What is with this headache

[untonuggan]

Has anyone ever had a headache where:

• no pain if they are laying down (at least, after a couple minutes)
• immediate stabbing pain if they sit up (only on one side of the head, though the side may change)
• the pain may dull after awhile of sitting up
• the pain is only on one side, around/just behind one ear, and feels like pressure or maybe a lance going through the head
• sometimes there is also inner ear pain on that side of the head
• it has lasted at least four days

I know all the medical thingies say if you experience a weird headache to go to a doctor, but this one feels SO weird (like, even my nurse-mom is like, "I'll have to think about that one") that I just worry-from-past-experience that if I go to a doctor they will do things like make me have moar brain scans (have had maybe three in the past year? and they were all fine); refer me to a specialist for whom I'll have to wait a long time; give me painkillers that are super strong and also trigger mania which is no good; decide in the end that it is either psychosomatic or a side effect of one of my meds and they can't actually do anything about it, or it will have gone away by the time my appointment with the specialist actually comes.
It's nice when you have confidence in the medical system, see?

So anyway, not expecting Medical Advice (TM) for which I will sue if it doesn't work or something, just wondering if I am the only one this has happened to or if it shares commonalities with anyone else's weird headaches. Because sometimes I really do wonder if I am going "crazy" in the negative, stereotyped-by-the-media sense of the word.

Comments

[shanaqui]

The various mentions of ear involvement make me wonder about some kind of sinus infection? But that is just purely based on a vague notion of how that whole system works.

I had something like this back when I had tension headaches, actually. Anything that made me re-tense my muscles, like sitting up, brought it back. (The only solution was muscle relaxants, in the end, though warm baths and more sleep did help. Gotta admit, I ended up kinda dopey for twenty-four hours on just one of my dad's weapons-grade muscle relaxants more than once.)

[pipisafoat]

Tension was one thought of mine! One semi-reliable easyish test for tension [involvement] is to, while horizontal! tense muscles as though about to get up! especially neck & shoulders, then see what your head does. Maybe a thought to try, Liz? (Especially if going in with the expectation of nothing happening, to rule anxiety or anticipated pain becoming real. Idk if that's a thing for you but it's something I have to tell some of my pts a lot. Or dubiously trick them in order to get accurate results.)

[umadoshi]

Some of those symptoms sound like the icepick headaches I get sometimes (which I think are maybe classified as migraines, although mine are not severe enough that I'd feel comfortable calling them that). I don't have any kind of ear-related symptoms, either, and mine are usually (although not always) responsive to painkillers; years ago I had one last for several days, and I went to the ER, where I was advised to take a large but not alarming dose of ibuprofen every four hours or so until it stopped, including waking up in the middle of the night for a dose.

Mine generally feel like a very specific stab of pain through my head (hence the "icepick"), usually around/through an eye (usually the left, I think?), and are often either undetectable or low level if I'm lying still or otherwise not changing the elevation level of my head. Sitting or standing up from a bed/chair/crouch or leaning forward makes the pain flare up, and then it subsides or go away until the next time I move vertically.

[ofearthandstars]

I've had similar "stabbing" headaches around my eye/ear, and on occasion upon sitting down. They often seem to be sinus related for me, which means that when I lie down the pressure subsides a bit and it doesn't hurt as much. And I've had them without other obvious signs of a sinus infection, but I'm allergic to The Outdoors and Everything Else, so I tend to tolerate a fair bit of sinus issues before I realize it's probably not allergies.

[sage]

I've had both the icepick headaches described above and a completely bizarre event that involved either a sphenoid sinus or inner ear infection with complications from the arthritic jaw. (The infection eventually drained out my eustachian tube on its own, which is when I finally went to the doctor for antibiotics, because abscess risk that close to the brain, inner ear, and jaw joint is just not an option.) Also, the trigeminal nerve is right there, along with nerves involved in some types of migraine, and basic things like gravity (and swelling, and blood pressure, etc.) can affect nerve impingement and referred pain, manifesting in some completely atypical headaches.

Anyway, I hope whatever is going on magically and permanently goes away right NOW & you feel much much better.

here via network; hi :)

[sylvaine]

I tend to associate that kind of pain (minus the ear pain) with low blood pressure + dehydration. Though that doesn't tend to last for four days.

Re: here via network; hi :)

[shehasathree]

That's what i was going to say - especially the part about it being okay whe you're lying down and coming on as soon as you sit up.

[staranise]

I've only ever read about them, but it reminds me of cluster headaches.

[alee_grrl]

I've been noticing ear pain with some of my bad headaches which also usually have the ice-pick stabby feeling. I do usually feel better when I lie down. The ice-pick pain I associate with migraines. I think the ear ache is sinus related, but am not 100% sure. I've only started noticing ear pain after I moved down here where my seasonal allergies are worse. I've not noticed a relationship between lying down and sitting up with increasing or decreasing the pain, largely because I haven't been paying too much attention to how I feel when I get up.

I've head headaches off and on this week too. Wonder if the changing barometric pressure from the various weather fronts moving through has contributed?

The only thing I can think of to offer (other than virtual hugs and supportive thoughts) is that a washcloth run under warm hot (not hot, just comfortably warm) laid across my eyes helps relieve the pain a little bit. <3

[lilysea]

no pain if they are laying down (at least, after a couple minutes)
immediate stabbing pain if they sit up (only on one side of the head, though the side may change)

This, combined with the fact that you have POTS makes me think "worth checking if your blood pressure is misbehaving more than it usually does"

It sounds like your blood pressure is surging when you sit up?

[lilacsigil]

Yes, I have - they're sometimes the warning of a migraine but sometimes appear on their own and don't progress. When I lie down I have to lie completely flat or it doesn't feel better, and even then the ear pain doesn't get a lot better. For some reason heat packs are particularly effective on these one-sided headaches and drugs aren't very effective unless I can sleep. It's different to a sinus headache in my case because my sinus headaches are bilateral.

I hope you're feeling better soon whether or not you decide to get medical help on this one.

[ngakmafaery]

...recently, after a lifetime of no real headaches, I get that sort of thing and am told it's combination of perimenopausal and also the barometric pressure, since lately there are tons of storms that eventually happen...YMMV, and I am not a doctor, but I hope it gets better soon...

[geeksdoitbetter]

hey, you

several days later, does it still hurt?

my wonder was impacted tooth?

[untonuggan]

Still hurts, going to the doctor later today, hopefully some answers. Blood pressure cuff said blood pressure was normal though. *shrug* *sigh*

Thanks for asking!

[vae]

Late and I'm REALLY hoping you've got something to help clear it by now, but yes - it sounds similar to the headaches I got when my labyrinthitis was really bad. The difference in position changes the pain levels/pressure because crystallisation in the inner ear shifts around.