Occipital Neuritis

[Joe-Sharbono]

  I have had a headache in the back of my head for about 6 weeks now.
  Last Friday evening I ended up in the emergency room becouse the pain
  was so bad I could hardly move.  The doctor treated me for occipital
  neuritis by giving me a steroid shot at the base of my skull.  He also
  gave me a perscription for Percocet.  The pain is not gone and I am
  out of Percocet.  I have been taking 800mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours.
  I just can't get rid of this pain. What can I do?
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Thanks for your question.  You did not mention in your posting if your
occipital pain was triggered by any unusual event (head or neck impact,
odd twist of the neck, etc.).  Although the nuccal region is innervated
by the occipital nerve, one should also carefully evaluated the possibility
of a more proximal nerve injury, namely nerve roots in the high cervical
segments.  You did not describe any neck instability or neck weakness, so
it is less likely that a severe compression of the cervical segment nerve
roots is occurring.  Given the persistence of your pain symptoms, you should
be evaluate by a neurologist, preferably one specialized in the peripheral
nervous system.  Other options are neuro-surgeons or orthopedic surgeons
specialized in spine.
I hope this information is helpful.  Best of luck.
This information is provided for general medical education purposes only.
Please consult your doctor regarding diagnostic and treatment options.