6 months ago I had this intense, stabbing pain in the right side of my head behind my eye that was the most crippling pain I've ever felt in my life.  The pain lasted 90 minutes and then went away.  Ever since then I have had this lingering pressure, pain, and hungover feeling that never goes away.  Because of it I'm unable to think straight, and learning, concentrating, and even energy levels are bottoming out.

It literally feels like I am intoxicated 24/7.

The weird thing is that sometimes I come out of this drunken state and regain my mental clarity, but am then immediately hit with the intense pain again, and fall right back into the drunken mental state. 

It feels like my mind is protecting itself from the pain by dumbing itself down and limiting mental clarity.  When I regain clarity, the pain intensifies, and after about 2 minutes I burn out and sink back into semi-retardation and lethargy, with very minimal pain but persistent head pressure behind my eyes and in my forehead.

I have tried nearly a dozen medications for tension headaches, migraines, blood pressure, etc.  NOTHING WORKS.  I'm starting to wonder if this is a tumor but remember that I have moments of clarity and it's the pain that sends me back into this state of stupor.

I should also mention that I often get nasal congestion with head pressure, and sometimes my eyelid droops.  I have had two sinus surgeries in the past, and thought maybe it was sinus related, but this most definitely is not.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Ouch, you've got some serious stuff gloing on in the noggin. Could it be CH? Certainly a possibility. But there is so much going on inside a noggin that it screams for a specialist.

Get to your GP and get a referral to a headache specialist neurologist. Our experience here has shown that GP's, and even most garden variety neuros, just don't have the knowledge base to effectively diagnose and treat complex headache issues.

Please let us know what you find out. If it is CH, don't lose this webpage. Wishing you a speedy diagnosis and some pain free time soon.

Joe

Thank you all for the fast replies!

I have seen 2 neurologists:  one said to get neurocognitive testing (which I am currently scheduled for at the end of the month) and the other has been giving me migraine meds left and right.

I have tried over a dozen migraine medications and nothing works.  I have also had the following tests:

MRI
MRV
Extensive blood work

I am waiting on a lumbar puncture and possible PET scan.  I am also on a waiting list for a very good headache specialist in Chicago.

So I'm being proactive in figuring this out, but just wanted to see if this was something others have experienced.

Thank you again for your support.  I wish you all good health as well.