I *must* be dying!!! - Headaches & Migraines Message Board

Emak · 08-22-2005, 02:18 PM

I know you people can't heal me, but I need to vent and hear your thoughts (since everyone around me thinks I'm "just depressed" I need people who understand my feelings on my level). Bear with me, though this incredably frustrating story, and thank GOD you don't have this. Since the end up April, I have had a *constant* headache/pressure. Every Minute. Every second. Every day for 4 months. Basically it feels almost EXACTLY like my brain is asleep much like your hand falls asleep! I have had a *massive* amount of testing done:

MRI, MRA, CT brain
EKG
Extensive blood tests - everything from auto-immune to Lupus (yea Lupus, and I'm male)...to Lyme and B12 levels, and much more.

(note: scans found a small growth in the bone of my forehead cassified as a hemangioma...it's confirmed to be benign and slow growing and doctors deny that it could be causing the problem).

In addition to the headache, I have a constant dry/blocked nose and weird tingling/numbness down my hands and feet (nasal turbinates are constantly swolen shut on both sides). Sinuses are crystal clear on CT!

This headache makes me feel very heavy-headed like my head weighs too much, makes me disoriented, and i usually feel much better when I don't have to hold my head up (if i lay down or prop my head up with my hand).

Also, when I put pressure on my forehead over my frontal sinuses (spot 1 and 2) the headache virtually vanishes about 80% but comes back immediately when i let go of the pressure. I also experience a "swimming head" feeling and occasional extreme dizziness when laying horizontally.

I feel full of energy and spunk and ready to conquer the world, except this one thing is holding me down like a 500 pound leg iron

Otherwise I am a healthy 28 yr old male with no major medical history to speak of, I just woke up one day and blam it hit me.

I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired!!!

Thoughts? Opinions? diagnosis? compare stories?
I love you my fellow headache sufferers, we have a long hard road!!

threedogpeople · 08-22-2005, 03:15 PM

I suffer from severe headaches too the result of a MVA (I was hit by a truck 5 years ago).

I've had good luck combining therapies. I see an osteopath that specializes in "manual rehabilitative medicine"; a physiotherapist that specializes in cranial therapy; and a neurologist that is a specialist in TBI/post-concussive syndrom. I've had mixed results with accupuncture and massage. I can't use chiropractors because the accident broke my neck in 5 places.

I've been told by my care givers and have read that there is a strong link between chronic pain and depression so your friends and family may be correct in their observation of depression...BUT it may be the result of your pain not the cause. Your doctor can do a "depression questionnaire" to see if you might benefit from medication.

Keep in mind that results can vary significantly based on the skill and experience of the provider. It's your life...you have to keep trying until you find the therapy that works for you.

Sowul · 08-22-2005, 07:39 PM

I know how you feel. I"m starting to wonder if I even have headaches I've had a headache so long. heh. Like you i've had a headache for a very long time. I keep telling my doctor that i don't suffer from "headaches" but just one headache! I've had it since JANUARY!!!! And like you, I just woke up one day with it out of no where and was like "what the hell is this...i'm not hungover?"?!?!
Wish you the best of luck in finding relief...

Mz Migraine · 08-22-2005, 08:39 PM

Emak, what medications are you taking?

Emak · 08-26-2005, 10:49 PM

Mz Migraine, I don't take medications for it. I'm not a fan of "shooting in the dark" with drugs (vioxx for example).

The hemangioma (benign tumor) is just above my left eye and is actually in contact with the brain (growing out from the interior of my skull)...you can clearly see the inward agression on the MRI with contrast however to my amazement no doctors think this is the cause of my problem.

Sowful, what types of diagnostic tests have you had?

THE MORE RESEARCH I DO ON THE INTERNET THE MORE STORIES I COME ACROSS OF THIS EXACT SAME DESCRIPTION. Very odd. Very odd, indeed.

I also have this weird crackling or, more like a tearing/fizzling sound in the back of my head when i move my head around. Seems like that started after the chiropractor visit.

It is almost as if my brain is asleep much like your hand falls asleep... I don't really necessarily have all that much actual "pain".....just kind of a sick feeling in my head. Everything blurs together with my vision and makes my brain hurt in complex/fast paced situations or when concentrating hard on anything. I just can't "wake up" my brain. The whole situation is very disturbing and frustrating.