Left side of face/head hurts

Hi, I am 23 and get regular headaches but nothing like this. I woke up the day before yesterday with the entire right side of my head hurting, I soon forgot about it and it went away. That night I noticed that my eyes were extremely sensitive to too much light, I couldn't have the light on in the room and watch television at the same time. The next morning I woke up and noticed that the skin around my temple and close to my left eye/cheek area was really sensitive. I also noticed that by looking at bright things my eyes and head would hurt. About mid-day yesterday I realized that when I blink my eye or squint it, the muscles near my cheek and temple have a dull aching pain. This is day three of my head feeling this way. I woke up this morning with crusty stuff around both of my eyes, even though it seems as if this is only happening on the left side of my head now. I am not having any other symptoms than my left temple/eye/cheek has sensitive/tender skin, my eye hurts when I close it and I sometimes get a dull/aching pain from the back of the left side of my head all the way to the point of my left cheek bone. I do feel a little disoriented at times, I kept waking up the night before last not really realizing what was going on and feeling like something was weird in the room... but nothing was different other than my closet door being left open. I am really hoping that I can figure this out without having to go to the doctor... but there doesn't seem to be many answers for my symptoms other than just a migraine...but I didn't think a migraine lasted 3 days...

[Midijane]

Hi Kayelynn,

I have migraines also and Im lucky if they only last one day. Usually they last around 36-48 hours but when I have a really bad migraine, 3 days is common. The one sided pain is the same with me. My migraines start out around my temple and eyes and then thend to focus in on my ear and to my nose as the headache gets worse. By the time the headache is to my nose, I have a full-on left sided migraine with photosensitivity , nausea and vomiting. A cold dark and quiet room is all I can tolerate and I can guarantee I will be in bed for the duration. Anything else is just not an option.

In fact, I could take a pencil and draw an exact line down the top of my head to show where the pain is on the left side. It amazes me how the migraine is so focused on just the left side.

Also, the scalp tenderness is all over my head for about a day after after the migraines goes away and i will get get a little confused a couple of days before the migraine starts. Sometimes if I pay attention, the confusion will tell me when a migraine is coming. But... Im also forgetful and busy so this may be all in my head (no pun intended, haha).

Hope this helps a bit.

[sara12345]

It's probably a migraine, but your words, "I do feel a little disoriented at times, I kept waking up the night before last not really realizing what was going on and feeling like something was weird in the room... " do concern me.  People with migraines can feel a bit disoriented, but those symptoms could be from a TIA, or a small stroke, which would be important to rule out.  If you're only 23 years old, you can be on your parents insurance policy.  Or if you're in college, there is probably very low cost health care available through your college.  Many people on these websites do experience strokes at your age, so it's not just something that happens to older people.  It would be best to see a doctor to check on it.

[Midijane]

Hi again Sara,

Remember me? Im the one who has migraines with stroke like symptoms. I had messaged you awhile back. Good to see you still in the forum, you always have words of wisdom :)

[KayeLynn]

I have actually gone to immediate care and gotten a CT Scan and everything came back normal. The doctors think that I have some bruising on my brain and are giving me meds for it. But since I already get migraines it is hightening the pain from my normal migraines, just making everything worse to handle. I am getting an MRI this week and hopefully everything comes back negative there too, but I just want to be safe and know that it isn't something really serious. THanks for you responses girls, it means a lot. :)

[sara12345]

Thanks so much for your kind words.  You also have very good words of wisdom as well.  

Be glad that you have stroke-like symptoms with your migraines instead of actually having had a stroke as I did which caused by severe migraines.  All my neurologists say that because my stroke caused the migraines, they are very difficult to treat and that I may have them for the rest of my life.  The 24/7 migraines have disabled me substantially.  It means a lot to me to read your words.  Thanks again.
Sara  

[sara12345]

I'm so glad that your CT scan came out okay.  Hopefully the MRI will be normal as well.  It is best to be safe instead of not preventing a far worse outcome.  

What are the meds that the doctor gave you?  Is it a daily preventative migraine med or an abortive (meaning works short term) pain pill?  There are ways to control your migraines, so if they are not under control, see a neurologist or a headache specialist to get better help.  With me having a difficult migraine condition to control, I know many ways of controlling the pain.  So keep in touch with me if you need more help in that way.  Also will be interested to hear how your MRI goes.

Wish you the best.
Sara

[Midijane]

Hi KayeLynn, glad to hear you are making "some" progress as far as ruling things out. But Im sorry your migraines are getting worse. Doesnt trialing new treatments just wear you out sometimes? Dont forget to fill us in with the MRI results if you feel up to it, I'll be thinking of you. When I had my MRI results come back negative... My brother in law said it was because there was nothing in my head, Lol! He always cracks me up.

[KayeLynn]

Hey everyone, I haven't had my MRI yet... it's been a bit of an issue money wise, but I am having it done tomorrow afternoon! Only thing is.... I tripped over something Saturday night and went head first into a wall and left a decent dent in it.... so my head is hurting even worse. I'm not having the best of luck recently! :P I have been seeing a neurologist, he prescribed me nortryptaline (sp?) it is an anti-depressant but I only take it before bed and it really does allow me to sleep much better. He also gave me fioricet for when things get unbearable. I would have much rather had something to take consistently throughout the day to keep my head from hurting because I don't like to take a ton of ibuprofen and my head hurts pretty regularly... all day now. I guess he didn't understand that when I told him Cambia was too expensive for me, which he gave me two samples of at first... pretty sure it's their money maker... lol. Anyway Midijane that's funny about your brother in law! And thank you all for kind thoughts and support. :) I will let you all know the outcome of the MRI.

[sara12345]

That's good.  Just know something that my former doctor, who I fired, didn't tell me.  If you take Fiorcet more than 2 times a week, you risk rebound headaches that are just as bad or worse.  Any pain reliever taken more than 2 times a week can cause rebound headaches, but Fiorcet is known to be especially bad for rebounds.  

The nortriptylene could prevent your migraines, but takes some time to work.  What I use almost every day is an anti-inflammation gel that does not go into the blood stream.  It's by prescription and includes neurontin, amytriptylene, lidocaine and a bunch of other meds.  You need a special pharmacy to mix it up.  Good luck.

[KayeLynn]

Thanks for the response, I learned a lot of that stuff this week actually. I asked him to change both of my medications because they had actually stopped working for me. I am not taking generic neurontin 100mg 3x daily and amytriptylene only at night before I go to bed. So far I felt much better since Friday evening and hope to continue to feel much better in the days to come. The MRI came back normal so it's just bruising with intensified migraines... that are consistent due to the bruising. I really appreciate everyone's responses and kind thoughts. Thank you.

[KayeLynn]

I meant "I am now taking..." not... "I am not taking..." :)

[sara12345]

Thanks for updating us!  Glad that your MRI came out okay too.  And also glad that your change in medication has helped you a lot.  I'm wondering how your brain got bruising.

It reminds me of when I got a characteristically different migraine that pain killers wouldn't work on.  It was about the same time as when I had bumped my head hard on the edge of the doorway in the middle of the night.  About 3 weeks later I got a full carotid artery dissection stroke which the neurologists think that the terrible migraine was the start of the stroke.  And typically a trauma can cause the type of stroke that I had.  Now I've had severe 24/7 migraines ever since which have been helped with many treatments and medications.  I'm quite disabled with it.  That's how I know so much about migraine treatments.  But that's not your problem or it would have shown up in the MRI.

I hope that you continue to feel better.  All the best to you.
Sara

[Midijane]

Hi again Kayelynn
Im still following along here and wanted to wish you well. Same as Sara says, thank goodness the MRI came back fine and the new med is helping.

I agree about learning so much in these forums. Im always blown away by how much people are willing to share with their own stories and of course the support we give eachother when needed.

Stay in touch and stay on track. :)