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Unusual case of headaches
by ibex333, Jun 03, 2007 12:00AM
I have a problem and no one can give the exact diagnosis.
When I was 14, I was an avid video gamer(which I am unfortunately still now). I played pretty much 24/7 except when I was in school. At some point, I started experiencing strange symptoms some of which were vertigo, dizziness, confusion, shaking hands. I ignored it and kept playing.. Hey.. I was a kid!
One day something terrible happened to me... I'm not sure what it was - a seizure? a fit? I'll try to describe it as best as I can:
I was sitting, playing a game. All of a sudden I felt EXTREMELY tense, plus pressure in my head which felt as if someone was forcing something into my head. I felt as if electricity was surging through my body and my head and severe pain on top of my head. I felt like I'm loosing balance and I'm going to fall down. My vision started going dark... I rushed to the bed and lay down. This whole thing lasted only about 5-10 seconds, but it left me terrified. After this most of the symptoms went away, but the pain on the top of my head stayed. It stayed day and night for several years. I had a CAT scan done, then several MRI's - nothing was found.
For some strange unexplained reason, my body remembered what happened on that 1st terrible day described above and every time I would come up to a computer or I'd see someone using one. It would trigger the "seizure" described above. My teachers would force me to use computers in school(requirement class), and that was unbearable for me. Sometimes I would have to run out in the middle of computer class! Eventually I just dropped that class.
The headache would not go away.. Always in the same spot on top of my head, always present.... I started having severe panic attacks, because I couldn't take the pain anymore. I would call 911 in the middle of the night but the doctor in the emergency room would give me painkillers and send me home.
After several years of this craziness, my headaches went from everyday to several months a year... Once they would start they would last for months then suddenly go away just to reoccur months later. They were no longer just on top of my head, it could be pain all over my head, or in the back or in the temples.. Sometimes it wouldn't be pain at all but terrible pressure inside head or a burning sensation. Sometimes I'd have a feeling of pressure inside my ears. Sometimes so severe I felt as if my ears would explode along with my head.
Meanwhile, I slowly lost my fear of computers and started playing video games again.
I seen several doctors, had more MRI's done.... No result. Some said I am exaggerating my symptoms. Some said it's just migraine.. But I never had throbbing pain, and it was usually NOT one side as with migraine sufferers. Also with migraine an onset usually lasts no more than 3-4 days or so. In my case it was months.
I am 25 now, and my last 2 years have been somewhat better. My headaches have been less frequent, but my panic attacks and especially agarophobia and not going anywhere. I am pretty much homebound at the time being since I cant tolerate places such as college/work.
Recently I have been having some new symptoms that worry me greatly. One of them is pins and needles/numbness in various places, the second is me feeling generally sick most of the time. Is that another symptom related to my problems or is it something new?
The biggest problem is that most doctors I go don't help me. If I go to a neurologist he says it's migraine, gives me some meds with side effects which scare me to death and sends me home.
When I go to a psychiatrist he prescribes an antidepressant before I even have a chance to finish telling him what's wrong with me. I find that simply disrespectful. Hey doc I'm not even done telling you what's wrong with me! I've taken some antidepressants but these meds usually just made me feel worse and if there was some relief it was temporary. The side effects were so bad that I developed a strong fear of these meds to the point where I rather die than take another one ever again. I'm no guinea pig.
I made this post in hopes that you might know what is wrong with me. What is it that happened to me on that day I was 14 that changed my life so drastically?
Have you ever heard of similar cases? Are there any other way to help me aside from pumping me full of SSRI's? Am I too far gone?
One doctor said that it doesn't matter what happened when I was 14.. He said that what matters is what's happening now. I strongly disagree. How is it "smart" to be treating the symptoms, without even knowing the "cause"?
It is like giving someone with meningitis an Advil from their headache, ignoring the virus inside them! (sorry for an example which is a little extreme)
Do you know any doctors in New York City area who specialize in problems similar to mine?
Thank you in advance.(sorry for such a damn long post)
When I was 14, I was an avid video gamer(which I am unfortunately still now). I played pretty much 24/7 except when I was in school. At some point, I started experiencing strange symptoms some of which were vertigo, dizziness, confusion, shaking hands. I ignored it and kept playing.. Hey.. I was a kid!
One day something terrible happened to me... I'm not sure what it was - a seizure? a fit? I'll try to describe it as best as I can:
I was sitting, playing a game. All of a sudden I felt EXTREMELY tense, plus pressure in my head which felt as if someone was forcing something into my head. I felt as if electricity was surging through my body and my head and severe pain on top of my head. I felt like I'm loosing balance and I'm going to fall down. My vision started going dark... I rushed to the bed and lay down. This whole thing lasted only about 5-10 seconds, but it left me terrified. After this most of the symptoms went away, but the pain on the top of my head stayed. It stayed day and night for several years. I had a CAT scan done, then several MRI's - nothing was found.
For some strange unexplained reason, my body remembered what happened on that 1st terrible day described above and every time I would come up to a computer or I'd see someone using one. It would trigger the "seizure" described above. My teachers would force me to use computers in school(requirement class), and that was unbearable for me. Sometimes I would have to run out in the middle of computer class! Eventually I just dropped that class.
The headache would not go away.. Always in the same spot on top of my head, always present.... I started having severe panic attacks, because I couldn't take the pain anymore. I would call 911 in the middle of the night but the doctor in the emergency room would give me painkillers and send me home.
After several years of this craziness, my headaches went from everyday to several months a year... Once they would start they would last for months then suddenly go away just to reoccur months later. They were no longer just on top of my head, it could be pain all over my head, or in the back or in the temples.. Sometimes it wouldn't be pain at all but terrible pressure inside head or a burning sensation. Sometimes I'd have a feeling of pressure inside my ears. Sometimes so severe I felt as if my ears would explode along with my head.
Meanwhile, I slowly lost my fear of computers and started playing video games again.
I seen several doctors, had more MRI's done.... No result. Some said I am exaggerating my symptoms. Some said it's just migraine.. But I never had throbbing pain, and it was usually NOT one side as with migraine sufferers. Also with migraine an onset usually lasts no more than 3-4 days or so. In my case it was months.
I am 25 now, and my last 2 years have been somewhat better. My headaches have been less frequent, but my panic attacks and especially agarophobia and not going anywhere. I am pretty much homebound at the time being since I cant tolerate places such as college/work.
Recently I have been having some new symptoms that worry me greatly. One of them is pins and needles/numbness in various places, the second is me feeling generally sick most of the time. Is that another symptom related to my problems or is it something new?
The biggest problem is that most doctors I go don't help me. If I go to a neurologist he says it's migraine, gives me some meds with side effects which scare me to death and sends me home.
When I go to a psychiatrist he prescribes an antidepressant before I even have a chance to finish telling him what's wrong with me. I find that simply disrespectful. Hey doc I'm not even done telling you what's wrong with me! I've taken some antidepressants but these meds usually just made me feel worse and if there was some relief it was temporary. The side effects were so bad that I developed a strong fear of these meds to the point where I rather die than take another one ever again. I'm no guinea pig.
I made this post in hopes that you might know what is wrong with me. What is it that happened to me on that day I was 14 that changed my life so drastically?
Have you ever heard of similar cases? Are there any other way to help me aside from pumping me full of SSRI's? Am I too far gone?
One doctor said that it doesn't matter what happened when I was 14.. He said that what matters is what's happening now. I strongly disagree. How is it "smart" to be treating the symptoms, without even knowing the "cause"?
It is like giving someone with meningitis an Advil from their headache, ignoring the virus inside them! (sorry for an example which is a little extreme)
Do you know any doctors in New York City area who specialize in problems similar to mine?
Thank you in advance.(sorry for such a damn long post)
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well im also a hardcore gamer, and when i was younger i experienced simular things to you.. its to do with the computer games.. i read somewhere online about it..
anyway i have been diagnosed with anxiey.panick attacks and i WAS housebound.. i to felt like you, more symptoms, were appearing they still do to this day, i felt like a guini pig with the meds too.. i am not on nothing now, but i want to be as i know that they do help... and onece we get the fear under control the other symptoms will dissapear..
i suggest that you find a doc who will perform an eeg on your head.. tha will tell you for ysue weather your having.had siezures
i find im worse when i play racing games, my head buzzes i think its the speed off the cars sets me off.. and my head hurts so bad its unbearable..
i stick to fighting games now (360)
Off course I'll see the doc sooner or later... It's just that it makes me sick how they refuse to do any other tests aside from the MRI, saying that other test are simply not necessary. Only thing they do is prescribe a new pill every time. Be it as it may, I'll have to keep looking for a "right" doc that will prescribe a mix of therapy and meds, and that will actually listen to me instead of sending me away with prescription 3 minutes after I come in.
I has an EEG done when I was 15-16 about a year after my initial "seizure" or whatever it was. EEG was normal, although I barely made it through the test. The light flashing freaked me out quite a bit.
It's good to know there's someone out there with a similar problem. Don't get me wrong, It doesn't make me feel good that you're suffering. I hope you get 100% healthy right now or as soon as possible. It's just that it's good to know I'm not the only one in the world who got affected by games in such a way.