New head pains! Help! 57 year old.

My mom is 57 years old and 2 weeks ago she experienced the worst pain of her life. She was in church and all of the sudden she felt a sharp pain at the top of her head. It was a level 10 pain. We went to the ER immediately thinking it was a stroke but by the time we got there it was almost gone. They did a CT scan and all was well.

She would then suffer this pain 15 times in a week and a half with 8 ER visits. They finally admitted her to the hospital. They did the following tests:

CT scan
Chest x- Ray
Urine sample
Blood work
Lumbar puncture
MRI
MRA
EKG
Sleep apnea study (scheduled)

All these tests came back fine. She saw a neurologist and they have prescribed her Topamax (2 pills in the morning and 2 at night). They also gave her Depacon in the hospital.

Before the hospital, her attacks would last a couple of hours. She would be totally drained with a 7 -10 level pain constantly. Her blood pressure would be so high from the pain that we would have to take her to the ER. She would have one a day... Mostly while she slept. The pain would wake her up. A couple happened in the middle of the day. Rubbing her head makes her feel better as well as sitting up.

Since the Topamax, she has gotten the pain every 36 hours or so but they only last 15-20 minutes. Much better. She throws up sometimes and the pain goes down quickly. Any suggestions? Do these migraines ever go away? Any similar experiences?

Welcome to the forum. They don't sound like classic, however they do ressemble cluster headaches.

It could also be trigeminal neuralgia, although the pain usually does not last so long, this is intermintent pain.

If it would my mother, I would find a Neurologist/Migraine specialist at a major hospital and make an appointment. Take all the tests and results with you.

I feel sure you will get some kind of answer. Avoid headache clinics. They are not detailed enough.

Peace
Trina