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Is There A Way To Cure Severe Frequent Headaches On One Side Radiating Through The Neck, Jaw Line, Face And Temple?

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Posted on Mon, 7 May 2018
Twitter Mon, 7 May 2018 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 20 Oct 2023 Last reviewed on
Question : I'm having severe headaches 5-6 times a day on one side of my head. it starts as a burn in the base of my neck and comes up the back of my neck , to my temple and down my jaw line on the right side of my face. It wakes me up at night. my doctor prescribed me a steroid and acetaminophen 3 weeks ago . I'm done with the medication . They tried to order a MRI and my insurance hasn't responded . Since then they prescribed more acetaminophen which hasn't helped and the headaches are progressively getting worse and lasting longer. I've had the type of headaches 4 years ago , which caused bells palsy so my doctor prescribed the same steroids that seemed to work then.
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Answered by Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Possibly cluster headache

Detailed Answer:

Hello,

The symptoms of episodic burning type headache that affects one side of the head are suggestive of a cluster headache. You may experience the head pain every other day during a bout, or up to 8 times per day during a bad cluster. Cluster headaches can also cause transient neurological problems like bells palsy.
The best treatment to abort the acute pain is Oxygen Inhalation. You need to follow up with your treating physician to get a prescription for home oxygen therapy. If oxygen inhalation alone does not help, then medication like sumatriptan need to considered to reduce the pain. You can also take acetaminophen.
Continue steroids as it helps to prevent recurrence. The steroid therapy is usually for 3 weeks. For long-term therapy to prevent recurrence, medications like lithium, ergot alkaloids are used.
It is also important to get the MRI done to rule out any other brain pathology.

Hope this answers your question
Please let me know if you need further clarification
Regards
Dr.Lekshmi


Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D
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Answered by
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Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2012

Answered : 3799 Questions

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Is There A Way To Cure Severe Frequent Headaches On One Side Radiating Through The Neck, Jaw Line, Face And Temple?

Brief Answer: Possibly cluster headache Detailed Answer: Hello, The symptoms of episodic burning type headache that affects one side of the head are suggestive of a cluster headache. You may experience the head pain every other day during a bout, or up to 8 times per day during a bad cluster. Cluster headaches can also cause transient neurological problems like bells palsy. The best treatment to abort the acute pain is Oxygen Inhalation. You need to follow up with your treating physician to get a prescription for home oxygen therapy. If oxygen inhalation alone does not help, then medication like sumatriptan need to considered to reduce the pain. You can also take acetaminophen. Continue steroids as it helps to prevent recurrence. The steroid therapy is usually for 3 weeks. For long-term therapy to prevent recurrence, medications like lithium, ergot alkaloids are used. It is also important to get the MRI done to rule out any other brain pathology. Hope this answers your question Please let me know if you need further clarification Regards Dr.Lekshmi