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Occipital neuralgia

Headache & Migraine | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (18)

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@kasey7

First, let me say I am so sorry you are dealing with this. The ON pain can be horrific. I do think seeing a Neuro is definitely in order and a wise decision on your part. I was in a motorcycle accident years ago with TBI that left me with both, Migraine and ON - horrific combination 🙁

I don't know if we are allowed to name specific medications in this forum that have worked or I am currently using. I can tell you that I tried several "Nerve Inhibitor" type medications and they were a total failure. I did find a medication that controls the ON and I am allowed to take it once or twice a day, X...x. My Neuro prescribes it. This has been the only thing that "calms" those Occipital Nerves so I don't feel like I am being electrocuted half the time. As for the Migraines, I tried everything he offered, all the preventables, pills and self injections, nothing made a difference in frequency or severity of pain. Because of my age, I can no longer take migraine "abortives" due to chest pain, so I use a pain nasal spray and Ibuprofen for that.

I had a neck injury in the accident, my neck now has arthritis which triggers the ON and Migraines (almost daily). No one wants to live this kind of life, it is frustrating and excruciatingly painful. Everything gets impacted, family, friendships, marriages, career; just surviving from one day to the next is devastating and now at 70 this is no picnic.
I hope that your doctor can help you. I am so grateful for my Neuro. Hoping and praying for the best for you.

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Replies to "First, let me say I am so sorry you are dealing with this. The ON pain..."

Hi, @kasey7 - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I appreciate your compassion and empathy for @judic0927. Sounds like you've been on a super challenging road yourself, with the TBI from your motorcycle accident leading to migraine and occipital neuralgia.

As long as you are not giving another member medical advice and instead sharing what has worked for you, you are welcome to share the names of medications that have or have not helped you. Here are the community guidelines, if you want to have a look https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/tab/community-guidelines/.

kasey7, you talked about arthritis in your neck triggering the ON and migraines, almost daily. How did you find out that this was what was happening? Do you have distinct flare ups of the arthritis in your neck where you know the symptoms of ON and migraine are coming?