Hi,
This is my first ever post after being an avid daily reader of MN. I’m praying your wisdom & experience can help a recent health battle I’m going through.
I’m 42 F, normally good health, active but have had a VERY stressful year (I suffer from diagnosed OCD & GAD, which I work through very well holistically).
We (DH 50, DD 11) relocated 2 hours up the country this April, really happy with move. But one month before move date I started to experience a strange left sided, almost sinus like head pain. Not all the time, like electric shocks on and off, mostly in the morning.
I’m not a headache person, so put it down to stress. To mention, over Xmas I had a 3 month sinus infection which took an age to clear so thought it could have been some sort of legacy of that.
Over the months that followed, some days the headache pain got worse, I needed pain relief. Other days, it was annoying, I carried on.
Then I noticed vibrations on my left side, top of head. And a very light numbness on left cheek. Thought it was odd, mentioned it to GP who said could be migraine related, keep an eye on it.
Around June time I was sitting reading in a quiet room. I got a strange sensation in my left ear. Like a vibration in the very core of the ear drum, that made the ear feel full, but moved out to my entire ear lobe, stretching and pulling the skin (the feeling that is). Again, happened once or twice a day, so tried to ignore it.
Over the coming months, left sided headache intensifies. I notice this shape pain begins in the forehead, goes through the temple, muffles my hearing on the left side, then the internal vibration begins. Several times a day.
It got so bad, I also experienced flu like symptoms with it and almost passed out every time the ear pinched and squeezed. I also get twitching on my face on that side.
GP gave me antibiotics, but it was not an infection.
Saw an ENT consultant who checked sinus (fine), ear canal (fine) and diagnosed Middle Ear Myoclonus.
I have an MRI booked for 11th Oct to check the headaches as they seem to be causing the MEM.
But my problem is that for the past 4 weeks, this pain has not left me. I have woken up (sometimes with the pain waking me) but within minutes, the left side scraping my forehead and it begins. All day.
I believe I’m basically having a type of vestibular migraine (without the vertigo) in my ear. My concern is the fact that NOTHING is shifting it.
I’ve been given Topiramate, Sumatriptan for the migraine and now on codeine for the pain (which doesn’t stop it, just relaxes me).
AIBU that the GP doesn’t seem worried that I’ve been in a migraine attack situation for 4 weeks now?
Has anyone ever suffered this type of chronic migraine before and had it for this length of time?
I’m praying for someone to say it gets better, it’s been utterly horrific.
To add, had 2 eye tests (all clear) and 3 GP Nero observations (all clear).
Thanks for reading this far.