What a pain in the neck: "Carotidynia"

[ChimneyFish]

Hey Dr. Steve,

Have a little problem that started late last week.
Started as a little pain in my throat. Didn't hurt to swallow, just to the touch and it felt like it was the vein(not sure if that's coratid or jugular) on the left side.
After a few days, the pain spread to the back left side of my jaw and back teeth.
Another few days, and it had spread to my left eye socket and behind my eyeball and behind my cheekbone.
And then it was the whole top of my skull, throbbing in pain.
It was excrutiating.

As of yesterday, it felt like it has begun to clear out a little.
I'm having some sort of drip, and I can taste how bad my breath is. http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c217/luxa1/yuck.gif
I've never had one before, but I figured this was a good ol' sinus infection.
I looked on WebMD, not something I make a habit out of doing, and it seems like I have all the symptoms.

I haven't seen my doctor yet because I don't have the money, and I haven't received my MedicAid card yet because I have to pick a new doctor.(my doctor is stopping seeing patients with MedicAid)

It says it usually takes 7-10 days to go away.
I'm now on day 7, with the worst of it being 2 days ago.

I'm going to see my doctor next week when I get paid, but I was wondering if this is what it sounds like I have and if it's mandatory that I take some anibiotics.
Like I said, it seems to slowly be clearing out.


On a side note, I can finally say, for the first time in 32 years of living, that aspirin is actually good for something.:happy:

Throughout my entire life, aspirin has never done anything for me for any amount of pain I have ever been in. Even when I was a child. Nothing.

This week I could literally feel it dulling the pain.
It was doing exactly what it was supposed to do for once.
I was taking 2 every four hours and loving that I had the mto take, because when the end of the four hours approached, I could feel the pain returning.

Yea, apirin.

Just thought I'd share that last part.:tongue:

[Dr Steve]

Hey Dr. Steve,

Have a little problem that started late last week.
Started as a little pain in my throat. Didn't hurt to swallow, just to the touch and it felt like it was the vein(not sure if that's coratid or jugular) on the left side.
After a few days, the pain spread to the back left side of my jaw and back teeth.
Another few days, and it had spread to my left eye socket and behind my eyeball and behind my cheekbone.
And then it was the whole top of my skull, throbbing in pain.
It was excrutiating.

As of yesterday, it felt like it has begun to clear out a little.
I'm having some sort of drip, and I can taste how bad my breath is. http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c217/luxa1/yuck.gif
I've never had one before, but I figured this was a good ol' sinus infection.
I looked on WebMD, not something I make a habit out of doing, and it seems like I have all the symptoms.

I haven't seen my doctor yet because I don't have the money, and I haven't received my MedicAid card yet because I have to pick a new doctor.(my doctor is stopping seeing patients with MedicAid)

It says it usually takes 7-10 days to go away.
I'm now on day 7, with the worst of it being 2 days ago.

I'm going to see my doctor next week when I get paid, but I was wondering if this is what it sounds like I have and if it's mandatory that I take some anibiotics.
Like I said, it seems to slowly be clearing out.


On a side note, I can finally say, for the first time in 32 years of living, that aspirin is actually good for something.:happy:

Throughout my entire life, aspirin has never done anything for me for any amount of pain I have ever been in. Even when I was a child. Nothing.

This week I could literally feel it dulling the pain.
It was doing exactly what it was supposed to do for once.
I was taking 2 every four hours and loving that I had the mto take, because when the end of the four hours approached, I could feel the pain returning.

Yea, apirin.

Just thought I'd share that last part.:tongue:



Chimney:

Well, I'm glad you're feeling better! I'd toss out one weird thing this could have been, called "carotidynia" (sometimes spelled "carotidodynia" or "carotodynia"). This simply means "pain at the carotid artery" which is the major artery in your neck feeding your brain.

I'll quote from The Journal of Family Practice:
"Carotidynia is a common neck pain syndrome first described by Temple Fay in 1927. The pain is typically dull, throbbing, continuous, and localized over the carotid bifurcation, but may radiate to the ipsilateral mandible, cheek, eye, or ear. Symptoms are frequently aggravated by swallowing, chewing, and contralateral head movements. The cardinal physical finding is tenderness on palpation of the carotid bulb, sometimes accompanied by prominence or throbbing of the carotid pulse. Although several serious conditions should be excluded, most cases follow a benign course."

http://www.carolinavascular.com/CVSD%20main%20site/Cartoid1.gif

ipsilateral simply means "same side", so they're saying the pain starts in the neck below the jaw, and can radiate to the rest of the face. sounds kind of like what you described.

The cool thing is that, as an inflammatory disorder, it would indeed respond to antiinflammatory medications, of which aspirin is the benchmark against which all other antiinflammatories are measured.

Stuff like this should be checked out by your health care professional, but since carotidynia is so uncommon, you probably know more about it after reading this than a lot of doctors do. :smile:

Good luck with it...if it doesn't go away completely, get it checked out, willya?


your pal,


steve

[drjoek]

carotidynia
I thought that was a song by the Oak Ridge Boys
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[ChimneyFish]

Thanks Dr. Steve.

The pain is pretty much all gone now.
The runny nose I've had over the past few days is gone.
I can still taste whatever this horrid taste is a little bit, but that's just about gone, too.
And I plan on talking to my doctor sometime this week.