Yeah, hasn't been 6 months yet, but since there have been new developments...
About 6 weeks ago or so, I started having minor headaches. They always originated just behind the surgical area and slowly migrated around the back of my head. When I first started getting them, it was only once in a while, and a dose of ibuprofen would nip it in the bud and I would be good for a few days. Most of my headaches were triggered by a sneeze, which always gives me instant pain on my AN side that lasts for about half an hour.
Lately, the headaches are daily. I take a 500mg tylenol in the morning and either a tylenol or 2 ibuprofen at night (to mix things up a bit). Generally, meds twice a day keep all the pain away, so really, not a big deal. The only time the pain becomes severe is when I sneeze or strain to do something.
I visited with Dr. Bartels yesterday as part of my normal follow-up. He told me to point to where the pain begins, which was easy to do because I skipped my morning dose on purpose so I could better explain the pain. He said I pointed directly to my occipital nerve. He believes that scar tissue is irritating the occipital nerve. He suggested a nerve block, which will basically act as a test to see if the nerve is responsible for the pain. I was a bit apprehensive about a shot in the back of my head, but went ahead with the treatment.
First - let me say that a needle in the back of the head is more painful than one in your arm
. Also, once the local anesthetic wore off, the injection site was quite painful. I took more tylenol yesterday than any other day so far
. This morning, the injection site is still very sore, but I don't yet have the pain moving around the back of my head! I sneezed about 20 minutes ago, and the normal intense pain followed, but it subsided much more quickly than normal. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will eliminate my need for daily meds, even if they were minor.
The long term fix, according to Dr. Bartels, is to have the nerve killed by injections. That would only be done if the nerve block proves successful. The other option is to treat it indefinitely with blocks. He told me that nerve blocks can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months. I think if I get several months of pain free days per injection, I will probably just keep treating it. If I only get a few weeks, then I would opt for assassinating the nerve!
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As many of you know, I went back to work full time after 6 weeks and haven't looked back. I still get lightheaded when driving, especially at night, but otherwise have adjusted well. I still have some difficulty painting from a step ladder, and do stumble off the ladder once in a while. Don't worry, it's only 2 steps
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I'm not going to go back in time since it's all been posted previously, but know that things are really going great and I feel very blessed to have had this forum available to me! Here is a link to my post op updates for those that are curious, and want to do a bit of "light" reading
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http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=8882.0 Ernie
