Head hurts when I move

[JohnPW]

Hello,

I am 23 years old and very rarely get headaches. The few times I have it has only lasted a few hours at most. But this headache I have has lasted 2 days. The area effected by this headache is my entire back of my head. And this headache doesn't constantly hurt. It only hurts when I move my head quickly, or if I cough it feels like my head is going to explode.

Any suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
-John

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? If there was no previous injury to your head, this could be caused by what we call arthritis headaches which presents as pain at the back of head or neck. It intensifies on movement and is caused by inflammation of the blood vessels of the head or bony changes in the structures of the neck. Anti-inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxants may help provide relief. If it persists, have this evaluated  by your doctor for proepr management. Your medical history and complete physical examination will help determine the underlying cause. Take care and best regards.

[Wolfiben]

Can panadol help

[trustisgold]

John, It has been two weeks since you posted. Are you still having these conditions?

[Raceyou2]

I had the same symptoms that progressively got worse and after 6 months of this non stop 24/7 headache I was finally diagnosed with a spontaneous CSF leak (spontaneous intracranial hypotension).  They diagnosed it with an MRI with contrast.  It's pretty rare (1/50,000) and most doctors have never heard about it.  Neurologist are the ones who can diagnose and treat it.  The headache typically gets better when you lay down after a few minutes or by taking caffeine. It took 2 blood patches to fix mine.

I know yours would have been resolved by now so this is for those who are having a headache that won't go away and came across this post.  It's just something else to consider.  I never thought I would have been one of the "lucky" ones to hit this lottery but I did and because it's so rare most people will suffer for months before getting the correct diagnosis.  It's spontaneous because they don't know the cause as in my case.  No injuries or lumbar punctures which are typically the cause of a headache like this.

My primary symptoms were:
* 24/7 headache every time I moved my head
* Pressure headache when bending over, coughing, or exerting  pressure
* Feels better when laying down after a few minutes
* low frequency hearing loss resembling meniers
* very Stiff neck
* Loud tinnitus
** Head pain moved around but typically very centralized, not all over.  I know now that it was the engorged veins in my head that made it hurt.

Hope this can help at least one person get diagnosed sooner!!.