Expert: Dr. Man Tran, Ph.D., D.C., L.Ac. - 9/24/2009

Question
hello. i have a question, hope you can help me please.

about 3 months ago i woke up with flu like symptoms:body aches, sore throat, chills, fever (100.5), heavy photophobia, and the worst headache i had every experienced. the next day fever was gone and along with all the other symptoms except i was left with intense head pressure (like a headlock of pressure) and pain behind the pressure in the sinus areas. i would get this pain that came for a few seconds then backed off and left.

i had a ct sinus scan and brain scan come back normal.

one month later the head pressure greatly imptoved.

currently i dont have much head pressure but the little pains are there. they come on for a few seconds and leave. sometimes pain stays longer. 800mg of ibuprofen has not touched the pain. i was wondering is there anything else i can do? its not a migraine. i believe its irritation of my trigeminal nerve cause i get pain down one side of my nose as well. pain on top of the head, eyebrows/forehead, temples, and above ears.

im a college student and i cant focus on anything like this. its been nearly 3 months and western medicine cant do anything else. i took ibuprofen for a week straight due to wisdom teeth extraction every 6 hours. i stopped it and my pain is worse then ever now. is this a rebound effect? how long will it last?

should i try accupuncture? (my main question).

sorry for the messy story but if you have any tips or advice please help me.

thank you for your time.

Answer
Dear Gurjas,

It sounds like acupuncture might be the way to help with the pain of your head.  When you caught the cold/flu, your body was attacked by wind.  This "wind" factor remained in your body (head) eventhough the symptoms subsided.  The pain comes and goes because of the nature of the "wind" factor which travels in your body.  

Go and consult an acupuncturist for your condition.  Since this is recent, you may need about 1-2 sessions.