Hello. I've been on prescription painkillers for a long time. Too long. I currently take MS Contin (since 2016, after as many years taking OxyContin) and I find that I'm prone to severe headaches sometimes. They are debilitating, unbearable headaches that strike maybe once a month, and leave me bedridden for a day. They tend to be concentrated around my occipital nerve area in the back of my head, but the pain takes root in the neck, the face, behind the eye, and it's not like a normal headache. There is no drug, not even morphine, that can reverse it; sleep is the only thing that works.
I've been to the neurologist and ENT, discussed it with them, and they are stumped. I've had MRIs. Nothing. (Thank God.) I can say for sure that it FEELS very opioid related. It isn't always accompanied by other symptoms, but there's something very withdrawal-y if that makes sense. Other times, I'm convinced it's not that at all, and I'm feeling neck and occipital pain that exists anyway, but magnified for whatever reason. My ears often ring at the same time. (Blood pressure is normal.)
Has anyone else experienced this? I'm stumped, and these headaches have become such a way of life, I plan for them now even though I never know when they're coming. People who know me well, know that I might have to cancel something if it falls during my occipital migraine period.
In my heart of hearts, I have a feeling that if I was off MS Contin altogether, it would not happen. But I don't know.
For the record, I never abuse my medication. I take it exactly as prescribed, but sometimes it's like I'm building a tolerance without changing anything -- not just sometimes, but ALL THE TIME... and once or twice a month it results in a legit migraine headache.
I've been to the neurologist and ENT, discussed it with them, and they are stumped. I've had MRIs. Nothing. (Thank God.) I can say for sure that it FEELS very opioid related. It isn't always accompanied by other symptoms, but there's something very withdrawal-y if that makes sense. Other times, I'm convinced it's not that at all, and I'm feeling neck and occipital pain that exists anyway, but magnified for whatever reason. My ears often ring at the same time. (Blood pressure is normal.)
Has anyone else experienced this? I'm stumped, and these headaches have become such a way of life, I plan for them now even though I never know when they're coming. People who know me well, know that I might have to cancel something if it falls during my occipital migraine period.
In my heart of hearts, I have a feeling that if I was off MS Contin altogether, it would not happen. But I don't know.
For the record, I never abuse my medication. I take it exactly as prescribed, but sometimes it's like I'm building a tolerance without changing anything -- not just sometimes, but ALL THE TIME... and once or twice a month it results in a legit migraine headache.