Help my mother - 8 years of chronic headaches

So here is the story. I want to know if anyone can help or has a similar history.

My mom is currently 53 years old. she cannot work. she cannot drive. she cannot clean, cook, etc. she cannot do anything that really involves any activity or any spending of energy. She has been sedentary so long I am sure that is part of the problem. She is a heavy smoker and has been mover 3/4 of her life. I know that doesnt help at all.

in 1994, Age 34 she had a stroke cause by a veil abnormallity at the base of her skull. Her blood pressure got too high, the vein collapsed and she had a stroke. Ever since then she has been having issued of one kind or another. The stroke affected her speach more than anything and that came back with time. She can talk fine now, still gets things backwards from time to time, but that is mostly all. The dr said at the 2 yr mark she would be as recovered as she was going to get from the stroke.

In 2003 she was still experiencing headaches, fatigue, stomach issues, and alot of other things that made her not feel well in general. The drs could not do anything that made her feel "good". She went for a CAT scan and they discovered she had an anurisym in her brain. A year later she had brain surgery to place a clip on the vein to prevent the anurisym from exploding and causing a brain bleed.

She has been in pain with a headache ever since that brain surgery in 2005. She has been on hydrocodone and a plethera of other meds; seisure meds, cholosteral, pain killers, xanex, all kinds of meds she takes on a daily basis. She has been to chiropractors, pain management drs, neurologists, general practicioners, etc and nothing seems to get rid of the head ache. she has tried botox and a few other injections at the site of the pain as well. Nothing works.

2 yrs ago we found a dr that said the brain sugerion had cut through two of her nerves and that was causing the pain. this new nueorlogist, along with a plastic surgeon, did surgery to reattach the nerves back together. It has now been two years since that surgery and it has not been affective at easing her pain. She goes back to that dr at the end of this month for re-evauation and see if maybe he can perform a nerve block procedure to kill the nerves. Who knows if that will work or if the nerves are really even the cause of the pain.

Does anyone have any ideas of other options we can try? My mother is noe severly depressed, as well as my dad. I have tried everything to help and I just cant do it anymore. We are all at a loss at this point.

Thanks in advance,

Amie 

Thank you naturalremedies. We have already done the medical marijuana thing, however it is against the law here in TX. Mom didnt think it helped much. She tried it a few times to make sure it really didnt help. I guess it didnt help since she hasnt asked me to get her anymore.

amramsey,

i truly hate to tell you that i am at a loss for words and most likely can be of no help (i don't know much about the issues your mom is dealing with), but i did just want to say that i did read this and my heart goes out to you and your mother. it's just heartbreaking how she suffers everyday and how you have to bear witness to it! i suffer with a constant, on-going headache that has been here for about 5 yrs. now and i always mope around in pain from my fibromyalgia and other illnesses... i could not *imagine* how horrible a stroke is, multiple surgeries, a brain aneurysm and the loss of all basic skills.

unfortunately, surgeries often only make things worse; it can open up a whole new can of worms for some people. coincidentally, a lot of my sickly family members always got much much worse after having surgeries for a plethora of problems. surgery can be very hard on the body. i think that is why some people simply choose just not to do it. it is entirely up to the individual or his/her family if that individual has no way of expressing their wants.

i agree with naturalremedies about the marijuana... i'm sorry to hear that your mom didn't seem to have luck with it. medical mj tends to be a life-saver for many patients with a variety of problems and diseases. i wish it were legal where i am living. my bf and i are going to move to a medical mj state when we can.

i wish i could be of help to you and your mother! i hate to say it too, but the heavy smoking breaks my heart to hear about. i wish that there was a way to get her to stop that at least. my mom died at age 53 from lung cancer due to smoking since she was 15 yrs old. and even if it isn't the *cause* of many peoples' health problems, it certainly does not help! i hate to hear when people are heavy smokers. i wish for something better for your mom, just like how i wished for something better for mine

your mommy definitely sounds like a fighter. my mom always was too... but i certainly was not upset with her when she chose to finally let go. i couldn't blame her. she is now at peace.

i know how you feel to watch someone you love suffer...

may peace [somehow] be with you <3

Love,
Eden

Sorry to hear that your mother is not doing well, and isn't able to be a good advocate for herself in finding the best quality of life. Just wanted to address the fact that she has intestinal issues, along with neurological pain. I was "under diagnosed", with all "symptoms" being dealt with separately. I agree that surgery can lead to chronic pain (look at CRPS, one of my "under diagnosed" conditions). That said, when there are other neurological conditions with migraine, like IBS/Colitis/Crohn's (all "under diagnosis" for me, along with RSD/CRPS, fibromyalgia, migraine and unexplained reactions to medication, misdiagnosed skin issues), you should look into a "triggered" condition, one which would get triggered at a genetic level. In my case, many family members had clinical symptom diagnosis that were an "under diagnosis" of a syndrome being expressed at different levels depending on our exposure to immune compromising viruses/toxins. I knew I had been "triggered", medical specialists always diagnosed with the underlying cause "unknown". For my family, my quest optimized everyone's health (and saved many member's needless surgery & medications). Our's was porphyria, specifically HCP, confirmed by DNA test, causing a myriad of neurological conditions. Armed with the cause, too late for some, like my mother who died of an aneurism, we now take all precautions to minimize the damage. It's a difficult journey, and I admire your strength, and the love for your mother that has you seeking the answers!

Gods love in action thank you for your post. I will look into the information you gave and see if it fits my moms symptoms

 

so sorry i haven't been on! lots of cramping in my hands, leaves it very painful for me to type.

i am sooo sorry to hear about your dad! oh, how i can relate to you so much! my dad has always been the same way... only, he has only been that way with me. my mom was his *everything* and he treated her like a princess. he only ever has lashed out at me and treated me horribly. i, too, have learned to stick up for myself. i don't take anything from anyone, actually!!!!

i'm glad your mom is a little more alert though. god, i just hope that you guys can find some relief soon . you're in my thoughts.

eden