Will My Head Explode?

Question

I had an anuerysm in January and survived it with no apparent scars other than the scar from the crainotomy.  I am experiencing head and ear pressure. It fills as if my head is going to explode.  It last for a few minutes then goes away.  I am also experiencing ringing in the ears, left eye twitching and sluggish walking.  Could this be because of the subarachnoid hemorrahage?  I had a cat scan in March, it showed no signs of water on the brain.  I forgot to mention that I get light headed (not often) and nauseous.

DrSharma · Answer

Hi there. Has the aneurysm been clipped? These fresh symptoms need to be assessed and an MRI brain down to check for any fresh aneurysm or rupture. This ruled out, multiple sclerosis needs to be investigated. MS is a chronic demyelinating disorder where the disease phase is characterized by active phase and remissions. It has multiple symptoms and signs and is a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are loss of balance, muscle spasms, numbness in any area, problems with walking and coordination, tremors in one or more arms and legs. Bowel and bladder symptoms include frequency of micturition, urine leakage, eye symptoms like double vision uncontrollable rapid eye movements, facial pain, painful muscle spasms, tingling, burning in arms or legs, depression, dizziness, hearing loss, fatigue etc. The treatment is essentially limited to symptomatic therapy so the course of action would not change much whether MS has been diagnosed or not. Apart from clinical neurological examination, MRI shows MS as paler areas of demyelination, two different episodes of demyelination separated by one month in at least two different brain locations. Spinal tap is done and CSF electrophoresis reveals oligoclonal bands suggestive of immune activity, which is suggestive but not diagnostic of MS. Demyelinating neurons, transmit nerve signals slower than non-demyelinated ones and can be detected with EP tests. These are visual evoked potentials, brain stem auditory evoked response, and somatosensory evoked potential. Slower nerve responses in any one of these is not confirmatory of MS but can be used to complement diagnosis along with a neurological examination, medical history and an MRI in addition, a spinal tap. Therefore, it would be prudent to consult your neurologist with these concerns. Hope this helps. Take care.