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Unrelenting migraine?

Hey everyone,
So this all started on Tuesday or Wed (April 7/8) with a dull headache that would come and go at random times. Coffee helped for a bit but it would always come back. I didnt think much of it because I'm used to headaches like this. Come around to that Sunday night (April 12), I was relaxing in bed when all of a sudden the headache turned severe out of basically nowhere, so much so that I was in tears while icing my head . The sharp pain subsided after about 15 mins but the headache was still there. I went to sleep that night hoping it would be gone in the morning but the pain was worse when I woke up and it's been unrelenting ever since. I also woke up with neck pain and stiffness. So, thinking the worst, I went to the ER on Monday the 13th. The doctor who saw me had an attitude of "really? You're here for a headache?" and didnt even bother to give me bloodwork or a ct scan. She gave me a migraine cocktail which did little to nothing and just ended up giving me a sore arm. Thankfully I was able to see my doctor the next day who ordered an MRI but just thinks it's a combo of migraine/tension headache. She prescribed me ibuprofen and flexeril. I'm not a big fan of putting whatever drugs into my body so I havent taken the relaxer and the ibuprofen only takes the edge off. It's been like this for 2 weeks and I'm just wondering if something like meningitis or a blood clot would last this long without having other effects. Could this just be a migraine? I'm not too familiar with them. I have no clue when I'm getting the MRI results back so should I take myself to the ER again and be more aggressive about getting tests done? (I know docs are going through it right now and I dont want to come off as a *****) The pain is absolutely horrible most of the time and it's starting to affect me mentally at this point.

Symptoms:
- pain all over head (forehead, temples, back of head), certain spots feel more pain at random times than others, a lot of pain near my right temple/eyebrow and radiating down to my jaw. 8/10 on pain scale
- a lot of pressure in temples and top of head
- pain is really bad when I wake up in the morning and when I lay down. When I get up and walk around the pain scale goes down
- around 4pm is when the pain scale really goes down to like a 3/10 but eventually goes back up when I lay down to sleep
- neck pain/stiffness and pain at base of skull
- cool sensation in certain spots of head, never constant.
Etc but this is already way too long.
Thanks
1 Responses
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207091 tn?1337709493
I'm not a doctor (which means you may like me lol), but it sounds like a migraine to me.

That said, call your doctor and explain your fears. Tell her that you're worried about meningitis or a blood clot - and these are valid fears.

Try one dose of the flexeril. It will likely do nothing, or very little, but you need to be able to say you were treatment compliant and treatment failed. Since the pain is bad at the base of your skull, I wonder if the muscles are tight there. The flexeril might help.

If you can take it, try an excedrin migraine instead of the ibuprofen, but make sure there's been enough time in between doses. If you take the ibuprofen every 6 hours, wait 6 hours after the ibuprofen to take the excedrin.

Change your pillow. Since it's really bad in the morning and when you lay down, try another pillow, preferably a new, hypoallergenic one. I'm not saying your pillow is causing it, but it might be making it worse.

If you have a heating pad, put it against the back of your neck. Get those muscles loose. Better, if you can get any Bio Freeze spray or Icy Hot spray, spray it on the back of your neck where it hurts the most. I prefer Bio Freeze because it smells far less, but some prefer Icy Hot.

These are all symptom relievers. They won't cure a headache if it's caused by something else.

In the meantime, definitely call your doctor back and let them know your symptoms are not gone, and follow up on the MRI, and talk about your concerns. They are real and valid.

And I'm with you - I hate the way ER docs treat migraines, though I do understand what they are going through right now.

Let us know what happens.

Helpful - 0
2 Comments
Thank you for all your helpful advice auntiejessi. I really appreciate it!
I received the results of my MRI today and my doctor left a note saying that the MRI showed inflammation of my sinuses.
This is what the MRI results stated:
"The paranasal sinuses demonstrate scattered areas of trace mucosal thickening w/o fluid levels. Small retention cysts are seen within the right maxillary sinus the largest measures up to 8mm."

I'm honestly not sure if sinus inflammation should be a cause for concern especially with the types of headaches I'm having, but I'm happy the MRI is clear otherwise. I definitely plan on speaking more with my doctor tomorrow to figure out a proper diagnosis.

Thanks again
Inflammation is a concern, but really, just for pain and long-term sinus issues, but a trace level probably doesn't mean much.

This explains some of it -

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5375949/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4453822/

That still wouldn't explain the pain all over your head. It might explain pain in your forehead and cheeks, but not everywhere else.

Let me know what the doctor says.
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