Posted by Peter P. (216.76.59.122) on January 02, 2002 at 18:06:26:
My headaches have been going on for many years: neck aches causing lights flashing and nausia. Sometimes they lasted for hours and were so bad I would scream out in pain. About 10 years ago a neurologist prescribed a neck traction device that seemed to work until I broke it because instead of 10 lb of water in the bag I needed 20-30 lb of water and sand just to feel better. I would often fall asleep in the traction device, and would suffer from jaw/teeth pain. These headaches just seemed to go away a few years ago and except for occasional sinus headaches, my severe neck pains were gone.
That was until 2 weeks ago. I was sitting at my desk December 20th and suffered the weirdest feeling. The feeling in left arm and leg were gone, and I felt a numbing and tingling sensation. My eyes began to go out of focus (virtually crossing). I could take my eye glasses and tilt them 30 degrees and see fine, but when I took them off, my eyesight was such that I was seeing double. My eyes began to burn and a bright lites with spectrum images began to appear at the lower right corners of my eyes. I immediately thought I was suffering circulatory/heart problems (I am a 46 year old male non smoker) and immediately went to my doctor who performed an EKG and said my heart was fine. I spoke of my symptoms and determine they were "migraine" related. He prescribed otc Excegrin Migraine. I have taken so many of them since December 20th that I am now suffering nose bleeds when I simply blow my nose.
Today, I suffered a ringing in my right ear for about a minute, then no hearing at all in the right ear. That was followed by numbness in my left arm, face and leg. Then my eyes began to blurr and a sharp pain in my left temple. My left side of my body was such that I couldn't even walk for fear of falling over. I have never had these types of aches before and am very scared.
My doctor has prescribed a "nerve convection test" for next Tuesday, but I'm scared to wait that long. Anyone know what this test is and what will it tell me?
I have read that MSG can cause these headaches. My diet contains no red meat but I do eat chicken on occasion. Mostly my wife cooks vegies (she is a vegan) containing fresh organic selections including beans and rice and some pasta.
I have been drinking Slim-Fast for breakfast for over two years with no problems, so I don't think that is contributing to my problem.
Any ideas would be appreciated.