What causes a shooting pain on the side of the head?
Patient: I have chronic headaches from work, because I sit behind a computer all day, but recently within the last 5 months or so I get sharp shooting pains on the side of my head that are debilitating at times. about 3 inches or so long and will last from a 1 second to 5 mins. What could it be. Doctor: Hi,  The sharp pains you describe are consistent with an entity known as either "jabs and jolts" or "ice pick" headaches.    These are 2 names for the same disorder which comes under the more general rubric of the trigeminal autonomic cephalgias.    In other words, these are not migraines or tension types headaches although it is possible that eyestrain could be a contributory and even prior type of headaches from looking at the computer screen or not using proper prescription glasses.    Your best bet to combat these headaches is to find a headache specialist or neurologist in order to review options.    Indomethacin is the drug of 1st choice but in my experience with this drug in my headache clinic there is a poor overall compliance rate due to its GI side effect profile.   Another possible treatment for this condition is high dose melatonin.  However, I would not go out and simply do this type of treatment (even though it's OTC medication and may seemingly be safe).    Melatonin in high doses can react with other medications you may be taking causing unsafe symptoms and even harm.    You'll need a doctor to guide your use of either the melatonin and certainly the Indomethacin.  Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.   Regards, Dr. Dariush Saghafi,  Neurologist