chronic headache?

Question

I have had a headache for going on six months. i've seen every type of dr. you can imagine...my gp, an optometrist, a neuro opthomalogist, a pathologist. i've been on tons of medication including topamax, verapomil (sp) and now depakote. nothing stops this headache. sometimes it is tolerable (3 or 4 on a scale of 1-10) and then other days it keeps me totally debilitated. during the course of trying to figure out what is causing this, i've had ct scans and mri's (all normal). i recently had an mra/mrv but don't know the results yet. also while digging for answers, it was discovered that i have diabetes (type 2) and sleep apnea (am using the cpap, but it is not helping the headache...in fact, it seems to aggravate it). the pain in my head ranges from sharp, shooting pain up the back of my head to feeling like i am wearing a cap and the headache is over my whole head. visual distrubances are minimal. eyes have not changed and no nausea (to indicate migraine). can anyone help?

Answer 1

Just a couple thoughts, they may not work, but it sounds like any option is worth trying.

Have you tried a chiropractor, if the spine is misaligned, it can send pain to various different parts of the body, and cause serious headaches......most doctors won't pickup on spine adjustment. http://www.firstchiro.com/headache.htm

Allergy's can cause headaches, might be worth looking into to find out if you have allergy's. http://dwp.bigplanet.com/allergies/headaches/

Chronic Migraines http://headache.upmc.com/MigraineHeadache/LivingWithChronicMigraines.htm

If you have had your eyes tested, and everything else checked out, but can't seem to find anything, perhaps it is not something wrong with you, perhaps it is environmental, or your bed, maybe the way you sleep.

Is your house damp, mold may be a possible cause, as it can cause a range of symptoms, including headaches. http://www.mold-survivor.com/symptoms.html

You may also look into neck tension, visit a masseuse, and get a good deep tissue massage.

It may very well be no one thing, but a combination of factors.
I hope your find a solution and your headaches go away.

Answer 2

Those are fun, I had that problem few years ago. I was seeing a neurologist, he put me on nortriptylene(sp), it's an antidepressant but mainly used for chronic pain. It eventually helped, somewhat anyway. Are they taking Tylenol or ibuprofen regularly? If so, that can have a reverse effect and actually cause chronic headaches when you don't take them. They're best bet is to find a neurologist who is familiar with or specializes in headaches, or even check into a headache clinic. I've seen a few of those pop up around some major cities. They'll be able to diagnose exactly what type of headache it is-migraine, cluster, chronic, etc. and offer treatment options based on that.

Answer 3

I am wondering if they are giving the preventative medicine enough time to work. You mentioned a variety of meds but only having the problem of the headache for 6 months. It doesn't sound like they gave any of the meds enough time to work to really see if they might help. Sometimes it takes a month or two just to get a dosage that helps a little so I am not sure why they kept switching your meds that often. You may want to consider see a neuro doc that specializes in headaches or one that is connected with a teaching hospital such as a prominent university in your state. ALso you do not need nausea for this to be considered a migraine or to indicate that it is a migraine so if the doc feels it is not migraine just because you don't have the nausea that is not right. Try a doc who specializes in headaches or is with a univeristy hospital.

Answer 4

I've been there. This sounds just like me except for the diabetes and the sleep apnea. I had every test imaginable, took every medicine ever made, had nerve blocks and trigger point injections, changed my diet, exercised like a fiend and nothing helped. I finally saw a doctor, an anesthesiologist who helped me. I had a procedure called a radio-frequency neurotomy in August and haven't had a headache since. The theory of this doctor was that the tri-geminal (? spelling) nerve was sending pain messages to my brain. He went in and zapped the nerve and the pain is gone. Needles were used to inject a hot liquid into three areas of my neck the injections lasted several minutes, the entire procedure lasted about half an hour. It's supposed to last 6 months to 18 months. This is how long it takes the nerve to regenerate. It is possible that when the nerve does regenerate, it will not "remember" how to send the pain signal. This little procedure was a gift from God. I completely understand how miserable you are and hope you soon find the answer for yourself. I don't know where you live but I saw doctors at the Duke University Pallative Pain Clinic who recommended this procedure. It took a long time to get the answer and my life was basically in a shambles by the time I got better but I finally found something that worked.

Answer 5

Have you ever heard of rebound headaches? They come
and stay with you because of all the medication you are taking.
It is very difficult to stop your meds, I know, but with the
help of a good caring doctor, you must get off the meds.
You will probably have terrible headaches for a while but in
time, they should subside. I feel for you because I know
what it is like having chronic headaches.

Answer 6

i get cluster headaches and the best advice i can give is double and or triple your water intake. i carry around a liter of water or more wherever i go and if you always have water on you then you drink more than you ever thought you needed to. lots of research seems to point to dehydration as a cause of headaches.

for home rememdies i suggest dosing up on melatonin (9-12 mg) and 5-htp (100 mg) at bedtime. increase you magnesium and b complex has shown to help some.

there is also a lot of evidence that halucanogens help with chronic headaches. of course most of them are illegal.

doctors are kind of worthless -- if you can figure out what kind of headaches you have then find a doctor from there. there are online message boards to reccomend good doctors in your area as opposed to the doctors that just guinea pig you with tests and treatments that go nowhere.

the best thing i can tell you is use the web to research and diagnose yourself. doctors are generally horrible at this and trust me i know the weird looks they give you like you are some kind of psycho drug addict i went through about 10 years of clusters being told it was sinus headaches until i found a doctor that figured out it wasn't sinus headaches but still had no clue about what it was.

once you have an idea find out the best way of treating it -- like with clusters first line of treatment for a patient is supposed to get verapramil and oxygen. PRINT THIS OUT and take it to a doctor. most of them really don't mind being told what their job is. if they do find another one.

here is the page on clusters on wikipedia. it was put together by some very good people working hard to make people understand headaches. there are a few links in the article that might help you. good luck --

Answer 7

Perhaps you should see a chiropractor. If you have vertebrae that are out of alignment this could cause you to have chronic or migraine type headaches. I had a headache for a month once and when I went to the chiropractor they took x-rays and discovered that my neck was misaligned really bad. After seeing the chiropractor that day, he adjusted me, and I walked out of his office without the headache. The medications you are taking are just masking the issue instead of really dealing with it. I would at least try this option and see what they say. I hope this helps!

Answer 8

I get migraines and I've had all the tests you can imagine! and I hated ct scans!!
In the end after a bunch of doctors, specialist, etc I still had no answers.
but I have realized certain foods will trigger a migraine, also change in mood can REALLY give me migraines, and lack of/too much sleep.
Pretty much I've had to change my entire lifestyle to fit around my migraines which really sucks. But now that I've cut out the food that make me sick, tried to keep my mood happy and mellow and are getting the proper amount of sleep I have fewer migraines.

You should experiment with your sleep patterns. Also as you change age, your amount of sleep needed changes.

If you're eating a lot of dairy products maybe slow down on those and see if that helps and remember to drink lots of water!

Also, don't massage your head. I use to do that and yes it feels great while being done but it actually causes more pain. Try massaging on your back between your shoulders and your neck!
email me if you want to know more stuff!
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Answer 9

Have you seen your dentist? Sometimes problems with your jaw or infected teeth can cause chronic headache. Food allergies are another possibility. You could have an allergy to wheat or milk products or some other common food that you a consume all the time.

Answer 10

Nothing up there said anything about changing your diet? Have you tried to change your diet?
I now have migraines. I am slowly taking things out of my diet that triggers these. A big thing I knocked out of my diet is all the pain drugs I was on. I was also on a drug for ADHD.
After doing this my migraines do not come on as much. Eating a lot of cheese is a trigger of mine. Caffeine all day long like I was doing. Sleep is a huge trigger, or not enough of it. Hard to sleep when a migrain hits.

Triggers are different for different people. You maybe allergic to something you are eating or something in your environment. Or just foods. Getting off those drugs helped me!

Wish you well....