Recurrent or Chronic Headaches and Fatigue
Many patients with symptoms of lightheadedness, recurrent or chronic headaches, or chronic fatigue are often suffering from inadequate blood flow to the brain and scalp muscles that results in inadequate oxygen levels in neurons and scalp muscle, respectively. Many of these patients have been evaluated by their primary care physician, neurologists or cardiologists without any specific diagnosis being made.
These symptoms can also be accompanied by neck stiffness, heartburn, chronic indigestion, abdominal cramping, and frequent urination. All of these symptoms represent a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system and are frequently treated as individual symptoms. In essence, many physicians are not seeing the forest because of the trees. A good review of the autonomic nervous system and some of the symptoms associated with autonomic dysfunction can be found here.
Orthostatic Intolerance and Orthostatic Hypotension
Although most medical textbooks discuss orthostatic intolerance (OI) and orthostatic hypotension (OH) in relation to specific patient populations, such as the elderly or patients with Parkinson’s Disease or Diabetes, OI and OH are extremely common among the general population as well.
The medical definition of OH is a decrease of systolic blood pressure of at least 20 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure of at least 10 mm Hg within 3 minutes of standing up. This means that when you stand up, your body cannot maintain normal blood pressure levels in the upper half of your body because of the pull of gravity, and your blood pressure reading declines.
Some patients have symptoms suggestive of OH but will not have as great of a drop in blood pressure as noted above. These patients are often referred to as having orthostatic intolerance (OI) and not full-blown OH. The general initial treatment approach I use for patients with OI is the same as for patients with OH.
Lightheadedness and Fatigue
Most patients with OH and OI have symptoms such as fatigue, abnormal balance, or a feeling of being lightheaded. These symptoms will often worsen after eating, standing or sitting still too long, becoming too hot, or shortly after exercising.
Many patients also have difficulty concentrating and thinking clearly. In older patients, this can be the most common symptom. Other symptoms, such as rapid heartbeats, nervousness, anxiety, or nausea, can also occur.
All of these symptoms are due to low blood perfusion of the brain. When the blood perfusion decreases enough, the symptoms can become rather severe and can even result in passing out.
Headaches
OH is also a very common cause of mild to severe headaches. These headaches are the result of inadequate perfusion of blood flow through the scalp muscle. As such, they can seem worse after sitting or standing for long periods of time, after eating, or after becoming warm or hot. Sometimes they are associated with intense pain in the neck muscles, known as coat-hanger pain.
OH headaches are more likely to improve when lying down than other forms of headaches. This is because laying flat lessens gravity’s pull, contributing to low brain blood perfusion. Laying flat makes it easier for your body to pump adequate amounts of blood to your brain; better blood flow means less headache pain because the neck and scalp muscles receive better blood flow. Furthermore, OH headaches do not start when you are in a horizontal position, such as when you are sleeping. Headaches that begin while you are asleep often are due to sinus congestion.
So the big hints for OI or OH as a cause of headaches are:
- Occasional lightheaded sensation or “woozy” spells just after standing up.
- Fatigue after meals especially bigger meals or high carbohydrate meals.
- Occasional fatigue, poor mental functioning, poor memory, or confusion.
- The association of intense neck muscle pain or chronic stiffness.
- Improve after laying flat for 20-30 minutes.
Often times symptoms can improve, albeit temporarily, when exercising. This is because the constriction of muscles during exercises helps pump more blood from the muscles themselves into the circulation, thereby increasing the blood flow to the brain.
OH can get substantially improve after increasing the amount of salt and decreasing the carbohydrate intake in your diet. Salt increases your blood volume and makes it easier to maintain adequate blood flow o the brain.
Think about your headache pain. Does it occur more in one time of the year over another (Fall vs. Spring)? Do you often get sinus infections than your friends or family? Does the pain start in the back of the head or at the temples? Or do you also wrestle with chronic fatigue, intermittent lightheadedness, or intense neck muscle pain?
If you answered yes to any of these, you may need to rethink your diagnosis of “migraine headaches.”
Why Symptoms Occur
Maintaining normal blood flow to the brain depends on the patient having normal blood volume (no anemia, dehydration, or kidney problems) and functioning neurological reflexes that help maintain blood pressure.
Through a complex interaction of signals between the brain, pressure sensors in the carotid artery and aorta, nerve impulses, and networks of arteries and veins, the body is able to maintain near-perfect blood flow to the brain and scalp muscles in spite of sometimes widely fluctuating blood pressures experienced by the rest of the body.
When functioning normally, blood flow in the brain is nearly unchanged when someone goes from the lying to standing position, in spite of the fact that gravity causes approximately 1/3 of the body’s entire blood volume to move from the upper portion of the body to the lower portion.
But when the portion of the autonomic nervous that regulates blood pressure is not working well, the body is unable to keep proper blood flow and oxygen levels to the brain. This condition is referred to as autonomic (sympathetic) withdrawal.
A Simple Test to See if You Have Orthostatic Hypotension
A simple way to check to see if your lightheadedness, fatigue, mental fogginess, or headaches are from low blood pressure is to gently increase the blood pressure. You can do this simply by increasing the salt in your diet. Salt has a magical property called osmotic pressure that pulls fluid into the blood vessels.
More fluid in blood vessels makes it easier for your heart and blood vessels to provide the proper amount of pressure and blood flow to the brain. Proper blood flow to the brain will allow the brain to function better and should result in a decrease or disappearance of your symptoms if they are due to poor blood flow.
With all the talk by health officials about the necessity of eating a low-salt (sodium) diet, you might be concerned about increasing your salt intake. Don’t worry; it’s not dangerous for a few weeks. Only persons with uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart failure, or kidney disease should talk with their physician before adding salt to their diet.
Follow these instructions to see if your symptoms are from low blood flow to the brain:
- Purchase several cans of chicken stock from the market. Chicken stock is full of salt (otherwise known as sodium). Be sure not to buy the “Low Sodium” brands.
- Drink a cup of chicken stock (heat it up a little to improve the taste) in the morning and around midday. This will give your body enough extra blood volume to improve the blood flow to your brain.
- If you find you are fatigued or sleepy shortly after dinner, you may want to have an additional cup then or even with dinner.
- Within a day or so, you should notice a significant improvement in your symptoms.
- If your symptoms improve, then you can be reasonably sure your symptoms are from low blood flow to the brain and scalp muscles. I would suggest you see your primary care physician about this if you haven’t already. Sometimes things such as low red blood cell counts (anemia), overtreatment with blood pressure medications, dehydration, or heart rhythm problems can cause similar symptoms.
Hopefully, this simple test helped improve your symptoms. If it did, read the next section about how to help your autonomic nervous system’s blood pressure regulation system recover and provide your brain with proper blood flow without needing the extra salt.
Autonomic Testing Guides Treatment for Improved Autonomic Function
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) can be tested and evaluated through a process known as spectral analysis. This simple, quick (15-minute), and painless test can provide the critical understanding that helps your physician with their treatment plan.
The ANS can become imbalanced in many different ways. Some ANS dysfunction requires a short course of medication (3-6 months) alone or in concert with nutritional strategies to reduce systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in order for the brain to regain maximal function. The safest way to reverse heartburn is with a map of your autonomic nervous systems to guide treatment.
Dr. Nemechek often performs autonomic testing prior to initiating treatment for orthostatic hypotension and other autonomic symptoms (lightheadedness, headaches, fatigue, constipation, frequent or urgent urination). To learn more about this technique, contact Dr Patrick Nemechek.
How to Repair Your Blood Pressure System
If your symptoms improved after adding the salt to your diet, you’ll now need to repair the neurological blood pressure mechanism to your brain. This is done by reducing the number of carbohydrates you’re consuming on a daily basis. Follow these instructions:
- Continue drinking the chicken broth for about 2-3 more weeks after you have reduced the carbohydrates in your diet (see the following points). You can switch to other salty foods instead of drinking only chicken stock over these few weeks. Tomato juice has a lot of salt (sodium) in it, as do pickles, salsa, sardines, greek olives, and beef broth. Some patients will pour about a 1/4 teaspoon of salt in the palm of their hand and swallow it plain, along with some water to wash it down. For convenience, some patients will take a Top Ramen oriental noodle cup (any brand will do) to work and drink only the broth from it.
- Increase your DHA omega-3 supplementation to 3,000 mg per day. DHA is the primary omega-3 in the brain. It helps lower brain inflammation, allowing some of the brain’s natural repair mechanisms to repair underlying autonomic damage.
- Supplement your diet with 2 tablespoons (30 ML) of extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil contains high amounts of oleic acids and healthy natural phenols that also lower inflammation and help the nervous system to recover.
- Consider a treatment for small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). The overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine is responsible for leaky gut (i.e., bacterial translocation) and has the potential to activate upwards to 70% of your inflammation-releasing immune system.
- Consider vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) if you are older than 30 or your symptoms are rather extreme. VNS is a safe yet powerful tool to lower inflammation throughout your entire body.
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I have been suffering for some time, my symtoms match these very closely, neck ache, headaches, migraine like symptoms, fatigue, heartburn, anxiety, i’m hot all the time, dizzy/lightheaded, but also feel the need to pop my ears often due to a sort of pressure feeling.. However, i have raised blood pressure so suffer from hyper, not hypo tension. I have told doctors often that i feel as if my blood flow to my head is not enough, but other than taking blood pressure meds, (which have made next to no difference) i have been unable to have any diagnosis or… Read more »
Your elevated arm pressure is how your body is compensating to push blood up to your brain which is suffering from low BP.
Hi. I have a long complex medical history due to a bad medical implant that stuck out of my uterus towards my bowel. Essure. Docu on Netflix about it called The Bleeding Edge. I am getting better of many health issues since I had a hysterectomy to have it removed. It had nickel and polyester fibers. One of the lasting issues I had was SIBO which I think I cured with a month of rifaximin. Still getting over some gasritis. I have ptsd from what was done to me and years of illness. I have this lightheadness and dizzyness more… Read more »
Yes, more info is under the “consultations” section under About tab
I found your YouTube channel yesterday and watched every single video. Yesterday morning I was diagnosed with Orthostatic Hypotension – for 6 years I thought I had anxiety , which then became severe agorophobia- I have not been able to work or leave the house without my husbandfor 3 and half years, as I was scared of feeling dizzy out and about, but I never could understand why I would randomly get surges of adrenalin when I was happy at home in my ‘safe place’ it did not make any sense, it does now!! I read the article above and… Read more »
The protocol was designed to reverse the symptoms of orthostatic hypotension.
Thanks so much!! I am on day 8 now. If I cannot get my GP to prescribe Rifaxmin (quite tricky in the UK) could I stiil heal just with Inulin.
Thank you so much for providing this valuable information about my problem which i have feeling for this nowdays
Hi doc! Wow! This was a very interesting read. I think i may have inadequate bloodflow. I’m a woman, 26. I’ve had most of the symptoms since a week ago. I suddenly had low blood pressure and i felt dizzy. I stopped taking the magnesium powder that i started on a few weeks back, because i think i was taking too much, Ever since i stopped, i feel a bit better. However, i still feel unbalanced, I cant sit totally still anymore, i feel like im moving a bit… I have mild headaches across my forehead/temples, feels kinda like sinus… Read more »
No, the magnesium probably did not harm you.
It’s more likely you have been developing cumulative brain injury (see my book) and have added another injury that has further worsened autonomic dysfunction.
I would always recommend a general medical examination when symptoms start to also make sure your symptoms are from something more common such as anemia.
My sister and I both have progressive MS- it’s been 20 years since diagnosed. My twin recently became bed ridden. She currently has a catheter and we are taking a probiotic to make sure she doesn’t get any bladder infection from the catheter. After reading your book we realized you are against probiotics and unsure of what to do at this point. We have rifraximin, olive oil and the now dha fish oil and wanted to ask you first if it’s okay to use it and if it would help to start your protocol. I understand our case is complicated… Read more »
Yes, it can help a great deal even without the vagus nerve stimulator.
I caution you not to use the probiotics during of after use of rifaximin.
I suffer from terrible sinus infection, need to drain my paranasals. My crisis seem to be recurrent. Lately I feel headaches, trouble with bright lights but what really concerns me is that more than often I feel weakness on my legs, shoulders arms while lightheaded, uncoordinated.
Thought this was all related to sinus problems but after reading your article it could be a possibility for autonumonic dysfunction.
So a KETO based diet with low carbs and higher daily sodium intake might help?
It can be related to autonomic dysfunction of the mucous membranes but might also we a sign of silent reflux of stomach acid.
It is not unusual for people to have recurrent sinus drainage, congestion and infections because of the irritating effects of refluxing acid. Surprisingly, many patients will not have any symptoms that the have reflux of acid.
Silent reflux is a well-known entity in medicine.
Hi dr. Nem, I have been checking and surfing the net to check what can my symptoms be. Until I got to this page. Most of the symptoms are like mine. there were times when my mom has to rush me to the emergency because of nausea and my visions being blurry. but my findings are normal. Doctors have advised me to have my eyes check but glasses doe not resolve anything. Some of my symptoms are lightheadedness, pains on the neck. also , frequent urination and nausea are parts of it i will try the chicken broth to see… Read more »
Dear dr Nem.
My wife has light headness headache and fatigue, she has been seen by her doctor
has had blood tests done which are normal. Her dr. has advised having her ears cleared by micro suction, and also her spine x-rayed to check if this is part of her problem also her memory is not good. Going to try the salt and reduce carbs to check if this improves her symptons.
Hope for a quick reply
With all the normal testing, it sounds as if she has autonomic dysfunction.
I apologize for not having the book for non-autistic adults completed yet but the protocol I wuld use for her is the same for adults with autism (it was actually designed for those without autism).
My book expalins the protocol – copies can be purchased at https://autonomicrecovery.shop
Hello Dr. N,
I trust that you are well. I have had autonomic dysfunction for around 8 years. I am a 40 year old male. In that time I have had bladder issues, brain fog, tingling hands, anxiety, aches and IBS. Most of those are now under control, but as late I have been battling with feeling hungry, which doesn’t bother me too much. But my main complaint is waking up with a dry mouth every morning. Is this all related or am I dealing with something else.
Warm regards,
Harry
They are all symptoms of autonomic dysfunction
Hi Dr Nemechek, My daughter is 18 years old. She has a history of occasional severe headaches . During the past two years she has suffered more and more until she now is almost constantly in pain. She suffers from dizziness when bending or moving her head quickly and fatigue, along with light sensitivity and nasal congestion. She has had to give up her A level studies and her part time job, her life is becoming smaller and smaller, she is so desperate for help. MRI and neurology found nothing, pain relief rarely works. Do you think You could help… Read more »
Sounds like she has autonomic dysfunction
Hello, I stumbled on this page while searching for my symptoms. I have had rather constant lightheadedness, fatigue, and slight nausea since April 2016 with little relief. I’ve seen a neurologist and cardiologist and results are all coming back normal. I don’t feel like my lightheadeness is related to sitting or standing up, it seems rather constant from the moment I wake up in the morning, until I go to bed at night. Reading this article, it sounds a little bit like my symptoms. I’m happy to have found chicken broth in my pantry and will try this route starting… Read more »
Very much so
Dear Dr Nemechek The past few months i have suffered from extreme fatigue, dizziness, and nausea also headaches (not severe) ive tested and its not migraines as the headaches only comes a while after all the above mentiondc symptoms, also i have pain when i eat , feels like where my stomache begins. The fatigue feels like my shoulders suddenly weighs a ton and i cant keep my eyes open . It only gets better when i sleep for an houf or more. Can you maybe give me some kind of diagnosis, as i know its not possible to give… Read more »
You are suffering from orthostatic intolerance.
If your labs and heart are generally normal, its from dysfunction of you autonomic nervous system either do to an injury you didn’t recover from, and imbalance of intestinal bacteria or from possibly a side effect of a medication or all of the above.
Instead of chicken stock can you take some sort of salt/sodium pills?
Yes.
Is this similar to what POTS syndrome is? I’ve always had this lightheadedness symptom when standing and chronic fatigue along with low blood pressure. I’ve recently suffered a mold toxicity exposure and also diagnosed with SIBO and had an infection from yersinia and h.pylori. Fun stuff I know. My symptoms of this lightheadedness/dizziness had gotten dramatically worse and are now accompanied by heart palpitations where my heart rate jumps way up and then drops super low correlating with standing up. My doctor seems to think it is a prolonged QT issue related to an antibiotic I was on, however it… Read more »
Yes. Most of the symptoms of POTS are from low brain blood pressure leading to inadequate delivery of oxygen.
POTS just has an exaggerated heart rate response in addition to poor brain blood pressure regulation.
Hi Dr. Nemechek,
My husband just had an echocardiogram that revealed some mild problems (mitral valve insufficiency and aortic stenosis) and he has high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Do you think this is related to autonomic nervous system damage and do you think your protocol and vagus nerve stimulation would be beneficial for him or harmful? (The doctor wants him to start cholesterol medication which he has always avoided to this point.)
Mitral valve prolapse and aortic stenosis are both manifestations of are both manifestations of systemic inflammation. My protocol can greatly reduce systemic inflammation and maybe prevent these from worsening.
Statin cholesterol meds will have no bearing on these issues.
both my son and I have these symptoms after receiving a fluoride treatment at the dentist. Does fluoride do anything to the sodium level in our systems?
Not that I’m aware of. I would look for another cause other than the fluoride specifically.
Sometimes physical or emotional traumas can injure the autonomics and lead to these symptoms.
I am a 66 year old female was diagnosed with autonomic dysfunction 3 years ago by a cardiologist but then he left town . Had a neurologist that was helping somewhat but he also left . He said I was having seizures on left side of brain . I also have Afib . I am miserable most all the time . Very little sleep headaches can’t take heat at all . To many symptoms to list !
My doctor recommended I use more salt too. I found that doing a workout with electrolytes tablets in my water made a huge huge difference, because otherwise I feel like I’m going to faint.
I have been diagnosed with NDPH/CFS. I’ve had daily headaches, chronic fatigue, occasional lightheadedness, associated anxiety and depression as a result since 1/16. I’ve been worked up with CT/MRI, blood work everything has come back negative. Meds have not worked. Can anything been done to get rid of the pain and improve my fatigue?
Yes, your symptoms are very typical of the patients we treat. The majority experienced significant reduction in symptoms within the first 2 months. It requires full autonomic testing in our office to customize the treatment plan.
People often fly in to Arizona for their first visit and testing and then follow-ups are done via Skype.
Call 623-208-4226 if you are interested. — Dr. N