Ok so everyone on this site has been so caring & helpful with me with my fruend who recently suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm so I’m asking for some input on myself. I know I’ve been having a rough few weeks but that is in no way shape or form why I’m having my problem. Last Wednesday I woke up with a terrible headache and it has not stopped since!!! It is pain that is all over my head tha comes and goes. I get breaks for about a half hour in between the off and on symptoms. Two days ago I went to the Er and they did a catscan and said I was fine and I must be having tension headaches. I have never had any headache problems. No medication helps with them either. My question is,does a cat scan show enough to see if I was having a problem? I just want these headaches to go away & I hope its not anything that could be wrong and I’m pushing it to the side because my catscan was ok. After going through what I been through with my friend has made me so much more aware now. Please let me know what you think I should do or if I’m worrying over nothing. Thanks
In my opinion, any headache that lasts longer than a day and isn't the telltale "worst headache of my life" and can't be touched by OTC meds needs further investigation. I don't think a CAT scan is good enough, but maybe someone else will say otherwise. I don't let doctors tell me I'm fine when I know darn well I'm not. I find a new one if I have to or I harass that doc until they give me more tests and actually come back with a diagnosis. When I was diagnosed with my annie my doc was insistent it was just migraines but I knew damn well it wasn't. He finally gave me an MRI, and guess what? GIANT ANNIE. I'm not trying to scare you, and I'm not sure that's your case at all, but the fact your doc stopped looking after one test and just passed it off as possibly tension headaches makes me angry. I dislike this method of doctoring and I never put up with it. I hope you find an answer!
Thanks for your reply. I’m going to try and get a second look. I know something isent right and this is not normal for me. I also think it is a little crazy for it to be just passed off after 7 days straight of pain. I have no other symptoms tho,only the headache. So they are dismissing it.
I had a headache for 10 days before I went to the doctor. It was one-sided though. No other symptoms. No migraine symptoms either. And it lasted another 7 days after that. Mostly in the mornings, Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen tamed it and I was fine by evening usually. My doc still tried to tell me it was migraines, even though it'd been 10 straight days. Some docs are just so awful at their job...
And yours ended up being an aneurysm? Im really just scared. Its mostly on the tpp of my head now but at times it hurts in all different areas. Its like a aching pain. Sometimes pulsating but it comes and goes. When it starts up is when the pain is the worst and then it dies down and the cycle continues all day.ugh I cant get more then an hour break.
Yes mine was an aneurysm - giant 23mm sized in the only vertebral artery I have (most have two in the back of the neck, I just have one either born that way or the second atrophied with the onset of the annie). Very near the basilar junction. Thankfully it was operable with the new PED stent and coils also (not a common thing to have coils as well as the PED). I had to fight very hard for my surgery and my insurance ended up not paying, but I am now 2 years later and doing very well! No rupture, thank God, just the life saving surgery to keep it stable. Please do post when you get more answers, I'll be looking for you! P.S. Remember that that which you fear the most you bring on yourself. Prayer always saw me through, and a good Christian radio station. In addition, rest and relaxation go a long ways too! Take time to get yourself centered so you can be the best you can be to fight whatever it is that's upon you. You can prevail!
Thank you again, I will definitely keep you posted!
Hi JanMarie,
The Gold Standard in testing for an aneurysm is an Angiogram with Contrast Dye...this is performed via the femoral artery...the next best is an MRA with Contrast Dye..
A CT scan is a wonderful tool for diagnosing many things, however aneurysms aren't necessarily one of them. ....I had a CT scan done when I had my 1st annie back in 1998...and although the aneurysm was finally discovered, it wasn't found by the CT scan ...the CT scan showed a 'fullness' in the region where the annie was (behind my left eye), but that' s all it showed. It was known that I had a definate problem on my hands basicly because as my my annie grew, it snapped my 3rd optic nerve in two, which made for no muscle control on the left side of my eye/face and no control of my left eye..this was fortunate for me i figure, as they likely would've sent me on my way if I hadn't looked so bizarre~they performed an angiogram/contrast dye next, and the annie was clearly visable on the angiogram.
If this keeps up, go back to the ER ..
Peace, janet
Good Morning...You got some great advice...I don't have too much to offer...although I must say, when I got the "worse headache of my life"...I wanted to put my head through a wall...I too feel you may want to have further investigating...perhaps talk to your family Doctor and/or see a neurologist...Keep us posted and good luck ~ Colleen
Wow Janet! Thats a story! Glad they were able to find yours. I’m definitely am going back. Im not comfortable at all with my headache. So thank you very much for all your info. I’m going to use it!
Yea Colleen I’m calling a neurologist today. Better safe then sorry right.