Headaches questionnaire
overview of the first 86 answers

OTC_medication|prescription_medication|accupuncture|cranial_massage (1)

OTC_medication|diet (1)

nothing_helps|OTC_medication|prescription_medication|diet (1)

OTC_medication|prescription_medication (4)

OTC_medication (20)

prescription_medication (15)

nothing_helps (5)

prescription_medication|accupuncture (1)

meditation (1)

other (6)

unknown (6)

OTC_medication|yoga (2)

OTC_medication|prescription_medication|cranial_massage (1)

prescription_medication|other (2)

prescription_medication|physio (2)

regarding cause of headache - i would choose all of the options with the exception of bone dust and radiation - i have all sorts of headaches (most i have been able to identify) with all sorts of causes and some for no apparent reason at all.

I did fine after the radiation until Sept. 1 when I had a bout with the stomach virus and I have had some headaches and some facial spasams since that time. The doctor gave me 2 rounds of steriods which I am coming off of at this time. Have not felt very well in 2 months.

mid fossa done for Right AN wait and watch for new left AN

My headaches prior to surgery were usually stress or sinus related. Haven't really experienced any headaches after surgery.

Cause of headaches: twofold. 1 - CSF leak. I believe was treated poorly. Lumbar drain was used but twice came out. 2 - Following CSF leak I was instructed to not move my head for 4 months - without any support. And without any physio afterwards. I believe this has led to muscle damage in neck and shoulders. Both of these issues have been ignored by the medical experts.

I had severe headaches before treatment. These were completely cured by the FSR. I took no medication for headaches other than Paracetemol

I suffered what we suppose to be migraines before my diagnosis which no meds would lesson the symptoms. After AN diagnosis and being put on decadron my headaches went away and I've not had one since surgery

Prescription medic. only if absolute, the best therapy has been to go to bed and stay there in the dark until it's gone....not always possible

Receiveing Botox injections in the back of head, neck & shoulder for headaches. Also take Vicoprofin, Neurontin & Zanaflex (muscle relaxer)

partial temporary relief from Demerol injection at hospital emergency room

Answered don't know to a couple of questions - I don't know the cause of the headaches, but I guessed they were because of some post-radiation activity in/around the AN. Could have been exacerbated by stress as I had started a new job. The nature of the headaches changed after the treatment, difficult to say whether the severity was affected, as they were not especially bad before.

My Doctor told me not to let my headaches get bad. Take medicine when the first sign of pain. I have been under the care of my Chiropactor too.

Not sure of reason, neither are doctors sure. Sometimes headaches are excruciating, leading to vomiting and leaving me weak after their fury has subsided. Hope that combination of tramadol, 150 mg per day, and acupuncture is reason for recent pain-free days, which are a true blessing.

The ealy post surgery headaches - nothing helped. I took advil to relief some of the pain but I would still wake up every day with a headache and go to bed with one. I tried accupuncture, massages, different medication prescribed by the neurosurgeon - but none of them helped. It was a constance nagging paid over the incision site and down the neck and across. 3 years post surgery they have gotten much better, but are not gone. Surgeon suggested bone dust at first, also one of the titanium clips in my head I can feel from the outside and he said he could now take it out if I wanted him too. I haven't decided to go that route yet. Not too keen on opening up my head again.

May be stress, have been getting worse, started after AN was found. I hope is only stress.....

I did not experience many headaches before the operation and not many after

I have been a headache sufferer for years. They started a few years before I was diagnosed with my AN. I have had several concussions (from car accidents)and hits and kicks to the head (I used to teach and practice maritial arts) as well as having a ceiling fan fall on my head! This was an old fan with one of those large, heavy motors. So, I think all of my past history has a lot to do with my headaches. Since the AN discovery, I've been to several doctors, but none of them have been helpful with treating my headaches. However, I believe I have been pretty successful in treating them on my own. Last November, I had one of the worst headaches I'd ever had or at least had in a long time. This one even included my face bones hurting badly along w/my whole head. It lasted a week (the first three days were horrible). I went to the emergency room and they gave me some oxycodeine, which didn't help a bit. When their headache clinic never returned my calls, I got pretty much fed up with the whole doctor business. (BTW: One said he thinks I might have Trigeminal Neuralgia.) So, I started looking into my own cures and remembered a friend who is a migraine sufferer and I told her years ago about Feverfew. I decided I would try that too. So far, that has worked the best for me. It is an herb and for headaches it should be taken for three months faithfully, then start weening off it or if after a couple months one notices a difference, then they can start weening off to include that in the three month timeline. Feverfew is not an herb to be taken for long periods of time as it is an anticoagulant. People already taking other prescriptions should check with their doctor too. I took the tincture (liquid) type Feverfew about 15 drops in a little amount of water twice a day for about two and half months, then weened off it for the last two-four weeks. Anyone interested can find a lot of info at the library or on the internet. Some health food store owners are pretty knowledgeable too. I still get headaches, but they have not been as frequent or as severe in almost a year now!! I highly recommend anyone suffering from headaches to at least give it a try.

Percocet takes away the sharpness. Have just started on Lyrica with little or no change over past two months

I go to a chiropractor and have neck treatment. take ib prop. 800 only if i have to. xanax limited, try to keep stress down. with ear buzzing headaches worse in morning with nausia. i was in car accident 2 years ago and had neck and head trauma.

I notice I have rebound headaches, every 12 hrs. sometimes I can breath thru them. I'm hoping this won't be my lot indefinitly, will seek a prescription maybe anxiety,? am also in menupause, which can cause headaches?

My headaches wake me up around 3-4 a.m. about once every 3 weeks. I take Advil, then put ice on the pain, and try to go back to sleep. When I get up at 7:00, I take 2 Tylenol, and by the time I go to work (9:00am), I am fine.

My headaches disappeared when I changed my computer monitor to a flat screen instead of a CRT. I'm not sure if that was just a coincidence or not.

Headaches seem to coincide with changes in hearing, so I believe they are associated with a tumor growth spurt or swelling. Pain is diagonally opposite the location of the AN, on one side of my head only.

Indocin 25mg 3x/day (life saver!) Trileptol 150mg at bedtime (I don't think this helps) Warm pack around neck (Very helpful) Posture My pain is on the opposite side of my surgery at the back of my head. My incision is slightly sore almost 2 years after surgery. Maybe the titanium plate is irritating a nerve. Pain started just after I finished the steroids post op. Bending over seems to trigger pain. Maybe it is coming from my neck. I don't know how I would manage without the Indocin although I fear it might be hard on my kidneys. Maybe I'll try Botox.

Accidently found the AN through CT scan looking for cause of headache. Now I have 2 problems.

I also get migraines which started back in 1994. I did have a cat scan w/no dye--was it possible that AN existed back then? I'm not sure. Going by the size they say I could have had it for 5-10 years.

Most headaches are on the non-AN side now. I think mostly stress/tension related.

I had what was percieved to be a severe migraine 10 days post-op. They increased in severity and frequency over the next 2 years and I was in bed most of the time with a headache that I woke up with in the morning. I get bad headaches from physical exertion. Tehy have gotten a little better in the past year, but I still have the exertion headaches, jabs and jolts all day, and an occaisional K10 on the kip scale. My neurologist thinks they are TACs, or clusters or a case of hemicrania continua. My personal opinion is nerve damage caused by surgery or clusters which were kicked into overdrive by surgery

I had very few headaches prior to my little friend being found out .just before I was told about my little friend{march 2004

Have suffered headaches all my life and always occurring on right side — same as AN side.

Still trying to find a way to get rid of the headaches

I experience vertigo and light-headedness regularly.

i probably had some headaches from the incision and being in the same position for 12 hours in surgery. I am sure that contributed to it. If i should get a headache, which is rare i would just take an ibruprophine or something mild.

I took paracetamol prior to diagnosis of AN and it didn't take the pain away and did think there was something wrong but it wasn't a factor in diagnosing AN.After surgery the headaches were milder prob due to healing.

Had Cyberknife treatment (3 days)

Excedrin Migrane is a life saver for the headaches, usually within 20 minutes its gone

I developed migraines in college (around the time I now suspect the tumor began to develop). I had horrible headaches during all of my pregnancies (which could have been the AN growing in response to the hormone flux), and had episodes of what I thought was TMJ (which included pain in the back of the head & face) several times in the few years before I was diagnosed. I attributed the headaches and facial pain to dental issues, caffiene intake, stress, or hormones. After surgical removal of the tumor, the headaches stopped entirely.

The headaches I get a not bad. I also have a herniated disc in my neck right side that causes pain on the right side of my head. I use ibuprofen or Xanax if needed.

being calm to help decrease the amount of headaches and sleep seems to be the only thing to stop mine, very hard to do at work.

Cause - due to physical operation - cutting of muscles and scalp, perhaps the tightness of closing the scalp at completion. I take Neurontin 3 X 300mg per day which does help a little. I have tried lots of other drugs such as neurophen. I have had cortizone injected into my scalp which didn't help either. It has been 3 years post op and I have a headache every day, at times it is debilitating and I can't do anything.

headaches also compounded by Chiari I malformation, so difficult to tell which is causing headaches. Post radio-surgery headaches are dull, occassional sharp pain in occipital area.

Headaches were partly due to Hydrcephalus - surgery for shunt fixed this. Otherwise combinations of pain killers and hayfever drugs (which tend to reduce body fluids) reduced symptions. In all cases, unexplained headaches should go to the doctor.

My headaches diminished after I began using a beta-blocker (Atenolol) for high blood pressure. I still get occasional migraines but the cluster headaches seem to have departed. When I was having frequent migraine headaches I would take a combination of Vicodin and Compazine. My wife also gets migraines and has had great success with Imetrex.

Before my surgery my headaches were severe. But before this, I rarely had headaches. Thats when I knew there was something more to my headaches and neck pain.