Surgery relieves 15 yrs of Transformed Migraine

I am writing because I have had severe migraines for 15 years that started after a car accident. I have been on 30 different medications, with very limited success. The migraines have been daily for several years. I have seen top headache docs all over the country. I even was hospitalized in Lahey Hitchcock Clinic and was hospitalized 3 times at Diamond Headache Clinic - a clinic that sees patients from all over the world and is world renowned. I was always compliant with my medications and suffered the side effects in a desperate attempt to get relief.

Last year I heard from a fellow migraine sufferer whom I had met at Diamond. She

had been to a neurologist named Dr. Pamela Blake who told her her migraines were caused by occipital neuralgia. She did a series of nerve blocks on her and determined that she was a candidate for occipital nerve decompression surgery. (The occipital nerve is a large nerve the runs from your spinal cord up the back of your head. There are two of them, one on each side of your head).  She had chronic daily migraines. She had an outpatient migraine surgery that is outside your skull. She awoke without a migraine! She has continued to do well, with just a rare easily treatable migraine. She was like me failing multiple attempts to get control of the migraines without success.

I have seen Dr. Blake, and she is absolutely wonderful, she determined that my daily migraines were also caused by occipital neuralgia. I am a neurology physician assistant, and my headaches appeared to be classic migraines.  I had no symptoms of what neurologists would say was typical of occipital neuralgia.  

I have had occipital nerve decompression surgery by Dr. Dellon a professor of neurosurgery and plastic surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The surgery was August 20th. I am 70% better and I continue to improve. I worked a full week this past week!. I have spent large chunks of time in the last several years not working and its been five years since I have worked a full week. The docs say to give it 3 months to see the full effect of this surgery.

I am now on a mission to spread the word about the diagnosis of occiipital neruralgia. If you have intractable migraines, please discuss with your doctor whether or not occipital neuralgia may be contributing.

Do it, Do it for yourself, Do it for your loved ones.