I just have a quick question for everyone here, has anyone when having a really strong valsalva maneuver headache have problems breathing? In example: When I cough too hard (other things set me off too) I will get the valsalva maneuver headache, and when the headache starts the pain gets so intense I can't remember to breathe. I literately have to force myself to exhale (when I realize I am not breathing) and I can only exhale small amounts of air before I need to stop for a second because of the pain I am experiencing. Overall when it is happening I spend 15-30 seconds just trying to exhale a single breath.Does anyone else experience this? Should I be worried? Sorry my quick question turned into a long one, and thanks in advance for and help offered everyone!
I'm sorry to hear that, Mandy. I suppose I will have to mention it to my doctor at my next appt. It only happens when I get the headaches, but when it does happen I can't exhale completely. Its like I will get a very strong stab in my brain, and my lungs stop working normally. I have to think "exhale, breathe" and work at exhaling between bursts of intense pain just to get my next breath. Thank you for your reply Mandy!
The only help I can give is to assure you you're not crazy. After three decompression surgeries I now have intracranial hypOtension. Most with a chiari have intracranial hypERtension. So when I have a BM, my headache temporarily subsides. This is because a BM causes the pressure around the brain to increase. For me, that's a good thing, but for most it's awful. The only time in my 17-year-long headache following my third decompression surgery that my headache eased for hours was when I was in labor with my son. The labor lasted 12 hours, and I was thankful for every minute of it. OBGYN offered repeatedly to do a C-section, but I declined, because I was getting relief from the headache. Yes, even labor is less painful than our headaches!!! All I could suggest to you is to take a lot of collase to minimize the BM strain. This should help your breathing too. I'm not a physician- just an eye doctor- but either collase or (better yet) Diamox should ease the pain and breathing problems. Many with chiari's are prescribed Diamox for continuous headaches. Might be worth talking to your doctor about. Collase is OTC. Good luck.