Headaches might not be migraines

When I was about ten years old, I always had headaches. They weren't severe but I can remember having to rest to relieve them. I also remember my father tying his head with a cloth and resting to relieve his headaches. I really didn't think much of this and thought I was just overly tired. I got my first really severe headache when I was pregnant with my first child. I remember a very bad sinus infection and attributed the headache to that. Whenever I was overly tired, I tended to get a headache.

Now I am in my early 60's and had a very interesting experience. About 4 years ago, I contacted a very bad virus and was in bed for three days. I couldn't lift my head without having a great deal of pain. This went on for weeks so I consulted a neurologist. He prescribed a spinal tap. After the tap, the doctor prescribed several medications. He put me off and said I had migraines. I knew that this was a very different kind of headache. I didn't take the medication and the headache continued. I went to see another neurologist who specialized in headaches. I had another spinal tap and an mri.

He felt that I had a spinal leak. I had a procedure called a blood patch in my spine and I had a great deal of relief. After about a year the head pain began again but not as severe. I had another mri and needed another blood patch. It has been about 2 years since my last procedure and I am relatively headache free. Headaches only occur when I really push myself. I do get neck pain but the mri showed that my brain sank down a bit and there is some constriction.

After this leaky spine situation, I developed blepherospasm in the left side of my face.

My doctor feels that this is a result of my brain being constricted. I'm sure that I have simplified this a bit. I get mri's every two years and nothing has changed. I am grateful for that.

The migraine web site is an intense source of information and very helpful when I need answers to some specific question. Thank you for that.