Nonstop headache turned out to be mono; looking for relief
Please excuse the long post; I’ve never posted on here before but I am so desperate for relief. For a little background: Back in the middle of July of this year, I (23F) began having headaches that no medications would touch. It started while on a hike with my boyfriend where I noticed I was getting a pounding headache any time we walked uphill. We hike a lot without me having issues so this was strange for me. I assumed I was dehydrated and drank a ton of water. Over the next week, the headache would not let up, but would simply change locations. Sometimes it was in my ears, sometimes in the back of my head, sometimes in my face. It got to the point that I could not even sleep on my back anymore because the pressure it put on my head (occipital nerves?) would make my face start to hurt.
After many trips to the PCP, the neurologist, the ER, and a brain CT scan and MRI, they all kept telling me it was just a bad migraine. I did not think this was the case as I get migraines and usually the Sumatriptan that I take as needed works for them. Additionally, my migraines were always mainly in the face and not pressure headaches. The migraine cocktails at the ER didn’t do anything either. Eventually, an ER doctor finally heard me out and tested me for a bunch of viruses.
As you could’ve guessed I tested positive for mono. I was told to take it easy and stay hydrated. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that my #1 trigger is laying down. The longer I put pressure on my head, the worse I feel when I wake up. It’s a stiffness in my neck and a throbbing headache. Sitting to standing causes an additional rush of throbbing in my head. Five weeks after my initial headache, I don’t feel any different. Some days are better than others, but on the days it’s bad, I can’t do anything it seems and I’m nauseous from the pain. I don’t sleep longer than 4-5 hours each night because any longer and I’ll wake up in excruciating pain that lasts all day. I also can only sleep on my side as sleeping on my back immediately hurts my head.
I also would like to note that I have not had any of the other “typical” symptoms of mono: no sore throat, fever, etc. I have body aches occasionally, pain (not swelling) in my lymph nodes, and vomited once, but that’s it.
I guess I’m just looking to see if anyone else has this issue and if so what you did to relieve the pain. It’s frustrating that NSAIDs don’t touch it and frustrating that lying down makes it worse. I’m assuming this is all from mono.
TLDR: Bad pressure headaches from mono worse when laying down; looking for relief.