Hi, everybody:

I have had very strong headaches almost every day for a very long time. I feel like my head is going to explode. I do not know how to describe these headaches; I just do not find the right words. All I can say is that I almost always feel sluggish, weak, and very tired when I have these headaches. I sometimes have a low key fever with these headaches. I also want to cry with anger when I feel these headaches.

What could it be? A "simple" headache? A migraine headache? A brain aneurysm? A blood clot in the brain? A brain tumor? Something else?

Could my epilepsy be responsible for my headaches, even when I am not having an attack? By the way, what is the difference between epilepsy and post concussion syndrome?

One of my grandmothers (my father's mother) died from a brain tumor a few years after the end of World War II when my father was still a toddler. My father, who is now in his late sixties, had a stroke a few years ago because a blood clot moved from one of his legs into his brain. He had a stent put in in New Zealand. Now, he has another blood clot (maybe more) in one or both of his legs. I do not know anything from my mother's side of the family because she refuses to tell me anything; it is as though she wants to think her family is perfect in every way, including health, even though no one is perfect in this world.

I tried Tylenol, but it does not work. I cannot take NSAIDs because I am allergic to all of them, except Vioxx and Celebrex, which I heard were pulled from the market. NSAIDs cause me asthma attacks. I tried medications from the triptan family, such as eletriptan (Relpax). At first, it seemed to help, but as time went by, I noticed it worked less and less.

MSIR works better, but no doctor prescribes strong narcotic painkillers for headaches. I have some MSIR capsules at home and some with me, in case I have breakthrough RSD pain (56 capsules per month, that is, two capsules per day). If I take these capsules for my headaches, I will have nothing left when RSD attacks strike. Besides that, my primary care doctor (the only doctor willing to take care of me) prescribed these MSIR capsules for my RSD breakthrough pain, so he would certainly not appreciate my taking them for other pains, including strong headaches, as strong as they might feel to me. If I do not use the MSIR capsules as indicated, he could wean or cut me off of not only the MSIR capsules, but also of the Duragesic patches. This would be a catastrophe for my RSD, which is generalized internal chronic RSD.

Physical therapy does not help. Cold or heat does not help. Massages help a little bit, but their effect does not last long.

Do you have any ideas what is going with my head (brain)? Do you have any suggestions of what to do to relieve this pain?

Thanks for your information.