HEADACHES? MS or not?

I have been getting terrible headaches that last for days. Painkillers don’t even touch it, even 30/500 co-codamol. So what I’m asking is, does ms cause headaches or should I be going to the doctor?

MS most certainly can cause headaches. But if they are severe like you say, You really should see your GP. It will probably end up being put down to MS, but it is best to check xx

Amanda is right; MS do cause headaches and you should see your GP to get it checked over.

It could be Hughes Syndrome though; see http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseaction/show/pageid/736 but your GP can organize a blood test for APS antibodies.

Good luck

George

My husband who has SP, was told by a past neuro that there is no link between MS and headaches. Personally i do not think that is true and they seem to be a feature for a lot of people, including my husband.

More recently he has been prescribed Nortripylene for his headaches by a different neuro, she told him this is specifically for neurological pain. It has worked for him, certainly at the beginning.

Having said all that the cause of persistent headaches does need to be investigated as not everything is MS, so I would suggest first a visit to GP, then call to MS nurse if you have one.

Good luck, hope you manage to get some help soon.

Headaches need to be checked out properly so you really need to see your GP at least. MSers definitely get more migraine than the rest of the population, but it’s not officially linked. My migraine has got very much worse in the past few months so I’ve been doing a bit of reading on it. It is usually one-sided, includes light or sound sensitivity (not always), nausea and/or vomiting (not always), lasts up to 72 hours, can fluctuate with hormone levels and some people get an “aura” before hand which includes visual disturbances. There are usually warning signs that a migraine is starting, e.g. stiff neck, blurred vision, etc. If some of this is familiar, it may well be migraine you have. The reason that painkillers often don’t work for migraine is that it causes the digestive system to shut down. This causes nausea and means that painkillers don’t get digested. Taking an anti-nausea pill gets the digestive system working again - and allows painkillers to digest. Migraine meds like migraleve are just regular paracetamol and codeine with an added anti-nausea med (which you can actually buy over the counter, much cheaper!). Occipital neuralgia can be confused with migraine. It’s usually one-sided with pain from the base of the skull and sometimes round to the eye socket. If you try an anti-nausea med with your cocodamol and it works, it’s probably migraine because I think occipital neuralgia would be better treated with a neuropathic painkiller. But seeing a GP is probably wiser than just experimenting with meds! Hth! Karen x

Thanks for all your replies. The pain I get is always at the back of my head, around the base and yes karen, my eye sockets. Also lots worse when I bend forward to pick something off the floor. Lindsay x

I always thought I had occipital neuralgia because my pain is often worst at the base of my skull, but it turned out to be migraine. Mine varies with movement too. Best to see a doc - get it checked out.

Kx

UPDATE!

Well I had an appointment with the eye clinic in the hospital yesterday as a couple of times before christmas my eyesight went funny for a while. It started off as if I had looked at the light too long then it spread across my vision to an arch. It was see through but blury and shimmered.

As soon as I started to explain this to the doctor he got all excited and kept saying what I was going to say before I said it lol!

Turns out it was an aura and I have been getting migraines. Karen you were right about normal meds not working because the digestive system shuts down during it. He didn’t actually mention any treatment and I forgot to ask but im sure if he writes to my GP she will know what to give. I am going to get some migraleve as its meant to be good.

I told him about my positive LP and that the letter to my doc sounded like he is going to DXs MS and he checked my optic nerve. It was fine so thats a relief that its nothing to do with that

Thanks for all you replies. Now another question. Is there a link between MS and migraines? I know there is no official link as Karen said but what do you all think?

I feel silly for not thinking it was an aura but it isn’t what I thought one was like

Lindsay x

Oh and the type of aura I get is a scintillating scotoma!