A long time gone

Hi,

I used to post on the old board a couple of years ago, re my daily migraines that I had for many many years, then I had to stop posting as my health issues got far worse.

In March 2009. I was referred to a neurologist after what was thought to be Transient global amnesia. He arranged for me to have a brain MRI at the time which showed a small legion near my brain stem, but he thought it was nothing to worry about.

Any neurological symptoms that I had at the time have now gone which is good, but in about June 2009 I started to get nauseated, and completely lost my appetite, since then due to the nausea I have been surviving mainly on liquid food, ensure drinks. I did loose a lot of weight at the time, nearly 10Kg, but although I have not re gained my weight I have not lost any more, and weigh about 88Kg. I am currently under a GI doctor locally who has performed many tests including an upper GI which is normal.

My daily migraines had stopped until last month now I have been getting daily headaches interspersed with weekly migraines, they are temporal headaches, mainly on my right temple and above my eye, but sometimes they move to my left. I was diagnosed back in 2002 with complicated migraines, and these seem very similar. My GP will not refer me back to the neurologist or for a repeat MRI saying that it does not warrant it, I am beside myself with worry, that this is not just chronic migraines. Being in the UK and without insurance means I can't get a scan without my GPs say so.

My pain seems to start at my eye brow there is even a tender spot on the brow, and the pain is in my temple, plus my neck seems stiff and tender.

All I can hope is that it is the return of my migraines and that they get better,

Peter

Peter_sky wrote:My daily migraines had stopped until last month now I have been getting daily headaches interspersed with weekly migraines, they are temporal headaches, mainly on my right temple and above my eye, but sometimes they move to my left. ...My pain seems to start at my eye brow there is even a tender spot on the brow, and the pain is in my temple, plus my neck seems stiff and tender.

My migraines usually start on the right side, sometimes switching to the left, as yours. I usually have the pain and tender spot on the brow too--I usually massage or put pressure on that spot--which sometimes helps just a little. I also get the neck problems.

It appears that the migraine part is pretty straight forward, however, I wonder if your GP can refer you to a gastroenterologist to do a more thorough examination specifically for your nausea and lack of appetite symptoms. Your intestinal issues seem to me to be much worse than typical migraine-related nausea.

I hope you can find something to help. I'm sure it's very debilitating to to have nausea and a lack of appetite continuously. Keep up the hope.

Becky

Oh gosh, I am so sorry you have to suffer so many ailments no sympathetic doctor to calm you down nowhere near.
Well if you have any means financially, in Poland you can go to any specialist and do any test you wish as long as you can pay, MRI included.
I suppose for you it would be best to find someone who speak Polish and English,
go to Warsaw and find any bigger Medical Office where doctors offices and labs are located in the same place.

You have rights to keep the documentation with you, too. I'll find out of this will be possible for you since you will be a foreigner.

Risa

Peter, If your GP wont refer you for a scan on the NHS, you are free to ask for a second opinion.
I'm not sure what insurance you speak of. Its usually NHS or pay up here.
Why not ask for a second opinion, or is there another doctor in the practice you can see first.
They dont all agree with each other that's for sure.
I saw 4 in our practice before getting a referal to a neuro.
Good luck.

Thank you for your replies.

Yes I am going to see a GI doctor again next month to follow up with my eating problems.

I hope that my headaches are a return of my daily Migraines I was diagnosed with before, they seem very much the same, they always start with a tender spot in my eye brow and then the real pain is in my temple, it seems worse in my right temple, then the next day the pain often travels across to my left temple area.

I have mailed my Neurologist last night to ask him to instruct my GP to do a repeat MRI if he thinks it is needed, I updated him of my symptoms since I saw him last year. Further to insurance, I had to see this Neurologist privately last year as on the NHS I would have been waiting for ever, since last year I have been unable to work so a private MRI is now out of the question at £600,

My delema is this, if the headaches are due to this legion on my brain stem and not a return of my daily migraines is there any point in knowing, as with the position of the legion on my brain stem nothing could be done, so am I best just to treat the pain as migraine and hope for the best?

Peter

Hi Peter,

Welcome back. I have had episodes that are like transient global amnesia too, although the memory of those times has never returned which it appears should happen with TGA. Please keep us updated if you find out more about what's caused this, I'm especially interested. My migraines do sound a bit like yours too, pain in eyebrow and frontal pain can be either side (or both), and I get neck pain as my body tenses against the pain. I've learned some relaxation stuff that has helped the neck pain a bit.

I also have sporadic hemiplegic migraines, although I'm never really sure what the difference between SHM and complicated migraine actually is, they do sound very similar when reading about them. My neuro just put my TGA down as part of my migraines. I have had two MRI's done, both just showing a pineal cyst that my drs think is unrelated. I'm not so sure and wonder if the pineal cyst is related to my weird sleep patterns which then contribute to the migraines. Either way it is unlikely it will ever be removed as that is complex and very risky surgery, so I'll never know.

I also get a lot of nausea and vomiting. Ondansetron melts have been fantastic for this. I previosuly used buccastem put this stopped being very effective. But my GI symptoms are related to migraine episodes so I'm glad you are being seen about this as yours don't sound as if they are.

I hope you find an answer.

Take care

Amy