Right Eye Headache

by Kathy
(Fort Collins, CO, USA)

Hi,
I think I have hormone-related headaches/migraines. I am 48, female, had a partial hysterectomy 6 years ago. But for many years I get severe headaches just above my right eye, sometimes includes my right temple and right base area of back of head. They last 3-4 days and are almost incapacitating. I don't have auras, photosensitivity or noise sensitivity. But I can get nauseous if the pain gets bad enough. I take Fiorinal with codeine/caffeine, which takes the edge off for about 4 hours.

The medicine used to get rid of the headache, but now only keeps it at bay for a little while. I am usually awakened with the onset of the headache during the wee hours of the morning. I used to only get these headaches every few months, now I get them almost every month. It is hard to track my menses since I have no period, so I can't tell if they are from hormone surges or depletion.

I feel like I want to remove my right eyeball when the pain is bad. My eye doesn't droop, water, turn red or swell or have blurry vision. Neck adjustments by the chiropractor don't help, nor does accupuncture. It hurts whether I lay down, stand up, sit down, etc. Strenuous exercise makes it hurt worse, so I try to be less active when I am hurting. I don't like taking the Fiorinal because it makes me sleepy/spacey and doesn't last that long.

Any ideas? Thank you!

Answer:

Hi Kathy,

It is quite common for women in their late forties to experience a change in their headache profile as hormones start to change. You might be in peri-menopause. Since the headaches are changing you should discuss this with your doctor and consider and MRI of the brain just to be safe.

There are much better options than fiorinal. The triptans such as Imitrex have been around for years and are great abortive medications for migraine. Frova is nice for menstrual related migraine as it lasts longer for headaches that tend to re-occur. It is also in the triptan family.

You mention that you have pain at the base of the neck..this too should be evaluated as many headache patients have some spasming in the neck which contributes to their headaches.

Recent studies have also shown that magnesium may help with hormone headaches. You would have to be on 600-800mg per day for at least 90 days to see a response.

If you are not seeing a headache specialist I would recommend you consider this.

Good luck!

Mary Kay Betz MS RPA-C