Heachaches, nausea, tired,

[artist0104]

I am an 18 year old female. I have had a constant headache for a few weeks now, i feel nauseas, and am always tired. Bright lights, loud noises, sudden movements and movement around my eyes all makes it worse.Its like a migraine that never leaves. I was in an accident  8 years ago and have TMJ problems now which cause headaches but it all has suddenly intensified. I am on pain meds from my doctor yet still am in constant pain. Any ideas? Could this be more than just TMJ?

[LivingInHope]

Was the more recent scan focused just on the TMJ joints or was it a general brain scan?  I'm sorry you were kicked- that must have been very traumatic to you as a girl.  It was traumatic to me just getting my open-toed sandaled foot stood on by a horse with one of its hooves as a girl!  

What I found with medication for migraines after a time was I'd take something, it would help somewhat and then the headache would increase to really bad- the rebound effect.  This is not an uncommon problem to have with pain medications.  You need to get this headache ended and a neurologist may work with you to find a daily medication for you to take to try to prevent future migraine attacks or lessen the number of them if you get them frequently.  That's not the same thing as pain medication.

  The medication you are taking obviously has not aborted the migraine and generally, pain medications should not be taken on a daily basis for migraines.  Is the medication actually a pain medication the doctor gave you or something to try to prevent future attacks?  If it is pain medicine, I'd look for another doctor- a neurologist who knows more about treating migraines.

I take a prescription very rarely, for migraines that resist other treatment- it's the generic for Demorol, 100 mg tablet.  I take it very rarely because in the past, my body got addicted to it and it had stopped being as effective.  My body is now unaddicted to it (was not an easy thing and I got a lot of acupuncture) and now my emergency migraine medication tends to work better in those very rare times I resort to it when other treatment has failed.  I hope you can find the right medicine with your doctor to stop the migraine you are having.  I know they can be a nightmare to experience and yours seems to be going on and on, which is not only painful, but can tend to be depressing as well.    

I may be having to have TMJ surgery myself in the future (already have had arthrocentesis).  I know TMJ problems can be extremely painful and limiting.  See PM.  

[artist0104]

I haven't had my blood pressure checked or iron levels..no tests yet. i did have a MRI about 5 years ago which showed the damage in my TMJ and i was advised to get braces to correct my bit which would help with the tmj. at that time whenever i opened my mouth it would lock and them pop, the bones would catch. this was very painful and the braces have corrected the locking but there is still a good deal of pain. i have recently had another scan taken and am waiting on those results...
The head trauma was that i was kicked in the face by a horse. I have been in pain since but everything has been worsening the last few months and the headaches have progressed rapidly in the last couple weeks.
I only feel nauseas when my head is particularly bad, which makes me think of migraine headaches, along with the light and noise sensitivity,  but I've never heard of one that lasts this long.
I have only been on this medication for a couple weeks, i wondered if perhaps the worsening headaches were some sort of side affect but i found they are much worse if i don't take it.

[LivingInHope]

Has your doctor ordered an MRI of your brain yet?  When a headache goes on like this and is different from any headache you've had before, you should get a brain scan done.  

What is your blood pressure like at this time?  Prolonged pain like that can tend to cause your blood pressure to go up, as can a number of pain medications, and prolonged uncontrolled high blood pressure is not a good thing.  If you don't know how your blood pressure is, a lot of places, you can buy a home blood pressure monitor where it pretty easy to take your own pressures with the simple instructions and I recommend you get one.  If Omron brand is available there where you live, it has a strong reputation of being a reliable brand for accurate readings.  Some people can get headaches from uncontrolled hypertension/high blood pressure.  

Repeated use of pain medications can lead to rebound headache problems.  They evidently have not aborted your headache and your doctor needs to try to find a medication that will end this pain cycle and then you may need to have a neurologist try to find a preventative headache medication if you get a lot of migraines.

Also, you mention an accident- did you see either a TMJ dentist or an oral and maxillofacial specialist who deals with TMJ issues for an evaluation after the accident?  If not, that is something to pursue.  TMJ problems can contribute to headaches and if you clench or grind your teeth (even if it is in your sleep), there is an mouth guard or splint for TMJ out there that might be something you need to wear.  I know my hard flat planed splint helps me at night (I'm a clencher).  Last time I did not wear mine at night, I got a horrible migraine.

You also mention you are tired.  Has your doctor checked your ferritin and blood iron levels lately?  Iron deficiency can cause both tiredness and headache.  

Though I'm not sure, I'm guessing your nausea is being caused by your pain?  It can go along with migraine pain.

  Also, if you have sleep apnea (periods where you stop breathing in your sleep), that can cause both tiredness and headache, so you might want to see about getting tested for that also.

[Hayleyrose]

i would ask for an mri as it is possibly trapped nerves from your accident as your still so young youve just finished growing and some nerve damage from taruma comes out later on in life. look up chiari malformation symptoms also as i have most of your syptoms