Hi moms! I have had throbbing headaches (in the left upper side of my head) for almost an year. They were very few: 4-5 times in this period of time. The pain is sharp and pulsatile and last for a couple of sec and then dissapears..it was triggered by a very bad cold and coughing. Also i noticed that the headaches are triggered by my period. I made an appointmend for a ct scan next week and i am sooo scared. I hope that is not something serious. Has anyone had this type of headaches?
It almost sounds like a migraine, but instead of throbbing all day for a few days it comes and goes quickly.
Might be blood pressure related.
Try not to worry - just see what the Dr has to say.
Lots of things can trigger headaches - hormones, stress, a lot of coughing, dental issues, sleep interruptions, more. They are rarely caused by the things we fear the most - I imagine you are thinking "brain tumor" or something like that if you are so scared. I know stuff inside the head sounds ominous but it's not usually critical. It can be made worse by the doctors sending you for CT scans and all kinds of tests - naturally your freak out. Which doesn't help the headaches.
When I had chronic bronchitis, I always had a headache from the sheer force of the coughing. A lot of women get them associated with menstrual cycles. A friend of mine had vicious migraines since age 10, complete with blacking out and throwing up - hers seemed to be hereditary. She got rid of hers through a really good and safe supplement, and I did the same thing which took care of my bronchitis. I used to get it 3 times a year and I haven't had it in 6 years now. I haven't had even a simple headache and tossed out all my ibuprofen and tylenol because it expired.
So it's very possible that a simple dietary imbalance or hormonal imbalance is involved. You can't always do it by "eating right" since our food supply is so deficient even if we eat organically and locally - depleted soils, organic foods transported over many miles and so on. So the AMA says you have to supplement. I chose based on patents and no warning labels, and not trying to mix and match vitamins myself. You could try the same - I'll bet it would work if you had the right product. Let me know if you need help.
Freaked me out when I was sent for a CT Scan, also! I had this horrible headache that would come and go in waves, but it hurt so bad I couldn't move when it was severe. Turns out I had sinusitis. I thought, "A sinus infection?" My doctor told me that most of the time when people think they have a sinus infection, it's really just a bad cold. But a true sinus infection will do that to you.
Take a deep breath. A CT Scan is just a really, really useful tool for doctors. There's just so much they can see this way. Try not to worry, and just know that having this simple x-ray will give your doctor some helpful information!
Good luck! I hope you get some answers soon.
If you have had them for a year, I have a feeling it is nothing serious. If you doc thought it was something terrible, he would have gotten you an appt. right then and there. Would not have waited.
An MRI is a better test. You could possibly have Chiari malformation, type 1. Talk to your doctor about it and ask for an MRI to be done.
I get those headaches a few days before my period.. I attribute the cause to the drop in Progesterone (which is what begins to happen right before you menstruate) it's that drop that causes my headache.. like yours, they seem to come and go quickly. Although at times, one can last longer..
You don't state your age, but if you are in your late 30 or 40s, could be a sign of Perimenopause.. The come and go headaches began for me in my early 40s (I am not 49) .. I track my cycle on a monthly basis and began to see a pattern , not just of my headaches but various other symptoms.. You may want to read up on the net about hormonal headaches.
There is a lot of good info out there. Dr.Vliet has written much on the topic of women and their hormones.. it's worth a read..
good luck
I still get headaches occasionally, but I used to get really awful migraines...one after the other. I did an elimination diet and then stopped eating all the ingredients they list on the "msg myth" webpages. It's not so much about msg as about all these ingredients used in most foods that are a neurotoxin. It worked for me so it's worth a try. I have also heard that if you do a juice fast (where you make your own healthy juice each day with kale, etc) for a week will get rid of chronic headaches. Did you ever watch that movie, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead? It's a good movie. I have never done this myself. It could also be your hormones. It could be related to your thyroid. It could be you are clenching your teeth at night (your dentist can help you with this one). Let your doctors do the CT scan and any other tests they can think of to rule things out. Let us know how it goes.
