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ocelotOriginal: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2001/7/4/32754/71911
A summary of my various (extremely minor) health complaints.
My K5 question of the day - Do these headaches sound familiar to you?
For about the past...oh...week or so, I've been getting headaches that I can't really find a description of online.
This disturbs me. I don't like having problems in areas near my brain for which no obvious explanation exists.
They seem to be vascular headaches of some type - a pulsing pain centered in a particular area of the head, most commonly the right temple or behind the right eye, but also on the left side, or further on the side (like over the ear), on the back of my head, or across my jaw/cheek. If I had to guess at how bad they were, I'd guess mild to moderate, but I don't really have any frame of reference, and they're short enough in duration that I can't really judge. What is tolerable for a few seconds might not be if it lasted any longer.
The main way they differ from migraines or cluster headaches (which are similar in terms of type of pain, though of higher intensity) is that they last a very short time - usually no more than 30 seconds, often just one or two jabs of pain. This will happen every so often (mildly every few minutes, with clusters of stronger ones for a few minutes every few hours) throughout the day.
4 people I talked to about this have said it sounds like cluster headaches. I agree, in terms of the type of pain. But cluster headaches are supposed to be one of the most painful things you can experience, and these are definetly not at that level. Cluster headaches are also of longer duration (though not as long as migraines). I can find no mention of consistantly minor cluster headaches online.
They seem to be related to either stress or lack of sleep (the two usually go together for me), but I don't think they're tension headaches. I get those occasionally, and they feel different. I've also had both types at once (though most often they're seperate). It's possible that these are another form of tension headache, though. They're also sometimes triggered by perfume and similar scents, and bright light.
Eyestrain is another thing I've considered, especially since I need new contacts. However, the varied locations (not just behind the eye) make this seem less likely.
Possibly related, possibly not, I also get similar pulsing headaches in my neck. These are always located behind and below my right ear, are stronger, and longer in duration (though still no more than a minute or two). These seem to be related to exercise and cold weather, especially when the two are combined. That's not to say it happens every time I exercise. Just occasionally.These don't happen nearly as often as the other ones.
Do these sound familiar to anyone, and does anyone have an idea what they are?
Yes, I'm aware that it's a bad idea to ask for health advice from groups of untrained professionals online. I already have an appointment to see a doctor, at the encouragement of the other people I've talked to. I'm just worried that I'm talking about something that happens to everyone, or that the doctor is just going to think I'm a whiny hypochondriac or something. I'm not trying to be. I honestly could care less whether these go away or not, as long as they don't get worse. I don't usually even take OTC medication for them. I just want to know what they are, and get something done about them if they do turn out to be something serious or something that has the potential to get significantly worse.
I went to try to donate blood today. They rejected me again, due to low iron count. I've tried to donate 3 times over the past several years, and have never been able to because of low iron count. Though I'm not far enough below the normal range to be considered anemic, it makes me wonder if lack of iron could be part of the reason I lack energy so much of the time. I think this is largely due to my bad eating habits, and the fact that I rarely eat red meat. Of course, the whole lack of energy thing could also be due to bad eating habits, and not specifically low iron. I may start taking a multivitamin to see if it helps. Then they can take my blood from me.
It isn't all that low - 34, with the average in females being 35 - 38.5 or so. They apparently only take people with a score over 38, which means they must reject a lot of females with perfectly normal iron levels.
On the good side, I still got a gift certificate for a free pint of ice cream from Baskin Robbins. That's a first - in San Diego they don't give anything to the poor people who attempt to donate and get rejected. I also learned that my resting heart rate is apparently well within average range. It was around 75. Normal resting heart rate for an adult is between 50 and 70, and since I hadn't been resting at the time, it was normal to be higher. I'll have to check my actual resting heart rate at some point (the best time is right after you wake up, before you sit up or get out of bed).
A summary of my various (extremely minor) health complaints.
My K5 question of the day - Do these headaches sound familiar to you?
For about the past...oh...week or so, I've been getting headaches that I can't really find a description of online.
This disturbs me. I don't like having problems in areas near my brain for which no obvious explanation exists.
They seem to be vascular headaches of some type - a pulsing pain centered in a particular area of the head, most commonly the right temple or behind the right eye, but also on the left side, or further on the side (like over the ear), on the back of my head, or across my jaw/cheek. If I had to guess at how bad they were, I'd guess mild to moderate, but I don't really have any frame of reference, and they're short enough in duration that I can't really judge. What is tolerable for a few seconds might not be if it lasted any longer.
The main way they differ from migraines or cluster headaches (which are similar in terms of type of pain, though of higher intensity) is that they last a very short time - usually no more than 30 seconds, often just one or two jabs of pain. This will happen every so often (mildly every few minutes, with clusters of stronger ones for a few minutes every few hours) throughout the day.
4 people I talked to about this have said it sounds like cluster headaches. I agree, in terms of the type of pain. But cluster headaches are supposed to be one of the most painful things you can experience, and these are definetly not at that level. Cluster headaches are also of longer duration (though not as long as migraines). I can find no mention of consistantly minor cluster headaches online.
They seem to be related to either stress or lack of sleep (the two usually go together for me), but I don't think they're tension headaches. I get those occasionally, and they feel different. I've also had both types at once (though most often they're seperate). It's possible that these are another form of tension headache, though. They're also sometimes triggered by perfume and similar scents, and bright light.
Eyestrain is another thing I've considered, especially since I need new contacts. However, the varied locations (not just behind the eye) make this seem less likely.
Possibly related, possibly not, I also get similar pulsing headaches in my neck. These are always located behind and below my right ear, are stronger, and longer in duration (though still no more than a minute or two). These seem to be related to exercise and cold weather, especially when the two are combined. That's not to say it happens every time I exercise. Just occasionally.These don't happen nearly as often as the other ones.
Do these sound familiar to anyone, and does anyone have an idea what they are?
Yes, I'm aware that it's a bad idea to ask for health advice from groups of untrained professionals online. I already have an appointment to see a doctor, at the encouragement of the other people I've talked to. I'm just worried that I'm talking about something that happens to everyone, or that the doctor is just going to think I'm a whiny hypochondriac or something. I'm not trying to be. I honestly could care less whether these go away or not, as long as they don't get worse. I don't usually even take OTC medication for them. I just want to know what they are, and get something done about them if they do turn out to be something serious or something that has the potential to get significantly worse.
I went to try to donate blood today. They rejected me again, due to low iron count. I've tried to donate 3 times over the past several years, and have never been able to because of low iron count. Though I'm not far enough below the normal range to be considered anemic, it makes me wonder if lack of iron could be part of the reason I lack energy so much of the time. I think this is largely due to my bad eating habits, and the fact that I rarely eat red meat. Of course, the whole lack of energy thing could also be due to bad eating habits, and not specifically low iron. I may start taking a multivitamin to see if it helps. Then they can take my blood from me.
It isn't all that low - 34, with the average in females being 35 - 38.5 or so. They apparently only take people with a score over 38, which means they must reject a lot of females with perfectly normal iron levels.
On the good side, I still got a gift certificate for a free pint of ice cream from Baskin Robbins. That's a first - in San Diego they don't give anything to the poor people who attempt to donate and get rejected. I also learned that my resting heart rate is apparently well within average range. It was around 75. Normal resting heart rate for an adult is between 50 and 70, and since I hadn't been resting at the time, it was normal to be higher. I'll have to check my actual resting heart rate at some point (the best time is right after you wake up, before you sit up or get out of bed).
