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Dull headache, different from my migraines
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karynmnewton posted:
Hi, all:

For the last five days, I've had this dull, achy pressure in the back of my head (left side only), with occasional sharper pains in my neck and in my head. It is completely unlike my migraines, which while they occur only on one side of my head, the pain is usually much more severe and NEVER in the back of my head. It doesn't affect my sleep (in fact, the ache goes away while I'm sleeping), but the ache returns as soon as I get up and start moving around. I do have an appointment with my headache doctor tomorrow morning (he had a last-minute cancellation, thankfully), but was wondering if anyone out there had ever experienced anything like this.

I will laugh at myself if it turns out to be nothing more than a tension headache (I don't get them, so I don't know what they feel like!), but this really has me kind of worried [realistically, I know the odds of developing a brain tumor in an entire lifetime are about 1 in 200, but the pessimist in me doesn't care about the odds >. Yes, I have had some serious stress in the last few weeks - finals, two research papers, my 16-year-old cat passing away - but I've had worse stress and never had this sort of weird ache before.

I look forward to hearing your feedback...

Karyn
2 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:Dull headache, different from my migrainesHi, all:<br /><br />For the last five days, I've had this dull, achy pressure in the back of my head (left side only), with occasional sharper pains in my neck and in my head. It is completely unlike my migraines, which while they occur only on one side of my head, the pain is usually much more severe and NEVER in the back of my head. It doesn't affect my sleep (in fact, the ache goes away while I'm sleeping), but the ache returns as soon as I get up and start moving around. I do have an appointment with my headache doctor tomorrow morning (he had a last-minute cancellation, thankfully), but was wondering if anyone out there had ever experienced anything like this.<br /><br />I will laugh at myself if it turns out to be nothing more than a tension headache (I don't get them, so I don't know what they feel like!), but this really has me kind of worried [realistically, I know the odds of developing a brain tumor in an entire lifetime are about 1 in 200, but the pessimist in me doesn't care about the odds <img src="http://img.webmd.com/community/images/wink.gif" align="top" border="0">&gt;. Yes, I have had some serious stress in the last few weeks - finals, two research papers, my 16-year-old cat passing away - but I've had worse stress and never had this sort of weird ache before.<br /><br />I look forward to hearing your feedback...<br /><br />Karyn
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carpetcrawler5 responded:
It sounds like you may be getting headaches from neck pain/stiffness. Go to a pain spec, and he/she may give you numerous therapies, including steroid injections in the bak of your head.
Report This| Share this:Dull headache, different from my migrainesIt sounds like you may be getting headaches from neck pain/stiffness. Go to a pain spec, and he/she may give you numerous therapies, including steroid injections in the bak of your head.
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carpetcrawler5 responded:
Soundsa lot like you may be getting headaches from neck pain or stiffness. You could go to a pain dr and get a steroid shot, or after getting seen could have numerous other therapy if they think you need it. Maybe try massage?
Report This| Share this:Dull headache, different from my migrainesSoundsa lot like you may be getting headaches from neck pain or stiffness. You could go to a pain dr and get a steroid shot, or after getting seen could have numerous other therapy if they think you need it. Maybe try massage?
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