rising cranial pressure when laughing

I am 19 years old, and have had no traumatic head injuries. Throughout the last five years I have experienced sudden, sharp moments of pain at the base of my head, posterior. No warning, just a few seconds of extreme pain. In the past two years I have been experiencing extreme pain after laughing for a few seconds. The pain is so intense because of increased pressure in my skull and metaphorically, I want to pull my head off.  I feel like I'm losing consciousness so I  lay on the ground and try to breath normally. I even have to cut my laughs short to try and avoid the pain. It's scary. I'm worried that nobody will take me seriously. I don't regularly see my doctor because I'm usually pretty healthy. I've gained a little weight in college, but nothing too serious. I just want some answers and relief.
I would be grateful for any ideas!
Thanks!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
You could be suffering from ‘benign intracranial hypertension’(BIH). This happens due to impaired CSF absorption. A generalized throbbing headache worst felt in the morning and last thing at night. This headache is generally relieved on standing (consistent with raised intracranial pressure). It is aggravated by straining, coughing, laughing or a change in position.
You need a prompt evaluation by a neurologist. Hypothyroidism, hypoparathyroidism, adrenal insufficiency are a few things I would recommend you get investigated for. These can precipitate BIH.
Other than this it can also be a form of gelastic seizures.
Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined. Take care!

[mvandiver]

I've been dealing with the same experience! You just described my symtoms (symptoms). And yep, I have hypothyroidism. I had an MRI and CT scan back in May of 2010 and all that supposedly came up normal (there was a change in white matter in my frontal right lobe, but that was explained to me as "normal"). I also had a lumbar puncture in April 2010 and experienced minor complications (headaches) that I went back and got a blood patch for. Could that be causing my issues??

I have gone to two doctors, numerous times, about this. And they both said it was "tension headaches" and sent me on my way with no other explanations or medications.

What should I do? If it's BIH, is that very dangerous? What steps should I take toward getting diagnosed and what can I do to help or relieve the situation? Thanks for the info!

And to 82791...I hope you figure out what the issue is and can be relieved with no major problems! I know it ***** to feel like you can't even laugh without pain!