#hemicrania continua

[themogaidragon]

Chronic Daily Headaches Pride Flag

PT: Chronic Daily Headaches Pride Flag /END PT

ID: A flag with seven horizontal lines of the same size. Their colors are, from top to bottom, dark teal, muted teal, greyish teal, red, muted purple, lavender and dark purple. END ID

Chronic daily headache (CDH): experiencing fifteen or more days with a headache per month. Chronic daily headaches is an umbrella term which consist of different sub-groups, primarily categorized as chronic tension-type headaches and chronic migraine headaches.

The flag is inspired by this chronic migraine flag (link), this chronic tension type headaches flag (link) and this chronic pain flag (link).

Flag meanings:

P: Flag meanings: /END PT

Dark teal: migraine and headaches

Muted teal: all the types of CDH (cluster, hemicrania continua, idiopathic intracranial hypotension, migraine, tension-type, mixture of types, etc).

Greyish teal: other chronic pains and disabilities

Red/Maroon: chronic head pain

Muted purple: sleep problems and fatigue

Lavender: varying levels and types of pain

Purple: chronic pain

[plant-a-memory-garden]

10/05/24

I am so tired. Life lately feels like putting out one fire as three more pop up. I’m struggling with my hemicrania continua, my pain levels have been 7/10 on a good day. 9/10 nights have become more common, the nausea, the pressure, the ice pick stabbing behind my eye as my temple pounds hard. Sometimes I wonder if I could pop my eye ball out if it would just explode from the pressure and pain.

Physical therapy for my herniated L10-12 disc… as the first three visits progressed over the span of a week and a half, I began having sciatic nerve pain on my left side. They said this was normal. Visit three I expressed my pain and they decided to run a thera gun over the areas. The electric zaps from not only the pressure but the vibration of the gun had my body twitching as he “worked” on me. “You’re jumpy” he says. “No, I’m having electric zaps in certain areas” I reply. I left in tears. “We will be more gentle next visit” they said “we didn’t realize how much you had going on” the pain ringing through my head as I lay on the table in disbelief. As if I didn’t have two prior PT sessions… as if in our consultation (and the notes I saw) I didn’t explain in depth about my chronic neck pain in C3-C5, my hemicrania continua on right side, my nerve ablation notes and all areas of my pain in depth. I went home nauseated with a left sided headache (different than my continuous HC headache which is on my right side) wondering if the Thera gun in my neck earlier had activated something. As I returned home praying the left side would stop, as I then had both sides of my head busting at different intervals. A few days later, Hurricane Helene affected the blue ridge mountains where I live. My neuro had me on a prednisone taper and after that I’m now on gabapentin slowly moving up.

The mass destruction of my surrounding homeland and communities following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene over Western North Carolina has been astronomical and unbelievable. I have so many emotions and each day is different however I am so grateful to be safe and alive along with my family.

Each day I’m exploring new specifics of my chronic pain and new found nerve pain as it slowly heals as well. Mixed with my light left sided headache (somehow connected to my SCM muscles and their pain) as well as my HC right side. They have very different feelings to them, different pulsations, sledge hammer, and ice pick modes. I can’t wait until it heals and hopefully dissipates on the left side. I’ve become more “used” to my HC side but accepting the new realities of the state of my body, recovery, and overall health feels overwhelming to say the least. So I created blog as a safe place to share my thoughts, feelings, and connect with community. And also reblog relatable content whether that be inspirational quotes, artistic creations, adorable animals, disability awareness/stories, poetry (a lot of poetry) and just overall things I connect with that bring me glimmers of peace, happiness and comfort.

We will survive The Great War.

Xoxo

[virginia-werewolf]

cool and fun part of being chronically ill is deciding whether you want to just get blasted with Symptoms every day or take meds that will stop the symptoms but cause equally as bad, if not worse, side effects

[nixmcretro]

Shane’s Brains! MRI Scan – September 2023

We’re on day 25 of the never–ending headache. The good news, however, is that I have been to a neurologist who prescribed some indometacin (US: indomethacin). Indometacin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), much like naproxen or ibuprofen but even stronger.

[keplercryptids]

Good luck with the migraines friend, solidarity from a fellow headache haver (hemicrania continua) it sucks when something that gave you pain-free time stops working, I hope you and your neuro work out something else that can help 💜

thank you! if all else fails, i do have a rescue med that usually works great so, y'know, i'm pretty lucky within the chronic pain community. only getting 1-2 migraines a week when botox was working was a nice reprieve for awhile.

[bordonfreeman]

Well fuck. I've been doing some research into why i get headaches all the time, and i either have chronic migraines or hemicrania continua [idk]

Now I'm gonna look into things more before i start really looking into anything specific but based off some stuff I've learned before, i thinm it's likely chronic migraines.

If so, cool, great, add it to my fucking list i guess

[mcatmemoranda]

Distinguishing primary headache syndromes – While episodic tension-type headache (TTH) is the most frequent headache type in population-based studies, migraine is the most common diagnosis in patients presenting to medical attention with headache. Clinicians can easily become familiar with the most common primary headache disorders and how to distinguish them (table 1).

Table 1:

●Initial evaluation – Using the patient history as the primary diagnostic tool, the initial headache evaluation (algorithm 1) should determine whether the headache is primary or secondary and, if the latter, whether the underlying cause is serious.

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Algorithm 1:

The evaluation of new-onset nontraumatic headache involves assessing for secondary (eg, structural, inflammatory) causes as well as identifying primary headache syndromes.

SAH: subarachnoid hemorrhage; CO: carbon monoxide; ICH: intracranial hemorrhage; CVT: cerebral venous thrombosis; HIV: human immunodeficiency virus.* Primary headache syndromes include migraine and related conditions, tension-type headaches, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (cluster headache, paroxysmal hemicrania, short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks, and hemicrania continua), and less common primary headache disorders (eg, new persistent daily headache, primary cough headache, primary exercise headache). Refer to UpToDate topics for additional details.

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●Low risk headache features – The following features can serve as indicators in patients who are unlikely to have serious underlying cause for headache:

•Age ≤50 years

•Features typical of primary headaches

•History of similar headache

•No abnormal neurologic findings

•No concerning change in usual headache pattern

•No high-risk comorbid conditions

•No new or concerning findings on history or examination

Patients with headache who meet these criteria do not require imaging.

●High-risk headache features – Patients with danger signs or other features of a secondary headache source require prompt evaluation and imaging (algorithm 1 and algorithm 2 and table 7). This includes patients who have a severe headache with sudden onset (ie, thunderclap headache), with suspected meningitis or encephalitis, with neck pain with Horner syndrome suggesting cervical artery dissection, with focal neurologic deficit or papilledema suggesting increased intracranial pressure (ICP), or with orbital or periorbital symptoms.

------------

Algorithm 2:

The evaluation of new-onset nontraumatic headache involves assessing for secondary (eg, structural, inflammatory) causes as well as identifying primary headache syndromes.

MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; CT: computed tomography; MR: magnetic resonance; LP: lumbar puncture; CSF: cerebrospinal fluid.

* Head CT may be preferred imaging test for acute or severe headaches when quicker to perform or more readily available than MRI and for patients unable to have an MRI. Brain MRI may be preferred for patients with chronic symptoms and when initial head CT is nondiagnostic.

¶ Refer to UpToDate topics on the evaluation of headache for additional details on secondary causes of headache.

Δ CT- or MR-venography of the head may also be warranted for patients with suspected cerebral venous thrombosis.

◊ Additional imaging including myelography may be warranted for some patients with a suspected spinal source to headache (eg, spontaneous intracranial hypotension) when initial imaging is nondiagnostic.§ Primary headache syndromes include migraine and related conditions, tension-type headaches, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (cluster headache, paroxysmal hemicrania, short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks, and hemicrania continua), and less common primary headache disorders (eg, new persistent daily headache, primary cough headache, primary exercise headache). Refer to UpToDate topics for additional details.

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The mnemonic SNNOOP10 is a reminder of the danger signs ("red flags") for the presence of serious underlying disorders that can cause acute or subacute headache:

•Systemic symptoms including fever

•Neoplasm history

•Neurologic deficit (including decreased consciousness)

•Onset is sudden abrupt onset

•Older age (onset after age 50 years)

•Pattern change or recent onset of new headache

•Positional headache

•Precipitated by sneezing, coughing, or exercise

•Papilledema

•Progressive headache and atypical presentations

•Pregnancy or puerperium

•Painful eye with autonomic features

•Post-traumatic onset of headache

•Pathology of the immune system or use of immunosuppressive therapies

•Painkiller medication overuse (includes analgesics, ergots, triptans)

●Neuroimaging test selection – Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head is the preferred imaging exam for headache. Choice of modality and need for intravenous (IV) contrast depends on the clinical indications (see 'Common clinical scenarios' above). For imaging of the vessels, cerebral and cervical angiography using computed tomography (CTA) or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is performed as an added exam to head CT or MRI and usually requires IV contrast administration.

[nyheadache]

Hemicrania continua is a very disabling headache and it is often misdiagnosed

Hemicrania continua, a rare but severe headache condition, literally means “continuous one-sided headache” in Latin. This chronic condition manifests as an intense, unrelenting pain concentrated on one side of the head, typically around the eye area. It is more common in women. The condition often presents with distinctive features beyond the constant one-sided pain. Patients frequently…

[earhartsease]

I'm about to start using a fancypants medication for terrible headaches and it's called Fremanezumab and at this point I'm just like "you're making these names up now" and of course they literally are doing that but also "the spice must flow" because Freman

[ladymazzy]

I have a neurological condition called Paroxysmal Hemicrania (PH). I have it in it's chronic form. It is an horrific condition, for which I take a fairly simple - but nonetheless toxic - medicine, in order to control the severity of the attacks. As far as I know I will be on this medication for the rest of my life. The condition cannot be 'cured' by kale, yoga or a rub down with some oils and rocks 🙃.

It's one of a group of chronic pain conditions known as Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalagias (TACs). This group of conditions includes the fellow horror-pain syndromes, Cluster Headache, Trigeminal Neuralgia, SUNCT syndrome and Hemicrania Continua. They are also colloquially known as 'Suicide Headaches' (because sufferers often die by suicide, unable to continue living with the pain, particularly if they're not adequately supported or even believed).

There are so many conditions people may be living with which may render them disabled or chronically ill in some way. They're not always visible, and you may or may not realise what another person is going through just to get through the basics of the day. We can't all be expected to know about every condition out there; even doctors don't. My own GP was looking at the same webpages I had googled when I first went to her, and TAC support groups are replete with stories of people waiting years for an accurate diagnosis, or being doubted by family members ('it's just a headache, so suck it up' etc... 😑). Not knowing is perfectly fine, but we should be careful of hasty proclamations and actions that are essentially based on our ignorance ('I've not heard of x, so it can't be a real problem' etc.).

For what it's worth, I'm posting this for whoever needs to see it; I keep seeing multiple variations on the theme of people generally not taking into account the fact that not all conditions are immediately visible, or that they've perhaps underestimated the possible implications of someone's condition. We should therefore perhaps pause before making a hasty assumption about what others are doing/not doing. Particularly now that we're in the midst of a pandemic where so many variables will impact the possible implications for each of us.

Also, nothing was coming up in the tags for PH or TACs, so guess I'll be the first...

Organisation for Understanding Cluster Headaches is an incredibly important support group that also has a tool for helping understand any symptoms you may have, and the differences between each of the conditions and their treatments.

https://ouchuk.org/

[earhartsease]

fuck yes - I've had one (1) headache that's lasted two months now and I'm so over it

migrane experiencer emotion when you

[bedbugbiting]

My neurologist’s office scared me with a new form that said that if Medicare refused to cover my nerve block that I would be billed “an estimated $900-$2000.” Um, no. Apparently, I’m already approved, though, and I can just...get nerve blocks when my doctor orders them. So I’m scheduled to get them every two weeks now and I might soon get them every week. 

So, that’s what’s going on there.

That’s a lot of money for a little tube stuck up your nose.

[tailsbeth]

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A post shared by Taylor B. Mulholland (@tailsbeth)

A karma bubble bath is my favourite bubble bath. 💫

[virginia-werewolf]

want to go buy more edibles but migraine too bad to drive to the weed store😔😔😔

[nixmcretro]

Shane’s Brains! MRI Scan – October 2023

The latest update in a series of updates it seems! Recently I had the fun of being injected with a chelated form of gadolinium, affectionately known as an MRI contrast agent. It makes fluid filled bits (such as eyes, blood vessels and tumours) light up like they are a Christmas tree!

[somewhatstacey]

I saw your post about the headaches. I know you probably have looked into it, but just in case you haven't, you might look into if Botox shots are an option for you. I've had problems with headaches (hemicrania continua and TMJ related) and Botox has been a lifesaver for me.

Thank you! I’ll bring it up with my doctor.

We’re still early days in trying to figure out a) what’s causing it and b) what can be done to mitigate symptoms.

My MRI and CT results have turned up very little in the way of actionable information so I think my doctor’s next step is to send me to a neurologist. Not sure if they’ll be able to help me with the pain directly or whether I’ll have to see a pain specialist as well though so….yeah.

I’m very tired. And very broke.

Not sure if you’ve been following me for a while but this isn’t my first chronic pain rodeo and I can’t say I’m thrilled to ride this shitty rollercoaster again.