head/ear/neck ache

[admin1234]

For the past 11 weeks i have been getting daily (some times more that once a day) headaches which at best can be described at feeling like I have been shot in the head just above and behine my ear and at worst in my head, into my ear and right down to my neck and sholder.  I have been to the doctors 3 times but they just keep telling me to take paracetemol/codeine.  Ordinary pain killers dont help.  should I keep going back to the doctr or had anyone outthre had the same sympton and can give me an answer as to what it is and how I can cure it.  I usually wake in the night with it and it sometimes goes once I am upright.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
Well, migraine, tension headaches, cluster headaches etc should all be looked into. However there are two other possibilities that you should explore.
One is dental ache as in an exposed root canal. This causes shooting unbearable pain radiating to head, neck, shoulder, ear, everywhere in the head and neck region I would say.
A visit to your dentist is a must and should be the first step.
The second possibility is an internal ear pain. Again it is the same as dental pain. Consult an ENT specialist for this.
The third possibility is brain tumor. You would need to consult a neurologist. However I think it is unlikely as you do not have any other neurological symptom. But you never know. Some tumors present first with a headache only.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[marileew]

What type of headaches did the doctors say you had?

This sounds like you might be suffering from "cluster headaches". Cluster headaches are the worst pain that exists pretty much... so, your description of being shot makes me think of that. Also, they are on one side of the head, and usually around the eye. So... the starting point of your headache sounds like it is in the right place for a cluster headache. Also, them waking you up in the night sounds like cluster headaches too.

These could also be migraines though... if you wouldn't describe the pain as the worst pain imaginable (worse than child birth... similar to or worse than torture)... but you would describe the pain as severe pain or moderate to severe pain... then it could be migraine headaches.

Also, how long do these headaches normally last for?

If the pain only last for seconds, then you could be suffering from icepick headaches.

If these headaches are cluster headaches or migraines, then parametemol/codeine are NOT the right type of treatment at all!!! Also, if you are suffering from icepick headaches... treatment with pain killer is usually pretty futile because the headache is gone was faster than any pain killer works... so, not a helpful treatment.

If you are having migraines, you should be treating them with triptans. Triptans are migraine medications that interupt the physiology of a migraine and STOP the migraine from happening. Migraine is much more than just pain, so taking pain killer for migraine is only treating one part of the migraine and not actually stopping the migraine... which is why so often the pain killers don't even touch the pain or the pain will return. If you are having migraines, you should really be treating them with proper migraine medications. Examples of triptans are: Almotriptan (axert), Rizatriptan (maxalt), Zolmitriptan (zomig nasal spray... don't bother with the tablets, the body can't absorb the chemical in the tablet form), Sumatriptan (sumatriptan injection or treximet tablet... don't bother with imitrex tablets, the body can't absorb the chemical in tablet form).

If you are having cluster headaches, then you should be taking sumatriptan injections and also be using oxygen therapy. You need to be trained how to use BOTH of these things... it's not just like tablets that you can get a prescription for and be done with it. Your doctor will need to train you how to properly inject yourself with the sumatriptan and your doctor will also need to train you how to properly give yourself oxygen (if used by a trained person for short periods of time, oxygen therapy is totally safe... if used by an untrained person, oxygen can be lethal... if used for prolonged periods of time, oxygen therapy has some risks and side-effects).

A good thing to always try with chronic headaches is:

- 400mg of magnesium per day.

If you think you might be suffering from migraines or any sort of migraine-like headaches, you could also try taking:

-400mg of B2 per day.

^ both of these work very well as preventative treatments for headaches.

That's all I can think of at the moment... hope that maybe some of that might be helpful? Let us know how it goes!