General Category > AN Issues

Headaches when I wake in the morning --

<< < (2/4) > >>

mk:
Hi Patt and welcome,

Although headaches aren't the most typical symptom when having an AN, they can happen especially if there is some sort of trigeminal nerve involvement (which is most certainly the case with an AN of your size). They can range from sharp pains, to very dull-surface pains. Ibuprofen will usually help in mild situations, although stronger medication is needed for patients with more serious trigeminal neuralgia.

I wanted to ask a bit more about your hearing loss - I know quite a bit about this, since it has happened to me three times. You mentioned that you were put on a high dose of steroids, are they over now? In my case, it took two full weeks of high dose steroids (40 mgs of prednisone) to restore my hearing and word recognition (from complete loss), followed by a very slow taper. If you have not seen a significant improvement, your doctor may want to extend your dose (of course if you can tolerate them well).

Marianna

mimoore:
Welcome Patt,
I would sometimes wake up with a stabbing pain behind my ear and at the top of my head. Being a mother/hairstylist/student/teacher I was too busy to listen to my body. I just kept popping advil. I would see this doctor then that doctor and went misdiagnosed for 10 years.
I am much more in tune with my body. I am kinder to it, I listen to it and I trust my gutt... I knew there was something up!
Hugs Michelle  ;D

CHD63:
Patt .....

Just want to add my welcome to this Forum.  You will find many opinions and much empathy with the frustration of the treatment decision-making process.

I have had headaches off and on since I was a young woman, but I did not notice any particular increase in them prior to diagnosis.  Blissfully they are almost non-existent since my AN surgery two years ago.  At 2+cm, I was given the choice of radiation or surgery.  However, it did not take me very long to decide on surgery when it was determined I had a rare rapidly growing AN ..... most ANs are very slow growing.  I do not regret my decision at all and had an excellent outcome.

Although I grew up in the Plains States, I have lived most of my adult life in the Mid-Atlantic States so I do not know much about doctors in Minnesota.  There have been a number of people on the forum who have gone to Mayo in Rochester with excellent results, as well as Dr. Gantz in Iowa City.

Let us know how else we can be of help and support.

Clarice

Jim Scott:
Hi, Patt from Minnesota ~

I wanted to add my welcome and I know that our members in and around Minnesota will be offering you their experiences and recommendations on doctors and hospitals. 

As for waking up with headaches, I never had that experience and like some others, I didn't experience headaches post-op but headaches are very common with ANs so yours are not an anomaly, by any means. An acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) is a cranial tumor that forms on the sheath that encompasses the eighth (hearing) nerve and so, headaches can result. 

My decision to have tumor de-bulking surgery was made by my doctor based on the fact that my tumor was (initially) too large (4.5 cm) to safely undergo irradiation so he chose to cut off it's blood supply and 'gut' the tumor, first.  Subsequently, it was irradiated by FSR and seems to have responded well - by dying.  However, with a 2.7 cm AN, you have other options, as you know.

We're here to inform and support AN patients and we especially want to help those in the treatment decision-making process, like you.  Thanks for posting - and please consider the forums a resource.

Jim

opp2:
Hi and welcome to the forum. So sorry you have an AN.

I do have headaches in the morning. Not all the time but they do wake me up. I had one this morning and yesterday and both woke me from sleeping in (on a holiday weekend Booo). I have found that if I just get up and get moving the morning headaches will resolve themselves.

I do suffer regular headaches, and have purchased stock in both Advil and Tylenol Corp...

Just kidding...about the stocks I mean. I started my AN journey of discovery and diagnosis with headaches and scintillating scotoma associated to the headaches about 3 years ago now.

I haven't had surgery yet, scheduled for sometime in the next couple of months.

All the best to you as you make your way through this maze you've been drawn into. There are lots of folks on here who can help you out! I'm from Canada so I can't really help with choices except to say that I nearly came to the House Clinic for surgery until I found a surgeon I found as highly qualified as I feel the Doctors at House are.

Best,

Nikki

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page