Shooting head pain - fibromyalgia or something else?

[Suzie19]

Hello, I would like to ask if anyone else has experienced this and what it can be. I have a suspected fibromyalgia with my pains migrating from one part of my body to next. For example I would be having needle pin pains in my tights for a couple of weeks, then the pain would stop and move to another part of the body and demonstrate differently. I got used to different pains occuring at different times. Two days ago while I was driving in my car and chewing a gum I suddenly felt sharp pain at top of my head that moved fast to my neck. The pain was located at the right back side of my head and felt exactly as electric shock or strike of a lightning bolt at the top of my head moving to my neck in less than 10 seconds. It was sharp and very strong and disappeared after those 10 seconds. It happened only once but I felt little numb or dull in my head afterwards and I still feel little strange. I saw my doctor yesterday and she suspects it is a thunderclap headache. Reading about that I am not sure if it is true or if it might be related to fibromyalgia or maybe anxiety (I have been taking zoloft). However it scared me very very much and I would like to ask if anyone has experience with this. Thank you so much. I am 36 years old with fibro, gad and IBS. Thanks so so much for any feedback.

 

[missv]

Hi Suzie19,

Sorry you're experiencing this. I too get those sharp pains in my head but I also suffer from tension and migraine headaches. The pain you're talking about doesn't seem related to those and they are intermittent and rapid almost shocking! I wish you all the best and let me know how everything goes.
Soft hugs!!!

 

[Marvis]

Hi Suzie,
I've never experienced anything exactly like that. I suffer from chronic migraines along with the fibro. They can be really weird sometimes (I once had half of my body go numb) and you do tend to feel dopey and off for a day or two afterwards. Glad you checked it out with the doc. If it doesn't resolve, or you continue to feel concerned about it, do check with your doc again.

 

[Tipnatee N]

Whoa I haven't heard the word thunderclap headache for a long time since I've heard my grand mother talked about it, at first I thought she was described her pain but I looked up just now . Wow I have to say the name sound much cooler than the actual feeling it self. It's the same thing as acute headach which I've head the nurses in the hospital explained to me after I was experinced the same thing everytime I tilted my head or my neck in certain angles before I was diagnosed with fibro. The electric shock sharp shooting headache i used to get often shooting up from the back if my neck it's so shocking sometime it surprised me so sudden I often fallen off from my chair, tripped over or lost my gripped on things ( lots of glasses and plates breaking I have to start eating and drinking out of plastic and paper plates instead) However about a year ago I was getting up from toilet and the shocking headache striked me so hard I lost my balanced and fallen hit my head to the wall. I was out cold for a few second but strangely it felt like I was in the car crashed where everything fallen in the slow motion then I black out. Once I came through the quick sharp shocking headache was gone, and it stopped a surprise shocking me hard like the way it used to for about a year now. However, since then my shocking pain had changed to electric shocking my whole body every time I leaded forward . Equally pains but less unexpecting now since all I have to do is not carelessly leading forward. My headach become more and more of the prolong migraine instead which I guess I've accidentally traded the lighting strike for blunt force trauma one

 

[GrandpaPatrick]

Hi,
I'm sorry you are experiencing this too. I suspect it is not fibromyalgia because fibromyalgia
relates to your muscles and you have no muscles on the top of your head. Anatomy 101.
In fibromyalgia you learn the difference between a head pain and a head ache. You know
what a headache feels like. In fibromyalgia the pain is in the muscles. Facial muscles:
there is a strange thing where if you are hurting bad somewhere and you grimace in pain
the act of grimacing can cause facial pain and that pain can make you grimace which causes
more pain etc. There is a muscle in your temple that opens and closes your lower jaw and
of course neck muscles all the way around. If you felt pain in the very top of your head I
would suspect that it was what your Dr. said. If you have fibromyalgia you know a formula
without being taught it. Pressure plus time equals pain. Pressure against any muscle for a
period of time will cause that muscle to hurt. I hope this helps...

GrandpaPatrick

 

[Tipnatee N]

Hi,
I'm sorry you are experiencing this too. I suspect it is not fibromyalgia because fibromyalgia
relates to your muscles and you have no muscles on the top of your head. Anatomy 101
GrandpaPatrick

Apologizing GrandpaPatrick in advance cause I mean no disrespecting in your kindness explanation, but the new researches proven clearly now that fibromyalgia is NOT coming from your muscles . When first fibromyalgia came out it was Mistaken that it was causing by muscles which given the word "fibro". However many doctors and many medical reasearches had done enough tested and scientifically proven that it's not the muscles, but it actually came from nerves and that's what causing the wide spread pains in fibromyalgia Not the muscles. The name fibromyalgia now became a wrong terms of using. Hopefully it will finally have enough reason to change it soon. Later researches said it might be the reaction from dying nerves sending signals to your brain while reacting with fighter flight spot that resting around the base of your neck causing lots of odd signal and sensation including all kinds of pains alerting and alarming without any way of turning it off, which happening where it shouldn't appear nor making sense in our body.

 

[GrandpaPatrick]

I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Didn't I say "involves" the muscles. I don't know about you
but pressure against my muscles causes pain. Of course it is the nerves, every Lyrica commercial
makes that clear. But is clear to me that pressure against MY muscles causes pain. That's all I'm
saying. I'm sorry I said anything now.

 

[Tipnatee N]

I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Didn't I say "involves" the muscles. I don't know about you
but pressure against my muscles causes pain. Of course it is the nerves, every Lyrica commercial
makes that clear. But is clear to me that pressure against MY muscles causes pain. That's all I'm
saying. I'm sorry I said anything now.

Oh no no no!! Please I do not wish at all to make you feel bad for have said anything . That's not my intention . I just try to giving the update news of fibro research so we can try to find the best way to relieve the pain it self more effectively. When I was first diagnosed I was also thought it hurts in my muscle so that was all I thought about day in day out. Till I found out much more different kinds of pains that had went so far beyond the muscle parts i had no choice but to find more answer and that's when I realized it had nothing to do with muscle whatsoever even when after prolong pains for years after years, I'm too thought that it would at least do some damage in my muscle over that long periods of time yet after went back for testing it still doesn't show any kind of damage sign on any tests result and that's why FM is so controversy among the doctors. As I said before I apologized in advance so you shouldn't ever feel bad about being out spoken and caring enough to share cause it's about the thoughts that count, not who's right or wrong.

On that note when our muscle get damage it capable of stitching and repair it self in result becoming more stronger and bigger and that's how body builder used to build their muscle by breaking and literally tearing them down and rebuilding it back up over and over. however FM is mimicking the sensation of pressure and that's why it make sense to sometime use the similar method of reduce the pains cause it works regardless for some people even just a few minutes or hours , Our brain can relate to the sensation of relieve and hopefully moving on. Yet the problem is it that it's not always work .

 

[Lubkos way]

Well,Suzie19 I just happened to read about your experience this evening,and I will tell you that,you do not have to worry because I have had that exact excruciating pain many times.What you did was over strain the tendons and muscles that hold your head in position.It happened while you were chewing,and either turned your head and maybe hit a bump in the road at the same time.It is amazing how sharp and "electrically charged the pain feels.I also experienced it many times when playing soccer in my younger days,so it is not a fibro thing.So,basically when you chew and drive,chew carefully!!All the best!

 

[diamond]

i do wonder why pressure equals pain when it definitely does...is it the just the nerves firing? maybe pressure to us is the same as muscle activity to normal people.

I have also read like i think Tipnatee is explaining that muscles naturally micro tear and rebuild with ordinary use and body building is larger form of this and that we don't rebuild our muscles or repair effectively or maybe do it much slower or tear more easily causing the pain of a work out just with pressure or small activity.

My muscles and joints seize up and get extremely stiff with any use....some people with fibro ease out with use after waking and getting their bodies going.

Some parts of me can ease out a bit for a very brief period but my baseline pain is so high now in my joints as well as muscles and they feel too weak and heavy its sooo hard just to push my body around the house.....then is the burning pain from the stimulation of moving on top of the muscle joint deep aches its so hard to get motivated because either way im going to hurt to almost intolerable level and end up with my pillows hot water bottles and ice after a very short period.

I can honestly say if i walk around my living room to exercise i will soon burn and get a vibrating sensation in my waist back groin thighs knees calves and feet and stomach...literally every muscle ligament and tendon that is involved ...its feel like its down to the bones and even my whole women parts inside and out the nerves fire off in all of it until im doubled up with pain from just a little walking.

After months then years it breaks your mind down. It makes you very aware how much of the body moves with each activity...who thinks of your groin and ladies bits throbbing and burning because you are walking or sitting down.

Healthy people arent ware of each movement they make and what muscle groups and joints are involved until something crazy like fibro hits.

More research is needed and like Tipnetee said all contributions are welcome...all information..all opinions and experiences....this how we learn and help each other understand or feel supported.

I had reached a point after 7 years i understood my own body and had a formula that kind of allowed me to survive and live an ok life with ups and downs...good times and hard times.

Now my body is so crazy it never gives me better hours..it wont cooperate with all the things and methods i had learnt to keep myself active and productive and still living life.

Lets all carry on sharing our thoughts...no need to worry if opinions vary. They are all valid.

Our brains and central nervous system is definitely involved big time...but we only feel it in our bodies.....its human nature pain in our body is meant to alert us to injury in that area and to want to make it stop.

Hard for us and others when there is no injury or true muscle weakness present....when oh boy it feels like we have been kicked by a horse or run over by a truck and stung by a million bees and acid poured in our veins all at the same time!

I have chronic facial and head jaw and eye pain and thank you GrandpaPatrick..you are spot on with how these areas are all linked.

 

[Tipnatee N]

Hard for us and others when there is no injury or true muscle weakness present....when oh boy it feels like we have been kicked by a horse or run over by a truck and stung by a million bees and acid poured in our veins all at the same time! .

OMG!!! I'm scratching my head, face ,and my body just reading this line , thank you so much for your input Diamond. you are the sweetest! I wish I could give you a thousand kiss , but my lips hurts at the moment . Not sure what happen yet.