sharp pain in the head

[kim0311]

My ? is what causes sharp pain in the head? I have sharp pains thats on the left side of my head above my left ear and i get then like every 5 mins....it feels like knifes or needles in my head and  itried a heating pad to ease the pain and the sharp pain thats there it kepted me up all night,,, I tried inflammatory pill to get rid of the pain that didnt work....I mean i get these pains alot in my head... so i dont know if its stress or tension..or what but it hurts so bad i tried laying on a pillow to stop the pain..and if i pull my hair the sharp pain will be back if i touch it it will come back So do you have any idea what this is? please let me know....thanks

[Christopher R Newey, DO]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

Pain to a nonpainful stimulus is called allodynia. It can be a result of many causes. One cause can be headaches. Do you get migraines or have a family history of migraines? If so, you should discuss with your physician medications to abort them such as a triptan.

However, one-sided temporal headaches do have other causes. These include giant cell arteritis, esp if you were older than 50, which I see you are not. However, it may be worthwhile to get a test called ESR to rule out this diagnosis.

Another potential cause of temporal pain is inflammation or arthritis of the temporo-mandiublar joint, commonly called the TMJ. This can sometimes occur due to bruxism, biting down at night or during the day, and other stresses to the joint. This is best diagnosed/managed by an orthodontist or an ENT, and treatment includes braces and other dental fixtures and sometimes muscle relaxants, depending on the exact cause.

There are other primary headache disorders that can cause unilateral pain other than migraine. One is a primary stabbing headache. This headache often occurs in people with migraine. The pain itself generally lasts a fraction of a second but can last for up to one minute in some people. Another type of stabbing headache is called paroxysmal hemicrania. This is marked by episodes of stabbing or sharp pains that occur on one side of the head and may be associated with eye tearing or runny nose. Episodes may occur several times and last 30 seconds to a minute. Yet another type of stabbing headache is abbreviated SUNCT; 100s of stabbing pains lasting seconds occur and are associated with red eye and tearing.

I recommend that you follow up with a physician. The clinical examination and history will be important in the diagnosis, which will then lead to a treatment plan.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.

[mkh9]

I have been getting an aura in both eyes (like a migraine aura with no headache  that lasts about 15minutes to a half hour) since I was told to increase my neurontin, daily,but I was also put on Celebrex and Skelaxin at the same time. I've been off of Skelaxin since March 2010. I went off of Celebrex first as I read an article that was in a New Zealand journal of medicine that said it causes rare (9/300 people) visual disturbance. I stayed on Neurontin and then a month later got another aura. So, then I asked my doc if I could get off of Neurontin and I tapered down from 900/day to 500/day so far. I got another aura but it was about a month later. Since Neurontin has visual disturbance as a major side effect and rare retinal and other eye problems even blindness I am worried. My best friend went blind from Placonyl toxicity. I also have been getting a lot of the rare side effects from all the various drugs I have been prescribed. I tried Celebrex again and after 3 days got another aura. So, now I don't know for sure which one it is that is causing the problem. Also, I worry that it may cause permanent eye damage before I can get off of Neurontin. I don't really want to quit Celebrex as I get flare ups due to back pain and it is helpful. Have you heard of visual disturbances like this?
mkh9