headache along with other symptoms

Hi – a few questions.



About 2.5 months ago I started to feel a little tired/foggy headed.  This continued for about 1 week and then I began having very severe headaches like I’d never experienced before.  The headaches were a squeezing sensation (as if someone had wrapped a tourniquet around my head).  This continued for a while (1-2 months) and was accompanied by other symptoms i.e. sensitivity to light, nausea, vertigo at times, stiff neck, pain in my right eye and some sensory disturbances.  Also, there was a scary pulsating/rushing sensation in my head usually while I was having the headache.  My general doctor ordered an MRI of the brain (without contrast) and that came back perfectly normal.  He referred me to a neurologist and other tests were ordered – blood work, West Nile, Epstien Barr, Lyme, Cervical MRI (without contrast) – all of which came back normal.  The headaches have decreased in frequency and severity (the last time I had one was at the end of August), but they started to be accompanied/replaced by a painful squeezing sensation in my right eye.  I didn’t experience any vision problems, but I did start noticing floaters, which was something that I’d never noticed before.  My eye doctor did what seemed to me was very a thorough exam and didn’t notice anything wrong.  



My neurologist settled on a probable diagnosis of viral meningitis.  A spinal tap was never done because by the time I was referred to the neurologist the headaches were lessening in severity, so he didn’t feel that it was necessary.  I’m generally feeling better, but I still get an occasional headache/eye pain.  However, what’s concerned me is recently I’ve started having new symptoms – shortness of breath, messed up heartrate and (the most concerning to me) tingling in my left leg and the left side of my face.  I went back to my general doctor last week and he did an EKG and chest x-ray, both of which were fine.  



I know this is quite a long post, but my main questions / concerns are as follows:

- Does the viral meningitis diagnosis seem reasonable?  I’m 27 and never really get sick.  I hadn’t been to the doctor for an   illness in the previous five years.



-  I’m worried about something being missed because I am young and pretty healthy.  I realize this anxiety may be causing my recent symptoms, but I’m especially worried about MS because of the recent tingling sensation (it’s very strong at night) and the eye pain.



-  Is a non contrast MRI sufficient to pick up other problems such as MS?  Or should an MRI be done with contrast?  My neurologist didn’t feel that it was necessary

[taubebecker]

ask your doctor for an MRA of the head and neck -  check this out...check out my response to another post...  

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/302759