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MrBr00ks's avatar

I get a wierd popping along one side of my head, should I be concerned?

Asked by MrBr00ks (1752points) October 30th, 2009

More specifically, it is either the right or the left back of my head, and it feels really hot when it happens. This time, when it happened, instead of the after sensation gradually fading off, it held intensely for a few minutes, then vision went a little blurry for a little bit, and the right side of my face was slightly numb/tingly if that makes sense. Also, this time the back right under part of my head was numb/tingly too. This has happened on and off since I was 10, although the frequency has gotten alot worse in the last few years. It switches sides of my head too. I dont have alot of money and i dont want to find out this is nothing. Any ideas?

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39 Answers

Val123's avatar

Ah…um. My first thought was aneurysm. Anybody here a doctor?

jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities's avatar

Ask doctors, not the internet.

MrBr00ks's avatar

i dont have money,at all, and ive been told its not a big deal by someone who had a similar thing happen.

Val123's avatar

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities sounds like he doesn’t have insurance.

MrBr00ks's avatar

yep, none, can’t afford it.

Val123's avatar

Every so often, in my right temple, I’ll get this BLINDING pain. It usually goes right away, but one time it stayed for several seconds. It hurt so bad, it took me to my knees, literally. I’ve had that for as long as I can remember.

oratio's avatar

@Val123 Me too. But more to the back of the head.

499335508crazygrape's avatar

well its DEFINETELY NOT NOTHING! u better go call a doctor maybe the hospital dont waste you time askin us!!!!!

hearkat's avatar

I’m an Audiologist, so it’s NOT my area of expertise, but this would make me nervous. The back of the head is the part of the brain where vision is processed, and you say that your vision blurs. Facial numbness/tingling could be the facial nerve. The brainstem is just below it near the base of the skull.

Is there any pattern to it, or anything you can do to trigger it? is it associated with head/neck movement? Is the “hot” an internal sensation or does it feel hot to the touch?

Like I said… I would be finding a Neurology clinic if that happened to me.

Val123's avatar

I just checked with a Dr. friend of mine…I’ll tell you what he says….how long has this been happening and how often do you get it?

@oratio Hurts like hell, doesn’t it. Have you ever talked to a Dr. about it? If so, what did he say?

499335508crazygrape's avatar

if you dont have money well its not like there gonna be like “go away hobo!” no they would NOT do that next time this happens go to the emergency place even though its not an emergency its faster service and maybe they wont charge you or help you find a job or something that pays you lots!

MrBr00ks's avatar

since i was ten, it happens sporadically, and it does happen with movement to one side or another, sometimes its like half an inch, and it happens at different speeds too. It is an internal heat, but i feel like rubbing where it happens seems to help, although that could be in my head (no pun intended).

hearkat's avatar

Could be an issue with your cervical spine then… did you ever have a head or neck injury?

oratio's avatar

@Val123 Yes. Killer pain for a moment. I No, I haven’t. Though we have universal health care and I could just make an appointment and go. Silly not to I guess. I come from a family where we bite it together, wrap it up with tape and walk on.

MrBr00ks's avatar

i hit my head when i was 5 and got stitches like 5 of them, uhm, the back of my head landed first on the ice the first time i went ice skating, and i fell down alot of stairs in the 2nd or 3rd grade maybe 4th, but with those last two, i never went to a doctor. I had xrays done of my neck about 8 years ago cause a 4×4 fell and hit me, and my neck is supposedly fine. but this started when i was young like 10.

Val123's avatar

@499335508crazygrape If you’ve never been in that situation, you have no freaking idea what it’s like. Of course they’ll charge him! Probably $1000 or more! And they won’t help him get a high paying job! They’re doctors, not hiring agencies. And no, they won’t turn you away, but if you can’t pay they’ll take you to court and start garnishing your checking account to the point you can’t afford to pay any other bill. Geez. Do you know how many people have to file bankruptcy over stuff like that? So you want to be super damn sure that it’s serious enough to get into that kind of trouble. So until you’ve walked a mile in those shoes, you might hold off on the wisdom.

@MrBr00ks I’ll let you know what my friend says…..

Val123's avatar

@oratio Ah. I rarely go to the Doctor myself, but if I have reason to I’ll try to remember to ax him about it.

MrBr00ks's avatar

@oratio lol, my family does that too, heh.

oratio's avatar

@Val123 Same here.
@MrBr00ks Heh, yeah. Stupid really. It serves you good when you are in the military, but it would be silly to die from something that can be treated. Being dead puts a strain on the whole relationship to existence.

YARNLADY's avatar

@Val123 Emergency rooms are required to treat anyone who comes in for treatment without regard for ability to pay. They will need to apply for Medicare, and will be billed, but the bill will be paid by the taxpayers.

hearkat's avatar

@YARNLADY: I believe that should say MedicAID – which is the Public Assistance health care program (MediCARE is for the Elderly or Disabled). If the patient does not qualify for Medicaid, they can apply for Charity Care services, as well. Or payments can be made in drips and drabs. My son was over 2 years old before I finished paying my deductible for his delivery!

YARNLADY's avatar

@hearkat yes, you are correct – my bad

hearkat's avatar

@YARNLADY: No problema – it’s a common mistake.
Congrats on 10k! (everybody keeps passing me by)

499335508crazygrape's avatar

@MrBr00ks are you old well not OLD but in ur 20s? 30s? because if ur parents are still taking care of you dont you think that maybe once they get the money they can pay for you? if not well i guess actually i know they probably wont help you get a high paying job but im just trying to encourage you that it CAN be healed but you need to go to the right person first!?

499335508crazygrape's avatar

@Val123 no i havent been in that situation before and yes i know they wont try to find him a high paying job but im just trying to encourage people who have this problem that it CAN be fixed but they need to talk and discuss problems like these to people who are experienced in medical care k,:)

MrBr00ks's avatar

im 33, have a wife and 2 kids.

499335508crazygrape's avatar

oh, talk to your wife about it see what she says if she says no well its like advice same with if she says yes, but really its your decision to make. When you get enough money I hope you think hard about to save the money or to help the pain because not many people can stand situations like this :|

Val123's avatar

@YARNLADY Not sure where you got your information, but going to the ER doesn’t automatically qualify you for Medicaid. If the person in question didn’t qualify for Medicaid prior to going in to the ER (and if they are over 18 and don’t have some disability or handicap then they don’t qualify) then Medicaid/taxpayers will NOT be paying the bill. It’s 100% up to the patient to pay the bill. If the tax payers footed the bill for every uninsured person who went in the ER, then there would be no insurance crisis!

I am well aware that the ER “has” to treat everyone, including illegal immigrants.

Val123's avatar

@MrBr00ks Dr says it sounds like a migraine. I said, “But migraines last longer than 2 seconds, don’ they?” He said yes, they do, so he doesn’t know.

I’m thinking…there just may be a weak spot in a tiny blood vessel that periodically bursts….then, IDK, heals back, until the pressure builds up again.

I’ll check next time I go to the Dr.

499335508crazygrape's avatar

@Val123 many doctors can have diff. thoughts to what it could be, I would try when i can (being him) to go to a professional. You’re doctor may be right\wrong but I cant see it being a migraine otherwise you would have migraines, right? :)

YARNLADY's avatar

@Val123 I did not say they would automatically qualify for Medicaid, I said they can apply for it. If they do not qualify, the hospital has several other ways to collect or write off the charges.

Val123's avatar

@YARNLADY I guess I misunderstood. You said, “They will need to apply for Medicare, and will be billed, but the bill will be paid by the taxpayers.” I thought you meant anyone who went in automatically got their bill paid by the tax payer. As I said, if they didn’t qualify before, they won’t qualify after. The vast, vast majority, probably 100%, of uninsured, do not qualify for medicare. Oh, and, if there were some odd situation where the person qualified, then Medicaid only back-pays to the date the person was approved. So if they go in on Friday October 13th with a life-threatening illness, have several tens of thousands of dollars of treatment or surgeries over the weekend….well, they can’t apply until Monday (assuming they’re conscious and able) and they won’t be approved for at least two weeks after that. So all the way around that’s just not an option.

At any rate, the hospital’s way of collecting is to sue the patient and get a court order garnishing their checking accounts or paychecks. The patient’s financial situation doesn’t seem to be factored in in how much they are allowed to garnish. I’m not sure, but I think it’s that they’re not allowed to garnish more than 50% of whatever. Which means you don’t have enough to live on. It throws thousands of people a year into bankruptcy. I know this first hand, Yarnlady.

YARNLADY's avatar

@Val123 You experience has been different from ours. When my #1 son’s partner had a miscarriage, she went to emergency for severe bleeding, applied for Medicare after the fact, and the bill was covered. When #2 son’s wife had to have medical attention for a gallstone, she went to emergency, and later visited the Hospital Aid office. They helped her arrange for payments over a period of time, because neither of them was working at that time.

Edit to point out that with the first example, the hospital had her fill out the forms as soon as she arrived, so there would be no ‘back dating’ involved.

MrBr00ks's avatar

thankyou all for the responses

Val123's avatar

@YARNLADY Thanks…pregnant adults under a certain income level qualify, but that’s mostly to benefit the baby, so I don’t know if they got your DIL under a pregnancy clause. Also, at one time, up until, I think, 1993, I too qualified for Medicaid. And thank God, because I wound up in the ER with an ectopic pregnancy that had ruptured. I could have died. Then, the following month, after I’d incurred bills from follow up, it was suddenly canceled for no reason. That left me in a situation where something happened regarding the surgery—something wasn’t right, and I had to walk bent over, or I would be in severe pain. Since my insurance had been cancelled I just stuck it out for the next six weeks, and it finally resolved itsself.

Yes, they’ve set up “payments over time” for my daughter, but at this rate she’ll be a hundred years old before she gets it paid off. And what about next time?

I hope the Health Care Bill goes through soon, although I know we’ll have another three years of waiting after it does….

YARNLADY's avatar

@Val123 I am with you on that

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