Thursday, October 23, 2008 Lisa W. asks

Q: can you get headaches, eyepain and a feeling of fullness and heaviness in the head from M.S.

I am a fifty year old woman, who suffers from terrible eye, face and head pain. I have been taking four Vicoden per day for three years and I have not had to increase it. The mornings are the worst for me, with fatigue, heaviness in my head and my legs and I go to bed usually around 8pm. Pain is a very difficult symptom to live with and the Vicoden usually helps but not always. The doctors are also recluctant to give too much to me, which I can understand, but it is a quality of life issue. Also, I have fatigue and non of thr agents, like Provigil or Amantadine have helped. I even tried Ritalin. HELP. ANy ideas or suggestions or thoughts??? Thank you so much. Lisa sweinbe6@optonline.net

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Answers (3)

Lisa Emrich, Health Guide

10/27/08 10:55pm

Lisa,

Thank you for your question. Have you discussed possible trigeminal neuralgia with your neurologist? Here is information from NIH regarding this type of neuropathic facial/head pain. Here is an organization which advocates for patients who experience this type of pain.

And from the Mayo Clinic - "You may initially experience short, mild attacks, but trigeminal neuralgia can progress, causing longer, more frequent bouts of searing pain. These attacks can be spontaneous or provoked by even mild stimulation of your face. Trigeminal neuralgia affects women more often than men, and it's more likely to occur in people who are older than 50."

I experience trigeminal neuralgia but not exactly the same way which is described on these sites. My pain feels as though a very heavy elephant is standing on my face/head. The pain sometimes swings around my eye and through my jawline. When the pain is at it's worse, I'm not capable of concentrating or staying alert. For me the pain is controlled by meds (neurontin).

Best advice would be to talk to your neurologist about this. Take notes of your symptoms, what seems to trigger them, what helps or doesn't help to alleviate symptoms, etc.

Let us know how you're doing. Thanks

Terri the klutz

10/23/08 3:08pm

Absolutley! You are naming some of the cardinal symptoms of MS.

I also take a form of Vicoden and often have to use a Fentinyl patch to ease the pain.

Your MD should help you with the correct meds to ease your symptoms.

God Bless,

Terri

Claire

10/27/08 6:58pm

Dear Lisa,

I suffer from optic neuritis, and use clonazepam to see, along with Verilux lamps. Watching a TV or computer screen for too long will bring on blindness. I am 49, and fortunately Provigil and Coffee give me a week with five productive days. My MS is stable on Rebif - no crashes or movement to chronic progressive since April '05. I also must nap. I have two sons, ages eight and ten, and a husband who is a very understanding caregiver. I live in some form of pain 24/7, the worst now being the loss of a solid relationship with my 82 year old mother who is exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's. My father refuses to acknowlege this, and I just wrote to my two brothers that decisions and observations are on our shoulders now. Stress or neurological overload are non-trivial, so I will need to cultivate other friendships. I use two Vicodin, and four gabapantin for pain, and three Ibuprofin for shot days so I don't have an extreme allergic reaction. I used to play the Viola and Violin professionally, and I have begun to paint and have written a poetry book, not published - yet. When I am preoccupied with my parent's problems, I lose concentration, so have asked my brothers to step up to the plate.

I will see what their response will be. There is no energy to fight with dying parents and raise a family and try to live a personally satisfying personal artistic life. What can you tell me about menopause if anything? Claire

Q: can you get headaches, eyepain and a feeling of fullness and heaviness in the head from M.S.

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