If you had headaches like these would you be worried?

[souvenir]

I've been having headaches for over 6 months after previously never being prone to them, even when quite poorly. I've done a stack of research into headaches and seen the GP a couple of times for blood tests etc. and it would seem most likely that I'm having tension headaches. Except that mine don't follow the pattern of them exactly.

I have headaches for at least 3-4 days a week, sometimes so bad they make me feel really sick others they just wear me down. It's a tight feeling over my head and neck and some of my shoulder area which is classic tension headache. But my vision is always affected too - it's like my eyes want to close there's so much pressure behind them and I can't focus on anything like putting make up on or looking at someone's face while they talk to me.

Anyhow, does anybody else have anything similar? Or any advice for me?

TIA

i used to suffer these sort of headaches and was referred for physio.........they were tension headaches specifically triggered by muscle spasm in my neck/shoulder blade area. physio did help but hasn't stopped them completely.
we also discovered that my wisdom teeth were aggravating them. i had my wisdom teeth removed and the severity of my headaches decreased noticeably.
i totally sympathise with you.......

queenrollo, did your headaches also affect your eyes? Actually I've been seeing a physio who says my neck muscles are very stiff. It hasn't helped me at all so far although I do all the things she's suggested.

chipmonkey, sometimes I wake up with a headache but generally they get worse over the day. Mid-afternoon is usually particularly bad. Mid-morning is usually my best time.

Cristina, what's Horner syndrome? And aren't Cluster headaches one-sided?

I looked up Horner Syndrome, I'm sure i don't have that. Plus the pain is behind BOTH eyes, not one.

Anyone else? Please?

really does not sound like horners syndrome.
this caused by damaged to the facial nerve (which should have been picked up on MRI/examination) is characterised by a permenantly constricted pupil, droppy eye and one sided facial numbness or weakness.
cluster headaches usually wake a person from sleep. attacks 'cluster' round the eye. this has signs which could have been picked up on a CT. it is not serious, but the pain is. the pain develops over half an hour and last for hours, it usually causes vomiting. It can happen with horners sydrome but it is no the same thing. there are treatments avaliable that can prevent these and they tend to dissapear after the age of 55.

As for you gp offering you ad's. Some antideppresants such as amitryptalin when given in small doses are very god for nuralgic type pain, chat to your gp about it again and see what he's got to say.

HTH

chapsmum, thanks.

I'm really reluctant to take an AD because for one thing I'm not depressed but also because the older ones, like the one you mentioned, lower your blood pressure and mine is very low already. When I tried one for a few days I felt so dizzy and light-headed all the time it was scary.

Do you take paracetamol all the time for them? I had headaches for about 3years non-stop and docs put it down to stress and tension. Then one locum doc suggested I cut out all painkillers for a week and ride the pain. Turns out he was right and I had become addicted to paracetamol! The headaches ended within 5 days of not taking painkillers!

Interesting, chloe, but no I don't take them all the time. I usually take a painkiller if I can tell it's going to become unusually bad. Some days I might only take 2 paracetemol all day. Others I'll take 8 paracetamol plus 6 neurofen plus.

... not all at once, of course ... !

That's about the same amount I was taking Souvenir, some days they were worse than others so I'd take the maximum and other days I'd try and only get by on 2/4 a day. If you don't find any answers after going down other routes it might be worth trying to cut them out completely for a few days even if on one of those days you get a really bad headache.

Thanks chloe. Can you describe what your headaches were like? I'm so desperate to work out if what's happening with me is ok or if I should start to be REALLY worried!!

They were mainly behind my eyes and leading down my neck. I also get migraines from time to time and they were never as painful as a migraine but felt similar on a lesser scale. They were dull, constant aches really.

My eyes were only ever affected with the migraines though.

I'm an optometrist, not a doctor but \link{http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000786.htm\this medical site} does link Cluster heachaches with Horner syndrome. But I really think you would know if you had Horners: one pupil is smaller in dim light and the eyelid droops.
Generally speaking, if you have your headache on waking it is less likely to be an eye problem as the eyes usually don't cause problems after they have been resting. However, if they increase in severity as the day goes on it could be an eye problem. I would expect that any problems should have been picked up on the initial eye exam you had but if you are in any doubt, I would have them re-tested just to be sure. The visual disturbances make it sound like migraine but they usually don't last for days on end like you describe.
The other reason for pain and pressure behind the eyes is sinusitis. Has this been ruled out?
You poor thing, I hope you get an answer soon!

I've gone through your posts again. To summarize:

• started 6 months ago
• 3-4 days a week
• sometimes nausea ("sometimes so bad they make me feel really sick ")
• feeling of tightness over head, neck, shoulder
• feeling of pressure behind the eyes/ in the socket, BOTH eyes
• vision always affected
• eyes hurt in light
• not relieved by usual painkillers
• no eye redness or tearing
• not similar to migraine
• CT scan normal
• get worse over the day, mid-morning is best

Anything else at all? Reduced visual acuity (blurring), reduced colour vision (vividness of colours), worsened by heat (hot bath) or exhaustion, by trigger foods (cheese, red wine, chocolate, reduced peripheral vision? Blood sugar normal?

I'm nowhere nearer. If you want to scare yourself, here's a comprehensive list. Warning: it even includes bubonic plague! \link{http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/h/headache/underly.htm\headaches}

Still thinking about you souvenir! It did occur to me last night that some people can get headaches due to misaligment of the jaw and it can be quite severe. You would have to check this with a dentist. I honestly don't knowwhat kind of pattern they follow though.

Could they be in any way related to your caffeine intake?

If ou have had all other aveues investigated, why not ask for a referal to a pain management clinic. They treat the pain and your lifestyle hollistically and can be very useflu re:medications.
ask your GP if he felt gabapentan would be appropriate as an alternative to the antids

No, Cristina, none of those other things you suggested. I'll look at your link, thanks!

Thanks for thinking of me chipmonkey. I don't drink much caffeine and I've been trying to make sure I drink plenty of water but it hasn't helped so far ...

Another thought, souvenir. There's no way you could be suffering from exposure to Carbon Monoxide? from a boiler/gas fire etc. That could lead to headaches and visual disturbances.

Hi Souvenir, your headaches sound awful and I have much symapthy for you. I've read through your thread and I think I might be able to give you a few pointers to start dealing with them. I'm an OT and a migraine sufferer and have done a lot of reading of medical literature around the subject of headach and migraine.

First of all, have a read of this page: \link{http://headaches.about.com/od/allheadpaintype1/a/med_overuse_ha.htm\medication overuse headaches}

It's about rebound headaches, I know someone on the thread mentioned them before and I think the symptoms you are describing may apply. You need to discount them anyway by stopping taking all over counter medication before your doctor can make a diagnosis.

I had transformed migraine (recently renmed chronic migraine), which has the symptoms you describe, for 6 years before I finally met a doctor who knew about medication overuse headaches. As an occaisional migraine suffer you too would be vulnerable to this condition. I have now found that a migraine can 'transform' into one of these different sorts of headaches after only a few days of taking paracetamol (found in co-codamol, lemsips, paramol, anadin extra - list goes on so check labels), aspirin or ibuprofen (also called nurofen). My new doctor got me to take a leap of faith and stop taking ALL painkillers - I thought she was mad and that they'd get worse but I was desperate so I did as I was told. Once I'd stopped, the headaches changed back to proper migraines and reduced in frequency to once/twice a week - although the pain was worse while they were there.

Because they changed back I was able to describe the symptoms properly which allowed her to make a diagnosis. She then started me on pizotifen (a migraine preventer) and immigran for when one broke through and since then I've only ever had one a month if that.

The only exception for this is when I have taken paracetamol for something else (eg lemsip for a cold or when my knee hurts). When I take paracetamol for even 2 days, the old type of headaches come back. This is because as a migraine sufferer I am more susceptible to rebound headaches, don't ask me why but research has proved it. I realise I've gone on a bit and I hope you don't think I'm preaching but I hope you understand where I'm coming from. I wish more doctors were headache aware and knew how much they affect people's lives. I just hate the thought of you or anyone else going through what I went through needlessly.

I think it might be wirth trying to stop taking painkillers altogether for a few weeks, see if that changes the headache, and then return to the doctor with a prinout of the page I've linked to above. Even if the headaches don't change there are better medications available regardless of what type they are.

Not taking painkiller can seem daunting but there are things you can do to make the come down a bit easier and the important thing is to follow through. While I've been pregnant I've had acupunture weekly which has kept the migraines at bay, you could try indian headmassage - either from a professional or buy a book and get a partner/friend to do it for you. Also, you can go to a health food shop and get some natural tea to help you get a good night's sleep. It's also important to make sure you you go to bed and get up at the same time every day as too much sleep can be as bad for migraine/headache sufferers as too little.

If your doctor is unsympathetic, go to another one (a younger doctor may be more like ly to received the right training and a female doctor might be more sympathetic to te impact on your home life), or ask to be referred to a Headache Consultant - they do exist! Under the new NHS choice rules you have a right to see any consultant in any hospital so your GP won't be limited to referring you to a local hospital.

The best of luck with all this and if you need any more info just ask.

liquidclocks, thanks for the post, I'll definitely bear in mind what you've said. The headaches you used to have, can you describe them to me? The thing is, I rarely have migraines, I think I've had about 5 ever in my entire life. They are totally different to my 'normal' headache with visual disturbances and extreme pain above one eye / temple.

chipmonkey, no, I don't think there's any carbon monoxide. Thanks again though!

souviner, have your scans been reviewed by a nuerologist?

I don't know, I guess so as they were done in the hospital A&E department and I had to wait an age for them to be reviewed...

you are obviously wanting to know if this is normal, or acceptable. If you know that perhaps then you will have closure and can start to deal with te pain rather than worrie about the cause of it.
Ask your gp for a referal to a neurology clinic where thay can review your scans examine you and give you advice/treatment/appropriate follow up if nessesary. would put your mind at rest!

Yes, that's it exactly. If I can stop worrying that something sinister's going on then I can start thinking about finding ways to live with it. My GP doesn't want to send me to a neurologist. She did send me to a headache clinic but it was useless.