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Hi- Iv get headaches everyday. This isn't an exaggeration. They started around 9 or 10 and they haven't gone away since(I am 16 now) When I was younger they would last minutes, very short lived but enough to cause me a lot of problems in school, as I got older they became more and more frequent until there wasn't a moment when I didnt have them. On a regular day they are about 6/10 on the pain scale. They do get exacerbated from strep throat and colds, which is when I would be taken to the emergency room, I cant even stand up without feeling like my head is being crushed and stabbed at the same time. My headaches rarely are accompanied with nausea.
I have had MRIs done through out the year which all came back normal, though i am going to be getting a sleep study done soon to check for seizure activity and some blood work.

If anyone has any idea as to what this could be please help me, Iv been to so many doctors and specialists, none of them can tell me what is causing the headaches.
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620923 tn?1452915648
Hi and welcome to MedHelp.

I know how you feel as I too had headaches form a very young age and was not diagnosed until age 48.....which is far too long to go feeling like that , plus it is scary not knowing what is going on.
Since you have had MRI's done, I would suggest you request copies of them along with the reports to help any future Drs narrow down what is going on....it is faster to get the help you need when you get sopies of ALL testing...request at time testing is done.....so, you will want to go to the faculity that did the testing not your Dr as he/she may charge you while the facility should be willing to give the copies to you free of charge.
I had a few MRI's done once they were offered (MRI did not exist when I was a child) and I was told they were "normal" too.....after requesting the old MRI's I found the MRI report stated I had a condition I was never told about.......so do get copies and have a Dr review them for you.
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Thank you so much for replying, what were you diagnosed with?
Hi...well the one Dx was Tethered Cord, and I was DX with Chiari Malformation, Ehlers-Danlos, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.....to name a few.....
I was recently checked for Chiari Malformation and  it came back normal. I think they said it was like 2mm descended. I didnt know if that was normal or not.
Hi...first, Chiari is not the herniation and many Drs are not qualifies to say you have it or not as they only look to the herniation....however, Chiari is the malformation of the skull leaving it too small to allow it to house the cerebral tonsils wich cause them to herniate . A small herniation can cause symptoms more so then one 13mm's and it is more the width then the length...imagine a funnel, and a piece of shoe string licorice running down thru it...will that stop you from using it to pour a liquid thru? No, but try placing a gumdrop in there....that can work as a cork....it's not long, .....see my reasonings here? The cerebral tonsils can act as a cork and stop CSF from flowing...so that is what you need to know next is do you have a CSF obstruction?  Surgery for Chiari is done to restore CSF flow and slow progression ...since an obstruction can lead to the formation of a syrinx....and you do not want that too.

Some Drs get all excited to see a 13 mm herniation and rush the patient in for surgery....and sometimes that feel worse post op....some claim to havenever had symptoms and it was found when they were looking for something else.Those same Drs will ignore someone with obvious symptoms because the length is in their opinion too small....Even Chiari specialists look for a herniation of 5mm's before they consider you a surgical candidate....another BUT here is that there can be other issues such as basilar invagnation, a retroflexed odontoid and Syringomyelia(syrinx) ,Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and a host of other issues/conditons and a true Chiari specialist would look for those in a patient that is having symptoms. Mine did and I did have a retroflexed odontoid, EDS, and my herniations were only a 4mm on one side and a 6 on the other.....so your Dr would have over looked me too.....I did have surgery and I am so much better now.....in fact in a few days I will celebrate my 9 year Zipperversary!

BTW- did you get copies of you MRI and one of the report? If not, go to the facility that did the studies and ask for them...going forward ask for copies of ALL testing, blood labs etc....it'll make things easier for you as you push for answers.
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