HEADACHES WHEN LAYING DOWN

[Zoso]

Please give me some advice.. HELP!!!! I have headaches all day every day....... worse when laying down to sleep, or in a recliner!
When I lay down in bed prone, I begin to get a headache. It is Not the pillows, not the position. When I wake up my head is in horrible pain., bad headache. The same when I sit back in a recliner. When I get up to walk, it subsides. But does not go away.
I have been to all the test. MRI, Cat Scans, x-rays' you name it. All negative, brain scan, neg also. Chiropractors', trigger point injections, facet injections, even acupuncture, no help from the headaches/pain.
Have you heard of this type of headache? Worse when laying down ??When I get up from sleep, and get out of the bed, the pain subsides a bit, from a 10, laying down, to a 4 or 5 all day every day. Again increases when I lay down in bed at night. It is terrible existence.
Please help me out, or steer me in the right direction.
I am seeing a Neurologist right now. Do I have, Occipital Neuralgia, Giant Cell Arteritis, too much or little Brain Fluid, Cervicogenic Headaches?
Any idea what type of headache I suffer?
I am very healthy, 51 year old male, no smoke, no drink, blood pressure excellent... I am 6' 2" 185 lbs, active, normal, work full time.
I live in Palm Springs Ca.
Any advice??? I thank you very much!

[kamillean]

Patent Formen Ovale (PFO) is a heart condition.  It is a fetal heart feature that fails to close after birth.  This can cause unoxygenated blood to mix with oxygenated blood.  I know they have found a connection between this and migraines.  I haven't seen anything about tying it to lying down and getting headaches.  It kind of makes sense though.  Your oxygen levels seem like they would drop as your respiration rate slows while sleeping.  Seems like this could cause headaches. This is a new diagnosis and I haven't found much out about it yet.  

[jeric]

Zoso:
Have you had a lumbar puncture? Increased intracranial pressure can cause headaches that are worse when laying down.

kamillean:
Patent Foramen Ovale is a heart condition, right? I think I remember reading somewhere that heart conditions can cause headaches that are worse when laying down.

[kamillean]

My daughter, who is 16, also has headaches from lying down.  It started about 2 1/2 years ago and she has a headache everyday.  It is the worst when she gets up in the morning and somewhat subsides during the day, but she basically has a headache all day every day.  Even if she takes a 15 minute nap, she wakes up with a headache.  She has been through numerous tests (MRI, MRA, Sleep study) and has run through all the migrane prevention drugs with little reults.  All her tests come back normal.  She was diagnosed with a Patent Foramen Ovale recently.  This can cause migranes, but I am not sure if this can be tied to the headache that results from lying down.  My daughter also has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which is a connective tissue disorder.  Her headaches may have something to do with this condition.  I have been dragging her to doctors for two years with little relief (we are on our second Neurologist).  She is on numerous perscriptions and gets little relief.  Another source of frustration is that we can't seem to find a doctor that has ever even seen a patient with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.  They all learned about it in school, but have never seen a patient with the condition.  If anyone knows of a doctor in Michigan that has experience with this condition, please let me know.

[Tuckamore]

Hello Zoso,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am glad they you have found MedHelp. You headaches sound puzzling and I am sorry that you are in pain.

You have had a lot of good diagnostic tests. Have they done a CT of your sinuses? Often an sinus headache will become worse when laying down. Have they also examined your ear structure? How about the nerves and vessels that are associated with your eyes? When they have some up empty handed for the obvious reasons for headache than you need to look for the not so obvious reasons or contributors.

Mollyrae is correct, you are your own best advocate. Some times a new set of eyes, looking outside the box or even reviewing the same test results will discover answers previously not seen. Possibly it will be something that was over looked or dismissed initially because it seemed insignificant at the time. Don't give up. Continue your search until you locate someone that can supply you with reasons for your headaches, reasons that you can accept.  

I am hopeful that you will keep in touch with us and let us know how you are doing. We will be looking for your updates. We are here to support you in any way we can. Best of luck and I hope you will soon feel better,  Tuck

[Mollyrae]

Hello Zoso and welcome to the Pain Forum.

Advise is about the only thing you will find here. A diagnosis can only be made by a Doctor and there are no Doctors in this forum. I have read anything about the type of headaches you suffer from.

I think a Neurologist is your best bet. If you don't like the answer you get from one Doctor then seek out another. You are your own advocate and have to be assertive when looking for a diagnosis. Keep at the medical world until you find your answer because there is one out there, they just haven't found it yet.

I wish I had better advise for you. Please take care and good luck in your search for answers.

Mollyrae