Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - Part 2

Yow! Ice Pick Headaches

So, I’ve been getting these weird pains in my head – more like my brain – for the past year and a half. They’ve lasted a split second to maybe 2 seconds, and I could go for weeks without getting one or have a period where I would get 2 or 3 an hour. I was a little worried, but since they occurred in several different places of my head, I figured they weren’t a brain tumor. Besides, I didn’t have any other symptoms – before, during or after the actual attack. So, I just forgot about them when they weren’t happening and slightly fretted over them when they did.

The last couple months, however, the pains have lasted longer – up to several seconds – and have become more intense, though it may just seem that way since they are lasting longer. I went to my doctors’ office (I’m becoming more and more convinced that they are all quacks at this particular practice) and saw one of the physician assistants. Since I was also having trouble with my sense of smell – or, rather, lack thereof – the PA thought that I maybe had sinus problems, and she prescribed a neti pot, which I used a total of one time (that’s another story altogether!).

So, now I’m really beginning to wonder what’s going on with my head! (No comments from the peanut gallery, please.) While the pain lasts but a few moments at best, it is, nonetheless, quite severe. The piercing pain is very concentrated in one small spot. The best way to describe it is that someone has stabbed me in the head with an ice pick.

So, I decided to do an Internet search for these symptoms and see if I could find out what, exactly, was wrong with me. (BTW, I am an expert at diagnosing my ailments through Internet research. I am available to you, too, for a small fee. ha-ha-ha) Well, what I have is called – no surprise here – ICE PICK headaches!

According to my research, ice pick headaches are short, stabbing, extremely intense headaches that can be "absolutely terrifying." They generally only last between five and 30 seconds, though mine are much shorter. However, they come out of nowhere, can strike anywhere on the head, literally feel as if an ice pick is being stuck into your head, then disappear before you can even figure out what's happening. The pain can also seem to occur in or behind the ear.

Criteria for diagnosing ice pick headaches:
1. Head pain occurring as a single stab or a series of stabs.
2. Exclusively or predominantly felt in the orbit, temple and parietal area.
3. Stabs last for up to a few seconds and recur with irregular frequency ranging from one to many per day
4. No other symptoms

Ice pick headaches are considered a primary headache because there isn't a deeper underlying cause. THE HEADACHE ITSELF IS THE PROBLEM. A secondary headache has another cause such as a tumor, stroke, or something as simple as not eating. These short, sharp headaches can be located anywhere on the head, but they're usually located near the orbit, temple, or parietal region.

Whew! I’ve learned that they’re not dangerous and don’t indicate an underlying condition. Most, though not all, people who get them also experience migraines or cluster headaches. Thankfully, I am not one of these people. My dad, however, has suffered with cluster headaches ever since I have been aware of his existence, so the ice pick headaches I experience may be somehow genetically linked to whatever causes my dad’s headaches.

Unfortunately, there’s no cure. A person can take aspirin or acetaminophen for the pain, but since the headaches happen so infrequently and are over so quickly, by the time one swallows a pill the headache is gone.
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So, I guess what I have learned is good news and bad news. The good news is that I now have a name for these short, stabbing headaches I get occasionally and that they are harmless. The bad news is that they are probably here to stay and there is nothing I can do about it. Oh, well… it beats a brain tumor!