Occipital Neuralgia

[Gypsy387]

Recently I was diagnosed with occipital neuralgia.  Previously I'd been told I had blood pressure and stress related migraines, but one day when the pain was bad enough I could not travel to my normal doctor I went to see a doctor close to my home.  He gave me a shot in the right side of my head (he didn't tell me what kind of shot) and as he was also a chiropractor he adjusted my neck and back.  It got rid of the pain for awhile but it came back.  How often do I need to get shots in my head for this kind of pain and is there anything that works on a more permanent basis.  I've missed alot of work due to this because I grey out and begin to stutter when the pain is bad enough.  So any suggestions would be great.

[marileew]

Hi there,

Occipital neuralgia is commonly misdiagnosed as migraines... it is good you have a proper diagnosis now and that now you know it is occipital neuralgia. Now that you know it is occipital neuralgia, you can treat it properly.

I'm not a doctor or a medical professional of any kind. So please make sure to check any information that I give you with your doctor. Also, I personally think it is best to see a neurologist or a headache specialist if you are suffering from unresolved headache pain.

The type of shot you received was a nerve block. Nerve blocks are used as a treatment for occipital neuralgia. There are lots of different types of nerve blocks out there though, so without knowing what was in the nerve block that your doctor used, it is hard to say how long you should go between shots. From my own personal experience with trigger point injections and nerve blocks... anywhere from days to weeks to months, but it really depends on what they are injecting into you. In my personal experience only (and I do NOT have occipital neuralgia, my experience comes from migraines and from friends with neuropathy who get nerve blocks)... The stuff that they inject at your local doctors office, usually 3 days. The stuff they inject at the hospital or the pain clinic, usually 1 to 2 weeks. And botox, which I have never heard used for occipital neuralgia, so I doubt it is relevant, 3 months. There is a type of injection that is called Phenol, which is used in occipital neuralgia, that is only injected ONCE a year... I am pretty sure that ONLY a neurologist or doctor at a pain clinic would inject this, your family doctor would NOT have had the authority to inject something like this into you. Steroids are another type of shot your doctor could have given you, and sometimes steroids are mixed into trigger point injections or nerve blocks as well.

If you are often getting headaches, more then 15+ a month, you have chronic headaches. Occipital neuralgia is often classified as a chronic disease since often, occipital neuralgia suffers will get chronic headaches. If this is the case for you, then preventative treatments may be a good option in your case. You can discuss preventative medication either with your family doctor, or I would suggest getting a referral to a neurologist as they are better equipped to treat you. Another type of suitable doctor to get a referral to would be a Pain Doctor or a Pain Specialist. Often hospitals will have Pain Clinics staffed with pain specialists, and if you ask for a referral to a pain specialist, you will probably be referred to a pain clinic. A pain specialist will then take over in giving you your scheduled nerve blocks.

The type of daily medication used as a preventative treatment for occipital neuralgia are usually antidepressants. Antidepressants are NOT used because your pain is due to depression or anything like that at all, because your pain is due to purely physical reasons (damaged nerves usually probably due to trauma). But for some reason, the antidepressants have this secondary effect on pain... an "accidental" effect that they were not meant to have when they were created. Lots of drugs have these secondary "accidental" effects... sometimes they are called "side effects" but sometimes they are useful and used as an "off-label" treatment until they are approved by the FDA as proven uses of the medication. Antidepressants are now proven treatment for preventative treatment of occipital neuralgia. A little side note, I do believe that one of the ways they discovered antidepressants was by noticing the effect of antihistamines (allergy medication!!) on the neurotransmitter serotonin... so, just think, antidepressants used to be allergy medication and now they are pain medication!! Very interesting for anyone interested in chemistry! So, don't think a doctor is prescribing you an antidepressant because you are depressed, that is not why... they are prescribing you an antidepressant because you are in pain and the medication stops misfiring neurons from sending pain signals to the brain. So, if the nerve blocks, on a schedule, don't end up working to control the pain... there is always daily medication.

Hope that helps! Let us know how it goes! :)

[Skinnyfox]

I have occipital neuralgia. The last 2 years have been bad. But one thing I do know is a nerve block can help tremendously but it has to be flared up when you get it or it won’t work, or work as well. Every 3 months if I can get appointment with my neurologist when it’s flared up. From the neurologists and my own research, not much else they can do. Try eliminating caffeine, MSG, too much salt and alcohol from your diet. That also seems to help with mine

[hava]

This breathing technique (pranayam) will calm you down, and with the extra oxygen flowing in the blood cells, the body systems will improve.This works gradually, so allow a few months before the pain disappears, but you will feel the benefits in two weeks.Come back to report your progress.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after one minute.
Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.