migraines and facial/eye pain.....

Just wondering if anyone else experiences pain between the eyes, and in behind the nose area of the face along with migraine head pain?????

I am having chronic daiily headaches along with migraine headaches, and I am having alot of eye/facial pain....
I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, and this pain is really wearing on my mental health.... I am forever taking medication... both OTC and RX.
I have tried Naproxen, Torodal & stemitil, Zomig, and currently have Maxalt. ( and lets not foorget Advil which is consumed like candy!)
I am tired of people saying that it is all in my head, and thinking that I am addicted to medication....
I feel very frustrated!!!!!! help.........

The face pain is getting really bad.... Does anyone else have a similar story, or can offer any advice.... I find it hard just to have my eye glasses sittting on my face, it hurts soo bad..... I have had CT scan of my head x2, 1 just recently, and have been to see a ENT to rule out sinus problem..
They keep saying that it is part of my migraine..... I did have relief of mysymptoms after going to my physiotherapist and having accupuncture 3x.

Any advice out there really welcomed.
very frustrated.

Eye pain here! I swear my eye bulges on the affected side. Have you had an MRI? It shows where all the mini strokes from migraines are. That may give you a clue when you see the whit spots on the MRI.
I also get the face/sinus pain. I get congested on the migraine side and have to use neosynephrine. Sometimes if I wake up with the sinus pain and clear it fast I can avoid the migraine. This isn't consistent for me.

With the face pain you many have a nerve problem in one of the facil nerves. Your pain with glasses is pretty severe and I think maybe unusual. At least I haven't heard it before.

People who have never had a migraine will always give you crap. They can't believe a headache can be that bad..ever. That is why we are here for you. tell them it is all in your head, it's a storm in the brain. Someday they will have a flu with aheadache so bad they will want to die...then they will understand.

One last thing, do you have a neurologist?
kathy

Complete sympathy from me! Sometimes I think my migraines should be called faceaches not headaches as the pain is all my face/eyes even my teeth! I have lots of different 'types' of migraines/headaches but the worst ones for me are the ones that centre in my face, the throbbing pain I get in my right nostril just below my corner of my eye is unbearable and no pain meds touch it...it can also linger for around 5 days....ugh..

The problem with the facial migraines is they are hard to relieve with ice....you can't walk around with an ice pack on the front of your face lol...whereas for the one sided headaches I have ice permanantly on my head.

I feel for you, its very wearing and frustrating to deal with this day after day, I live in hope that one day I/we can figure out the CAUSE of these migraines, since all doctors seem to want to do is throw medication at me.

Jul
x

I almost always have eye pain with my migraines. I have times when I'll have cheek and/or tooth pain.

I am so glad that there are people out there who experience the same thing...
This chronic pain issue is really bringing my spirits down.
I had last night at time of my original posting the really bad face pain.... It did extend right down into my upper teeth. (first time for that-- seems to be moving farther down my face). Originally it would always be between my eyes/across the bridge of my nose, and my eyeballs!
Last night I used the voltaren gel on my forehead/ nose and cheeks, as well as my neck and shoulders.
I also took a muscle relaxant - Norflex 100 mg. and lots of Advil.

I will be going to my gp in the next couple of days, and I don't know what to ask for / try for a new medication.. suggestions!!!

I have never been to a neurologist before, or pain specialist, but I think I may ask for the referral.
Had an MRI back in 2001- so the problem has been around for a long time, but gotten waaayyy worse.
In 2010 my ENT saw a large bone spur/growth on my nasal septum, and thought that was causing my headaches/ face/eye pain. This was the result of my 1st CT scan. I had septoplasty to remove the growth, and it was a horrible surgery.
Any way since last fall my pain /problems have gotten really bad, I am getting desparate.

Thank you for listening to me, as my husband/ family does not understand and I feel I can't even talk about it (very hard for me)
I will see what my GP says I guess.
thanks
J.

My pain is almost always in my left eye, in the orbital notch above my left eye, and in my left cheek right below my eye. It feels as if someone is pushing a pool cue through my face or like if I stuck an ice pick into the painful spots I would get relief. I also get symptoms like nasal congestion and a dry eye as a part of it all. Nasal congestion can be a symptom of a migraine attack (the migraine effects the nerve that can cause congestion - or something like that).

I have daily pain with regular migraine attacks. I also get really down and feel so alone with it. I think that is a very human response to chronic pain -- and why forums like this exist.

A referral to a headache specialist would be a good move - though even then it may take a while to find the right doc. Not all neurologists specialize in primary head and face pain. I'm about to see my fourth neurologist and the second one who is a headache specialist. We have to keep trying.

Also, if you take a lot of Advil or other pain killers, more than two or three days a week, you may experience rebound headaches. That's an unfortunate situation where the pain medicine starts to cause headaches. Might be good to ask your doctor if that is a possibility.

I've yet to find a good fix for my pain. Meds that used to work don't anymore. One thing I've found is that taking gabapentin daily helps. Whenever I have tried to go off of it the pain and number of migraine attacks get worse. You might ask if there is a daily preventative you could take.

I hope you find relief soon. Best of luck with your referral. And know here there are those who understand.

I do believe that I definately get rebound headaches, and I am now trying to Motrin 300's and torodal when bad.(for the facial pain) It has been a week without the headache--- yay!!!!
Apparently my last CT scan showed a polyp/cyst in the maxillary sinus with some inflammation. Other than that, head scan looks great. I had polyps in both maxillary sinuses on my 1st scan 4 yrs earlier, along with a large bone spur on my septum. The bone spur was removed by surgery 3yrs ago.

I just finished a week of high dose antibioics -amoxi/clavulin 875mg x2 & prednisone 50mg along with nasonex (today)all to try to treat for anything sinus. (this was after seeing the DR at a medical day clinic.)
Just went to my ENT today, who reviewed Ct results, and he says that the sinus polyp would not cause that amount of pain!!!!
He said to try Elavil 30 mg daily for chronic pain, but I have been on this in the past, soo I don't know. I haven't ever seen a neurologist, and don't know whether I should mention it. I still think my family doc thinks I am crazy.

Nobody (doctors) seems to be able to say why the facial pain?
It is almost like the pressure/ache of weight on my upper nose/inner eye sockets, or as if something is squeezing the bridge of my nose.. My glasses really seem to aggravate it, so it is very frustrating.

I feel better this week in general but it still seems to be an ongoing issue! so I no further ahead. I am really glad to just be able to vent explain my situation/story without being judged as neurotic.....
thanks for listening!!!!!

You know, referrals are not always necessary. The new neurologist and headache specialist I'm seeing soon I found from a web search. I just called and made an appointment. I've gone to see another neurologist without a referral in the past as well. Check out the list on this webpage. Maybe one of these doctors will be near you.

http://www.migraineresearchfoundation.org/pdf/Final%20Diplomate%20List.pdf

I actually found a dr in my state on that list. I may call tomorrow and ask for a referral!! (my health ins. requires referrals.) thanks a ton!!

"freak"

Yes on the face pain from me too. I can't wear my glasses with a bad one but my vision usually blurrs with it anyway and I watch fuzzy TV.

I dig my fingers up under my eyebrow until I think I'm going to break the bone. It extends into my cheeks and I can't wear my partial with a bad one, and sometimes with one that's not as severe.

We all have differing symptoms and levels of pain. It's always good to check in here. You're right, people without migraines just don't understand. They think you get the same pain they do with a headache and can't figure out why you're making such a big deal out of it. Try not to let them get to you.