Headaches caused by my sleeping position?

[Bartie]

Hello,
for around a month and a half I've been suffering from anxiety. It's getting better every day now but back when it was really bad, around a month ago, I started experiencing pressure in my head every time I laid down - basically I just pressed my head against a pillow and the pressure along with blunt pain inside my head started. It didn't matter whether it was a flat pillow or the side of the sofa - the effect was the same. It lasted for around a week straight, mostly when I was lying down but sometimes for a short periods when I was sitting also. Then - it completely disappeared.

Flash forward to two weeks ago - it suddenly started again. Now, in addition to the pain and pressure, I feel as if my ears were clogged when I lay down. As soon as I sit or stand up - one minute maximum and the feelings are gone, only the headache lasts a little bit longer but disappears as well. My headaches tend to vary - sometimes I feel as if my whole head was in pain, sometimes just the right side or the left side of it. Generally I feel the pain from the back of it till the forehead. I also feel pressure on my face - sometimes above my eyes, sometimes on my nose (or one side of it) or a feeling as if the pressure was behind my eyes. Sometimes there's also tinnitus accompanying (usually in the morning and in the evening/night), lasting only a couple of minutes usually.

I also experience this pressure and headache (and sometime tinnitus) when I sit with my head straight down (eg. sitting with my iPad on my laps looking right down at it) - then, it goes away when I look straight in a matter of minutes also. Sometimes I also get the symptoms when I go up the stairs or go fast somewhere (e.g. jump out of my car and walk fast to the college building to not be late). Three and two days ago, I also had lower back pains which happened when I tried to straighten (playing the piano) my back or when sleeping (one of them actually woke me up) though now they seem to have disappeared.

What may that be? In the past, I've sometimes experienced even more severe headaches when shaking head up and down (the yes-yes movement) and it turned out it was just my pillow - any time I had something like this, it was a hallmark to change my pillow and it vanished in a matter of two days. Now, however, I've tried four pillows - my regular one, a new, smaller one, a really small one and a foamy one which I bought since it was said it supports your backbone (a reeaaaaally cheap one but I wanted to try it out) and no success.

• I've had blood tests done, liver examine, urine tests, kidneys examine - everything is fine
• I'm also taking 200mg magnesium and 800mg calcium a day (for my anxiety and fasciculations of different muscles - from lips to toes - which I experience along with it, though it doesn't help that much - the fasciculations just tend to happen less when they want to) for about a month.
• I have low D3 levels (18ng/ml) but I'm supplementing it too.
• My bed is terrible: it's a sofa which you pull forward so it consists of three parts - each one of different softness, my head a little below the level of the rest of my body, quite firm middle part though you can easily feel the gaps between the parts under your back. The middle part has easy to feel edges as it was
• I've been to the dentist three weeks ago for a root canal in one of my teeth and had the nerves there removed two weeks ago (endodontic therapy) though it I still experience pain in the tooth (doc said it may last a while tillt he nerves settle as they should)
• I always sit with my wallet (a quite fat model, stuffed with coins on top of that so it's teally around 3cm high) in my back left trousers pocket, if that matters
• I lead a sitting life though I try to move when I can lately
• my blood pressure is generally in the 140/80 range (though in the first days of my anxiety, it was even 180/110 to which I received beta-blockers. I don't take them now, the pressure dropped down itself after I calmed down with my anxiety)

Could anybody please tell me what may be causing this and what I may try to do about it?

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[physiobob]

I'm afraid this is a Pandora's box to give advice on. You need a physical assessment where the treating physio can try things in the session and see the result. It is best to attend when you are in a state that will allow you to bring on the symptoms.

[nmarman]

There are two headaches that fit your distribution:
Cervicogenic coming from the trigeminalcervico nucleus referral pattern.
And occipital musical referral (trigger point head ache)

From the sounds of it It maybe cervicogenic because it should feel better at rest if it was sub occipital muscle referral. However it is common to have elements of both.

NOTE: people go use very high pillows can create sub-occuptal m. referral from sleeping/lying when on back and reading book in lap.

Easzierly solved (if you have only had symptoms for a short period) with education about aggravation factors, manipulation (cervico genie h\a), massage for sub occipital area.

Given there are possibilities of structural instability ie kyphosis of cervical region and other issues it is best to have this looked at first (x-ray).

Fasiculation??? You mentioned can be a sign of neurological impedance - especially if it happens on tongue? Does this happen?

[Bartie]

physiobob - I see, thanks

nmarman - thanks a lot for potential causes. Nope, I don't have fasciculations of my tongue and, truth be told, over the period of last several days I'm more and more sure the fasciculations are just a symptom of my anxiety - I'm feeling better and better now every day, not thinking about each of my symptoms all the time and the fasciculations are practically nonexistent in the periods when I'm calm while they happen almost immediately when I start thinking about them (even if it's just some "Wow, I haven't had any today! That's great" and then bam - fasciculations in my arm, leg, back, lip, you name it ).

And as for the initial question - strange thing as the headaches just... vanished. One afternoon they just stopped happening - they didn't become less severe, just went from "full blown mode" to "no headaches at all". I tried each and every position that used to cause the pain and there still isn't any pain involved at all. I still feel (a lot less but still) pressure in my head and sometimed in my nose area when lying/looking down for some time but there's no pain involved whatsoever.

How could it have disappeared just like that? I didn't change anything in my position. I mean - I stopped sitting on my wallet for several hours a day, keeping it in my suitcase instead but oh well - could such little change for two days cause such a tremendous improvement (or even causing them to vanish) in my symptoms?

[nmarman]

This would fit in with the cervico genic recovery because the upset comes From the c2/c3 joint. All that need to change is the pressure on one joint. Then the referral goes. I see patients with constant month long head aches disapate in 24hrs after chiropractic manipulation. A natural movement a night may just have decrease this pressure or it was to do with the buttock lift that you took away.

I would go and see someone if you can because the tightness is a symptom that something is over stressed.

Although the larger pain has gone - if you live with it and its not fixed it may come back.

Good luck

- - - Updated - - -

This would fit in with the cervico genic recovery because the upset comes From the c2/c3 joint. All that need to change is the pressure on one joint. Then the referral goes. I see patients with constant month long head aches disapate in 24hrs after chiropractic manipulation. A natural movement a night may just have decrease this pressure or it was to do with the buttock lift that you took away.

I would go and see someone if you can because the tightness is a symptom that something is over stressed.

Although the larger pain has gone - if you live with it and its not fixed it may come back.

Good luck