Strange headache...is this migraine?

Posted by Jennifer on June 07, 1999 at 11:21:55
Hi!  I'm a 26 year old healthy female who has been getting awful headaches since I was 18.  They were really bad back then when I was on a high-grade oral contraceptive.  My headaches have always been on the right side of my head.  My symptoms are a very sharp pinchy pain either beginning behind the right eye/temple area or beginning on the right side of the neck and radiating upward.  I get pain on the right side of the face as well.  Sometimes my right nostril and ear are affected.  This headache affects basically my entire right side from my head down my neck.  My neck muscles feel very tight on the right as well.  I have these maybe once or twice a month (they used to be more frequent).  I do not get nausiated, but I don't have an appetite.  I have to lay on soft pillows because if a sharp corner of a couch pillow touches my neck...woah does my head hurt!  I don't feel like moving - and everytime I try to get up from the lying down position I feel the throbbing pain and heaviness on the right and I feel a little lightheaded, but I can function.  My fiance is a neurologist and he said it seems like tension migraines since the headache continues throughout the day and remains with me when I wake up in the morning.  But he can not test me or anything since he is not permitted to test or diagnose a relative or loved one.   These headaches do not wake me up at night at all.  I have also been to 2 GPs and they do not feel I need a Cat or MRI since all my motor skills are normal.  
Now for my question.  Does this sound like tension migraine?  Sometimes this headache comes on at work.  I notice the muscles on the right side of my neck get very tight and there's this one area near the base of my skull to where I press on it, it jolts pain up into the same area where my headaches are.  Also, I have been to a massage therapist and chiro and they said that my neck bone is curved to the left in which the top of my neck is more to the right.  It seems like the right side of the neck gets tight often and the left side is okay.  Also, sometimes when I lay on my left side, I feel pulling in my neck and I feel that pinchy feeling that turns into a horrible headache.  Could I suspect a pinched nerve maybe because of the way my neck is curved?  I wish I could get some answers because I keep getting the same diagnosis!  Thanks for your help!!    

Posted by Jennifer on June 07, 1999 at 11:38:42
Also, after the headaches are gone, I have after effects.  For example the pain is gone, but sometimes when I move my eyes or I turn my neck I feel a little sharp pain on the right side, same area but it doesn't turn into anything.  Is this migraine?  I had a great aunt die of a brain tumor and I have this stuck in my head as well.  Migraine headaches run on my grandfather's side of the family.  My mother has had them from age 22 to 30.

Posted by Jim on June 08, 1999 at 00:14:56
   Jennifer,
   All the symptoms you described point toward classical migraine-- one side of the head, beginning in the eye or surrounding area, sensitivity to touch, light, and or noise, pain throughout the day, etc. By all means see another doctor THAT DEALS WITH MIGRAINE, there are many new medications on the market that may be of help to you. In the meantime, heat or cold applied to the affected side may offer some relief (I prefer hot, hot water). Tension may be bringing on your headaches, but a migraine is not your typical tension headache that most people get. Over the years, I've found many other things that trigger my migraine, such as eating certain foods, (Italian sausage, Chinese food, red wine, alchohol are some of the main culprits) or changes in my sleep pattern. You need to be aware of the things you eat and do throughout the day and maybe keep a diary so you can try and narrow down what your triggers might be. Also, do a search under "migraine headaches", there is some terrific info right here on the internet. I hope some of this helps.     Jim,  

Posted by CCF on June 09, 1999 at 14:10:45
Answered.