Chronic neck pain mystery

07/21/08

I've been suffering from chronic neck pain for 2+ yrs along with headaches.Mri,xray,complete blood work-neg.Physical therapy,massage therapy,acupuncture,chiropractor,botox,facet joint block-all useless,trigger point injections(lidocaine,cortisone)-useless except it did get rid of my migraines.I also have a lump on the left rear of my neck near the base of my skull(coincidently the pain first started on that side and now hurts on both sides).I've been told it's either a muscle knot or a lymph node but none of my docs have really addressed it and it has been there from the onset,recently becoming more prominent.I take 8 vicodin750/hp(2 at a time) a day and still DO NOT get enough pain relief.Any comments or suggestions would be GREATLY APPRECIATED,Thank You.

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Answers (1)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

StacyGirl

Hi I am new to this site and saw your post. I have what is unformally known as Cervicogenic Headache. I say this because Dr's never really say the actual name... they just go around it, but I found it on the internet and it sounded just like what I had.Cervicogenic Headache is where the pain stems from the neck and can be caused by an injury to the neck or just appear.The muscles in the neck grip the nerves, which then the nerves grip the brain. I have tried all of the treatments you have tried except for acupuncture...which was next on my list. I have migraines everyday, constantly. Now the weird thing is, coincidently, I also have a few small swollen lymph nodes on my neck.... but they were there a while before the cervicogenic headache. I am now joining this website because my doctor has suggested that I get a nerve stimulator, and I am looking for opinions on them. I hope that your neck pain gets better, but be thankful that your migraines are gone. It will be two years for me in September, and my life has stopped because of the headaches, I can't wait to get back to lfe. I hope we can stay in contact and let each other know our findings. Good Luck to you, and google Cervicogenic and see if it relates to you.