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Suggest Treatment For Severe Headache

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Posted on Wed, 17 Aug 2016
Question: Hi Doctor, I'm 28 years old female and for the past 8 months I've been having headaches on the left side of my head only around the temples the pressure gets so bad that it hurts my left eye and ear as well. I've been to the hospital had blood work and a ct scan and chest x Ray done but nothing showed up. Tylenol or Advil does nothing to help. The pain gets very bad must days and just makes me soo tired
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dariush Saghafi (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Recommend a thorough examination by a neurologist

Detailed Answer:
Good evening. I suggest a neurologist (preferably a headache specialist) perform a consultation on you. At this point if your headache evolution is 8 months then, by definition you have CHRONIC DAILY HEADACHES. What needs to be determined is whether these are migraine headache though you really haven't mentioned some other symptoms that are considered classic (and necessary) for that diagnosis such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light/sound, and duration of at least 4 hrs. The fact that the CT is negative pretty much rules out anything big time bad like tumor or big aneurysm or anything of that nature.

I'm concerned that you may be overusing the Tylenol and Advil since most people who have daily or near daily headaches are using daily or near daily OTC medications or even prescription medications for pain relief which opens them up for something we call MEDICATION OVERUSE HEADACHES. This means that the medication they are using itself has at least a 50/50 chance of being the progenitor of a number of headaches they have. And the way an MOH looks is virtually the same as what you're describing...not quite a migraine but worse than the typical tension type headache. Some people might refer to MOH episodes as "atypical migraines" and so again, a good neurologist or headache specialist will be able to guide you properly in the proper techniques at getting off of the offending medications and on the way to taking care of your baseline headaches.

Incidentally, with my headache patients I instruct all of them in how to keep proper HEADACHE LOGS/DIARIES and analyze them every time they return so that we can track progress of their headaches as well as how medications are functioning so that we are not just "guessing" as to how well or poorly a prescription is doing what we want.

If I've satisfactorily addressed your question then, could you do me the kindest of favors by CLOSING THIS QUERY and be sure to include some fine words of feedback and a 5 STAR rating to our transaction if you feel the response has helped you? Again, many thanks for posing your question.

Do not forget to contact me in the future at: www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi for additional questions, comments, or concerns having to do with this topic or others.

This query has utilized a total of 27 minutes of professional time in research, review, and synthesis for the purpose of formulating a return statement.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dariush Saghafi

Neurologist

Practicing since :1988

Answered : 2473 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Severe Headache

Brief Answer: Recommend a thorough examination by a neurologist Detailed Answer: Good evening. I suggest a neurologist (preferably a headache specialist) perform a consultation on you. At this point if your headache evolution is 8 months then, by definition you have CHRONIC DAILY HEADACHES. What needs to be determined is whether these are migraine headache though you really haven't mentioned some other symptoms that are considered classic (and necessary) for that diagnosis such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light/sound, and duration of at least 4 hrs. The fact that the CT is negative pretty much rules out anything big time bad like tumor or big aneurysm or anything of that nature. I'm concerned that you may be overusing the Tylenol and Advil since most people who have daily or near daily headaches are using daily or near daily OTC medications or even prescription medications for pain relief which opens them up for something we call MEDICATION OVERUSE HEADACHES. This means that the medication they are using itself has at least a 50/50 chance of being the progenitor of a number of headaches they have. And the way an MOH looks is virtually the same as what you're describing...not quite a migraine but worse than the typical tension type headache. Some people might refer to MOH episodes as "atypical migraines" and so again, a good neurologist or headache specialist will be able to guide you properly in the proper techniques at getting off of the offending medications and on the way to taking care of your baseline headaches. Incidentally, with my headache patients I instruct all of them in how to keep proper HEADACHE LOGS/DIARIES and analyze them every time they return so that we can track progress of their headaches as well as how medications are functioning so that we are not just "guessing" as to how well or poorly a prescription is doing what we want. If I've satisfactorily addressed your question then, could you do me the kindest of favors by CLOSING THIS QUERY and be sure to include some fine words of feedback and a 5 STAR rating to our transaction if you feel the response has helped you? Again, many thanks for posing your question. Do not forget to contact me in the future at: www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi for additional questions, comments, or concerns having to do with this topic or others. This query has utilized a total of 27 minutes of professional time in research, review, and synthesis for the purpose of formulating a return statement.