Cause? persistent headache, right side only, & pulsatile tinnitus since 8/07 during sinus infection
52 y/o white female, have a desk job but very active, just beginning menopause, not overweight, exercise 5 days/week, nonsmoker, moderate alcohol, low-fat and low-salt, always healthy, no seasonal allergies, no blood pressure problems. First sinus infection ever late August 2007, lasted about 2 weeks, took antibiotics when laryngitis and bronchitis set in. No fever, just excrutiating all-over headache and very high blood pressure for about 1 week, and started hearing my pulse in my right ear. Thyroid checked - normal. MRI, MRA, and CT scan found tortuous carotid artery, but no blockage. Prescribed blood pressure meds for several months, though the blood pressure had normalized within a few days of onset of symptoms, anyway. 15 months later, still have daily pulsatile tinnitus (only hear it during exertion and when going to sleep) and persistent headache -- both only on right side. Manageable, but annoying. What is the cause/cure?
Frances,
Have your doctors done a CT of your sinuses and blood work to be certain the sinus infection is cleared up and that your sinus cavities are clear?
If your symptoms aren't attributable to that, they could be many different things. Nobody is going to be able to diagnose you via the Internet, but I can share some information on at least a couple of issues that you can read about and discuss with your doctor.
Sometimes, when someone knows exactly when a headache started or it started with an infection or other illness, it turns out to be new daily persistent headache. You can find more information on that in New Daily Persistent Headache - The Basics."
Pulsatile tinnitus and issues that occur with exertion are sometimes related to cerebrospinal fluid levels. Have you had a spinal tap to measure the pressure of your CSF?
If your doctor isn't able to diagnose this and help you, it may well be time to consult a Migraine and headache specialist. . It's important to note that neurologists aren't necessarily Migraine and headache specialists. Take a look at the article Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special? If you need help finding a Migraine specialist, check our listing of Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists.
I know you're going through a rough time. If you'd like some additional support, come join our discussion forum. You'll need to register again once there because it's a separate membership database, but you can use the same member name, email address, and password that you used here. You can find our forum at http://forums.healthcentral.com/discussion/migraine/forums.
Hope this helps,
Teri
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