Extreme head pain when laughing?

Question

Well, let's just start off saying I laugh a LOT, and quite hard at that. But over the past few months, I have been having some extreme pains in my head when laughing, bending over, and doing any sort of physical activity. The thought of a sit-up kills me, just imagining the pain it would cause. I can't walk for long periods of time, or even run at all. Usually the pain would just occur when actually laughing or doing the physical activity, but a couple of months ago I began to have headaches all the time. The pain was SO severe that about all I could do everyday was sit through school in agony and come straight home and go to sleep. The headache never went away for even a day or two for a bit over a month. When I went to the doctor his best guess was that it was a tension headache. I also have a social disorder, so I am sometimes kind of nervous when I am around many people, but I really do not believe that was the case at all with my headaches.. I wasn't under any stress at all, I was actually much happier and more carefree than usual.

I got a brain scan, and it turned up nothing. I have tried two different medicines so far, one for tension headaches and one for migraines.. and neither did any good. I am not sure exactly what to do at this point.. the pain is starting to come back again like it's about to start another one month spree, and I really do not know if I can take that again.. lol, thank you for reading.. if anyone could help at all, I would be VERY very thankful =)

Answer 1

This could be an indication of something like a circulatory problem or something called TMJ Syndrome (both examples only).  TMJ Syndrome is a syndrome that affects the temporal mandibular joint (the joint that connects the top and bottom jaw).

You mentioned that you had a scan done of your brain and I'm wondering if it was a CT Scan.  If it was it will look at the structure of the brain to see if anything is there but an MRI will check the soft tissues around there to see if something else is going on such as an infection.

I would also recommend a consultation with a neurologist (a doctor that diagnoses and treats diseases and disorders that relate to the nervous system such as the brain and even the head and neck) if you have not seen one already to see what they think could be going on.