cstanley
01-22-2011, 06:14 PM
Over the past 8 months, I've had occipital headaches / head pressure that occur on one side of the back of my head, slightly behind my ear. I've noticed that this pressure is induced by moving around (not just exercise). For example, driving a 4 hr trip will cause me to have head pressure for the next few days. During a drive, I can feel every bump in the road jarring the right side of my head. And running is completely out of the question, as that will cause head pain / pressure that keeps me from being able to concentrate and work for at least a week.
I've had a CAT scan (negative), and an MRI. The MRI was negative except for 'mild mucosal thickening noted within the right greater than left maxillary sinuses'. The head pressure is on the side with my right eye, so I'm assuming that this mucosal thickening is on the same side as well.
I have a few other symptoms as well. My right ear pops close to 500x each day, and I've learned to induce the popping without swallowing or doing a valsava. I have also noticed that the popping relieves the pressure that induces the headache. If I move around a lot, pressure builds up, and it's harder to pop the ear.
The muscle that goes from the base of my right collarbone up my neck and behind the back of my right ear is swollen.
Here are a few meds / procedures that help with the pressure and headaches, and allow me to move around a bit more.
[1] Dayquil; knocks the symptoms right out
[2] Putting a towel soaked in warm water over my right ear for several minutes
[3] chewing gum (induces ear popping which relieves head pressure symptoms)
[4] breathing in steam
[5] taking a hot shower
[6] sleeping
[7] not moving around
[8] drinking caffeine
[9] drinking lots of water
I debug software for a living, and I've approached this health issue much of the same way that I approach finding and fixing software issues. I just don't have the needed medical training and knowledge to figure out what the heck is going on with me here. So I would greatly appreciate getting help from the experts, and I hope that I've provided the information that you need to figure this one out. Also feel free to reply if you have any followup questions.
Thanks for your time,
-Clayton
I've had a CAT scan (negative), and an MRI. The MRI was negative except for 'mild mucosal thickening noted within the right greater than left maxillary sinuses'. The head pressure is on the side with my right eye, so I'm assuming that this mucosal thickening is on the same side as well.
I have a few other symptoms as well. My right ear pops close to 500x each day, and I've learned to induce the popping without swallowing or doing a valsava. I have also noticed that the popping relieves the pressure that induces the headache. If I move around a lot, pressure builds up, and it's harder to pop the ear.
The muscle that goes from the base of my right collarbone up my neck and behind the back of my right ear is swollen.
Here are a few meds / procedures that help with the pressure and headaches, and allow me to move around a bit more.
[1] Dayquil; knocks the symptoms right out
[2] Putting a towel soaked in warm water over my right ear for several minutes
[3] chewing gum (induces ear popping which relieves head pressure symptoms)
[4] breathing in steam
[5] taking a hot shower
[6] sleeping
[7] not moving around
[8] drinking caffeine
[9] drinking lots of water
I debug software for a living, and I've approached this health issue much of the same way that I approach finding and fixing software issues. I just don't have the needed medical training and knowledge to figure out what the heck is going on with me here. So I would greatly appreciate getting help from the experts, and I hope that I've provided the information that you need to figure this one out. Also feel free to reply if you have any followup questions.
Thanks for your time,
-Clayton