Surgery?

Hello everyone! I’ve been diagnosed with / had symptoms of occipital neuralgia for 2 years now. Symptoms include, but are not limited to, severe “shocks,” scalp pain & tenderness (hurts to touch & can never get comfortable), neck pain, etc…. 95% of my life. Unilateral. I’ve tried 7 strong medications, 2 nerve blocks, 1 Sensorcaine muscle injection, and 2 rounds of wet cupping. Nothing shows up on scans. I can’t drive anymore or else it flares 100x worse. I had to start working from home. My body just doesn’t respond to anything. These are not regular migraines or headaches. and yes, occipital neuralgia can still be present even if the nerve blocks don’t work. at this point, I’ve mostly just accepted my fate that will have to live my life in severe pain. However, I’m looking to see if there might be anything else anyone can think of. Is this strictly occipital neuralgia? Could I have developed something else because of it? Should I try surgery?? I don’t know what else to do, and aside from the meds that I’m on and treatments I’ve already tried, my neurologist / doctors have basically given up. I know I’m not the only one going through this. Thank you so much in advance :)

Posted Aug 13, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC

28
Loading comments…