Question: I had MVD craniotomy for Trigeminal Neuralgia last October 2011. The TN is much better (I can actually chew real food now!) but I've had complications like: tenderness on right side of scalp (where Mayfield clamp was); pain and pressure when sneezing, coughing, straining; and a lump behind my right ear. No one seems to know what is causing the pain when straining (had brain and neck MRI in March 2012 and radiologist says they look normal, slight bulge at C5, nothing more), and doctor doesn't know about the lump behind my right ear. The tenderness on right side was finally relieved after 6 months with nerve block shots in greater occipital nerve, but this did nothing for pain when straining, or lump. I've searched online about my symptoms and Arnold-Chiari seems to be the only thing that fits - is there anything else that might cause pain during "valsalva maneuvers"? Doc says he sees no Chiari on MRI. Tired of hurting...on Carbamezepine, Hydrocodone and Cyclobenzaprine, sometimes pain still breaks through. Don't want any more drugs. Tried meditation (works great on my back pain) and herbal nervines, no luck on the brain pain. Pain is like a spike in the lower back of my head. Sometimes it travels up along the skull toward my eyes. Sometimes the pressure is awful, like my head is going to explode, mainly in the back of my head where the skull meets the top of the neck. I've also started getting pain in the back of my head when barometric pressure drops. Please, any advice or ideas would be welcomed. I am going back to the neurosurgeon at the end of the month after getting nowhere with D.O. and neurologist. Just need some additional expert opinions, please.

Thank you for response on lump. He did find a bone spur he had to remove w/drill. Surgery took almost 8 hours. What about the pain when coughing, sneezing, straining? Does it seem like there might be a cranial pressure problem? I searched these symptoms and the only thing I can find online for my type of pain is Arnold-Chiari Malformation, which seems unlikely. Do you know of any other conditions that could cause severe head pain when coughing, sneezing, straining? Thank you.