[GaryG]

Hello. I am a new member who has suffered from Occipital Neuralgia for 25 years and more. My family doctor and I have tried just about every medication he could think of to prevent these attacks but nothing has prevented the attacks for very long. After chiropractic treatments, going to 2 neurologists, having physical therapy and even trying accupuncture I finally had my first injection ( lidocaine and steroid) into the nerve at the base of my scull that stopped the attacks for about 10 days. The pain came back but I now have hope that a surgical procedure can be done on a more permament basis. I am really interested in people who have had the nerve abalated (if this is the correct term) and how successful the procedure was and how long it has lasted. The neurologist at Mayo Clinic told me that they wouldn't do the procedure because these nerves tend to come back and may have even more branches and be a lot more painful than the original.