I need help with my headache/migrane

[mary2105]

I am a 23 yr old female and have been having persistent headaches for the last 5 years.  They have been getting worse in intensity and frequency the last 3 years.  My mom has a history of migranes but when I go to the doctor he said that I just have headaches and prescribed me a "trial pill" that did nothing for me.  I get the headaches multiple times a month and they usually last for several days and are so bad that I can't function and usually lay in bed until they go away.  They are accompanied with nausea, sensitivity to light & smells.  The pain usually starts at the base of my skull and it often feels like it's swollen or I have a hard/swollen nodule there.  The pain then radiates forward and I get a lot of pressure behind my eye and occasionally blurry vision.  It's usually localized to the right side of my head.  This is a new type of headache for me the last few years as before they were mainly just temporal headaches with a little pressure behind my eye.  I don't know what to do and whether I should be concerened or whether I just have headaches and should just deal with the pain as a part of my life?  The last doctor I saw mentioned getting a C.T. but I am a married college student and don't have very good insurance so I haven't done that yet. I don't know what to do?

[namami]

I meant clarifications and not qualifications!!

[namami]

Hi,
Well there are several details of the headache as pertains to the temporal profile such as the time it takes to reach the peak of the pain intensity and so on, frequency of the headache, inciting events, relieving events, and associated symptoms  are some of the details one wants to look at for reaching the diagnosis.
I do not intend to create a panic here but all I was trying to suggest was that these are some signs that should prompt further evaluation especially with an imaging. Please keep in mind that these are of clinical significance if they are persistent and repetitive. In case of 'iamfaithful' the kind of headache you got does not clearly classify as a red flag. So please do not worry and relax. Kindly ignore such symptoms if they just occur as a one off thing as any normal person can get it once in a while. More so if they happened a long time back and you were fine in between as in case of mary2105. I personally get up with a bad headache in the early morning if I go to sleep without taking my evening cup of tea!
However, a new pattern in the headache that is persistently recurring and has charecteristic similar to what I mentioned eralier should prompt further evaluation. That is all I mean. Kindly feel free to seek further qualifications if  needed.

[iamfaithful]

I used to get headaches that were mainly localized on my right side behind my right eye, they would come and go.  I found that when I was really tired I would get them.  Now that I have been dealing with anxiety I hadn't had them in a long time; however, this past week it reared it's ugly head again.  Mine don't wake me up, but I notice them in the a.m. when I get out of bed.  I read in the above post that is a "red flag".....ugh, now that's one more thing worry about.  I guess I am debating wether or not I should see a neurologist.  I have been to so many doctors because of different health issues and my anxiety I guess seeing another should be no big deal.  I guess my question is I don't know if this is anxiety related or if it could be deeper then that.  I get a little nauseated, but not real bad.
I have heard of optical migranes.  Help please.

[mary2105]

The reason I posted this last night is because it woke me up while I was sleeping and it was one of the most severe headaches I've had.  Two years ago I had an episode where I woke up with a severe  headache and uncontrolloable vomitting.  I went to the doctor that morning and got I.V fluids, anti-nausea medication and morphine for the pain but they didn't advise me to do anything else.  After that it happened again twice that same year but hasn't happened for about a year and a half.  I don't know what other lack of information there is? If you think of something else I need to address let me know...  This morning when I woke up again the pain was still at the base of my neck but is also concentrated between my eyes with pressure and pain behind both eyes... so I don't know.  Maybe I will talk to the doctor again about a CT. Thanks for your comment

[namami]

Hi,
The account you provide is not detailed enough and there is lack of information on some of the vital clues to the diagnosis. It seems to me that it might be either Cluster Headaches and/or Classical Migraine. I would consider Migraine as the likely possibility in view of family history and hemi-cranial nature of the headache. Since this has gone on 5 years without much change I would be tempted to discount the possibility of a structural lesion as responsible for the headaches. Nonetheless, a CT might still be in order as and when you can get it. An early morning headache that wakes you up from sleep, a headache that worsens on lying down and associated episodes of vomitted that are projectile are all 'red flags' that should prompt you to go in for a CT head at the earliest. In absence of these but persistent attacks of headaches, you might want to try out imitrex as a reliever medication if there is no response to NSAIDS or tylenol