continued severe headaches

[chinacat46]

I had been on Topamax for almost three years. Suddenly in end of January my headaches came back. I was weaned off of the Topomax to Amitryptaline 100mg at night to prevent the headaches. It was also noted that I had an AVM on the left periatal lobe of the brain in addition to a cavernous hemangioma on the right frontal lobe. My headaches have continued despite the increase of Amitryptaline. Last night I had such a terrible headache I could not sleep. Also there seemed to be a constant auditory humming. This is the fourth headache since Thursday of last week. I ended up taking two Maxalt and some hydromorphone to finally sleep. Should I be considering other options then continued medication in regard to the AVA and cavernous hemangioma. I am at a loss and very frustrated.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

How are you?
AVM in the brain are tangled cluster of blood vessels. The main symptoms of AVM are headache, numbness, weakness, visual problems and acute onset of stroke. They usually become symptomatic in third or fourth decade of life.
The treatment options include embolization, microsurgical resection and radiosurgery.
Please discuss these options with your neurosurgeon. Hope this helps!

[brilmont]

Please do some research on histamine intolerance.  Try a low histamine diet for at least 3 weeks.  NO CHEESE, TOMATOES, CHOCOLATE, RED WINE, SPINACH, STRAWBERRIES, ETC.  Try an Anti-histamine (ie. Zyrtec, Claritin, Benadryl) while dieting to see if they help.  GOOD LUCK.