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Chronic Severe Headaches following a grand -mal seizure
Fri, 09/22/2006 - 16:12Hello, I'm new to this site. I suffered a grand mal seizure at work about a year and 1/2 ago and in the process of falling from my desk chair I hit my head resulting in a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage. My head was imaged via an MRI and found that the hemorrhage had not continued to bleed - good news. What was yet to be clear was the reason for the seizures. I had two more in the ER. The neurologist said I had temporal lobe epilepsy, but the psychyatrist I had been seeing said that it was a mix of medications that he had given me that lowered my "seizure" level. I mean, come on, does everyone have a certain level at which they will automatically seize with out antidepressants?!? So, I am stuck in the middle not knowing whom to trust. I spent 3 days in ICU and 6 months without driving and a huge black eye. I immediately found myself a new psychiatrist who has me on the same amount of pills as the other shrink, the only difference is that these drugs are mood stabilizers/anti-convusants - which I thought very handy. So, now for the past 5 months I've been having headaches everyday! At first I did like a good girl and tried the OTC stuff everything from Aleve to Tylenol - nothing, then I made an appt. to see my neuro. but it was going to take 2 months to get in to see him. So in the mean time I had and an appt. to see my psychiatrist. She pointed the finger at my neuro. At which time I explained that I couldn't get in for another 2 months. So she called him. This is what really gets me : These two doctors HATE eachother and they don't try to hide it. They take unprofessionallity to a whole new level. So, I finally get into see him and what does he tell me? Stop taking OTCs they are giving rebound headaches and I'll be fine. By the way my mother is 55 and is dying of brain cancer- this brain fiasco is weighing heavily on all of our minds. If it is nothing, then fine...it could be stress, whatever, could be the epilepsy ....no one has said anything that I can hang my hat on. So FINALLY the Dr. sets up and MRI. And now as of today the Dr. is out having 18 holes while I'm waiting. This is really a vent, but on the other hand, I live in a town where there are only 2 neurologists. I don't know what to do to stop the constant headache. I've tried aroma therapy, massage therapy, and now that I'm at the end of my rope I'm Considering acupuncture and chiropractic. It ruins my daily activities. I'm not working because of it. I'm miserable. Does anyone have any advice other than to quit whining. :)
Re: Chronic Severe Headaches following a grand -mal seizure
Submitted by Les on Sun, 2006-09-24 - 08:23
It could be the med combination. Trying googling them both and finding what you can about them. Some psych drugs reduce the seizure threshold and some do cause seizures by themselves but you'll have to do a little research first. As for the MRI result, the back door method is to go to the place that did the test and sign for a copy of the report. A CT scan may be helpful depending on the MRI result but you could be having migranes. I have them as a result of my head trauma but I also get E headaches which are different and more like the symptoms of a stroke or mini-stroke so I can tell the difference. In my first accident I lost CSF ( cerebral spinal fluid ) along with having a hematoma and concussion and skull fractures ( occipital and basal ) I used to call them spinal heaches because the pain extended into my spine and any movement made them worse. I took tylenol at first and laid down in a dark room with a cold compress. Now, if I feel one coming on, I put on UV Shield blue glasses and take 2 tylenol. For a time I was on Fiorinol without codeine ( I am allergic to it ) and that worked pretty good as at that time the EEG was normal as well as the MRI.But we all know that the tests can be normal even when E is there for sure. A video EEG can sometimes help witrh the diagnosis. Migrane is common with epilepsy but of course you could have something else going on so don't forget a bloodwork up for infection. Allergies can also cause headaches as well as mold. ( like in sick building syndrome ) Sometimes a nasal decongestant with just pseudephedrine HCL will work. I call them my allergy headaches and one 30mg tablet is okay with my Depakote and does a good job. If not, after 30 minutes I take the tylenol. ( some drugs cause sinusitis so check for that as a possible trigger for the headaches from any meds. ) You may want to search for an epileptologist or a neuro with a good rep. Your GP can also be a help to you if you think there is a problem with the other docs you are seeing. Because I was misdiagnosed and grossly mistreated, I shy away from shrinks as they are not neuros and definitely not as well versed in E as epileptologists. I also found they dispense meds with out checking what the drugs were initially approved for and what the interactions and or side effects are. i get alot of the rare reactions. The PDR ( physician's desk reference ) lists the drugs and it is on-line somewhere - just google it to get to it. Les