My husband has had a couple of attacks. I get migraines, so I have tons of books on headaches, but I can't figure his pain out...

He wakes up in the middle of the night with a severe sharp pain on the top of his head. He has to go into the spare bedroom bacause he is rolling and moaning so much he would wake me up. He says that the pain is so much he cannot stay still, and be quiet. He also got extremely nauseous. I thought it was a migraine, but the pain doesn't sound right. He took some pills and the pain started to slightly dull, so he was ale to fall asleep. He wakes up the next morning with little pain left over. Now he has only had two of these and they were both in the middle of the night. I was wondering if anyone had ever experienced headaches like this before. I don't see much point going to the doctor about them if it is a once a year thing and there is nothing we can do about it.

In all of the books I have read about headaches, there is no 'type' of headache that is localized at the TOP of the head. The closest thing I could find was an exersion headache (when you over-exert yourself). He is an avid mountain biker, and the day before he had not done any physical activity. It just doesn't seem to make any sense to me...

Any help is appreciated.
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[This message has been edited by Jester (edited 08-09-2001).]

Hi, I get the same type of headaches. They are localized to the top/left side of my head. They are very very very sharp and they pulsate. They hit me about 3-4 times a day and when they do, take my breath away and I want to cry they hurt so bad. Your husband is not alone as these are commonly called "Ice Pick Migraine" and usually are stress related. There are numerous headache support forums on the net, go to Google.com and do a serch for migraine and ice pick headaches. Mine started about three months ago for no apparent reason whatsoever???? I take Excedrin and it has been working fairly well. My neorologist told me it is due to nerve bundles around a single blood vessle, expanding, applying pressure on the cranium resulting in a sharp agonizing pain. Go to the ER and get a CT scan to make sure it's not a tumor though, you gotta eliminate that. Tell him good luck and e-mail me if he wants to talk about it.
Thanks
chadbuckler@Hotmail.com

Hi Chadbuckler,

I'm sorry for your painful headaches. I too a couple of months ago just out of the thin blue started to get these exact words, like a "ice picking in the top and left side of my head. My head also burns, and the bones on my skull hurt. When I massage my head it really hurts. Also I have pain in my lower neck bone when this happens. Do you suffer any of these symptoms? Also it hurts to lay on the back of my head. Norfin

I have been to 16 doctors and Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for these headaches on the very top of my head. It's very small area involved and it just feels like there is a knife stuck in it, with LOTS of pressure. I also have vision blurring, severe dry mouth and eyes, and nausea. These headaches come and go, with no rhyme or reason. Sometimes they are so bad, I have to be taken to an emergency room for a shot of pain killer. I have tried many drugs, from pain killers to herbs. I have seen various general practioners, optometrists, opthalmologists, neuro-opthalmologists, neurologists, internal medicine doctors, and yes....even a psychiatrist! Some diagnosed it as tension headaches, or possibly later on, it could be a Connective Tissue Disorder, but more symptoms have to "show themselves".

I don't know what it is, but I know for the last year my life has been changed because of it. Many things I used to enjoy, I can no longer do. The vision problem has created a major lifechange. I recently started acupuncture and have had been pleased with results. I hope you get some answers soon. I know it's hard to "wait and see what happens". Good luck.

[This message has been edited by Wicky (edited 10-22-2001).]

I'm so glad I found this message. I have what seem to be similar pains in the top of my head. I went to my doctor about 3-4 weeks ago because of these pains. He checked my blood pressure and, although I've been taking medication for years, it wasn't being controlled well enough. They also did a blood test and found my cholesterol was too high (LDL too high, HDL too low, actually).

The doctor told me that the pains could be "blood pressure spikes." I saw a cardiologist during this time who seemed to dismiss the "spikes" theory but didn't offer an alternative. I changed BP medication and have been monitoring it and it's normally in the right range but I continue to have the pains.

Mine are normally very short in duration but are becoming more frequent. I would really like to rule out the tumor possibility but I don't think my doctor is inclined to schedule me with someone to find out.

I am going to keep checking back here for any other information as I'd really like to know what's going on and want all the info I can get.