Occipital Neuralgia Relief

Posted by itskingzman @itskingzman, Mar 7 9:59am

Valium and a medrol dose pack. That's what fixed my occipital neuralgia. I've had my finger torn off, kidney stones, nothing compares to this. This is for anyone suffering like I did. I was confined to my couch for 3 weeks straight because I couldn't lay may head down to sleep. I had lighting like pains in my head non stop, the only thing that would help is taking a very hot shower. I was on oxycodone, oxycarbazepine, methocarbamol, indomethacin, Diclofenac sod dr, cyclobenzaprine, nortriptyline, gabapentin. I went to a pain clinic and got nerve blocks in both sides of my head, it didn't help. After trying everything and considering surgery, what helped it go away was Valium and a medrol dose pack.

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pb50 | @pb50 | Mar 7 10:22am

Did your doc try Indocin? I have a kind of rare headache that is usually one side or the other, but has been occipital a few times in my case, is like ice picks attacking me one after the other. That can last 10 mins or hours. No narcotic touches it. It is also episodic - it may last 2 days or two weeks if untreated and then may go away for two months or two years. What triggers it to appear when it does is unknown.

They call it an “Indocin Headache” because it was found to respond ONLY to Indocin - which is an old school, hard on your stomach NSAID. The technical name is episodic intermittent paroxysmal hemicrania. There is also an continuous rather than intermittent form.

Since it’s not a narcotic or steroid it may be worth a try. It was miraculously life changing for me.

Rachel, Volunteer Mentor | @rwinney | Mar 7 10:47am

Hello and welcome to Connect, @itskingzman. Thank you for sharing what helped you find relief from occipital-neuralgia. How exhausting to go through the many avenues of finding what will help. I'm hoping you are in remission for a while. Was this your first bout with occipital neuralgia?

@seekinginfo | @nrd1 | Mar 7 7:37pm

@itskingzman

Thank you for sharing. I had my first experience with this. I went to the ER. They took a CT scan.

Although my CT scan showed some sinus inflammation, the ER doc said he didn’t think that was my issue and prescribed me Valium.

However I followed up with an ENT on my CT scan of sinuses anyway.

I should have listened to the ER doc and his Valium recommendation.

SusanEllen66 | @SusanEllen66 | Mar 13 10:27pm

In reply to @nrd1 "@itskingzman Thank you for sharing. I had my first experience with this. I went to the..." + (show)

@itskingzman I also have ON.

What helps me is stretching exercises. YouTube has several videos on how you can stretch your neck muscles to relieve the pain.

I also bought a cervical pillow to cradle my neck.

You may want to try the stretching and see if it helps with your pain.

@seekinginfo | @nrd1 | Mar 13 10:35pm

@SusanEllen66 -

Can you explain what your symptoms feel like and what causes worsening of them?

SusanEllen66 | @SusanEllen66 | Mar 25 10:31pm

In reply to @nrd1 "@SusanEllen66 - Can you explain what your symptoms feel like and what causes worsening of them?" + (show)

@nrd1
I’m sorry for the late reply.
When my neck gets aggravated, I have a sore scalp. It hurts when I wash my hair. My face hurts around one eye, cheek and ear. Sometimes my mouth hurts, my gums feel swollen.
The first time all this started, I temporarily lost vision in one eye 3 times in two days. That has not happened again.

snowmass | @snowmass | Jun 8 10:55am

What cervical pillow would you recommend?

Soledad02 | @soledad02 | Jun 9 10:00am

In reply to @pb50 "Did your doc try Indocin? I have a kind of rare headache that is usually one..." + (show)

I had ice picks headaches for about 30 years. The most horrific pain! Thankfully I found a pain mgm doctor five years ago that gave me an injection (not sure what) in the back of my skull. I’ve been pain free ever since. Keeping my fingers crossed those suckers never return! 🤞