Weird headaches

[mkellyrn]

My doctor does not have an answer to my problem and seems to not believe me.  For the last 2 months I have had a headache, everyday, and it goes from a sharp pain in my face to a pressure pain like my brain is too big and trying to push out.  I have neck pain, fatigue, mental fogginess, and slurred speech.  I have a history of migranes but it is very different.  The slurred speech occurs randomly and I do not always remember chunks of time when it occurs.  What is going on?  What can I do to control this and get my life back?  I have not worked the last month and had to drop my master's class because I can not think clearly or follow a thought.  I also have had increasingly frequent trouble finding the words I want to say or write.  Please help me.  Any ideas or possible treatments I can discuss with my doctor would be greatly apprietiated.

[Heather305]

Wow, that is so scary!  Thank you for telling me the info.  I do frequently feel like my head is going to explode, that the pressure is too much.  I've had a million MRIs and they are all negative.  I have an appt. for the Mayo clinic in AZ next week and I was going to cancel it.  Now I think I may keep it!  The Rheumatologist was no help at all.  My vision is fine so far, but sometimes is a little shaky if I look down (probably doesn't make sense).  It's a weird visual vibration that's hard to describe.  Anyway, I hope you are doing much better now and thank you for sharing your story!
Heather

[nanaofabby]

I experienced the same symptoms you are having back in 2002.  We contributed everything to migraines and that was diagnosed by a neurologist.  Several weeks later, I noticed my vision was changing and so I made an appt with my eye doctor.  He immediately told me that I had severe papilledema (swelling of the optic nerves) and I had to be seen by a neurosurgeon.  He told me this was a sign of a brain tumor.  Within 24 hrs. I was in a MRI machine and had appt with neurosurgeon.  My MRI came back normal, no indication of a tumor.  So, the neurosurgeon told me I had to have a lumbar puncture to measure the pressure on my brain because something was causing the papilledema.  My opening pressure was almost 3 times higher than an opening pressure should be.  He then sent me straight to a neuro-ophthalmologist who diagnosed me with pseudotumor cerebri or intracranial hypertension.  I had lost a lot of my peripheal vision and was rapidly going blind.  I had optic nerve sheath fenestration on one eye; this did not lower my pressure.  I had the same surgery on the other eye and again, this did not lower my pressure.  This surgery was a surgery to make windows in my optic nerves to allow the cerebral spinal fluid to drain off my brain.  I ended up having to have a VP shunt put in my brain to drain the fluid off.  One tube didn't work for me, either.  A few months after the first tube was put in, my pressures were STILL high so a doctor from St. Jude in Memphis, TN saw me and recommended they put a tube on the other side of my brain.  I am 49 yrs. old but she agreed to see me at my neurosurgeon's request.  This finally worked.  I still have headaches occasionally but nothing like before.  I am just concerned that you have so many of my symptoms.  I sure would recommend a GOOD neurology work up and ask your doctor about pseudotumor.  It is a false tumor (as my MRI indicated no tumors).  It makes your brain believe there is a tumor and your brain reacts as though there is.  You can Google pseudotumor and read lots and lots about it to see what you think.  The information on the web is endless.  It is a very rare disease.  It might be worth looking in to for your own sake.  A lot of doctors are not educated on this and you need to find a competent neuro.  Hope I don't scare you but I would love to encourage you to seek further treatment.

[Heather305]

I've had the same type of headache for almost a year now!  Sometimes I feel like being struck in the head with a bat.  Do you have any other symptoms with it?  I also have chest pain, irregular heart beats, twitches and tremors.  I'm seeing a rheumatologist today.

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

From what you have described there may indeed be other problems aside from the migraine.  These could be early signs of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis however, this would require a neurologic evaluation and possibly imaging studies such as MRI to diagnose.  Vascular problems in the brain such as small strokes can also explain these symptoms.  Fibromyalgia may give rise to the neck pain, fatigue, mental fogginess, but it is rather unlikely that this would lead to slurring of speech.  I suggest that you discuss these possibilities with your doctor and possibly be referred to a specialist (like a neurologist).  For now, have adequate sleep and rest and avoid stress as much as possible.

Regards and God bless.