Have Had A Left Sided Headache For 1 Week Behind

Posted on Sat, 27 Apr 2019

Sat, 27 Apr 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : Have had a left sided headache for 1 week behind my eye and worse when I chew. I have taken Advil, alleve and Tylenol without relief. My doctor gave me imitrex that has not helped and ordered a cat scan for next week. Any thing I should be concerned about?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Giant cell arteritis to consider.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service.

I have read your query and here is my advice.

Regarding the location of the headache and the fact that it gets worse with chewing, in my opinion, temporal arteritis (giant cell arteritis ) is a condition to consider.

Sinusitis also may cause such symptoms.

CT scan will give valuable information about the diagnosis.

I think that other tests ( blood count, sedimentation rate, CRP, etc.) are also necessary.

In some cases, a biopsy of the temporal artery is necessary for a more accurate diagnosis.

Please discuss with your Doctor for these issues.

Hope you found the answer helpful.

Let me know if I can assist you further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee