Sudden Sharp Neck Pain

[kel0]

For the past few months I have been having an odd sensation.  Out of nowhere, I will have a sudden sharp pain on the side of my neck about 2 inches below my left ear.  It is so painful and feels like I'm being tasered.  The pain is unbearable and causes me to scream out in pain.  The doctor has given me pain medicine, but has no idea what this could be.  The pain strikes at any time, even will wake me out of sleep.  Once the pain is over, its fine.  It seems to be happening several times a day and I live in fear of when it will strike again.  Please help.

[AtlasSpinalCenter]

Dear, is really hard to diagnosed the real factor with the description you provided above, you have to be more specific.. like do you take any tension before this pain starts ? or do you drive your own car ? what is your sitting position ? are you habitiual to chew gum while checking copies or doing work on computer ? what exatctly doctor told you while giving you pain killer ? have you notice any swallowing at pain area ? if you touch that area with your finger and press it do you feel any pain ? Have you ever done a root canal ? Do you wear eye glasses ? if so - what is your eyes number.

Kindly tell us this information so we can further assist you in your problem, as the symtoms you define it can be any thing from nervs pulling to eyes problem.. Hope you will get well soon.

[coopes]

HI I have had exactly these pains in my neck for a few years but they only happen every few months ish.  Had one tonight while eating my dinner.  Did you find out what it was??

[kel0]

Its so strange.  I can be sleeping, checking out at the grocery store, or typing at my computer and its strikes.  It hurts so much.  I guess I should push my doctor more to run some test or at the least start with an xray of my neck.  Its not in the bone, so I may need a cat scan or MRI.  I just want it to stop.  It happened a few minutes ago and I was making copies.  I hate it.

[kittyluv1]

Has the doctor obtained any diagnostic tests related to these symptoms? Cervical spine
x-rays would be an initial start to see if there is any structural changes in your spine that may be causing some nerve irritation.
The fact that the pain is intermittent and not present at a constant level might indicate that a change occurs with different head positions.  You might want to document the times of these incidents and any activity you are performing as a means of further clarifying the problems.

Other possibilities could be related to ENT or dental problems -- if nothing else is found on exam.  It's like shooting arrows at the moon, but you need to rule out so many different possibilities before a definitive diagnosis can be found.

Having pain medication will only mask the symptoms --- finding the cause is the focus of any further medical treatment.

Best wishes ----