Chronic daily headache, neck/shoulder pain

[jatiro]

On the 2nd September 2005 my life changed, although hopefully not forever! After a morning at work I returned home to enjoy my afternoon off.

During[/i] the morning I had spent a long period looking up and also took a jolt whilst holding a rope. I had also had a very sore throat for a few days before. When I got home I may have got overly annoyed that the football game I had been looking forward to all week was not on TV. In a minute of madness I punched into the sofa cushion to release my frustration. It was now about 2pm and I was still feeling normal. I jumped in the shower and then sat down with my girlfriend to watch TV and chill. OHHH how wrong I was.

At about 2.30pm I started to get an itchy left ear and a very sharp pain at the top of my left temple. At the start this pain was just in a small area of my temple, but was unlike anything I had felt before. Within an hour this pain had spread to cover the whole of my left temple area with the worst of the pain being smack on my left temple. Now normally by my own admission I am a bit of a night hawk and often, as my old man says, am burning the candle at both ends but on this day I was in bed by 7pm. I took two pain tablets and thought that it would be gone in the morning. Again how wrong I was! At this stage I want to mention that for the last 6 months to a year I had been having morning diarrhea and loose stools although was not causing me any physical problems as once I was empty I was fine for the rest of the day.

Woke up the next day, 3rd September 2005, still with the headache and worse it was still at the intensity that it had been the day before. The pain was still on the left temple and remained there for a good three months or so. During this time I felt that there were two distinct problems. The extremely bad pain that started it all seemed to start to ease on occasion, although I was still not headache free. I seemed to develop a daily continuous moderate headache that was present 24/7 although its intensity would vary throughout the day. This headache could be on both sides of my head and at the same time too. The main difference was that this headache rarely reduced me to tears unlike the bad ones that do. Between September and January I tried a whole host of meds and alternative treatments including pain meds (which had very little affect), a range of migraine abortive drugs (nearly all the triptans), indomethacine (NSAID) and sodium valproate. I also used amitriptyline although probably not for long enough to see any benefit. None of these worked. The first small breakthrough came when my neurologist prescribed me a seven day course of prednisolone (which is a corticosteroid). This seemed to reduce the intensity and frequency of the really bad headache and made a small reduction to the daily headache. Also with the headache I have a lot of left sided neck pain as well as pain and discomfort in left shoulder and heaviness in left arm. I was also told I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and that is to blame for my daily loose stools/diarrhea.
The year of 2006 was a long one with not a lot of progress being made. My GP`s (Local doctors) all told me my neurologist was the man who had to set the treatments and so began a very long game of pass the patient. However some good did come from the year, I had an MRI of head and neck, both had no significant findings (whatever that actually means .... I`m 23 there should be no findings and I should be healthy!). Also during this year I had several blood tests done and everything is OK there too apart from a raised number of eosinophil (which now in 2007 is at its highest yet, over three times the normal range) although my doctors don’t seem bothered in the slightest! At the end of 2006 I had a kidney stone, my first and hopefully last. I spent over a week in hospital and still the headaches remained as I went into the New Year, praying for a lucky 2007.
[font=calibri][/

[Angelhouse]

Hi Jatiro,

I have just replied to your other post that didn't explain your previous history of treatment so her I am again. I immediately thought of osteopathy but you've already tred it!

Where are you based? I think this is a lot more indepth & needs a lot more discussion. Have you looked at the psychological side of this?

Love & Light
Angel Girl
[sm=angel_sm029.gif]

[jatiro]

I have. I am not crazy but the pain does make me depressed and nervous, i think because i do not have piece of mind with a firm diagnosis. I have had most sucess with dry needling of my trigger points in my trap muscle.

[Liz Londn]

Hi I have just the same thing as you. It started in January 2006 with sharp pricking pain in my left temple which went on for about 30 minutes. The following day I had a headache which did not respond to painkillers and every day since I have had a headache which varies in intensity. There is tender raised spot in the temple area and if I touch this it sets the headache off worse. Had MRI and CT scans, nothing wrong and I am really getting fed up with this as nobody seems to know what it is. Seen neurologist, rheumatologist and e.n.t. no joy. I commiserate with you as its so frustrating and there must be something wrong somewhere. If you have any luck finding help please let me know as I have put up with this for 20 months now. Best of luck. Liz