Hello all, Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post (I apologize in advance for its length). I know and understand nothing here is a substitute for proper medical attention. I do not expect my issue to be resolved here. I am desperate and looking for guidance that can be used to hopefully help drive my medical treatment with my primary Doctors. Gender: Male Age: 28 Height: 5 10 Weight: 125 lbs I know headaches can be very problematic to treat. I have suffered from bad headaches my entire life. I have suffered from mild to severe headaches for essentially my entire life (as long as I can remember, going back to elementary school). I was diagnosed with Migraines around the age of 14-16 and for much of my early life, only treated them with over the counter medication. In college, at the age of 18-20, they became much worse (increased pain) and more frequent (minimum frequency of 1 per month). For much all of college, I treated them with Relpax (eletriptan) pretty successfully. It was enough to minimize the negative impact they were causing on my life and obligations. After college, at the age of 22, they became more frequent. I was referred to a neurologist and spent the next two years trying to find an effective medication regime to manage the pain and frequency. I never had much success in preventive medications. With most medication, I saw an apparent improvement in terms of pain intensity when I got a migraine and a slight decrease in frequency. At the time, I felt the medication was causing more side effects than benefit, many I thought made me feel tired or out of it . I stopped pursuing preventative medication after trying a handful of medications and just focused on treatment. For treatment, my medication changed slightly during this time. Relpax (eletriptan) remains my preferred treatment medication (but is usually refused by my insurance plans). Against my wishes, my primary treatment medication became Sumatriptan (Imitrex) and I began taking it in several forms (pill, nasal spray and Sumavel DosePro injections) - mostly to get around the limitations imposed by the insurance company (often limited treatment to 2-4 headaches per month). Migraines for me are usually debilitating. Even more mild migraines make it difficult for me to function and go about a normal day. At their worse, I cannot stand up, move, pour myself a glass of water and am usually rolling and tossing in pain. Vomiting from migraines does occur, making it difficult at times to take medication in pill form. These severe migraines are typically rare for me. 1 per year used to be normal, although in recent years 2-3 per year has been more accurate. I ve always associated migraines with the heartbeat pain, as I call it... It s a pulsating pain in my head. They most often occur when I wake up but will occasionally start during the day, building in intensity. Around 2012, I suffered from a constant headache that would re-occur every day and at its peak, was far more painful than any migraine that I have ever felt (which I did not think was possible). My doctor believed it was a cluster headache but this was the first time I ve claimed those symptoms. The pain profile was much different than a migraine with the pain always on the left side of my head and extremely painful in and around my left eye (so much so that I do worry about harming myself - I would be willing to do ANYTHING to stop the pain). These headaches have re-occurred every year, in the winter (usually December) and every time I would describe it as the most intense pain I have ever felt. Often it feels like my eye is going to explode from pressure. Migraine medication is entirely ineffective when I get these headaches (I ve since been diagnosed, just this past year, with cluster headaches). Over the counter medication provides very little, if any, relieve. So far, the only thing that has ever helped these headaches is a prescription of prednisone, taken over the course of several days. For the past year, I have had a significant increase in the frequency of headaches that I wouldn t consider migraines or cluster headaches as the pain profile is again different. Since November 2014 and still occurring now, the frequency of these headaches can be almost daily. For the past two months, I would say I have a headache more often than I do not, usually 4-5 days per week for at least half of the day. The pains from these headaches are typically much milder (but enough to negatively impact me and my ability to work). Often the pain is also in my left side and also in the left eye (very rarely my right side/eye) - usually only on one side of my head though. I have noticed several other possible symptoms although I am not sure they are related: - Fatigue (due to the frequency of headaches, I assume, I am almost always extremely tired ) - Muscle tightness - My neck and scalp will feel tight - Jaw - my jaw usually feels like the muscles are tightened. A slight popping noise occurs when I move it side to side (oddly, this noise only typically occurs during the headaches). - Jaw muscles - Again, they feel tight.. even more oddly, when I open/close my jaw (only when I have a headache) it s almost as if I can hear/feel the muscles stretching near my ear. However all of these jaw symptoms usually appear on the right side of my head - when the headache is normally on the left. Wearing my glasses or not seems to have no impact on the frequency and I most typically wake up with these headaches, although it s also common for me to get them in the afternoon and immediately after work (usually around 6:00 PM). Additionally, I have swollen lymph nodes behind my left ear (I ve seen the Doctor for this as was told it s nothing to worry about as it is small , about the size of a dime and smooth/round. It hasn t grown much or at all in the past year (but also has not shrunk in size) and normally does not bother me unless I ve been moving the lump around. However, during these headaches, I wouldn t say it hurts or is sore but I can generally feel/notice it. I m sure this is unrelated but wanted to mention it. I am a smoker and do consume caffeine on the daily basis. I have detoxed for only 2 weeks at a time, a couple times, with no noticeable improvement (and often many adverse effects while detoxing). I also suffer from anxiety and depending on which doctor you ask, my diagnoses changes. Some specialists believe I have General Anxiety Disorder (more minor than many cases), Social Anxiety Disorder and Manic Depressive Disorder while others attribute more of my symptoms to personality type/traits, including some that believe the theory that I m a HSP / Highly Sensitive Person better explains my symptoms. Regardless of the diagnosis, I have been unable to address the constant stress/anxiety that impacts me on a daily basis and I know this could factor into my headaches. Okay, I apologize for the novel that I wrote but I felt all of that information may be relevant. I have basically run into several walls with pursuing this medically and have seen many different doctors and specialists. I seem to be out of treatment recommendations, yet the headaches continue to get worse, across the board, every year. My question is really, is there anything else that I can try? Are there any other conversations that I can have with my doctors that may lead to additional treatment options or preventative options? The headaches that I describe having “more often than not” – what do those sound like (so I can discuss further with my doctor)? I had a CT scan around 2008 of my head which came back fine. I m not aware of any other medical conditions other than those listed. I do occasionally suffer from high blood pressure (most often attributed to stress or pain from headaches) as my readings can vary greatly from day to day and throughout the day. My BP is always highest around 5:00 PM, which is usually the peak of my daily stress. There are other times (although fairly rare) that my blood pressure is actually very low but generally it remains in a healthy range. While I highly doubt this is related at all, I have also noticed that every year my cold sensitivity seems to worsen and my ability or willingness to tolerate cold temperatures decreases. Additionally, I almost always feel cold or chilly and am generally not comfortable unless the temperature is near 80 degrees or warmer. This is especially problematic in Ohio during the winter when I am often chilled to the bone and cannot warm up without taking a long hot shower. I only bring this up as I tend to have more frequent headaches in the winter and in the fall. I am getting very desperate for any recommendations or tips that may help my diagnoses and treatment. The frequency of headaches in the past couple months has been extremely discouraging and I fear for my future as I question how much longer I can tolerate this pain so frequently. Eventually something is going to have to give in, and I m afraid it will eventually be me. Thank you again to those who have taken the time to read my post and possible respond.