Daily Head Pain

by J
(England)

Hi Mary Kay

I have had this horrible daily Pain on my skull just behind my ear, everyday for the last 2 years. when i look at skull diagrams on the internet it seems to be the area on the skull that is called the 'occipital bone' / Mastoid process

the pain tends to be a dull aching pain on my skull just behind my ear. sometimes its a sharp burst of pain too.

i went to the doctor, physio etc etc, went for 2 MRI scans, met a Neurologist, thankfully they found nothing on my MRI scan and they gave me propranolol tablets to take which made me feel so tired and lazy and i have to be alert at work so i stopped taking them.

I have learned to live with the pain (even though its a horrible daily pain) - sometimes when its really bad i take pain killers and the pain goes away but then it always comes back the next day. The pain is usually worse if i have taken painkillers the day before.

I hurt my back the other day and the doctor gave me anti inflamatory diclofenic sodium tablets - they were great and made the heachache go whilst i was taking them but i stopped taking them and the headaches are back again. That would imply that it is something inflamed on my skull behind my ear?

My case with the doctors has gone cold case because i have almost given up with it and just learnt to live with the pain, but the last few days the pain has been really bad so i thought id look on the internet and i found your amazing site where i read about occipital headaches and i learnt more about it just from reading stuff on here than i have learnt in the last 2 years of seeing all the doctors where i live in england

The only thing i can think that might have caused it is 2 years ago i took quite a bit of viagra one week and it gave me these headaches the next day that would usually go away, and then one day the headache just didnt really seem to go and i think this is still the headache i have now

is this possible?

could the viagra have inflamed something on my skull behind my ear? the 'occipital bone' / Mastoid process area is where it hurts

what can i do?

what can i take to get rid of this pain? i am so sick and fed up of it

I really want to find a cure mary kay!

Do you work in the united states? I live in england

thanks alot

best regards

J

Answer

Hi J,

First of all yes, I only practice in the US and am licensed in the state of New York. I did some research for you and found a list of the headache centers in the UK. This list of sites includes the Migraine Center in London which is charity based and also does research. If you have not seen a headache specialist I would recommend you consider this.

It seems like many headache centers in the UK are labeled "Migraine Clinics". Don't let this put you off, they see all types of headaches. Here in the US we call them "Headache Centers".

Your symptoms do sound like a form of cervicogenic headache which is a form of neck spasming. It tends to come and go, and responds to anti-inflammatories as is a type of tension headache. Over use of the meds results in analgesic rebound headache syndrome.

You do not mention your age, but if the headache started after Viagra use, one cannot ignore the possibility of a vascular cause to these headaches. Based on this history you should have carotid dopplers done and an MRA of the brain which looks at the arteries.

Start with the headache specialist and good luck!

Mary Kay Betz MS RPA-C