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        New Message Board Archives >> 2006-2007 Getting to Know Ya Posts >> Hello, Im new here!
        
(Message started by: Madison on Nov 27^th, 2006, 7:47pm)

Title: Hello, Im new here!
Post by Madison on Nov 27^th, 2006, 7:47pm

Hi there:

Im new here and I've been getting headaches for many years now. Im now 31 and i've had them since i was 15. I've been to doctors who can't figure out what is wrong with me so I"ve given up too. I get headaches that are debilitating and these headaches change my motor skills. I start doing everything super slow and my speech get a little slurred. Almost like im drunk. These headaches feel like Im being hit on the sides of my head with a hammer and at the same time someone is tightening a vice around my temples. It's all very painful and i fell like my eyes want to burst. Light starts to bother and even being in a dimly lit room bothers me, I almost have to do everything with my eyes half closed. Certain sounds affect me and I get naseaus. They come and go and if im sitting down and get up fast I feel like i have two heavey rocks on each side of my head pulling in both directions, so YES vertigo is a definite sensation with these headaches and i have to hold on to anything i can before i fall down.

I have never been able to explain what is wrong with me until i discovered the words "cluster headache." I have started to research headaches and what causes them after being a sufferer for so many years. Usually advil just gets rid of them but not lately, so maybe something is changing. I have to report that i sleep very well and usualy the headaches are gone after sleep and advil. I never wake up with headaches in the middle of the night the always come in the late afternoon(s). I'm not sure if I have cluster headaches or not. Im feeling pain right now as I write all this down, its very tight all around my eyes and temples. The nausea has gone away though. But im still feeling very groggy from having this head ache since about 2pm(i'ts now 7:40pm) My headaches last a long time and I usually get them every day but I do go into remission too , from time to time, where I get no headaches for months but it's only a matter of time before they come back and I'm basically mentally crippled and useless and without motor skills. I can walk and talk but when i get these headache attacks I become very very sedated and slow in everything. Talking is very hard and writing...i can't even hold a pen.

What is going on? Do I get cluster headaches....this has always been so confusing to me and I do suffer from some type of headache that renders me useless, I just don't know which one, what i'ts called or if i'ts a culmination of things!!!

If anyone can help me out or relate please reply.

Peace to all....xooxoxox~Madison :)

Title: Re: Hello, Im new here!
Post by Kevin_M on Nov 27^th, 2006, 8:04pm

on 11/27/06 at 19:47:15, Madison wrote:

I have to report that i sleep very well and usualy the headaches are gone after sleep and advil. So im not sure if I have cluster headaches or not.

This would be very much unlike cluster headaches. Other symptoms I'm unfamiliar with also, but you should write them all out for a headache specialist to examine, and a good start is an MRI.

Title: Re: Hello, Im new here!
Post by NovellRed on Nov 27^th, 2006, 8:05pm

Madison,
I don't know if you have cluster headaches or not. You have a lot of symptoms that are unusual for a clusterhead.
Take the "Cluster Survey" on the left side of this page and see what the results are. I have found it to be extremely accurate.

Title: Re: Hello, Im new here!
Post by Redd715 on Nov 27^th, 2006, 8:39pm

Hemiplegic Migraine
If you suffer from this rare but severe type of migraine with aura, you probably also have a family history of it. The hemiplegic migraine often begins with temporary motor paralysis and/or sensory disturbances on one side of the body, followed by the headache -- within the hour -- which may be accompanied by numbness or the "pins and needles" sensation. When the headache appears, the initial neurological symptoms may disappear.

Basilar Artery Migraine
This very rare form of migraine is accompanied by dizziness, confusion or lack of balance. It comes on suddenly and can result in fleeting visual disturbances, the inability to speak properly, ringing in the ears, and vomiting. Throbbing occurs in the back of the head. The basilar artery migraine is strongly related to hormonal influences and primarily strikes young adult women and adolescent girls; as sufferers age, the migraine with aura may replace the basilar artery type.

Sounds like one of these is the culprit.

Title: Re: Hello, Im new here!
Post by AussieBrian on Nov 27^th, 2006, 9:12pm

Try this one, too,

http://www.headachecare.com/selfeval.htm

Though I personally suggest answering the questions before reading the results at the top. Let us know how you get on because, while we're not doctors, there's lots of ways we can help.

Title: Re: Hello, Im new here!
Post by BB on Nov 28^th, 2006, 7:24am

on 11/27/06 at 19:47:15, Madison wrote:

Hi there:

I get headaches that are debilitating and these headaches change my motor skills. I start doing everything super slow and my speech get a little slurred. Almost like im drunk.

These headaches feel like Im being hit on the sides of my head with a hammer and at the same time someone is tightening a vice around my temples. It's all very painful and i fell like my eyes want to burst.

Light starts to bother and even being in a dimly lit room bothers me, I almost have to do everything with my eyes half closed. Certain sounds affect me and I get naseaus.

They come and go and if im sitting down and get up fast I feel like i have two heavey rocks on each side of my head pulling in both directions, so YES vertigo is a definite sensation with these headaches and i have to hold on to anything i can before i fall down.

I have to report that i sleep very well and usualy the headaches are gone after sleep and advil. I never wake up with headaches in the middle of the night the always come in the late afternoon(s). ....xooxoxox~Madison :)

Hello Madison,

Welcome to the Board and sorry to hear that you have these horrible headaches. However, several of the symptoms you described didnt sound like cluster headaches .

First, cluster headaches are unilateral, meaning that they occur on one side of the head. They can swap side but they dont happen on both sides at the same time. The way you described your headaches, it sounded like you had pain on both sides of the head and both temples at the same time. Thats not a feature of cluster headache.

Secondly cluster headaches affect the trigeminal nerve on either side so they cause excruciate pain behind one eye, but again not both at the same time. The pain is usually felt along the branches of the trigeminal nerve which supply the forehead, the eye, the temple, the side of the nose and the jaw. So people hit with cluster pain would have ONE red, teary eye, sweaty brow on ONE side of the face and blocked nostril on ONE side. You said the pain were in both eyes, again thats not typical of cluster headaches.

Cluster headaches are autonomic neurovascular cephalagia, it affects the autonomic nervous system , the involuntary nerve actions such as sweating and tearing as described above, the only motor nerve it affects is the one supplying the eyelid and facial muscle, causing it to swell and droop during an attack ( Horners syndrome ) but not the rest of body, so during a cluster headache attack, the person shouldnt lose motor skills in the arms and legs.

Other symptoms you described such as light sensitivity and vertigo and ability to sleep really well are not typical of cluterheadaches either, some may experience them but certainly not charateristic.

I strongly suggest that you seek a good neurologist who specialises in headaches to help you work out the correct diagnosis, and hopefully get some relief.

There are many many types of headaches, some are rare. The average doctor does not have enough training and/or experience to diagnose and treat those rare types of headaches. Even the regular neurologists may not have the right knowledge nor the skills needed to do so. Thats why its very important for you to get to a headache specialist.

Painfree wishes to you. Good luck with it all.

Annette

Title: Re: Hello, Im new here!
Post by chewy on Nov 28^th, 2006, 7:31am

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/bgull2/47b3db29b3127cce9fbec057efc30000001.jpg?

Title: Re: Hello, Im new here!
Post by CynthiaB on Nov 28^th, 2006, 3:28pm

Sorry to hear you've been suffering so long with headaches. It can be very frustrating to try to get a diagnosis from your general practitioner, especially if you can't keep the same one for a long time.

I agree with the other that your symptoms don't sound a lot like clusters, but we aren't neuros. If you're losing motor skills during your attacks, I would strongly suggest you get medical attention.

I have a little post-it note by my computer...Use me to get more out of your doctor, not [/b]instead[b]of your doctor.

Good luck, and keep us updated.