- Me: So I am at a point where no change maybe a little more pressure in my face. Narcotics are just making me sleep and be nauseous and throw up. I am trying to figure out if I should wait for family dr to open tomorrow, call Urgent care (which probably isn’t open today) or go to ER. Do you and Steve have any advice?
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Kristen: Steve’s at work but will message him. How long ago did they give you the epi and steroids? He said you often get a killer headache after that especially if you had more than one dose. Personally, if you are that miserable I would go to the ER. But would chose either primary care or ER. Urgent care will be limited in what they can do. Primary is at least likely to refer you to ER if that’s where you need to go to stop the cascade. Does it feel like sinus pressure? Or is the pressure more like in your veins of your neck? General pressure? If you’ve had a migraine before, does the headache feel like that or different? Light sensitivity? Nausea other than from pain meds? Heat or cold improve? Is your neck clamped down like a tension headache?
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Me: Sorry. I was sleeping again.
Timing of it all: Wed Jan 21 is when I received 2 epi shots (one was not enough to stop the reaction) a steroid shot and benedryl. I started prednisone the next day for 6 days with a step down prescription of 3 for 2days, 2 for 2 days and 1 for 2 days. That ended the same day the headache started.
The pressure is in two places throughout my sinuses but not like a sinus headache. Sensitive to light, blurry vision and nausea at times. The clamping down seems to be a better description of what the pressure does to my face. Heat seems to bring comfort but not sure it actually brings relief. Trying ice right now. The second location of the headache is at the base of my head in the neck. Very much like a tension headache but with pressure pain instead of piercing pain. I have had a migraine before and this is more like what is left after the intense pain that I get. The pressure pain is constantly there sometimes with more pressure in my face than others. But it is always there.
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Me: Ice made it much worse
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Kristen: I will pass that on to Steve. I think it is too far out to be directly related to the epi. Sort of sounds like you have a combo cluster migraine/ tension headache. Personally I would go to ER to have eval and see if they can break the cycle. They would prob start with fluids and the headache cocktail and move from there. You can also get rebound headaches from narcotics
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Me: Yah. That is what I am thinking too. Wish the roads weren’t so bad. Hope Steve has a safe drive. I would go today but no one to watch the kids. Tomorrow we can have day care watch them.
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Kristen: Yeah me too. I’m thinking he isn’t going to make it home tonight at this rate. He took stuff in case he has to overnight in the staff emergency shelter
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Me: Yah. Probably a safe move.
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Kristen: Steve said prob migraine/tension. If you don’t want to go in with the roads, try 600 mg ibuprofen plus 25-50mg Benadryl (only if it doesn’t make you hyper). Otherwise, if you prefer tylenol, you can take a single 1000 mg dose. Just make sure you don’t repeat it for toxicity. If you happen to have a muscle relaxant or anti-anxiety, take that as well. Effectively the 1st line headache cocktail – ibuprofen, Benadryl, and relaxant.
Hope you feel better
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