ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: nic101 on May 06, 2014, 04:47:44 pm
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Has anyone else experienced these things with their AN? I have been to see my Family GP and the ENT, also the Neurosurgeon. The family GP, and the ENT both say that these are symptoms that can happen, but not as common with my AN size. The Neurosurgeon says that the headaches have nothing to do with it. The pain is sharp and radiate from y right eye to the ear and then the back of the head. Only on the right side where my AN is? It never goes around my entire head though. They have tried me on all kinds of migraine medicine but nothing stops the pain. I am curious to see if anyone else has had these or similar experiences?
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Hi Nic,
When I was diagnosed with my 1.8 cm AN, I was having headaches up the back of my head that would frequently wake me at night especially if I ended up sleeping on my back. They didn't feel like any kind of headache I'd had before - I have a history of migraine and tension headaches. These were completely different and the best way I found to get rid of them was to sit up for a while with multiple pillows and take Advil. I spoke to an Otolaryngolgist and two neurosurgeons who told me the AN would not cause the headaches. The third neurosurgeon I saw (who I stayed with), told me he believed anything could be possible and he would not rule it out. I am now 8 months post Gamma Knife and it's been so long since I've had a headache wake me at night that I can't honestly tell you when I had the last one.
I also had some very uncomfortable spasms on my right (AN side) of my face starting at my jaw line and running right up to my eye, happening only when I sneezed. These spasms started up about 8 months after my diagnosis, lasted for a couple of months and disappeared a few weeks prior to my Gamma Knife treatment - they have not returned.
Based on my personal experience, I would say anything is possible, and some of these symptoms can come and go. I hope you find relief soon and with some luck the headaches will go away and not come back!!
Cathie.
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Hi Nic, when I was diagnosed I was having headaches unlike anything I had ever experienced. It felt like someone had cracked my skull open with a baseball bat, and that's exactly how I described it to my ENT, who then ordered the MRI that found the tumor. I have a history of sinus issues (three surgeries in fifteen years), and had migraines as a teenager, so I knew this was different. Still, none of the doctors were confident that the AN was causing the headaches, but thankfully they went away after surgery. Hope you find relief soon.