What is going on with these stabs in my head
 

New here. To give you a small history. I am a 42 year old female good health. Since June 2014 I get this ice pick pains on the right side of my head maybe a few inches from my ear. This has only happened about 7 times. They last any where from 1 to 5 minutes. While I have this pain I get dizzy, vision is blurry in both eyes, I am co inherent, once it is over I have to "get my bearings" back and then its like nothing happened. No more pain nothing.

Well now in the same spot of the ice pick pain for it always happened in the same spot I now get this pain that almost feels like it is bruising my head right there. It's not a stabbing pain put like someone is rubbing me really hard right there on my head. These only last a few seconds to minutes. But that is all it does.

I am starting to get a needle pricking feeling on my left cheek. It feels swollen but it's not, it's not red in color or nothing. Looks normal but feels like it is sun burnt.

I don't know what is going on. I have had an MRI and my doctor said it was fine. I am just having headaches. I have never had a head ache.

Some one please help me understand what is going on.

Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups.

I'm sorry you're experiencing these stabbing pains to your head.

They sound a lot like icepick headaches.

This below from National Headache Foundation
“Icepick” Headache
By Anne Walling, MD, Professor, Family and Community Medicine, University of Kansas School of Medicine – Wichita
http://www.headaches.org/education/N...Archive/CS_173

but...

As she says down the very bottom, it's important to rule out other causes of brief stabbing headaches.

Your mention of needle picking sensation on cheek would make me think you could perhaps post on the Neuralgia forums to see if anyone there has an idea as well.

Trigeminal Neuralgia Forum

Occipital Neuralgia and other Cranial Neuralgias Forum

Hi kdodrill,
I agree with Lara that they sound like 'ice-pick headaches'. They do not have the intensity or duration of Cluster Headaches, nor are they the symptoms of TN. It could be Ideopathic Facial Pain caused by something affecting your Trigeminal Nerve in another way though.
As it is affecting your vision, and leaving you disorientated I would urge you to pursue Medical avenues until a resolution is found. Hopefully that will be very soon.

Dave.

I see a neurologist in two weeks. The pain on my cheek doesn't really go away. The intensity of the needles come on go.

Try and hang in there til your appt. It would be helpful if you kept a log of when the intensity of the p and n increases. See if there is a 'time' pattern, or physical triggers - even going into the cold. This simple thing may help your Neuro track down a cause.
Unexplained pain is, by it's very nature, worrying, and facial/head pains from the Trigeminal Nerve are amongst the worst one can experience. Try to stay strong - 2 weeks isn't long.

Dave.

I need help on keeping a log of the pains in my head. Friday I started to get a different pain to where it felt like someone was rubbing really hard with their knuckles where I would get that sharp pain. The severity of it would change.

However I logged each time it happened. And Friday it happened 46 times this does not include the ones at night. They would last from a few seconds to a minute or two. However with these I don't get dizzy I just have the pain.

This weekend I had just as many with still the needle prickling in my cheek that now is going towards my mouth. But comes and go.

Do I log all this, what I'm doing at the time of it?

The more information you can log, the better able a Neuro will be to home in on the cause. Definitely note down EVERY attack, and how long they last, seconds or minutes - it all counts. And if you are doing a specific task - eating, brushing teeth, going out in the cold - and that triggers an attack, write that down as well.
It may seem like a lot of writing, but your Neuro will be grateful and he will be able to get you on the correct treatment as soon as possible.

Dave.

Hi kdodrill

I agree with Dave - keep a record of everything that you are doing/experiencing when you get those pains.

The more information that you can give your neurologist the better. That will help him/her to figure out what is going on and then work with you to find a solution.