Bad Headaches

I am a 21 yr old male. I have infrequent severe headaches. The pain is rarely restricted to any single region of my head, and typically does not spike in the same fashion as other migraines or headaches are described; it seems to grow and shrink like a sine wave. On some rare occasions, I have seen bright points of light around the periphery of my vision, and have also become dizzy. These severe migraines are also accompanied by very painful neck stiffness; when I try to stretch my neck to relieve the strain, the migraine intensifies. I am in college now, but back in high school, about four to five years ago, I was prescribed the anti-depressant Amitriptyline to deal with the pain, as this was about the time I began to experience headaches of this magnitude. I was off the medication in about a year, where the symptoms had seemed to vanish. About a week ago, I again experienced a severe headache; the strongest one I can remember. I can usually tough it out with some OTC meds like tylenol; this particular time, I used ibuprofen liquid-gels to no effect. The pain became so overwhelming that I knew something was wrong. I drove myself to the hospital (stupid move, I know) and checked in. I was injected with some kind of pain killer which was quite effective, but I was told would not impair my driving ability. I was later given four tablets of oxycodone for later use along with some other medication to help with nausea. The official diagnosis was migraine headache.

Sorry for the essay, but I think it would be helpful information in answering my questions.
- Should migraines be as painful as this?
- Sometimes it seems like the pain is never really gone, its just weaker and tolerable, over a course of days; is this typical of migraines?
- Could some kind of spinal problem or bone deformity be causing infrequent neck pain that coincides with the migraines?
- When I visit the doctor, even if its just a checkup, I am told that 'I look sick'; is this possibly evidence of a more serious condition of which I am not aware?

Thank you for any replies; anything you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Yes migraines can be as painful as you have described in your post or even worse.
Migraine headaches are often followed by a dull headache of medium to low intensity so it is normal to get a headache after migraine attacks have passed away.
The possibility of neck pain being due to cervical spine issues like disc prolapse, spondylosis, and disc herniation. Only a good clinical exam and neck X ray will help to make the diagnosis.
Neck pain and stiffness is also a symptom of migraine.
I would suggest you to try deep breathing exercises and take magnesium supplements and see if your symptoms get better.

Thanks