several strange symptoms - please help!

[cbetro]

have suffered from migraines for over 20 years.  have had severe chronic pain in the back of the head behind the right ear for 4 years.  tried several treatments & injections.  finally diagnosed with occipital neuropathy and had radiofrequency ablation on november 23 20 ... [More] 09.  now suffering from pain in that same spot, "pulsing" sound in head and with that comes sense of being under water and dizziness.  it's not constant pulse, just 2 pulses here, 3 pulses there.  more frequent migraines.  achey palms of hands and bottoms of feet.  have been tested and checked for neuropathy there and dr. said no. wake up with clenched hands.  ankles have unexplainedly swollen very large 3 different times in last 6 months with no explaination. very depressed and feel sick.  taking norvasc, cymbalta, wellbutrin, morphine and just started topomax. also taking coq10, b2, and magnesium.  PLEASE HELP!  i am sooo depressed about all this.  have always been very upbeat happy positive person

[cbetro]

Also wanted to add that I have tried several medications for migrains and for pain that are not opiods over the past 10 years.  After many doctor visits, lots of side affects, missed hours at work, no relief from pain, wasted prescriptions and tons of money spent, I have a very large list of medications that do not help my migraines or help reduce my pain.  I am so very frustrated with this on-going problem and feel like I have to beg and plead with my doctor for my pain medication.  It's proven that people build up a tolerance to pain meds, so why is it so hard to prove that you would need more over a period of time?

[cbetro]

Thank you so much for your response.  I haven't heard of or researched Cervical Spondylosis, but I will look into that now.  I haven't had an injury.  I have tried physical therapy, epidurhal steroid injections in my spine, occipital nerve injections several times, and the most recent radiofrequency ablation to my nerves at C2-C6.  Pain killers do work the best for me, as I can still function well when using them, unlike muscle relaxers, which just put me to sleep.  I have taken Hydrocodone, then Oxycodone, then Oxycontin and now I'm taking Morphine (30mg, 3x per day)  The problem is that my doctor now wants me to wean off of the Morphine and not take any pain meds, yet I am still having pain and not only do I NOT want to quit taking Morphine, I need MORE strength because I have built up a tolerance.  I cannot find a doctor that will prescribe pain meds for chronic pain, therefore I can get a prescription for a while, but then no more, which is a horrible feeling.  I live in Washington state.  I have been dealing with this for 4 years now. At the onset of these symptoms I only needed Hydrocodone here and there.  Then I needed 2 here and there and then I needed 4 each day and so on.  Then we moved to Oxycodone, but I very quickly increased the amount I needed and had a very hard time when my doctor wanted me to reduce the amount while getting occipital nerve injections.  I have been seeing the same Neurologist for 15 years.  He treats my migrains, but doesn't want to deal with the chronic pain.  I go to a pain specialist, who in turn tells my general practicioner what to prescribe.  She wanted me to quit taking the Hydro & Oxy because those are "short term" pain killers.  I went on Oxycontin because it's more time released, but was prescribed a small dosage. I had severe sweats and became extremely depressed.  I am now switched to the Morphine but my pain specialist wants to wean me off. I still have pain.  Can anyone tell me what I can do?  Does anyone know of a doctor in Washington or Oregon that will treat chronic pain and WILL prescribe pain killers for legitimate pain?

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

There can be several reasons of your head pain symptoms, although without being able to examine you I can not offer you the specific advice on diagnosis and treatment that you need, but I would try to provide you some relevant information about your health concern.

Most likely, your symptoms may be due to Cervical spondylosis or due to nerve irritation in the cervical (neck) spine because of injury/prolapse where contact between the edges of the vertebrae can cause neck pain. In few people, this pain may be referred and perceived as occurring in the back of head, shoulders, arms or chest, rather than just the neck. Other symptoms may include vertigo, nausea (dizziness) that you felt. Other symptoms are like neck pain and stiffness can be intermittent. It will be best that you consult a neurologist who would like to prescribe Pain killers, steroid and muscle relaxants. Other treatments could be cervical orthosis such as a soft cervical collar/stiffer neck brace to restrict neck movement. In addition, cervical traction may also be suggested by the doctor, if condition is severe. Hope this helps.