Pressure headache with no pain?

[teenybeanz]

Does anyone else feel a pressure headache without the pain? I get pressure in my head like it's about to explode but most of the time it doesn't cause any pain just dizziness and vertigo and sometimes tinnitus. It feels like my head is a volcano except with no where to erupt! My NL said he saw no signs of intracranial hypertension or hydrocephalus. Pain killers when I DO get the pain make the pressure feel worse... I'm stumped.

[Christatania]

I have the same problem. I have constant pressure in my head and sometimes i cant even focus on what im doing. But it not painful like a regular headache. Have you found any answers for yours? I'm stumpped also. Have been to every kind of Dr. with no result.

[selmaS]

Hi Christatania and welcome to the Chiari forum.
Since this is an older thread, create a NEW thread to get answers from current members, the member that posted this original post may no longer be an active member,

[Jls12]

Selma is very knowledgeable. I too had 6 months of pressure in my head.  It was weird in that there wasn't pain just pressure.  Sometimes it was better if I chewed something.  One neurologist told me I was hyperventilating but the next one knew it was my Chiari right off.  MRI showed poor CSF flow at the foramen magnum.  Specialized physio therapy got me through it.  Two years later it has changed and I have adapted to deal with it. Good luck.

[selmaS]

  Well like ne condition u do not have to have all the symptoms to have the condition and EDS there r 5 diff types...so do get checked just in case...like I may have mentioned, I knew I was slow to heal and easy to bruise, but felt I could not possibly fit the criteria for EDS...but, I do!

cazza- I had my PFD surgery in May of '09....I believe I had chiari my whole life, but it took to age 48 to get a dx....I had many mis-dx's over the yrs and RX's that did not offer relief.

  "selma"

[Spaceystac]

I get a pressure like head pain, but didnt complain of headaches normally they were postural changes causing pressure in  my head and my eyes would feel as if they were bulging.

[cazza1975]

Wow selma you really have reseached the chiari how long have you had it for i was diagnosed in jan after an incidental finding so not sure what my future holds i dont think its really sunk in as reading all this info doesnt sound like me lol

Teenybeanz I was also so diagnosed with sinus problem apparently severe al though never had a problem with them before Ive have the build up of pressure too feel like some ones stuck a pump in ya mouth and started to blow you up. I wouldnt know if it was connected to the chiari or not as no one seams interested in my findingsas i was discharged after they found it  lol

[teenybeanz]

I sort of bruise easily. Never noticed being slow to heal. The circulation in my fingers isn't great when I'm cold but no discoloring or anything so no raynauds

I like the neck pillow. It feels great. Holding up the weight of my own head is exhausting lol so it sort of takes away some of that stress initially.

-Tina

[selmaS]

  Well Joint Hyper-mobility is a symptom of EDS....and there r many types of EDS but the hyper-mobility one is more common.

Do u bruise easy, slow to heal?.....do u have raynauds phenomenon?

I found a big bed pillow works better than the neck pillow...in fact a neck pillow can make me feel worse....

  "selma"

[teenybeanz]

Car rides suck! My symptoms actually got really bad after I was spending a lot of time in our RV driving back and forth from Maryland to Florida. I use a neck pillow.

I don't know anything about what's going on with my odontoid. And the NL thinks it might be EDS although the only signs of it I have are joint hyper-mobility and POTS.

-Tina

[selmaS]

  I was told I had cranial settling/instability, and I am doing well despite it...I use large fluffy bed pillows when going for long drives in the car....otherwise my head bobs around too much.

Do u know if u have ne issues with ur odontoid?

And do u have EDS(Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) or JHS(Joint Hyper-mobility Syndrome)?

"selma"

[teenybeanz]

Yep I had the CINE and the report said it showed no abnormality in flow. Although the NL said you could see more flow in front than in back and it did look slightly obstructed. He has given me a referral for an upright MRI. He thinks if I'm sitting up the results might show more signs of an obstruction. He also thinks that since I have hyper-mobility in my joints it may show functional cranial settling.

-Tina

[selmaS]

  Sorry, the above poster again is not a chiarian....so not looking at the chiari factor....but, may not be too far off the mark in that many of us do have issues with our sinuses.

I also would get the pressure with out a HA...and I know that feeling like it has to blow...I also  had episodes of vertigo too....one lasted 2 weeks.

I can tell u I have not had ne of that except for the tinnitus since surgery.

Ur issue can be blocked CSF...too and it does not show as IIH or hydro...did u have a CINE MRI?

  "selma"

[teenybeanz]

I forgot to mention I have a Chiari 1 Malformation. It's not sinus pressure. But thanks!

[steven525]

Hi,

Have you looked into 'Chronic Sinusitis'?

Best of luck.