Aa
24/7 Tension Headache for 30 years
When I lay down flat, my Head & neck quit aching...
Headaches that go away when you lay down and start or get worse by being upright are called orthostatic headaches.
There are three causes of orthostatic headaches:
A spinal csf leak
POTS
Neck injury
A spinal csf leak is a small hole in the sack that surrounds the spine and the brain. CSF, the liquid around our brains and spine leaks out through this hole and this makes the pressure inside our skulls drop, causing what is called as intracranial hypotension, not to be confused with intracranial hypertension which is too high pressure inside the skull. Anyway, when the pressure inside your skull drops it causes the brain to slightly swell, which can sometimes be observed with the right imaging.
POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome is a disturbance in the autonomus nervous system, where the body's blood circulatory system has a hard time coping with gravitation. When you stand up the blood goes to your feet and to compensate your heart tries to speed up a lot. You get tired and the brain's blood circulation is impaired and gives you headache.
Neck injury. When you stand up the weight of your head puts more pressure on the nerves in the neck which then causes headaches.
All three of these conditions are rather uncommon and it can be hard to find a good doctor familiar with them. To get better you usually need the right diagnosis and the right treatment.
There are three causes of orthostatic headaches:
A spinal csf leak
POTS
Neck injury
A spinal csf leak is a small hole in the sack that surrounds the spine and the brain. CSF, the liquid around our brains and spine leaks out through this hole and this makes the pressure inside our skulls drop, causing what is called as intracranial hypotension, not to be confused with intracranial hypertension which is too high pressure inside the skull. Anyway, when the pressure inside your skull drops it causes the brain to slightly swell, which can sometimes be observed with the right imaging.
POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome is a disturbance in the autonomus nervous system, where the body's blood circulatory system has a hard time coping with gravitation. When you stand up the blood goes to your feet and to compensate your heart tries to speed up a lot. You get tired and the brain's blood circulation is impaired and gives you headache.
Neck injury. When you stand up the weight of your head puts more pressure on the nerves in the neck which then causes headaches.
All three of these conditions are rather uncommon and it can be hard to find a good doctor familiar with them. To get better you usually need the right diagnosis and the right treatment.
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