about 15 -16 years ago, my wife was knocked out while walking to work, and she thinks it was by some college boys in the dorm next to hers who were drinking beer on a balcony right behind her as she was walking. She heard them snickering and the next thing she knew, she was drifting in and out of consciousness and getting up off the grass with a knot on the back of her head. (my guess is one of them chucked an empty beer bottle at her) After this episode, she started having headaches more often than before,(prior to this she only had them 1 - 2 times a year) and as time went by, they got more severe. But they always went away eventually if she took over the counter pain relievers. She never went to see a doctor about this incident, and when we were dating, she told me about it, but didn't say anything about the occasional headaches. Then after going through several years of being able to treat them, one night I brought some BLT sandwiches home from the place I was working at and we had them for dinner and started watching a movie. Within a short time, she was having a terrible migraine with a splitting headache and I took her to the ER to make sure she wasn't having a stroke. They did some tests and a spinal tap, but didn't find anything wrong. Eventually the migraine subsided, but she was left with a mild but constant headache that never went away for years (except for one specific time period that I will mention later, and which I hope is a helpful clue). The really bad migraine "spike" that landed her in the ER was probably due to a chemical preservative in the bacon on the BLT. (over the years since this episode we found out that the coloring in Dr. Pepper does this same thing to a lesser extent, and the green coloring in margarita mix is much worse, so she avoids these, as well as heavily flavored snack chips) So now she has a mild, but constant headache that occasionally spikes into a migraine. But she didn't want to go back to the doctor to try to figure it out. Not until we have lunch at a Mexican restaurant and have a lime margarita. This is where she finds out that artificial colorings are one trigger for her migraine. It gets bad enough to get her back to the doctor for a CAT scan and an MRI, but both come back normal. Eventually the migraine goes away, but the "underlying headache" is still there and after a few follow up visits to try to figure things out, there is still no answer as to why. But a few years later, she had to have surgery on her ankle, and after waking up from the general anesthesia, Lo and Behold, the underlying headache was gone. And it stayed gone for 1 1/2 months, after which time it slowly came back. This was 5-6 years ago and she still has the constant headache, and occasional migraines which usually show up around the same time as her period, although stress now seems to be causing them at other times too. The migraines aren't debilitating, (though still very unpleasant) but the underlying, constant headache is more of a concern for both of us. I am hoping that the fact that it went away temporarily after undergoing general anesthesia could be a clue that might suggest a diagnosis or treatment for this problem. Any leads on information will be greatly appreciated.
Post Edited (Sugar Squirrel) : 1/12/2013 10:12:43 PM (GMT-7)