Yesterday was a bad day for me.I have alot of pressure lower back of my head.I had major ear pain and face pain also pain while turning head . I had neck pain also alot of brain fog.I used ice pack it help a little.
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Sorry to hear you had a bad day. I try to limit head turning as tests have shown it affects ICP levels in my brain so I gadvise you minimise head turns. I find occipital nerve block injections in back of skull every 2 months can help lessen back of head pain. Not sure if you have ES or VES but if do get blood trapped in head & pressure building then lying down flat so your JVs open can help to drain blood & lessen pressure & pain. Hope that you have a better day today. D
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Thank you D, I woke up to a little facial pain,I will try to limit my head turning and try to lay my head flater then what I was doing.I have es and trying to learn more to cope with my symptoms until I can be fixed.
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Hopefully it’s an isolated bad day & things will settle again…rest partly upright if you can, I agree with @PatientD that if you can limit head turning & if possible sit straight on to things- people, TV etc.
Wishing you a better day 
Hi, so I see on site that sleeping a bit upright helps ES, but in my case that makes my desaturation worse when I sleep. Also I have had C1:C2 fusion in May and JV compressions released this year, sleeping with my head raised hurts my fusion, but I defer to Isaac. I do think having your JVs open if you have abnormal blood trapped in your head is important. I think research I read suggests fully open JVs is at less than 10 degree incline but I am not a medic expert. I have tried different things to work out what helps or not. I use Viatom ring to give me objective data but we can all feel what helps or not. D
Many of our VES members have found substantial relief from IIH by sleeping/resting w/ head elevation. A few have had your experience though, @PatientD. Several have also benefitted from taking a blood thinner such as Plavix (Rx) which allows blood to drain a bit more freely out of the brain/skull.
Thank you guys,Had a little better day . Pressure in lower back of head was gone but ear and face pain still remain.Im learning to move slower. And not to push myself.
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It’s recommended for IH I think & always helped me- I would have terrible headaches if I laid flat, I can see what you’re saying about fully open JVs but with styloid compression they can’t fully open, I guess that varies with us depending on the angle of our styloids & our anatomy… when there are other complications like your fusion it would be different too, whatever works best for each of us, we only find out through trial & error & it’s good to hear everyone’s experiences 
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Thanks. I used to sleep upright before my JVs were decompressed. For me releasing trapped blood via open JVs now helps. Note advice you & Isaac have kindly given on this topic. D
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Hey D , Im really new to this. I dont even know what a JV is lol. My first appt I was ordered a ct which I did now Im waiting on my appt with Dr Hernandez in baton rouge on aug22 . I really like learning reading everyone posts and comments ty
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There are two major vascular tissues that can become compressed by elongated styloids. The most common seems to be the Internal Jugular Vein (IJV or JV) which allows blood to flow out of the brain. The other is the Internal Carotid Artery (ICA or CA) which takes blood up to the brain. When someone mentions they have VES they’re referring to Vascular Eagle Syndrome which means either his/her IJV or ICA is being compressed by the styloid(s) & the blood flow out of or into the brain is being obstructed. The ICA symptoms can be similar to having a stroke, & a few people have actually had strokes from VES where the ICA was compressed. The IJV symptoms are different because they come from too much blood being in the brain which causes intracranial hypertension i.e. high blood pressure inside of the skull.
Click on the magnifying glass icon at the top of this page & type “symptoms” into the search box that comes up. The first two posts listed were written by Jules. They’re very long but have lots of good information that will help you understand more about ES & the symptoms it can cause.
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