Continual migraines

[Thudd]

I had a virus followed by a sinus infection about a month back, and have been suffering severe headaches ever since, accompanied by neck ache and pain across the sinus and right eye. Eye waters often.
GP gave me Doxycycline for 2 wks for a sinus infection. I was off work for over 3 weeks in total as I use a VDU all day and was unable to tolerate the brightness of the screen.
I've been back at work a week and am still struggling. Been to see an optician who basically prescribed sunglasses.
I have had migraines occasionally for the last few years, following a car crash. These usually have a visual component in the same eye, and although i'm not getting "sparklies" with the current set of headaches, I do have a loss of clarity compared to what I am used to.
My eye test showed "fighter pilot" levels of clarity in both eyes, certainly no problem reading reg plates.
Anyhow, I am taking paracetamol, phenylephrine, and ibuprofen lysine. A Saline nasal spray (calpol for infants) seems to help a little. I have Sumatriptan on prescription, but it pushes the pain backwards into my neck and makes me feel sick and dizzy.

Any suggestions?! I'm properly fed up of this and it's severely impacting my ability to work.

[Mad Mitch]

Had a good friend many years ago that suffered terrible headaches... All leading back to a facial injury from a car accident. Whilst all looked ok after persistent nagging at her doctors they sent her for x rays/scan and found damage to the nose causing the problems.... worth a try.

Mitch

[Thudd]

Yeah, I guess the obvious answer is "go back to GP and wave Bupa card".

[968]

Thudd said:

I had a virus followed by a sinus infection about a month back, and have been suffering severe headaches ever since, accompanied by neck ache and pain across the sinus and right eye. Eye waters often.
GP gave me Doxycycline for 2 wks for a sinus infection. I was off work for over 3 weeks in total as I use a VDU all day and was unable to tolerate the brightness of the screen.
I've been back at work a week and am still struggling. Been to see an optician who basically prescribed sunglasses.
I have had migraines occasionally for the last few years, following a car crash. These usually have a visual component in the same eye, and although i'm not getting "sparklies" with the current set of headaches, I do have a loss of clarity compared to what I am used to.
My eye test showed "fighter pilot" levels of clarity in both eyes, certainly no problem reading reg plates.
Anyhow, I am taking paracetamol, phenylephrine, and ibuprofen lysine. A Saline nasal spray (calpol for infants) seems to help a little. I have Sumatriptan on prescription, but it pushes the pain backwards into my neck and makes me feel sick and dizzy.

Any suggestions?! I'm properly fed up of this and it's severely impacting my ability to work.

The eye watering component sounds like an autonomic migraine or perhaps a cluster headache. There are specific treatments for these, and if your GP isn't confident, then ask for a referral to a Neurologist, particularly one that specialises in headache management. Sunglasses will not help at all, so don't bother with that, unless it gives some relief to the light sensitivity.

[YarisSi]

Hi

I volunteer for The City of London Migraine Clinic. They are the only clinic like it in Europe and train lots of health professionals. 85% of the patients rate them excellent and the other 15% rate them good (they saw around 2500 patients last year). If you speak to your GP he can refer you or you can do it yourself. It makes no difference.

The best thing to do is give them a ring and they will answer all your questions. Or I can try.

Give them a ring on 020 72513322
Website has lots of info on it: http://www.migraineclinic.org.uk/

[Thudd]

My Optician thought my (mild) astigmatism + glare could be causing photosensitive headaches.
Still suffering pain across right sinus from nose to ear, watery eye, occasional striking pain through eye building to massive headache across whole right hand side of head. And constant neck ache and aching palette.
My photosensitivity has decreased after completing the course of antibiotics, but eg sitting in a meeting staring at a white screen was enough to cause me problems. Sudafed + Nurofen Migraine is managing to keep me at work, but by the time I get home I've had it.

[968]

Thudd said:

My Optician thought my (mild) astigmatism + glare could be causing photosensitive headaches.
Still suffering pain across right sinus from nose to ear, watery eye, occasional striking pain through eye building to massive headache across whole right hand side of head. And constant neck ache and aching palette.
My photosensitivity has decreased after completing the course of antibiotics, but eg sitting in a meeting staring at a white screen was enough to cause me problems. Sudafed + Nurofen Migraine is managing to keep me at work, but by the time I get home I've had it.

No, your optician is wrong. Your symptoms would not and are not caused by astigmatism. I think you need to see a Consultant Neurologist with a specialist interest in headaches. At the Royal National Hospital for Neurology in Queens Square, London, there is a chap called Dr Mathuru, who is superb in this area. See him.

[DKL]

Thudd said:

My Optician thought my (mild) astigmatism + glare could be causing photosensitive headaches.

Do you have glasses and if so how often do you use them.
It is not unreasonable to suggest uncorrected astigmatism and/or a glare source as a contributory factor to these headaches if you either have specs and don't use them very much or the astigmatic correction wasn't offered.
So no he wasn't necessarily wrong.
Sunglasses will only ever reduce the light intensity so will help the symptoms not the cause. If you are that uncomfortable then there is a lot to be said for helping the symptoms in the first instance.

[968]

DKL said:

Thudd said:

My Optician thought my (mild) astigmatism + glare could be causing photosensitive headaches.

Do you have glasses and if so how often do you use them.
It is not unreasonable to suggest uncorrected astigmatism and/or a glare source as a contributory factor to these headaches if you either have specs and don't use them very much or the astigmatic correction wasn't offered.
So no he wasn't necessarily wrong.
Sunglasses will only ever reduce the light intensity so will help the symptoms not the cause. If you are that uncomfortable then there is a lot to be said for helping the symptoms in the first instance.

The symptoms described by the OP are not caused by astigmatic headaches. The OP is describing autonomic headaches, probable cluster headaches in fact. These are entirely different to headaches caused by astigmatism. The OP needs to seek specialist advice about these type of headaches, and being diverted from specialist advice is not going to help solve his problems.

[DKL]

Consider the bigger picture. A neurologist might well be the most appropriate person to consult and no one is suggesting he is "diverted from specialist advice" but all these types of headaches have triggers.
Uncorrected cyls can be more than enough to assist onset of this, yes another, type of headache.
All avenues must be explored in these situation as in every other.

[968]

DKL said:

Consider the bigger picture. A neurologist might well be the most appropriate person to consult and no one is suggesting he is "diverted from specialist advice" but all these types of headaches have triggers.
Uncorrected cyls can be more than enough to assist onset of this, yes another, type of headache.
All avenues must be explored in these situation as in every other.

The symptoms described by the OP are in no way related to uncorrected astigmatism. I think he has already seen his optometrist, who has given this diagnosis. I presume that glasses would have been issued, nonetheless the headaches continue. Astigmatism does not cause continuous hemicranial headache, radiating to the neck and palate. It does not cause co-existant autonomic symptoms. As an Ophthalmologist, I see patients referred with headache of uncertain origin, many times, and we exclude all causes from simple minor causes, like astigmatism, to more serious intracranial pathology. However, in this chaps case, it is quite clear that his headaches are of the type that will require a neurologists input or management.

[YarisSi]

Did you try the City of London Migraine Clinic? If so how did you get on?

Si

[Thudd]

Not tried the migraine clinic yet, other than to visit the website.
The problems have improved to the extent that today I only feel tired, and have not taken painkillers (yet).
Tbh I think everyone is correct. I think it's a combination of:
Sinus infection (still ongoing)
Eyestrain/glare
Stress

I don't wear glasses at present. I have "fighter pilot" visual acuity - I can read the small "fire exit" sign at the other end of the office approx 30m away. My prescription is for +0.5 in each eye, 170.
I don't think this is causing the migraines, but I do think i'm getting eyestrain headaches and this won't be helping. My employers will buy me some glasses.

I'm going to sort out the sinus infection and eyestrain issues to prevent them from clouding the issue, then follow up with a request to see a neurologist about the migraines.

What I read about cluster headaches does seem to loosely fit. The slight mismatch is that I seem to get a red patch on the outside of my head close to my eye, rather than a reddening of the eye itself. The pain is only in the right hemisphere.

Taking steps to reduce stress at work and home as this may be a contributory factor.

Thanks for all your help (and PM's) so far.

[Morningside]

For the computer I use a lamp shining onto the screen. I know it sounds daft but it allows your eyes to adjust and also stops that harsh LCD glow (works for me anyhow).

Migraines are nasty things. Sometimes I have to goto bed for a couple of hours in a dark room with a cloth over my eyes and its hard to explain to people but its still too bright.

Longest migraine so far is 3 days. Horrible things! Makes me sick, off balance and send me (almost) insane.

You have my sympathy.


BTW: Did you see this?http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8547042.stm

[Thudd]

Update: Turns out that I have a "blue coloured lump" in my right Sinus.
Am now awaiting CT scan and Biopsy, and hearing test (right ear seems a bit quiet).
Hopefully it's just a cyst or something, but that's what's causing the swelling and pressure.

[968]

Thudd said:

Update: Turns out that I have a "blue coloured lump" in my right Sinus.
Am now awaiting CT scan and Biopsy, and hearing test (right ear seems a bit quiet).
Hopefully it's just a cyst or something, but that's what's causing the swelling and pressure.

That would explain most of your symptoms. Hopefully it's a polyp or something similar. At least it's been diagnosed and a solution can be forthcoming. Presumably the ENT surgeons have seen you? PM me if you need to.

[Thudd]

Yep, had a nasal endoscopy last night, same guy who took out my tonsils and uvula the other year. I am guessing that the CT scan is a precursor to further butchery

[968]

Thudd said:

Yep, had a nasal endoscopy last night, same guy who took out my tonsils and uvula the other year. I am guessing that the CT scan is a precursor to further butchery

It's a possibility, depends what the biopsy shows I guess. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's a benign polyp or inflammatory tissue. Glad that you got it properly investigated though....

[Busa_Rush]

968 said:

Thudd said:

Yep, had a nasal endoscopy last night, same guy who took out my tonsils and uvula the other year. I am guessing that the CT scan is a precursor to further butchery

It's a possibility, depends what the biopsy shows I guess. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's a benign polyp or inflammatory tissue. Glad that you got it properly investigated though....

I've had two operations to remove polyps, both pretty uneventful and not painful. Makes your eyes water when the doc pulls the splints out, no pain but not a pleasant sight

In the meantime try Syndol. I find it's very useful for minor stress/neck pain etc. Has a small amount of codeine in it which does the trick nicely. Can't really drive after taking a couple. I use them when I feel a migraine starting and usually don't need to resort to zolmitriptan which is one seriously brilliant anti-migraine drug.

[Thudd]

Good tip, cheers. I've been using Nurofen Migraine Pain + Sudafed. Not really cutting it.
I've had the feeling the headache was coming on recently, but managed to avoid it. It feels more like my sinus is going to explode / earache at the minute, but it's not kicking off into Migraine.