pressure in head

i have pressure feeling at left side of my head together with inability to think clearly. anyone has this problem?i am trying to find out the cause. thanks.

can be apart of cfs brain fog, or something i recently found out i had was a sinus infection, which causes that blocked up feeling either under your eye or around the forehead, treating this has made a big difference for me. Also dont have to have a runny nose to have a sinus infection sometimes its because u can be so blocked up that your nose wont run, post nasal drip is also a sign of a sinus infection.

cheers!!!

Hi Cindi,

I'm afraid I won't be any help with they why of the problem, but wanted to let you know that pressure feelings in the head and inability to think clearly were very strong symptoms for my husband during the first 4-5 years of his illness. He's at 10 years now and a few years ago the strong pressure headaches just went away - thank heavens. No one ever found out the cause, although it seems logical it has to do with some kind of inflammation in the brain, thus the 'enceph' part of ME. At least we seem to be getting closer to the medical community actually considering such things in ME patients.

Hi again,

Heapsreal and I were posting at the same time. Early on the Doc's said my husband had chronic sinus infection, though as Heapsreal suggested, there was never any noticeable dripping. Definitely worth getting checked out as it may very well be possible to alleviate it if that is the case.

Unfortunately, in my husband's case, several courses of antibiotics were no help and finally functional sinus surgery, at the end of year one of his mysterious illness, put him down into the next level of misery. For months after the surgery even the wind blowing through his hair hurt, and the pressure headaches and brain-fog did NOT go away. And of course the sinus surgeon was totally confused as he was very experienced and had never had such a thing happen to a patient before.

No doubt the toughest part of all of this is getting a correct diagnosis of the myriad of things that could be contributing - or not. Best wishes to you for having a doctor who will help you carefully go through the list of possibilities.

I think one theory is that the chronic head pain is from inflammation (yuck). Omega 3 in fish oil form may help a lot ... my M.E. headache went away when I started taking 1 or 2 capsules per day. And comes back if I forget to take them for a day or two.

You could also check your BP to make sure it isn't too high.

This pressure and pain in the head has been my most severe symptom for the past 9 years. It hasn't abated and no one has given me a clear explanation as to why this is happening. Some doctors think it's sinus related. i had sinus surgery done 5 years ago with no change at all. some doctors say it's migraine because there is throbbing and I am supe sensitive to noise and light. I think it might be a combination but, it is driving me crazy!

Thanks. This is quite different than brain fog.AFAIK I do not have sinus infection but will check that.It is not only pressure feeling. It also lowers reasoning ability.Lowers cognitive function. Best wishes.

Thanks Pumb

Great to know that someone get over it. Interestingly I did not have this problem during the first 10 years of the illness. It started at the beginning of the second decade.Yes, I also think this might be related to some inflammation in brain. At the time it started I had moved into advanced stage of CFs,I had a molar extraction and I also was going through amalgam removal. I am now trying to figure out if this is common problem for PWC's or if I have this because of cavitation problem or mercury poisoning.I am about to go crazy because of this problem.. I live like a robot for months without being able to think and reason. My decision making ability goes down almost to zero even for minor events.
best wishes

Thanks very much for the info.Will check omega3 issue. My Bp is very low. Today it was between 81 and 96.Best wishes.

Hi

Do you also loose your reasoning and decision making ability?Difficulty finding words and forming proper sentences?My noise and light sensitivity also increases during those periods.Looking at the word `crazy`you used, I suspect we might be having similar problems.Best wishes

Sorry to hear you have head pain. Am afraid can't give any advice can only share I've had chronic head pain 24/7 for the last six years and have found nothing that helps. Take fish oil daily doesn't help with the head pain unfortunately

Nielk, do you mind me asking how you would describe your head pain? I describe mine as like a steel band digging into my skull. Does this sound similar to yours?

When I lie flat, which I have to regularly throughout the day, the pain and pressure gets even more intense. For this reason I find it impossible any more to have relaxation sessions etc as the pain in my head just becomes too intense

I am very sensitive to noise and have tinnitus and blocked ears 24/7 too. Doctors have been unable to say what could be causing it. Have had MRI scan, nothing came up.

I also had an MRI scan which came out normal. Some days are better then others. Right now because of the windy weather,
it is extremely painful. I feel like pressure around my forehead and pounding in my eyes and around my sinus area. I am nauseas, sensitive to everything. If I put a cold compress, it relieves it a little. Staying in a dark quiet room also helps. Any movement that I make to with my head is agony. Seriously, I have gone through a lot of pain in my life. I have had Crohn's with terrible attacks of blockages where I had to be hospitalized, I have given birth a few times, but this pain is worse. If someone could find a solution to this problem, I would give them my pension!

Thanks nielk for your reply, appreciated. Sorry you are going through a particularly bad patch at the moment, sounds horrible

Although we both have head pain 24/7, there does sound some differences. I don't get the pain round my eyes and only rarely in the sinus area, nor do I get associated nausea. It's like as said, a steel band wrapped round my head concentrated at the top of the forehead. I just feel like I would like to cut through this steel band and relieve the constant tightness which is painful and sore.

If I came up with a cure, you can have it gladly freely and keep your pension! Constant head pain is grim

I just mentioned sinus infection as this year i had worsening of brain fog and headaches more then normal and treating this sinus infection has helped, i still get headaches/brain fog just not as bad. But The meaning of ME is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord as well as muscles, so i guess inflammation of the brain is causing the brain fog and headaches. Is the inflammation cause from cytokines from infection or from damage done from the initial infection which triggered ME??????????????????
I think finding an anti-inflammtory which lowers inflammatory cytokines is what could help, but havent heard of one yet.

cheers!!!

Cindi,

I'm afraid I've no suggestions, just want to let you know that mine eventually cleared up, or at least mostly cleared up. There were times when just trying to think made the pain worse.

I've been thinking lately that the chronic severe headache & sensitivity to light, sound, &/or touch is almost like having chronic migraine, complete with the aura.

Hi, Cindi.

I think it would be a good idea to find out if your cerebrospinal fluid is under pressure. An ophthalmologist or optometrist could tell whether you have papilledema by examining the backs of your eyes. If the optic disks are bulging, that would indicate that the spinal fluid is under pressure. A more invasive but more quantitative way is to do a spinal tap (lumbar puncture) and measure the pressure directly. If the spinal fluid is under pressure, it will collapse the blood vessels feeding the brain, and that will cut down the blood flow to the brain, which will affect brain function. The spinal fluid can become pressurized if the brain swells even a little, such as due to inflammation from an infection there, because it is in a confined space.

If a sample of spinal fluid is taken during the spinal tap, it can be analyzed for infection. I'm not a physician, and I recommend that you consult with one. Neurologists commonly do spinal taps.

Best regards,

Rich

I have had a spinal tap. My pressure was at the top end of the normal range. I have a headache and head pressure 24/7. Lying down always makes it worse. I never lie down during the day. The only way I get sleep is with medication and I always wake up with the headache at its worst. and yes, it effects my cognitive function.

I did have relief of my headache after the spinal tap. The doctor aid that being at the top number on the normal range meant my pain was not caused by too much pressure. However, I do believe that my pain is caused by too much pressure in the CSF.

Sorry, I have no answers for you. I think treating the infection and inflammation is what will work, but time is moving really slowly as far as good research into ME.

You might be on to something there. One thing at least some of us have is very high levels of glutamate, which is associated with migraine. This study says (I think) that lowering glutamate levels correlates with a reduction of migraines: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19170689 . L-theanine is supposed to block glutamate activity, and helps in creating GABA, which it sounds like also somehow regulates glutamate?

dr jay goldstein use to use baclofen for similar purpose. baclofen has gaba b effects (valium etc have gaba a properties) and calium channel blocking properties which help pain and calm down the nervous system, probably down regulated glutamine as well??

cheers!!!