Guest guest Posted September 3, 2007 Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 Dear Friends, I have had two decompressions and a VP shunt. I still develop very bad headaches at night that awaken me. I have to sleep on at least three pillows and have my head elevated to prevent the spinal fluid from just pooling on top of my head and causing a lot of pain. If I do not sleep with my head high enough, the spinal fluid builds and the pounding in my ear will start from all the pressure of the fluid being trapped in my head. Then the worst headache follows. This happens as well if I ever fall asleep during the day and my head is not high enough. I awaken and have to sit up and remain still for a long time until the fluid eventually leaves my skull. The headache is so painful because the CSF is just sitting there and placing extra pressure around the skull. Sometimes, when my shunts have failed in the past, one of the ways I could tell they had failed was if I sat up and never felt the headache improve at all, then I knew the CSF could not leave my head because the shunt was not working well enough to move the fluid away. Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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