Painless head throbbing when lying down
Posted , 29 users are following.
I'm 68 and have had painless head throbbing in the top, back and sides of my head which either wakes me up at night or in the morning. This has been going on for the past 7 months and no doctor seems to know what it is. I am afraid they think I am crazy, but what I feel is real, and I simply don't feel well for hours after waking. My head feels full when I lean over. I have an occasional headache, but it does not occur in the back or top or side of my head, only in temples or sinus area and is not connected with the throbbing. The headaches seem to be connected with sleeping wrong and waking with a stiff neck. It is not a migrane as there is no pain, no aura and occurs only after I have been lying down.
This is complicated by the fact I have had BPV and tinnitus for 20 years so doctors blame one thing or the other. I sometimes have sinus/allergy issues, but I know the difference and this is not sinus. I wake up in the morning feeling groggy, ears ringing, tired and light headed (and scared). I've had an MRI and MRA, both negative. I was checked out by a neurologist, EENT doctor and a cardiologist and they found nothing. My BP is on the low side so it is not hypertension. I often wake up in the morning with a stiff or sore neck. I have glaucoma and see the opthalmologist every 4 months with lots of tests and he has said nothing about any optic nerve problems for cerebral spinal fluid issues, etc. I sometimes take tramadol for back pain and timoptic for my glaucoma, also prevacid for reflux. I've tries stopping them one by one to see if they are causing it. They are not. I am at my wits end. I feel like this is serious but no one is giving me an explanation. Could this be IIH?
1 like, 46 replies
imram43018 susan84872
Posted
davebirch1 susan84872
Posted
casey74153 susan84872
Posted
I have had similar symptoms for the past decade. I'm 29, and I have been to the doctors many times to find a solution, but none so far.
When I lay down to sleep, sometime the top right side of my head lightly pulses in a random pattern. The pulses are never painful, and very light, but I know once they start I will not be able to sleep until they stop. The pulses are usually more common when I am stressed or if I drank something with caffeine during the day, but they happen even when I'm feeling fine. It's worse when they happen during the day because they are usually a sign that I am losing my focus, and at that point I even have trouble stringing words together.
I have had an eye exam and an MRI to find more about these pulses. I now wear glasses to prevent eye strain, but that has not stopped the pulses. The MRI found an enlarged point on my brain (I forget the terminology they used). According to the neurologist, it was not cause to worry. If there were more points, it would have been an indication of some form of autism, but there was only one, so they said it didn't mean anything.
I want help. These pulses keep me awake, and I would be so interested in a diagnosis which could shed some light on what's causing them and why. Did anyone find some help with these symptoms?
melissa62634 casey74153
Posted
hey Casey, did you ever find out what was wrong? I'm also 29 and I'm looking online for some answers. I havent had an MRI yet but the same symptoms as you describe. I've just realized that laying down they come on for sure when I may go a whole day without the pressure and throbbing. so scary whatever this is!
dorene7 melissa62634
Posted
It was a pinched muscle/nerve in my neck.
dorene7
Posted
Be careful of chiropractors. try a message to un pinch the muscle nerve.
melissa62634 dorene7
Posted
ohh interesting. thank you. I hope its something like that
freaks me out being in my head. just at the beginning of figuring this out with my doctor.
dorene7 melissa62634
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Good luck I hope they check your nerves and muscles in the neck area
kristin92647 dorene7
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What type of doctor hat type of doctor (specialty) was able to help you. ..
dorene7 kristin92647
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I seen a neurologist, a physical message therapist to get the pinch nerve unpinched.
kristin92647 dorene7
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Thanks
every evening when i lie down for bed i get this pulsating in my head while it doesnt hurt it is very difficult to sleepsometime i notice it during the day but it is always present at night
i try to prop myself up when i sleep i had gone to headache doctor and then they had asked that i get an MRI but i dont want to waste time with the wrong type of doctor or getting tests that are not going to reveal anything about whatever is causing this it is concerning me a great deal because it is my head ....
sarah1221 dorene7
Posted
hello! I hope you get this message as I know this while quite some time ago when you made this post. i have been dealing with the same symptoms and cant find an answer. did you happen to have the throbbing in your spine too? I am trying to find a doctor who will listen to me and make me not feel crazy.
Joyla sarah1221
Posted
I have had this for three years now but it's much worse when I wake up and the pulsating goes down my spine too. I've been to many doctors, have lots of tests and have taken lots of meds. Nothing has helped prevent it. The things that seems to relieve it is an ice pack. I take Neurontin, Inderal and Klonipin which helps AFTER waking up. But nothing seems to just stop it from doing that pulsating. They found stenosis in my neck but why is it ALWAYS worse when I wake up? It ALWAYS happens when I wake up, even for a dozing minute. During the day, I believe it's just lingering from the night. It could be related to weight or/and blood vessels or even migraines. I had lots of massage and physical therapy, nothing helped. I thought about trying acupuncture, not sure about that yet. but it's an idea. You may have a pinched nerve in your neck that's causing this. physical therapy might help. Keep us posted. And good luck.
sarah1221 dorene7
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hello how did the doctor determine that you had a pinched nerve?
dorene7 sarah1221
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I did not have the throbbing in my spine. I get this when I over use my right arm and hand because I am right handed. laying on that or texting will aggravate it. stress is another thing that make me aggravate it because I am not sleeping good and sleeping wrong. I went to so many doctor but a neurologist did test. a chiropractor did a adjustment and the feeling subsided thank GOD. I truly hope they work on figuring out what everyone throbbing is and fix their uncomfortable annoying disabling feeling.
dorene7
Posted
a chiropractor. I went to the physical message therapist after I got the adjustment.