Help- right side body pain

[Jenn05]

I am 24 yrs. old and have had migraines since I was 7.  In July of this year I began to have a constant pain (that was nothing like a migraine at all) in the lower-back right of my head).  I went to my primary doctor whom I no longer see because of her rudeness to my pain, as well as several urgent care visits and three ER visits.  Finally I was able to get an appt with a neurologist (I hadn't seen one for several years due to finances and being in college).  He diagnosised me with Hemicrania Continua.  Rare due to misdiagnosis and basically a constant headache that can differ in severity.  Treatable with NSAIDs (which I am allergic to) and Topamax (which I am taking)... no much of a difference so far.  I'm frusterated with it.  I've also lost 50% of the sensitivity on the right side of my body and deal with arthritic like pain in my joints and a burning sensation in the bones (on right side only).  

I'm going for more tests... I'd just like to see if any one else has any other opinions.  Thank you, it is greatly appriciated!!

[Jules77733]

I definitely will, thanks for the information! I hope the Topamax increase helps you. If not, you might want to see if there are any alternatives, so you aren't stuck suffering from migraines for the rest of your life. My blood pressure has been kind of low for the past year or so, but my neurologist prescribed me Propranolol anyway haha...so far, no problems!

You're probably right about Botox........

[Jenn05]

Check with an allergist... you just might be allergic to NSAIDs.  It happens even if you've taken them for years and never had issues before.  

I am up to 100mg Topamax right now, will be increasing to 150mg :-( within the next 10 days.  So far no relief.  He won't give me anything that messes with blood pressure because mine is on the perfect/low side and he worries about that.  Oh well.  

I think Botox would be to expensive anyways :-P

[Jules77733]

Wow, I think I might actually be allergic to NSAIDs, too. I've been taking them regularly since June, and about a month ago, I added yet another one to my daily routine--aspirin, to prevent strokes. I ran out of Arthrotec last week, which I take for joint pain/swelling, and discovered yesterday that I had one pill left...so I took it, because I had a lot of writing to do for a final exam and didn't want my hands to be killing me all the while...and when I got back from the exam, I noticed that it was even harder to breathe and swallow than it normally is, I had turned very yellow (especially my face and feet), and I had a light-red rash on my arms, chest, and upper thighs. I had heard about NSAID allergies but since I had been on NSAIDs for so long, I never considered that some of my major symptoms might've been caused by the drug, itself! I've had edema in my lower extremities for a few months now, but that may be a result of Arthrotec too, as it causes the body to retain water.

I wouldn't recommend Botox for the treatment of migraines--much less anything else--but you could try Beta-blockers. They reduce the flow of blood seen by the brain and lower your blood pressure. Topamax's side effects were just too great for me to attempt larger doses on, so my neurologist put me on Propranolol (80mg/day now), and I've found that it works fairly well, with very minimal side effects (feeling cold a lot since my blood flow is lower, and lower blood pressure since I tend to have low blood blood pressure to begin with). What dose of Topamax are you on? It may need to be increased if it isn't working, or you might need to look for another medication.....

[Jenn05]

I've heard you can get botox injections which paralize the muscles in the brain and prevent migrains... might be the shot you are talking about... something to think about... thanks!

[Jenn05]

I took asprin (NSAIDs) for migrains for a long time when I was younger... then I started swelling to get swelling in the face, neck and eye area.  My parents though it was just seasonal allergies to grass and pollen (it was summer time when it started) because the reaction to the NSAIDs started mild, and we didn't like the swelling to taking the medication.  Finally the reaction started to get pretty sever where I'd have trouble breathing because my throat would swell.  Went to an Allergist and he ran some tests and low and behold no more NSAIDs for me...

Thats pretty much what HC is, a daily migraine.  It differs in pain levels, some days it hurts more than others.  I do not understand where the side pains and sensitivity loss have come from though.  I'm really hoping the MRI and MRA on the 15 give me some piece of mind.  And boy does Topamax make you feel stupid... I will fall off in the middle of a conversation and have NO CLUE what so ever as to where I was going with it!  *****!!  But being allergic to NSAIDs its my only treatment option right now... and yeah for having to get it up to 150mg... I'm  going to be an IDIOT!! LOL, I'm just glad I'm not in school right now!!!

[ROLLBACK]

hello i am sorry for what i have heard but i wonted to let you know about a shot that i heard is new it is a shot in the brain that kills all headaches i was to scared to take it but maybe you can ask about it  h

[Jules77733]

How do you know you're allergic to NSAIDs? I'm just wondering that, because I only recently heard about that, and I'm taking NSAIDs at the moment.

Has your doctor considered that you might have migraines that have turned into daily headaches (or daily migraines)? I get headaches everyday, though I wouldn't call them migraine-level headaches, and my neurologist said that I get migraines every so often and they've turned into daily headaches. He started me on Topamax for them, but that didn't work much, and it made me feel really stupid. So he switched me to Propranolol, which I am on now. It works pretty well, though I still get headaches 1/3 of the time (as opposed to getting them 3/3 of the time!).

[Jenn05]

The dx was determined by symptoms so far... am going for an MRI and and MRA w/ contrast on monday... have already had 3 neg CAT scans this year.

[selmaS]

Hi, may I ask how did they determine Hemicrania Continua as the dx?...what tests were done?....ne MRI's of the brain...w/wo contrast?
I am just curious as to how they made the dx.

Godspeed
"selma"