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Sleep Apnea and Headache

Program: Effective Treatments for Headache and Migraine
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Andrew Schorr:

Okay. We're going to see if we can take another call before the break. Dave from Bothell has been holding. Dave, welcome to Patient Power.

Caller:

Hi. Thanks for taking the call. Normally I don't have headache. I'm trying CPAP machine.

Andrew Schorr:

For a sleep problem.

Caller:

Right.

Andrew Schorr:

Sleep apnea.

Caller:

Sleep apnea. They are just testing it, and the other day I had headache, and I just was wondering where it came from. Could it be from the CPAP machine? Is it possible? Or was it just a fluke?

Andrew Schorr:

People get headaches anyway, though, too. But, Dr. Lucas, any thought about that?

Dr. Lucas:

Dave, did you ever have headaches before?

Caller:

I don't remember last. I'm 68 years old. I'm sure in my life I have, but I don't remember like a year ago or two year ago.

Dr. Lucas:

Okay. Well, there's an interesting relationship between sleep apnea and headache, and many people feel that sleep apnea may go hand in hand with some difficult headache problems. So the issue there is that the desaturations that you have, you know, you just don't breathe and your oxygen saturation goes down, so that can cause a headache. So it may be one of two things. Either your CPAP hasn't been put on the right pressure for you, or the second issue is that you're sleeping with this thing just strapped to your face really tight, and usually you have to sleep on your back so it might be positional as well.

Caller:

All my life I have slept on my side.

Andrew Schorr:

Now you're on your back.

Caller:

Yeah. They say that's the best way. And as for the pressure, they did test it over at Harborview, and they determined the pressure to be seven, and that's what the machine is set for.

Andrew Schorr:

So be sure, first of all, to mention this headache to your sleep specialist. Be sure to mention that, and then let's see if it comes back.

Caller:

Okay.

Andrew Schorr:

Dave, I'm going to let you go, but I think it's all about communication. Thank you for calling today. You know, Dr. Lucas is a headache specialist at the University of Washington Medical Center. If it continues, that's a call to make. Otherwise certainly mention it to your sleep specialist because they want you to feel good too.

Caller:

Right. Thank you.

Andrew Schorr:

Thank you for calling, Dave.

We're spending the hour with Dr. Sylvia Lucas, who is the director of the headache center at the University of Washington Medical Center and one of a select few headache specialists nationally. So this is your chance live on KVI Talk Radio to ask your questions. We'll be back with much more of Andrew Schorr's Patient Power. Stay with us.

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