Occipital Neuralgia: What treatments work for you?

I’m not familiar with these items but will definitely ask about them at my
next appointment. Thank you so much for the suggestion.

@authorchris it may be worth asking your doctor if using a suboccipital release device would be approved as an alternative to a session that is financially out of your budget, as well as safe for you. Amazon carries a variety of devices that are in the neighborhood of $20-40.

- Amazon: Suboccipital Release Devices
https://www.amazon.com/suboccipital-release-device/s?k=suboccipital+release+device
Have you ever seen these?

Thank you for your suggestion. I did check on Occipital Release Therapy - specifically, the John Barnes method. There is one practitioner near me. Unfortunately, she charges $160/session and does not take insurance nor is the registered with Medicare. Although the treatment sounded promising, this is not within my budget. The first round of Botox was not helpful at all. In fact, I'm just recovering from a month-long bout of O.N. The constant pain nearly killed me. The second round is scheduled for end of May. I'll do it, but I'm not very hopeful. My neurologist had never heard of occipital release therapy although it is offered by 2 hospitals here in the Los Angeles area.

I see a neurologist. She has prescribed medications that I cannot tolerate. Each one makes me nauseous. She has also given me various injections (several trigger points, 6 occipital nerve blocks) and prescribed physical therapy which I had already been doing for years. I'm now awaiting my 2nd round of Botox injections. However, a few weeks after the first set, I developed another ON headache that lasted nearly a month. You can see why I don't have much hope for the remainder of the Botox. For this reason, I was asking about occipital release surgery - wondering whether others might have undergone this procedure and whether it was successful long-term.

Hello @carenr and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I can see you are interested in learning more from @sunnyflower as you have a very similar experience.

Have you been to see a neurologist yet?

I have exactly as you describe, but have not been diagnosed as no doc can find out what it is. Did you go to a physio or a neurologist?

All I could find were some exercises that were similar to those prescribed for me by my Physical Therapist. Nothing I haven't tried before. I appreciate the suggestion.

@authorchris I am not personally familiar with it, however, came across it being mentioned when was looking for a link to share with you. It may be worth looking into as a non-surgical option. If you look into it, please come back and share what you find out.

No. The first round of Botox (30 injections) did nothing. In fact, I'm just now (April 29) in the end stages of an O.N. episode that began March 31. (6 wks after the Botox) I was nearly crazy with the pain. I have 2 more rounds of Botox, and then I will seek a surgical solution. No, my neurologist had never even heard of occipital release surgery when I mentioned it. Can you tell me about occipital release therapy?

@authorchris has the first round of Botox proven helpful? Did your neurologist suggestion considering the Occipital Release Surgery? Conversely, have you heard of Occipital Release Therapy?