DULL PAIN in lower, back left, part of head, near base of skull. Whats Wrong??? - Headaches & Migraines Message Board

rluto · 01-26-2006, 10:56 PM

I usually twist my back and neck to "pop" them when I feel them getting tense. I have done this for a while now and last week I noticed that I was having trouble getting the left side of my neck to "pop". Shortly after that, I woke up 2-3 days in a row with bad headaches (like someone was squeezing the sides and back of my head) and a really dry throat (my room is really cold at night). My head doesn't really hurt anymore when I get up but aches randomly throught the day and night.

Well for about the past week I have had this dull ache in the back left part of my head (behind the left ear, and down), sort of where your skull meets your neck. Periodically my teeth have a throbbing pain in them but it would go away fairly quickly and I don't think it's TMJ cause my teeth feel fine.

I'm scared that it's a brain tumor (I have bad anxiety, and hypochondria) I'm not really having any other problems, no nausea (except when I eat to much

) no weakness, no numbing, no balance problems or dizzyness or memory/speech problems, but sometimes I blink and one of my eyes gets hazy but it goes away fairly quickly (could be my contacts).

So I went to the hospital about 2 days ago. He did a bunch of things where I grabbed his fingers and squeezed, he touched me on my sides and I pushed and pulled him away. He said, after doing this, that he thinks I strained a neck muscle and that i'm getting tension headaches. He didn't think that I needed to have any x-rays taken or an MRI done but of course, I still think that I must have a brain tumor. Most of the time throughout the day I don't even notice it but right now it feels like someone is taking there finger and digging it into the back left part of my head and neck.

Anyone else ever have this?

Do you think this could be something more serious?

I'm really scared.

feelbad · 01-27-2006, 07:14 AM

Is there some particular reason that you so strongly feel that this is actually stemming from a brain tumor??Is there some type of family Hx of this somewhere?If there are no predisposing factors like that,i would really seriouly doubt that what you are felling is actually stemming from any type of a brain tumor.This sounds much more muscular than anything else,really.is there any specific area along the base on down thru the c spine area that really feels kind of tight or can you actually feel some sort of a lump or an area up there that feels like it is,like in one spot,much more of a mass of thicker skin or like a wad of tissue there?this could all be stemming from just a trigger point,which is basically a wad of muscle that forms as a re**** of inflamation or injury to a muscle.this can be worked out with massage or a combo of something like advil/aleeve and a good muscle relaxer.also,I get these like daily because of the current mess my c spine is in but i can usually get rid of them or attempt to on some days,by using a tennis ball placed behind me and a wall?just find a good wall with a good space there and place a tennis ball(preferably inside of a tube sock,this helps)behind you and over that tight area and just work it around the neck area(the neck is kind of a trickier area than the upper back but it can be done)ansd over the tightened spot in your neck and once you have found thattrigger point there,push your neck into the ball and the wall and kind of wiggle it a bit and then hold that tension over it for about at least 30-45 seconds til you just feel the area kind of 'let go"? it jut feels like that a5ea has 'released' something?this could just be all it is and all you will need as far as any real treatment.but if this does not appear to be what is causing the feeling you are having in the base of your skull and it is continuing to really bother you,please see your doc again and this time,ask about rying some sort of a muscle relaxer and also ask to be referred to a neurologist for further eval.there are many possible issues that could cause the type of symptoms you have described but they have to be ruled in or out by a good neuologist.hopefully this will all just be resolved with a good solid tennis ball.good luck,FB

rluto · 01-27-2006, 11:45 AM

My family has absolutely no history with brain tumors, tumors in general, and I don't think cancer either. It really doesnt hur that bad. The only reason I immediately think its a brain tumor is because I have been suffering from anxiety and have become a sort of hypochondriac.

The pain feels kind of like a tight muscle and a dull muscle ache. Most of the time it's not even noticeable and i'm thinking that the pain might even be just a fabrication. I kept thinking that I had this pain in my left arm and when nothing helped I started convincing myself that I actually had the pain in my right arm and low and behold the pain went away in my left arm and started in my right.

I'll try the tennis ball trick and they did prescribe muscle relaxer and motrin. I havent started them yet but am going to today.