Headache

[Asherleymoco]

I’ve been having constant headaches for a while now. The temporal arteries are slightly bulging. Doctor sent me for blood tests and it’s not temporal arteritis but he hasn’t signalled what it actually is. I have a slight incline on my skull. It’s not painful just annoying me. My right side is higher than the left side of my head. Hard to explain. Sometimes the headache is burning. Sometimes it’s stabbing. But it’s constantly moving. Mainly by the temples but does move round the back of the head. I’ve been getting stuffy noses for a while now and also started having bouts of tinnitus along with different sized pupils. Which no one seems concerned about. Anyone have any ideas or experienced any of the same?

[bamboo89]

If he only gave you blood tests and no other tests to check for Giant Cell Arteritis (temporal arteritis) and you're still having problems, contact the GP again and ask for a referral to neurology as a matter of urgency. A blood test is not always definitive; a neurological surgeon usually wants to do a biopsy of your temple area. to make sure it is or isn't. More usually though, the pain from temporal arteritis affects one side, the pain keeps going and does not move around,, but its still important to check.

As well, try to persuade the doctor to book you an MRI scan on your neck - many of the symptoms you describe may indicate trouble with 2 particular vertebrae in that area. Otherwise, if you can afford it, consult a good cranial osteopath, but only if you have had a scan of your brain which was clear....if you haven't had a brain scan, you should ask for one, they are able to scan the neck and the brain at the same appointment. In particular, when asking for a brain scan (if you need to) it's important to mention the differing pupil sizes...

Getting back to your GP and asking for more investigation is the first thing to do...

Miriam

[Chleo11]

Hi Asherleymoco. If you have pain at the back of the head and stabbing/burning type of pain it could be that the neck and occipital nerves are involved. Unfortunately, what is called cervicogenic headaches can happen with a neck that doesn't show any issue on MRI or scans. You may not always have neck pain either. They can give you a stuffy nose and tinnitus. If you say that your pupils are different size, you would need to see a neurologist, anyway.

All the best!