches ( increased blood pressure) and the weight loss.
I think you need to write down all the changes you have experienced. Diagnosis is often a case of joining up the dots. Symptoms you may not connect may be relevant for diagnosis.

Have you contacted the Migraine Trust for advice?
Home - The Migraine Trust

Also, when I was very unwell (with something completely different) I found it really helpful to read the NICE Guidelines on the condition, so that I had more confidence on what should be available - and throwing the odd "but the NICE guidelines say...." into the conversation doesn't hurt.

Ask gp to rule out brain tumour

Going off piste here and saying shingles. Shingles on your head is agonising by all accounts.

You need to eat and drink and then see what happens. Lack of nutrition does all sorts of weird shit to your body. Ditch the tea, try milk instead and rather randomly try a anti-histamine such as cetirizine every day for a couple of weeks to rule out any allergy. Immune system might just be fighting something that's not actually there.

I mean, I was a big girl at a size 16 only 3 months ago or so! Definitely no aversion to food, but when I do try to eat now, I keep vomiting unless it's something silly like rice cakes

I don't actually like tea very much or drink it but gave it as an example as my lovely nan tried getting me to drink a sweet tea (she thinks everything is solved via tea!)

I am no stranger to grub so it's very strange I am now like this and a size 12 is now loose on me

Oh I can only imagine! But shingles always has a rash of sorts and I certainly don't

This is a very good suggestion - analgesia overuse headache can be caused by any of the commonly used painkillers, but particularly opiates like codeine. So if you can’t take the usual migraine specific remedies and are relying on paracetamol, codeine, ibuprofen then this is a definite possibility and more likely than having a totally new, unrelated cause of headache when you are young and already have migraines.
The answer is to stop taking these types of painkillers - a diary of what you are taking and when is useful, but there are also some specific medications (some antiepileptic drugs which may not be a problem with your heart condition) that can be a great help with the transition. These are usually prescribed in neurology clinic only at first but if your gp contacts neurology for advice rather than a referral then they may be able to start them. It’s a long time since I did headache clinic so I don’t know sorry!

Sorry I was trying to reply to @greylamp but failed!

Have they looked at your thyroid? Overactive causes weight loss and can cause feeling angry and agitated

I would definitely consider malnutrition as an earlier poster mentioned. It can be a vicious circle - feel too sick to eat so you don't but the lack of nutrition is very possibly contributing to your symptoms. It is also possible that there is no physical reason you can't eat. You simply cannot NOT eat and the fact that your GP isn't addressing that is what would make me seek out another.

Do you know what % of weight you've lost? Any unexplained weight loss (especially if it's more than 20% of your body weight) should prompt an urgent referral in and of itself. Is your vomiting & nausea worse at any specific time of day?
As someone who has been malnourished on and off for the last year, it can throw up some really weird symptoms. If you can try and see a different GP for some antisickness tablets to help you to eat better, and see if that improves tje headaches?

It could be abdominal migraines, they're rare in adults and don't always present with headaches, but they can. My GP used amitriptyline to rule it out as theirs no conclusive test available, I don't know if that's a standard treatment or if it's safe to use with heart issues.

Ask your GP what they checked for in your bloods. There are many different tests that are not done in the full blood count as routine. Ask if they checked your b12 levels and if they are low or low borderline, ask for a trial of injections to see if they help. I'm a big woman but before I was diagnosed with pernicious anaemia, I was losing weight so rapidly and every time I ate or sometimes just drank something, it would vacate from either end within ten minutes. I felt I never had enough sleep despite sleeping loads, my muscles were weak, I had a sore tongue, cracked sides of my mouth, constantly nauseous with headaches and generally just felt terrible. I could only drink plain water and eat those bland koka noodles as they're the only things I kept down /didn't metabolise quickly.

Thanks everyone. It's still really bad. I felt slightly better last night then woke up this morning and the headache and dizziness was back. So I've still got the numbness on my left side, the constant headache and dizziness and nausea. I don't know what to do.. ride it out, a&e, back to the GP or what. I'm worrying myself so much

Sorry posted on wrong thread

I'm currently going through a similar thing.
I had my eyes checked and now have a referral for a CT scan.
However, I have been to a chiropractor, and after 3 sessions am a lot better - hopefully it is down to a neck/spine thing. Maybe try that?

I got a neurologist referral for very similar. It was accelerated by a racing heart/fainting type scenario whilst I was driving (I pulled over and called an ambulance). I had a brain scan, had to stop driving for 6 months and tried various meds with awful side effects. Nothing conclusive found. However, I'm convinced it was all hormonal and since going through menopause it has all stopped. I think heart racing thing was a peri symptom. I'm on HRT and never felt better. I have had the odd migraine but nowhere near as debilitating or as scary with stroke like symptoms.

ZOMBIE THREAD
I wondered if @breaksinthedayforyou has an update, did she ever get better?