Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Sinusitis / May 2006
Long headache?
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Horatio - 05 May 2006 04:48 GMT I am new to this group and I thank anyone in advance who can answer this question for me...
Is it normal or common to have a non-stop headache due to sinusitus?
A year ago, I went into the hospital and they found an aneursym. They decided to monitor it due to its size and location.
About a month ago, I got a headache that would not quit. It was not severe but it was constant....it NEVER goes away. When I wake up at night, it is there. The first thing I feel in the morning is the slight headache.
Of course, this freaked me out and I got a CAT scan to make sure my anuerysm did not bleed or burst. The CAT scan showed no bleeding or rupturing. They wrote that I have sinusitus of the right sphenoid.
My neurologist verified this.
My questiuon is how common is it to have a headache non-stop like this?
Pardon my ignorance on the matter but for the past year I have been reading up on aneurysms....
Thanks in advance!
Horatio
dkuhajda@locl.net - 05 May 2006 05:13 GMT It is common to have long term sinus headaches. I had a sinus headache prior to my sinus surgery to open up the passages that lasted almost 6 months. I also had to aggressively pursue minimizing allergen exposure and treat the allergy symptoms.
Make sure you describe to the best of your ability the location of the pain and try and describe what it feels like. It could be due to some other factor beyond the sinusitis, or it is due to the sinus pressure. Your GP Doctor should be able to point you in the right direction with a good description of the pain and when it is worse or better.
Some other, but not all, causes of headaches include: high blood pressure, dehydration, caffeine, sleep problems, TMJ (clicking jaw), stress or tension, eye problems (need new glasses?), medications, not to mention sinus issues.
In other words, there are lots of relatively minor causes of persistent or reoccuring headaches, one of which is sinusitis. It is worth having the doctor, and you, pursue relief of the sinusitis and see if the headache gets any better.
Horatio - 05 May 2006 05:29 GMT Thanks for the quick response!
I would like to ask you---you said that you had a headache for 6 months....was this non-stop? I mean, every second of the day and night?
I only ask is because that is how it is for me. Luckily, it is not a bad headache...after this past month though, it is definitely taking a toll.
I am glad I found this group. When I tell people about my non-stop headache, they reply back "yeah, I get headaches too".
Also, since it said on my CT report 'sinus disease of right sphenoid', I am pretty sure that it is sinusitus...so once agian, it is hard to get people's opinion. I tell them that there is something wrong with my sinus and they say "Yeah, I get colds too".
Anyway, thanks for the help. I really do appreciate it.
I am going to see a sinus specialist tomorrow (they call them EMT or ENT?). I am sure he will be able to lead me in the right direction...
Horatio
>It is common to have long term sinus headaches. I had a sinus headache >prior to my sinus surgery to open up the passages that lasted almost 6 [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >the doctor, and you, pursue relief of the sinusitis and see if the >headache gets any better. dkuhajda@locl.net - 05 May 2006 05:38 GMT The headache was mostly there all the time. Some days it was much worse, while others it was just a minor pressure feeling with occasional painful feelings.
Try describing the headache feeling here to see if it is common the typical sinus type of headache many people who have had sinusitis. The typical sinus type of headache for me included a very obvious pressure feeling either behind the eyes or into the ears with a plugged ear feeling.
dkuhajda@locl.net - 05 May 2006 05:48 GMT I forgot to mention. The best relief from my long term sinus headache included getting decongested and having a cortical steroid shot to reduce inflammation. The steroid shot is only a very occasional treatment that was used for the worst inflammation and related sinus pressure and was used to start the drainage process for immediate relief. Then the other medications prescribed had a chance to try and clear up the problem.
Now that my sinuses stay open almost all of the time because the drainage is working, I use a sinus rinse on occasion (during the worst allergy season) to assist the sinuses in working properly. This is in addition to careful control of my allergies.
Horatio - 05 May 2006 06:30 GMT Well, that is reassuring to hear, because my sypmtoms are very similar. My headache feels like it is behind my left eye. My head is kind of foggy but I think this might have something to do with my medication.
I first was prescribed a 10 day dose of Agumentin (2 a day for 10 days). This did not work. Then they presribed me Allegra and Levaquin (one each a day).
As of now, neither has worked, but my joints ache and I had a couple nights of serious insomnia.
I again thank you for your help. It is nice to talk to people who can sympathize.
>The headache was mostly there all the time. Some days it was much >worse, while others it was just a minor pressure feeling with [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >feeling either behind the eyes or into the ears with a plugged ear >feeling. dkuhajda@locl.net - 05 May 2006 14:00 GMT So far: 10 days of antibiotics Now: Anithistamine and another antibiotic.
Nothing to open up the channels or assist in the drainage yet? You will find that lots of people here have had good luck with irrigation to loosen things up, either the waterpik or some other one. I use Neilmeds sinus rinse with distilled water and heat it up to 100 deg F so it pretty much matches body temperature.
Some other things, not sudafed, I often use as a decongestant substitute: Hot steamy shower, Burger Kings onoin ring sauce, Spicy hot chili, Dentyne ice breaker gum, Vicks rub on the neck, Benzedrex Vapor inhaler, Personal Steam inhaler (Keep it as sterile as possible). Get the idea? All of these have a good short term decongestant effect for me. Taking an anti-inflammatory about one hour before any of these helps a lot, Motrin 500mg.
If you have any suspicion of allergies aggravating the problem, do a home allergen survey. Pets, down feather bedding, old furniture, damp basement, excessive dust, check your pillow (I replace my pillow every 3 months), latex (many foams contain latex and you might be allergic to it). I found out last year I had a latex allergy and had to test all things in my house to see if they contained latex. I found out I had a latex allergy when wearing latex gloves (like the ones in a lab or at the doctors office). After about 10 minutes I started itching, I pulled off the glove and washed my hands. They were red with a pretty good case of contact dermatitis and some hive like rashes working up my arms. Took a benadryl, washed them off a few times, and all was well again.
Good luck. It will take some trial and error on your part along with the best efforts of the Doctor to find out exactly what will work best for you.
My suggestion to you is try a sinus rinse and have the ENT office show you how to use it once, ask them about a personal steam inhaler (they may say to go ahead and buy one and use it before the appointment if you call them). In the meantime, try vicks vapor rub on the neck for a few days, take some long hot showers and really try and clear out the sinuses, remove and wash all your bedding material every day (make sure you have a NEW allergen free pillow and no down feather bedding). One other hint on your cloths and bedding, you might be allergic to the laundry detergent or softening agent being used.
The sooner you start getting the sinuses to drain out, the sooner the antibiotics will be able to resolve any infection. Most people know that antibiotics can clear up an infection, but if the sinuses are not open and draining, infection is very likely to come right back. It is kind of a catch 22, the infection causes swelling that prevents good draining, the swelling prevents good draining and breeds infection. Both problems need to be resolved for long term relief.
Allegra can cause some insomnia, as can a persistent headache. Try changing when you take it, especially at night. When I first started allegra it would cause some acid reflux if I took it too close to bed time, which would cause me to wake up.
Horatio - 05 May 2006 14:20 GMT Wow! That is a nice list of potential things to try! I did not realize that we were able to do so many things to hopefully alleviate the situation. I guess I just got spoiled in the fact that I never had this problem to this extent before (I am 32 and the longest headache I ever had was 3 days...now I am the month point with this headache).
My appointment with the ENT is in an hour so hopefully that goes well. It is nice to know what to expect though...
>So far: 10 days of antibiotics Now: Anithistamine and another >antibiotic. [quoted text clipped - 53 lines] >allegra it would cause some acid reflux if I took it too close to bed >time, which would cause me to wake up. dkuhajda@locl.net - 05 May 2006 15:12 GMT Let us know how the appointment goes and the results in a week then month or so.
ENTs really know sinuses very well (they should :), but since they are also trained as surgeons, some of them sometimes think more along the lines of surgery. The ENT I found (after two previous ones said surgery was the first option) wanted to try all other options first and treated the problems very aggressively to get things cleared up as quickly as possible. Only then was he willing to suggest surgery to straighten out the previously broken septum and roto-rooter the drainage channels.
Don Brady - 05 May 2006 17:50 GMT Don't forget that there are many other causes of headache besides sinuses.
I myself would not be at all sure that your headache is of sinus origin, just because you have sinusitis as well.
If you are the one who has an aneurism (forgive me if that was a different person) then there is obviously a significant possibility that your headache is of cerebrovascular origin.
Never make the mistake of guessing - explore both possibilities on an ongoing basis (if applicable to you - if not, please ignore).
Horatio - 08 May 2006 06:14 GMT Thank you for the advice.
The first thing I did when I felt the headache for a week was to go to the ER and get a CAT scan. Having an aneurysm makes headaches appear MUCH MORE important.
The CAT scan said that the anuerysm was not leaking and did not rupture. To be sure, I took the scans to my neurologist and he agreed.
Unfortunately, I took the scans to a sinus doctor (ENT) and he does not think that my headache (now a month long, non-stop) is due to my sinuses! He did say he will schedule me for an X-Ray of my sinuses.
I think my next choice is to go back to the neurologist and get another MRI. It would really be nice to know what is causing this headache and if it can be fixed. Luckily, the headache is not too bad but the fact that it is constant is really taking its toll.
Thanks again for everybody's responses...
>Don't forget that there are many other causes of headache besides sinuses. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >Never make the mistake of guessing - explore both possibilities on an ongoing >basis (if applicable to you - if not, please ignore). Shirley Ann - 05 May 2006 11:17 GMT Horatio. I get those sinus headaches, especially after a day being out in the wind. Sometimes they will last for days and nights. I use Aleve for a couple of days, it takes the pressure off, and warm tea helps too.
One of my sinus never developed on 1 side of my face. My doctor did an xray of my sinus 10 years ago.
shirleyann
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