Headache, accutance, and arrythmia

Posted By RudyXTR on March 28, 1998 at 15:24:36:

I am 28 years old, 5' 10", and weigh 158 pounds.  I have been healthy, fit, and physically active my whole life.  I don't smoke, and I use coffee and alcohol in moderation (2-3 of each per week).  Nine months ago I developed a severe headache while lifting weights at my gym.  The headache has been with me (varying from mild to debilitating) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ever since.  I've seen numerous doctors, and none has been able to help me.  An MRI was performed, and it revealed a small (2-3ml) aneurysm in my right cavernous sinus -- the same place I have the headache.  The doctors think that it is unlikely that the aneurysm is causing my headache, or other assorted symptoms I've developed since including difficulty speaking, difficulty gathering my thoughts, numbness down the right side of my face and neck, a cramping sensation in my swallowing mechanism, general fatigue and weakness, etc.  About 14 days ago, I started having shortness of breath, and notice that my pulse seemed to have a hitch in it, especially when I took a deep breath.  My heart would skip a beat, or pauses, then fire off four or five quick beats in a row, then return to normal for a few beats, and then repeat the cycle.  I was concerned, since I have been diagnosed (via ECG) with a "normal sinus rhythm with sinus arrhythmia, incomplete right bundle branch block, and boderline ECG."  I have only had one "arrhytmia" experience, four years ago, where I became short of breath and my heart beat rapidly, but I went to the emergency room, they hydrated me through an IV, and the problem never returned.  Approximately 10 days ago, I starte an Accutane program at a conservtive 40mg , because I was concerned about worsening my headache.  Everything was fine for about 5 days, so I bumped the dosage up to 60.  Two days later, my headache became much worse, and while I was watching TV I felt my heart starting to palpitate, race, and generally beat in a bizarre fashion.  I started gasping for breath and thought I was going to faint.  Things settled down after the first 10-15 minutes, but the overall attack lasted about 2 hours, and went away when I returned to 40mg on the Accutane.  My questions are (1) is it possible that some defect in my heart is causing my chronic headache and other assorted symptoms?  (2) is it possilbe that accutane is giving me an arrythmia -- I have found nothing suggesting that arrythmia is a known side-effect of Accutane; and (3) does the fact that Accutane made my symptoms worse reveal anything about the possible causes of my chronic headache?  I know this is a complex problem-- every doctor I've been to is totally stumped.  Thank you for any advice you can give me.