5 Month Mixed Headaches

[AuburnHonorary]

5 Months ago around March 20 I had an ice pick headache - I've had a few before and moved on and no other issues. I then had a pretty bad weather related headache because it was storming for 3 days, but then the headache never left. I then had a sharp ear ache which I went to the Dr and he said I had inflamed sinuses and a retracted ear drum. He gave me some Dicloflenac and said I might have a tension headache. It was very pressure-y feeling and then had minor shooting and pinching pain in the back of the head. I went back and he gave me cyclobenzaprine and more diclo to de-tense my muscles - the combo seemed to work great for 10 days and the pressure was less, the pain was less and the pinching went away. But as soon as I was off it went away. At this point OTCs didn't help except BC Powder. I went to a neuro and had an MRI no contrast  and came back clear. I then thought well now I won't worry so much so it will go away and sure enough it seemed to ease up a lot but then my jaws hurt, my back teeth hurt, and I still had some headaches. I saw another Dr a few weeks later who gave me Meloxicam and cyclobenzaprine - I took a higher dosage daily for about 3 weeks and it really helped. Had a lot less pain. Pressure left from my face, only occasional shooting spasm pain. She said my tension in my neck and shoulders was pretty bad and I even saw a dentist and wear a mouth guard. But after I ran out of the meds, the pain slowly came back, saw another neuro who gave me two nerve blocks one on either side of my head for occipital neuralgia - It numbed me and I was told it could take a month until the full effect of the steroids will work, though thus far I feel like it's made it worse. My right mastoid area has been aching pretty much non-stop since the injections. I get shooting/shock pains from the back of my head to my eye, my ear area aches, and the top of my head aches. All of this has ached before, but wasn't as constant. Tylonel does help but exactly 4-6 hours later it's back. I am due for a second round of injections since my Dr said even though the improvement I had at first was very temporary and short lived these injections can compound the effect. I want to believe him, but with little relief over the past 5 months I am doubtful.

List of symptoms:
March-May - come/go daily dull ache in various areas of head, mostly right side
May-Present - sporadic shooting/spasm type pains mostly in the back of the head, sometimes on the sides
March-April - lots of sinus pain/pressure in face, bridge of nose, eyes, forehead, temples
March- April - squeezing pain in back of head and pressure (seems to have returned but not as often)
March-Present - sporadic types of ear pain - from my retracted ear drum to dull aches, to shooting pain - only been constant ache since this week (8/10)
Aug - Eye pain - right side of right eye has ache pain
Aug - ache in back of head and neck

- no fevers, balance issues, nausea/vomiting, no infections
- not migraines according to two Dr's, most like mixed headache of occipital neuralgia/tension/sinus related
- is this a vicious cycle?

All the pain is usually between a 2-5 with 2/3 being the dull aches and 4/5 the shooting/squeeze pain

Meloxicam/Cyclobenzaprine seemed to be most effective along with daily use of tylonel
Massaging/heat help too quite a bit and exercising

I had a very stressful winter and spring which may have set me on a path like this - I also work at a computer frequently and noted my posture isn't the best when I am relaxing (resting head on arms while laying on stomach, looking up a lot to play video games, slouching, etc) - all of which I know can put pressure on those nerves in the neck/head.

Also - weirdly enough since this began my period stopped as well. I am very irregular and was on BC for a while but it made me ill and quit last November, but my period was normal through February, but hasn't appeared since. Not sure if it's related or also just another stress factor which my period has been known to disappear because of stress/illness, so I've ignored it mainly.

I am trying not to take so much tylonel, and I've started taking vitamin B supps and magnesium citrate. Trying to get into a better sleep pattern and all that good stuff you're supposed to do. Getting a bit stir crazy though and feeling like this will never go away. Any advice or thoughts is greatly appreciated.

[Tuckamore]

Thanks for responding to my reply. Often we receive no comment after we respond - we're left to wonder if our reply was ever read or if we were able to offer any assistance. You response is very appreciated.  

You understand that Tylenol (acetaminophen) is not an anti-inflammatory medication. Often the goal of treating pain or headaches is to reduce the inflammatory process that is taking place - if that is not an issue no reason to be concerned about treating inflammation.

Sounds like you are formatting a plan o treat your pain. That's a great beginning. Chiro's can be helpful if you consult the right one. I've seen them do very well with treating a multitude of conditions. Unfortunately I've also seen Chiropractor's that are so against medical doctors/western medicine that they may do more harm than good. They have their place in our health care - but they need to realize they are an extension of the overall plan of care. Search for that great one.

Ask the physician that ordered the meds that were effective for you if it's possible to do another round of them - or continue them on a regular basis.  

Kara please check into the Obama Care or Medicaid. You need health insurance sweetie. We all do.

Please let us know how you are doing. I'll look forward to hearing from you. Don't forget you're welcome to be active in our community and respond to post/questions. We welcome your participation.

Best Wishes,
~Tuck

[AuburnHonorary]

Hey Tuck,

I greatly appreciate the thoughts. I didn't realize the drugs I had were not opiates and assumed they were ceased for a reason. I might request a longer term with them because they did seem to ease things. I am torn between a chiro and ENT - but maybe an ENT is the way to go.

I took myself off Tylonel the past two days just to give my body a chance to clear out chemicals and see if it could help itself and see if the steroid injections would kick in- still have about two weeks before I have to cash in on that treatment.

I really do want to see the OBGYN, but without insurance, bills are high and at the moment my head is taking precedent. Sadly. I know I need to get it checked, and hopefully will soon.

Thanks again for all the encouragement and I might post this to the headache migraine forum as well :)

Best,
Kara

[Tuckamore]

Hello and Welcome. I am glad you found our MedHelp Community and took the time to write a descriptive post.

I'm sorry to hear about the painful, annoying and abundance of symptoms you are experiencing. We all know how crippling chronic pain, even at a lower level can be.

First of all we do have a headache/migraine forum. Please don't leave us - but this my be of additional support to you. Here's the link:

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Migraines--Headaches

Is there a reason you can't continue to take the Meloxicam (Mobic). It's a NSAID,( nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and the Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) which is a muscle relaxant? These are not opiates and if they are effective I don't see the harm - though maybe your physician or you have the rational for no longer prescribing them. It just seems if it works what's the harm for at least a bid longer. You may want to try them individually to determine if it was one of them that actually was the most effective.

Obviously you want to find the reason these new symptoms have arose. Your SX sound similar to mine when I get a sinusitis. Sinusitis does not have to produce fevers, it can hide quietly in your sinuses and make you feel miserable. I'd consult an ENT or medically termed an Otolaryngologist.  They specialize in disorders and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. It may behoove you to consult one and rule out any possibilities that your symptoms are not related to their specialty.

I assume you are consulting a Gynecologist - again if not I would certainly do so. When our menses cease - and it's not due to menopause, pregnancy or another expected reason - we should be concerned until told otherwise by a gynecologist.

Do you have allergy symptoms(SX)? Remember allergy SX don't have to be the sneezing, watery eyes and such that we normally think of when we say allergy. Allergies can be more subtle in some instances.

I would not be content to "live with" these SX that cause you discomfort and interfere with your lifestyle. Make some noise with your current PCP and ask for help and/or referrals to specialties that may be of better help. If you let a condition become "chronic" you'll be looked at differently and treated differently -  make some moved now.

Our members may have other suggestions than I do for you. I hope you'll find some answers that will be helpful. Please do keep in touch. We always enjoy and welcome new active members. Feel free to respond to other ppls questions and concerns as well as adding any questions or concerns to your post/thread.

I wish you the very best.

Take Care,
~Tuck