When this all started for me back in December '07, I never got headaches. I remember thinking that I was fortunate. The dizziness was always intractable, but I was never in pain. Within a few months, that all changed. First, it would start with a headache in the late afternoon or early evening. Then, I would occasionally wake up with a headache. Then, the headaches would start to come on if I did any kind of “activity”. Then, the headaches would start to come if I did too much “visual tracking” or anything involving visual precision. Now, I can get a headache just by talking on the phone for longer than 10 minutes, walking for more than a few minutes, just getting out of bed, doing any kind of activity, it’s crazy. Basically, I have a headache at some point EVERY SINGLE DAY! And I’m getting sick of it! The dizziness and visual sensitivity are definitely there every single day too, but I deal with them, wear dark glasses, and try to get through my day. But for God’s sake, can I be spared the headache?? The topamax is not helping this. Verapamil has a side-effect of headache, which is my next drug. Effexor has a side-effect of headache. Basically, all of the “off-label” drugs used to treat migraine have a side-effect of headache so I am wondering if that will just put me in a worse condition. I tried effexor once, and had a horrible headache for as long as I took the pill. So I stopped it. I just don’t understand why I have now developed both, and I am wondering if anyone else out there is dealing with daily headaches as well, along with the dizziness and visual problems. I am tired of seeing everything in my vision “glow”, vibrate, shake, jump, shimmer, move, shift, distort, and this is 24/7. Yup, 24/7 aura. Never thought it was possible but I have no other explaination. All my testing is normal. All my eye testing is normal. So I chalk it all up to migraine. I pray for the day that the world stops moving. Maybe that’s what’s giving me my headaches. anyway, anyone else dealing with this?? What do you do about it?? Motrin doesn’t touch it! The migraine diet doesn’t touch it! All I can do is limit everything I do. Thanks for listening
In answer to your question, Yes, I get headaches at the drop of a hat. Like you, I didn’t get them when the dizziness started last year but they have been getting worse and worse over time. For me they are triggered by exercise, using a computer for too long; any activity really.
I don’t yet know the answer to your question on what to do, but I would try not to worry about a medication making it worse. Headaches are listed as a side effect for most medications but it doesn’t mean that they will happen for you. If they do get worse with a particular med, you can make the decision at that time whether to carry on with it based on balancing the benefits and costs.
I don’t yet know the answer to your question on what to do, but I would try not to worry about a medication making it worse. Headaches are listed as a side effect for most medications but it doesn’t mean that they will happen for you. If they do get worse with a particular med, you can make the decision at that time whether to carry on with it based on balancing the benefits and costs.
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Yes, I completely agree. While Topamax has given some headaches, as many (probably more) have been literally cured from migraines. Not trying to give too much hope here, just sayin’ that some people just love it. The same goes for a lot of (all of?) the preventatives that have headache as a side effect. Besides, what med doesn’t have that as a possible side effect?
My very basic understanding (read: almost guess) is that “all” migraine is the same, besides stuff like basilar migraine. That is, if it helps the migraine headaches, it should probably help the dizziness and vice versa… No?
I know this isn’t always the case, however.
I have always gotten headaches “at the drop of a hat,” as far back as I can remember. With all three meds that I tried, they gave me one constant headache. The Topomax was the worse. Even my current med gave me one long headache until I started taking klonopin. I was willing to put up with the headache in each case because my balance would return and the 24/7 dizzyness would go away.
To the best of my understanding, the headaches from the meds came from bruxing also known as tooth grinding. I am a nighttime tooth grinder to begin with then all three of the meds that I have taken for my MAV have a side effect of tooth grinding. Add the two together and I would guess that it would add up to one long headache.
I still get headaches since I started the klonopin, but they aren’t as severe or last as long, but they still come out of nowhere, or at the drop of a hat.
Good to see you posting a bit more now. Hopefully that means your visual stuff is a bit better here lately? I know you said a few weeks back you had an extremely difficult time at the computer and couldn’t spend much time on it.
I rarely used to get headaches, but my MAV seems to have cycled to where I get them more and more now lately. I think for some people meds may be the reason, but for me personally, its just the MAV, unfortunately. Go figure - a migrainer with a headache !!
By the way, and more on topic (compared to my previous reply)… I wouldn’t say I get them easily that way, but I get them very, very often (a day doesn’t go by without one, big or small). At least a big one a week, but more isn’t uncommon. There are days where I feel free enough from them that I actually listen to almost any kind of music I feel like, but that’s become rare in the last few weeks.
… more off topic follows, I guess the first line was a lie.
I somehow had a setback in dizziness “recently”, too… the worst of it since mid-August or so. I’m hoping to try out verapamil soon (spoke with my doc today, he said he’d look it up a bit, since he’s only used it for blood pressure etc). I’ll know for sure next friday. Topamax isn’t off the table, either, but I’m a bit scared of the side effects as long as I’m housebound… especially the kidney stones and stuff. Unless some kind of miracle happens with verapamil, and I’m not counting on it, I think Topamax is the next stop anyhow.
Now, I can get a headache just by talking on the phone for longer than 10 minutes, walking for more than a few minutes, just getting out of bed, doing any kind of activity, it’s crazy. Basically, I have a headache at some point EVERY SINGLE DAY! I am tired of seeing everything in my vision “glow”, vibrate, shake, jump, shimmer, move, shift, distort, and this is 24/7. Motrin doesn’t touch it!
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You’re right, motrin is worthless.
I had a phone conversation on my birthday (Sunday) and I was so screwed up afterwards I couldn’t stop crying.
Between the sound of my own voice and her voice in my ear, my body was shaking and I felt horrible!
Walking is building pressure in my head and I can barely walk unless looking like a drunk.
I have shimmering vision a lot now, but I happen to think Xanax can do that to people. JMO.
I am constantly grabbing the base of my skull or my mastoid area behind my ears.
I’m getting nausea a lot and grocery stores are getting harder.
I now get what I call “vertical vertigo” damn motion going up and down.
Switching from distance glasses to reading glasses really gets the vertigo going.
My brain flips out. :shock:
I’m sick of the head pain. I have it every day in some way too. Never fails.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
The scary ones are the monsters that crash me in a grocery store and I have pre-syncope with my legs failing.
Eyes rolling back in my head but I don’t quite pass out.
That’s ugly.
Yes I am the same, I sometimes say to my husband, I am allergic to life!
I wake every morning with either a dull headache or dizziness which all get worse if I dont take half a syndol straight away. The specialist told me I was addicted to painkillers and that was the cause, so for 3 months I took none. I was in a far worse state of dizziness, couldnt function, but he was right, the pain side of the headaches lifted but I still got the full blown migraines in between. So some of the daily heads with me, are probably caused by painkillers (although I only take a total of 2 or 3 a day, but they contain codeine and caffeine) but the dizziness got intolerable without them.
I can be just dizzyish, then go shopping and the headache comes on, go round a friends and they slowly go into a black haze and fade away. I went around a friends once and the sun was coming through the window behind her and I got vertigo and had to go home. Everything I do brings on worse vertigo or bad heads.
When this all started 25 years ago I tried numerous preventatives, all made me dizzier or gave me worse heads (the SSRIs gave me continuous migraine) so I stick to painkillers, serc and the odd stemetil.
But looking back, I didnt know I had reactive hypoglycemia and I control that carefully now, and my blood pressure is on the low side too, so, I am planning on trying a preventative again as I see that some people are getting some success here.
I have RH and LBP too. RH can be a real beyotch. It’s kicking my ass severely in the last few days,
fighting blackouts and can barely walk. With me, getting the glucose back up doesn’t fix everything.
It’s the rate of fall that can really kick your ass. I can fall a point per minute. Downright dangerous, actually.
If I didn’t check my glucose all day on my meter, I’d be in deep crap.
I feel like I’ve been ill for a year.
When my female hormones went nuts, so did my glucose control.
I had to stop drinking alcohol when I realized why I had to grab onto the bar to keep from falling off the stool.
No, I wasn’t drunk. Lol. It was reactive hypo. Alcohol on an empty stomach is deadly for someone like me.
Glucose goes into a free-fall.
