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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Sinusitis / May 2006

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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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