I just had to have my head examined — FOR REAL, ask me anything

[prolesunited]

I've had low-level problems with my blood pressure for a couple of years now, but this weekend apparently pushed me over the edge. I had headaches on and off on Saturday and on Sunday went through some excruciating pain where if felt like the top of my head was going to blow off. I had a few drinks the night before and didn't get enough sleep and didn't drink my customary amount of water, so I thought maybe a little dehydration too.

I was taking a shower and getting ready for work this morning when the excruciation pain hit me again. I took my blood pressure and it was 170/110.
:wow:

I immediately called my doctor and they wanted me to come right in. They did a screening for any signs of stroke (none, thankfully) and then sent me off to the hospital for a CT scan. I never had one done before and certainly wasn't expecting to have one today, so when they led me to the room, needless to say that I was a little freaked.

It's open-ended since they are only doing your head, so I was fine and able to breathe through that. Then, she said she had to shoot iodine into my veins and comfortingly told me that I might have an immediate severe allergic reaction to it. That's when I started to lose it. You can actually feel that stuff run through you. It was SOOO hard to lay still when all I wanted to do was run screaming out of the room.

Whatever was on the CT scan must not have been too bad because they let me leave. The doctor gave me some pills and won't let me go to work until after she sees me Wednesday.

This just sucks! I needed to vent and could use some of that love and support DUers are so famous for. I know others have much more serious problems, so I hope this doesn't sound too pathetic.

[hippiechick]

1. there is nothing worse in the world than a headache

in any form. i get them too and often pray that my eyeballs will fall out to relieve the pressure.

i hope your doctor is able to get you back on track.

you might also want to investigate taking Feverfew, although it takes a few months to actually have an effect, it seemed to take the pointy edge off my most intense headaches ... its a herbal vasodilator which also strenghtens your capillaries.


:hippie:

[NicoleM]

2. Not pathetic.

I've had the iodine shot, too. It's freaky, the way you can feel it moving through your body.

I hope everything is okay with your head. :)

[pmbryant]

3. Hoping you feel better real soon

I absolutely hate headaches, and the kind I get are not particularly bad on the absolute scale (at least that's then impression I get).

CT scans, so I hear from certain reliable sources, are also no fun. A very stressful experience even when one is feeling good.

Rest up, drink lots of water (my stock advice to my S.O.), and I hope you feel better real soon.

:hi:

--Peter

[prolesunited]

13. Thanks for your good wishes

That was the irony of the day. Everyone cheerfully asked me how I was doing. I'm like, I feel like crap otherwise I wouldn't be here. :eyes:

[geniph]

4. Keep a close eye on that blood pressure

Headaches+high blood pressure=high stroke risk. Try to get some rest and take care of yourself. That sounds like a dreadful experience; I can't bear the kind of headaches you describe, where you can't so much as move your head without being afraid it's going to implode.

[prolesunited]

6. I know

That's why I called and why they are so concerned. :scared:

They immediately put me on high blood pressure meds. The CT scan will show if I've already had any mini-strokes that haven't effected any functioning ability but created dead spots on my brain. That's what happened to my mother. There were no outward signs, but CT scans showed a number areas where strokes had occurred.

What REALLY pisses me off is that when I started having problems a couple of years ago, I quit smoking, lost weight, became a vegetarian, and started exercising regularly. I feel better and am in the best shape that I've been in in a LONG TIME. I even cycled in three century events this summer.

And despite all that effort, I feel like my body is still betraying me. It's just kind of discouraging — and a little scary.

[Snow]

9. Okay, good you've done all that.....now, keep it up!

You've made a good start, but you gotta admit, there's some years of damage to repair. Look at it like this event could've happened sooner and more tragically if you hadn't changed your ways. On the western medicine front, I was talking with a neurologist friend, helping her design a research study. She's interested in headaches, and is wanting to look at something involving migraines, can't remember what right now. I'm nt up on this field so I picked her brain a bit. I had thought migraines were uncommon and most so-called migraines are bad tension headaches. She said, no, most bad headaches really are vascular in nature (migraine), and will respond to triptans (type of anti-nigraine drug). So you headache sufferers might want to have a neurologist who's up-to-date on headaches take a look at you.

On the non-western medicine front, headaches and blood pressure are areas where acupuncture can work very well indeed. It might not work for you, no guarantees, but it can often work very well, so if you have access to that type of care, I'd go for it. Good luck.....

[prolesunited]

11. You're right

I definitely abused my body in my youth and I may never be able to undo the damage.

They put me on Benicar, with olmesartan medoxomil as its active ingredient. I haven't had time to look at this medicine. Anyone know anything about it?

[Snow]

17. A little - it's for your hypertension, it's new,

it's an angiotensin II blocker, a class of drugs I know very little about. I think it's a group of drugs for a particular variety of hypertension that is seen more in african-americans and tends to be resistant to the meds that were developed for older white males. Traditionally african-americans have been put on diuretics, usally with a beta-blocker. It works, but side-effects.....so, perhaps this is an effort at a replacement. Take it faithfully, there's times when the meds are the only route to go.

[prolesunited]

18. Interesting

I'm a white woman, so who knows. I definitely plan to keep up with it. It was discouraged and I know it makes no sense, but I feel like it's a failing on my part, that somehow I should have been able to overcome this without drug intervention.

She certainly pulled no punches — basically saying take it or risk death. That's pretty motivating. :D

On edit: BTW, thanks! :hi:

[Snow]

20. Take a look at this...

It's a bit long, but it's a pretty good article, probably not too technical, on this class of drugs. Looks like a pretty good choice to me....
http://www.aafp.org/afp/990600ap/3140.html

[GOPisEvil]

5. Yikes! I hope it's nothing serious!

:-)

[thom1102]

7. I was once down for a week from headaches

The "Oh my god, I knew eating Athena would come back to haunt me" kind of headaches. After being incapacitated for a week, they gave me migraine medication, and the headaches went away almost immediately. It wasn't until a few years later when they began to reoccur that I realized what the cause was: lack of caffine. No kidding! Both times, the headaches occured when I had decided that I was no longer going to drink Diet Pepsi, and I quit cold turkey. The migraine medication that they gave me was called "Caffergot" and basically contained asprin and caffine, so that was why my headaches went away.

[prolesunited]

8. I've heard that caffeine withdrawal can do that

In my case, I'm most certain that the headaches are directly related to the blood pressure issue.

[thom1102]

14. Well, get that BP down,!!

We don't want anything happening to you!

[Mikimouse]

10. Hey Proles! Hope all will be well

definitely watch the BP. The 170 isn't terrible (depends on age-won't ask), but the 100 diastolic is high. Get some quality rest (a quiet, dark room works for me). Get back soon!

[arcane1]

12. yikes!

what is it with Sundays and pain? I woke up at 6am sunday morning, having unknowingly lost a filling saturday at the march (!), and was in screaming pain all day (whenever the vicodin would wear off)

then oddly, today I feel fine


hope all is well out there! :hi:

[ProfessorGAC]

15. I Can Empathize, For Sure

Lots of head examining when one is suspected of having MS. I remember the dye stuff too. Pretty weird!

The gallodinium they use for Contrast MRI i didn't feel. But, the iodine i sure did.

Biggest problem for me was that i had to go to the bathroom during the MRI with all that whirring and rumbling and the cold air in the cold room, blah blah blah. Man, that guy pulled the table out of the tube and i probably leapt off the table and to the men's room.

I hope everything is ok and that it's a minor and quickly treatable condition.

Take care.
The Professor

[prolesunited]

21. I felt that sensation too

I was lucky, though, that they just had to do my head and not my whole body. It didn't take too long.

Thanks for your good wishes. I'm sure everything will be fine. It just really threw me for a loop this morning.

I just got up from a nap. Maybe this taking it easy isn't so bad. :-)

[radwriter0555]

16. Chiropractor. Pinched nerves in the neck. Primary cause of headaches

and migraines.

Go figure.

[kodi]

19. did they check for cooties?

head lice can be a problem.

<scratch scratch>

[Ellen Forradalom]

22. Hi Proles!

What a stressful day! No wonder you're wigging out!

It's rough to encounter a setback when you've made such positive lifestyle changes, but consider that you may have averted much worse. Please do take care of yourself, take your medication, and we'll see you at the next DU get together!

[prolesunited]

23. I definitely plan

on taking care of myself! Thanks for your concern. BTW, when IS the next get-together?