Hi,
I'm a supposed migraine sufferer (without aura) and my headaches usually line up with my menstrual cycles. However, as a 48-year-old, I'm experiencing irregular cycles now, which makes my headaches that much more unpredictable. I'm wondering, though, if I was misdiagnosed with migraines years ago, since my headaches always occur on one side of my face or the other, and are limited to one half of my nasal bone all the way up to the inner top "corner" of my eye socket (I can feel a tiny bony structure up in the top corner). If it's really bad, the pain will radiate to a spot on the side of my head: not exactly my temple, but more like two or three finger-widths behind my temple, going toward my ear.
My nose will become so sore, that whichever half of my head was affected, that side of my nasal bone will actually be painful to the touch for the next few days, even after the headache is gone. I understand my anterior ethmoid nerve runs right up where the pain always concentrates, so could it be a pinched nerve? I'm very familiar with sinus infections, and my headaches have no sinus or allergy symptoms, nor have I had a cold, etc. The headaches usually show up around the time of my cycle (which nowadays can be anywhere from 15 days to 40...whee.)
Relpax, one of the triptan medications, always seems to kill the pain. The problem is, we have no insurance, I'm not made of money, and if I buy more than three pills a month, I have to pay the regular price of $45 PER PILL. As I get older and my cycles get more irregular, this is becoming unworkable. I save my pennies to get Botox injections every three months to keep the headaches away, but again...it's a money thing.
What is the best, cheapest treatment for these kinds of headaches? Are they indeed a pinched nerve? (I have one of the narrowest noses of anyone I know...and these headaches run on my skinny-nosed side of the family.) Or are they "cluster" or contact-point headaches? Unlike traditional migraine sufferers, I've never had an "aura" in my life. I HATE taking Advil, because it upsets my stomach and generally doesn't work. If I'm desperate and have no Relpax, I take Naprosyn and Sudafed, which work somewhat. But these headaches can last for up to four days. Pain meds like Lortab are a complete waste of time: like killing an elephant with a flyswatter. If it were a pinched nerve, you'd think a hard-core narcotic would work...but it doesn't.
Thanks for your help! Prayers to my fellow headache sufferers...I know I'd rather have the flu than a migraine headache (or whatever these things are).