Severe Headache

by Diana

Sources of Headaches

I have suffered from headache with crawling feeling feeling on the left side of my head for many years. Now the pain has gone to the top of my head anf feels like a heavy weight is sitting on my head with a crawling feeling.i take gabapentin 100 mg 3 times a day. i also have ringing and motor sound in my left ear. I am 81 years old on blood thinner, webutrin digoxin and diovan for high blood pressure also zantac for my stomach.

I feel frustrated n my nuerologist does nothing but change the gabapentin . He wants me to take one instead of three . last visit he put me on a third gabapentin from two because my headache is so bad . i cry from the pain and feel lost . i am on a manged medicare plan and can not go out of network . do you have any advice.

Thank you
Diana



Answer:

Hi Diana,

I am hoping with headaches in a lady your age, temporal arteritis has been ruled out. This would have shown up in blood work that your doctor would have ordered. I will also assume the doctor ordered an MRI of the brain.

You do not say what your diagnosis is, but headaches on one side of the head may be coming from neck pain and spasms. Many patients in your age group have moderate to severe arthritis of the cervical spine which could cause this. If this is the case you need to be on an anti-spasmotic.

The ringing and sounds in your ear could be coming from the carotids since you have a history of high blood pressure and are on blood thinners there may be some stenosis there.

Gabapentin is generally not the best choice for headache, but you need to see the doctor and tell them it is not working for you. There are many other choices including the anti-seizure drug Keppra which does not interfere with coumadin or warfarin. Based on your cardiovascular history, the doctor must choose the best medication for you.

A short course of steroid (2-3 weeks) might break the headache.

Finally, please tell your primary care or the neurologist how much you are crying. No one should be in pain to the point of crying. If the neurologist will not help, find a pain management specialist who will listen to you! Ask your primary care to recommend someone.

Best of luck and I hope you feel better soon.
Mary Kay Betz MS RPA-C

Severe Headaches

by romani'
(gladewater texas united states)

Daily Headaches

Can you tell me why I have been having very severe headaches for about two years now. I am only 17 years old and are experencing daily headaches. I dont do any drugs are anything like that. I have been to the doctor numerous times and they cant seem to find out what is wrong. The pills that they heve prescribed for doesnt help at all. So can you please help me with my problem?

Answer:

Hello Romani,

I am sorry you are having a headache every day! I will assume that the doctors have done a complete blood work up and an MRI or CT of the head at this point and all is normal in those areas.

Most of the teens that I see as patients amaze me with the amount of studying they have to do, plus they are involved in sports, school activities AND many of them work part time. This creates so much stress. I wonder if I could have done all that when I was a teen..is this you? If so you need to look at what is going on and remove something from the plate so to speak. You don't have to do everything or be perfect at everything to get out of high school and either get a job or go to college.

Keep in mind that mood can also make your headaches worse. If your doctor hasn't discussed this then talk to your parents about whether this is causing the problem (or making it worse).

There are so many other things that could be causing daily headache..neck pain is just another one.

Having said all this..you need to see a headache specialist. There is a great doctor in Dallas, Dr. John Krusz who runs a pain clinic there. Here is a link to information about him. It sounds like you need a total evaluation by a specialist, not just more pills.

I wish you all the best.

Mary Kay Betz MS RPA-C
Physician Assistant

COMMENTS:

Mary Kay I think your comments to Romani are right on. Having an 18 year old daughter, I am amazed at how much more work teens have these days than I did at that age. My Migraines started in my teens, and I can only imagine they might have progressed faster and earlier if I had had that kind of pressure added to the mix.

I'm glad to have found your site through some of your comments on some of my good blogger friends' sites. I'd be happy to have you come pay me a visit as well, at Freemybrain.com.

Be well!

- Megan


Reply:

Thanks Megan!
My migraines started at about the same age and I hate to see these kids grow up like I did..no meds, no understanding and just exploding pain.

I don't think I could have managed a job although I did have a full load of school, activities and sports in high school.

I will visit your blog!
Mary Kay