Ice Pick Headaches

Anyone else suffer from ice pick headaches? This is a new thing for me.

I occasionally get headaches (especially if my sinuses are bothering me), but these are different.

About a month ago I was sitting on the couch when I felt this HORRIBLE stabbing pain in my temple. I googled it and found out it was an ice pick headache. I took excedrin and it helped.

Now I have another one. I felt nauseated at first, and then my head felt like it was being stabbed. I just took excedrin and I'm hoping it will get rid of it.

Hopefully it's not any sort of sign of an underlying problem :yikes:

Ice pick headaches are sharp, stabbing pains occurring as a single stab or as a series of stabs, occurring mostly in the eye and orbit, temple, or parietal regions. Stabs last a few seconds, and may recur throughout the day, usually at irregular intervals. This headache type is not well understood, even though it occurs more commonly in migraine sufferers. Although this is often referred to as ice pick headache, the official term according to the International Headache Society is Primary Stabbing Headache. It has also been referred to as "jabs and jolts."

http://www.migrainesurvival.com/stabbing-headache-or-icepick-headache

Yup. Right through my left eye. It's a.w.f.u.l. It gets even more fun, because I'll get one in combination with a migraine.

I vaguely remember begging my husband to put me out of my misery, when I had the worst headache ever. Between the Ice Pick guy repeatedly jabbing me through my left eyeball into my skull behind it, the vice grip on my entire head, and the repeated leaning over the side of the couch to throw up, he thankfully rushed me to the ER. After a MRI, and a wonderful doc, who was very liberal with morphine, I did survive it. Unfortunately, they do happen again about once every month or two (I actually get headaches a lot, but these double-whammies don't happen that often).

So THAT's what they're called! I've been getting them for over 24 years (they started soon after our youngest was born). Mine usually hit my left temple, and, thankfully, aren't usually bad enough that I have to take something. Funny about the migraine connection- I get them, too. There have been a couple of times I end up with one following one of these.

Pretty well all day every day. Yah, my meds aren't working like they're supposed to

Yeah, in my eyes. Excedrine is my life saver--except I haven't been able to find it in months thanks to the recalls/factory shut down, and I'm running low

I'm jealous of everybody that excedrin works for, I have to just ride it out

Recalls on excedrine??? Omg its the only thing that gets rid of my headaches.

I get those too. With and without the migraine accompanying it.

Yup. In fact I would say most these days have been more this type than "normal" headaches. I figure mine is mostly from the surgery location, since that's where most occur, but I've had eye ones, and the new one tonight that is down at the base of my skull off to the left side. Stab, then gone. Then stab, then gone. Fun times.

I've never heard of them called ice pick headaches before but I get them behind my right eye all the time. I am so paranoid about headaches these days too.

I hear ya. I never used to blink at popping pain killers and moving along, now when I get a headache I sit there and wonder why, or try to see if there's any concern, etc.

Excedrin does nothing for me.

I was on Pamelor and Baclofen for a looong time. I did end up getting botox in my neck and upper forehead and temple area, and the relief was heaven.

WOW... I just googled botox for migraines after reading this and it's super interesting. My mom has a migraine almost every single day. The website I'm looking at says you get the injections every 12 weeks... is that what you did? Very interesting...
I have no idea how to suggest to my mom "hey you should totally look into getting botox!" LOL. Somehow I can't imagine this conversation going well for me.

yah, if I wasn't terrified of needles...

Different pills and broken pills. It is a cross contamination issue, particularly if individuals are allergic to ingredients. Prescription medications are involved too.
It IS a recall, and the entire plant in Nebraska which is responsible for the problems has been SHUT DOWN. And the FDA will be watching over their shoulders while they bring it back up.
I know it's a lot more fun to pick on Diamond and pretend stuff like this doesn't happen elsewhere, but this is a big deal.
This is also not the first time they've had issues at this particular plant.

"Mixing of different products in the same bottle could result in consumers taking the incorrect product and receiving a higher or lower strength than intended or receiving an unintended ingredient. This could potentially result in overdose, interaction with other medications a consumer may be taking, or an allergic reaction if the consumer is allergic to the unintended ingredient. NCH is not aware of adverse events reported with the issues leading to the recall. This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Novartis Consumer Health will continue to work closely with the agency as well as its customers throughout this process."

http://www.novartis.com/newsroom/media-releases/en/2012/1575836.shtml
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm286226.htm
http://journalstar.com/business/loc...cle_0e347497-9def-5928-9ced-5c3cf3dd5b74.html
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutF...cy/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/UCM285976.pdf

Acetaminophen is only dangerous if you take it in prolonged/overdosed fashion. A couple pills a month shouldn't hurt you. It's easy to overdose on it because it's hidden in a lot of painkillers, so if you take tylenol and then take cough syrup you may have gotten dosed twice without realizing it.

Regardless...I can either be completely incapacitated any time the weather changes (air pressure changes set off ice pick headaches for me) and miss a day or two of work every month in pain, or I can take excedrine and feel fine. Kind of a no-brainer.