I am having bad headaches for about six months. What it could be?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 19-year-old female. I have been having bad headaches for about six months now. They happen in very specific areas (top right of my head, top left of the neck). I could probably trace a quarter-sized circle around the area of pain. The pain radiates down the side of my face and even into my neck and sometimes affects my vision. They hurt terribly. I thought I was having an aneurysm. I get the pain only once in a week or two. They usually were gone within the hour, and I am better with Excedrin Migraine, but sometimes the pain comes back. I do not drink alcohol, caffeine, smoke, or take any medication regularly. The pain does not seem to happen at a particular time of day or during my menstrual cycle. Please help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com. From your symptoms, I feel that you are suffering from Migraine. A migraine is a form of headache which most commonly affects young females. It gets worse when you have stress, lack of sleep, or gets triggered by some particular food or smell. But the problem is, there is no test to confirm Migraine, it is a clinical diagnosis. Also, diagnosis can be confirmed if you respond to Migraine treatment very well. My suggestion is to start your Migraine treatment. You observe for two weeks, if you are finding a good relief, then you shall continue the same medications, and it would confirm Migraine as your diagnosis. But in these two weeks, if there is no improvement, then we shall evaluate for certain other causes like cervical radiculopathy, trigeminal Neuralgia, etc. So start tablet Sibelium (Flunarizine) 10 mg every night after dinner for one month. You can continue tablet Excedrin migraine (Acetaminophen, Aspirin, and caffeine) whenever you get an attack.