4 week constant pain behind right eye
I've had a migraine headache for 4 weeks now. Doctors can't agree what it is. Started as one of my usual migraines that usually goes away in 1-3 days with rizatriptan. However this has not gone away with my triptan, high dose aspirin or other painkillers. One doctor says it's just a migraine and it'll eventually stop, another said it's trigeminal neuralgia, another said it's a cerveogenic headache from tight neck muscles and another said it's a medication overuse headache. So I feel lost as to what meds to take or not to take!! Also been feeling shaky, nervous and had some tingling in hands etc. I used to be fine taking a propranolol for short term anxiety and when I had one the other night had weird shaky feeling and dizzy odd feeling. I had no bad reactions to these before this headache and used to take them as a migraine preventative. Any help or thoughts welcome?
I'm sorry you are experiencing this type of headache. Migraine attacks that linger are miserable. Would any of your doctors happen to be a headache/migraine specialist? It's frustrating when doctors don't have some type of agreement on a condition. Over time our bodies can change in the ways they react to medications. Propranolol can make you lightheaded or dizzy and even make your hands/feet feel cold. Medication overuse/adaptation headaches can pop up with more frequent use of triptans, NSAIDs, or other pain relievers. Do you find your pain ramps up as these medications start to wear off? Gentle stretching may help to ease tight neck and shoulder muscles and I've found heat therapy to be helpful too. Keep talking to your doctors and give them as many clues as you can recall helping them come up with a care plan for you. Keep us posted. I'll be praying that you get this headache cycle behind you soon! Warmly, Cheryl migraine.com team Thank you for your response. It is very helpful to get lots of help and suggestions! No doctor i have seen has been a headache specialist and one gp said I would need to suffer this for 3 months before he can refer me to one! Feel like I have been written off as they don't really know what to give me! I think I am going to try my rizatriptan again, it's been two weeks since I tried it, but don't know what to do if that doesn't shift it. I have been trying my best not to overload my system with painkillers.
I have heard that a sumatriptan nasal spray or naproxen has been used to break a migraine cycle. Anyone have any luck with these?
I can't imagine why you'd need to suffer for 3 months before getting a proper referral! I hope you could reach out to your GP again to push (unfortunately sometimes we have to be the squeaky wheel to get progress) for a solution on this front. There are a lot of new treatments out there these days. The nasal spray you mentioned is another variation of the triptan you are already taking, just in a different delivery system. For some it works well. It may be that it's time for you to try a different approach altogether and, as I mentioned, there are many different types of treatments available. Here's an interactive page to help you navigate information on current treatments: https://migraine.com/treatment-options. I would certainly think a consult with a migraine specialist would be in order, given your symptoms. How would you feel about being a squeaky wheel? Do you absolutely need a referral or can you call a headache specialist directly to line up an appointment for a consultation (this would depend on your insurance). You could use this resource to find a specialist in your area: https://migraine.com/blog/looking-for-a-migraine-specialist. Warmly- Holly -migraine.com team.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I have now booked a consultation with a migraine specialist for 2 weeks time! Just hoping I can shift the pain with the rizatriptan in the meantime. And you are right, I will need to look into other treatment options and preventative.
Oh I'm so glad to hear this! And I really hope you can tamp down that pain pattern before that two-week mark as that's a long time to be suffering. You may be interested in looking into natural remedies: https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/natural-remedies. Or over-the-counter solutions while you are waiting to be seen: https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/migraine-otc-drugs. We are here for you always- for questions and support. So glad you are with us. Warmly- Holly -migraine.com team.
