i have a bad headache every day, and a migraine at least 3-4 days out of the week. this has been going on since last june. about two months ago, i had a lump between my nose and my eyebrow (down closer toward my left eye), and i woke up one morning and my left eye was swollen shut and it was all puffy. i kept putting cold/hot compresses on it and it took over a week to go away. (i know it wasnt pink eye or anything like that... no crust, watering, redness or anything.) i'm worried because 90% of the time, my headaches/migraines are in the left side of my head. i went to see a doctor after a month of non-stop headaches. she immediatley prescribed 800mg of ibuprofen as needed. the ibuprofen didnt touch my headaches. i went back and she told me to try sumatriptan and to come back in a month if i was still having headaches. after a month, i saw a different doctor. she told me to take excedrine migraine for my daily headaches, and frovatriptan for migraines (because sumatriptan didnt work). at that appointment, she also gave me a headache diary to use, and referred me to a neurologist. i saw the neurologist a few weeks ago. she asked if i had any problems with my blood pressure. i said that it had been low (i only started paying attention in june, after my headaches started.) she took my bp and said, "102/65... wow, that's really low!" then she made me stand on both feet and close my eyes for 5 seconds to check my balance. i told her i have trouble standing on one foot to put on my shoes or zip my boots, especially in low lights or a dark room. she didnt seem to care... so she listened to my heart and said, "okay, im going to prescribe an antiepileptic drug for your migraines. come back and see me in a few months." she also told me that there are no serious side effects. just maybe some tingling in my extremities and face, and weight loss. "but dont get too excited, you'll only lose 15-20% of your body weight at most." i am 5'4" 112 pounds, and i struggled for years with anorexia. dont get too excited? i think she shouldve look more into my history, or looked at my weight. im very skinny, so i dont know why she would even make that comment! turns out that the topamax that she prescribed is a VERY nasty drug. i read all kinds of things online and it has made people go blind in a week, caused depression, hairloss, and severe personality changes. i refuse to take it, and i feel like i am out of options. i was told that neurologists will take a CT or MRI or something to rule out any serious things, then go from there. all this one did was take my blood pressure. i asked her, "so, you dont think that anything is causing my headaches?" she looked at me like i was crazy and said, "like what, a tumor? (smirked) if these headaches were new within the past two weeks, then yes, i would be worried." i thought okay well, these WERE new within two weeks. a few months ago... im young, and i used to work out daily, but now i can hardly drag myself out of bed til after 1 in the afternoon. im tired of having a headache and not having any energy. i dont know what to do, but i NEED help. I'd rather NOT use drugs. My migraines have been bad enough that I gave in and tried a few things, but i'd really like to know what the cause of them is... Has anyone been in a similar situation? Have similar symptoms? If so, what works for you?