I feel constant pressure in my head . Hard to describe : heavy head , unbalanced , giddyness . I am 9 months in and not feeling any progress , in fact the opposite
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Hi Gay,
I feel much the same. Hard to describe head but it’s like cotton wool stuffed in my ears and head and feels as if there is a tight band round my head. The stroke seems to have made me deaf as well and am waiting for hearing aids to see if they help. Janet
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Hi Jane. Im trying to get used to it but its so strange and annoying. Pinning my hopes on hearing aids but who knows! Must try the tight hat! Janet
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I has this too. The first 9 months were really bad then it eased a little. It still gets me now 17 months on. I was told it will hopefully clear but if not i would just have to learn to live with it.
Hope yours eases soon xx
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Shwmae @Gay, I had a similar sensation throughout my first year of post-stroke rebuilding. I used all sorts of approaches to distract me from it; sleep balm (lavender & camomile), sometimes Tiger Balm, massaging my head, meditative humming, controlled breathing … at the end of the day, many of these might have been placebos, but if a placebo is working, don’t stop. 
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Thank you for this exchange . Every. Little helps . It seems to be a fairly un common condition ., but it really limits my ability to get about and take part in life
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My only answer is to lean my head against a chair or on the bed . Then I feel quite normal . It’s as though carrying my head is more thanI can find the strength for. I walk pretty well but not as steadily a few months ago. I feelI have gone backwards.Thanks for your reply . It really helps .
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I get from migraines
@Gay i found it very limiting too. I did eventually though decide that I had to try & do things as if it wasn’t going away I had no choice but to live with it. Easier said than done though. Hopefully it will improve for you.
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Thank you Mrs 5K for your latest reply . My goodness the stroke forum is so much more help than the doctor whom I see once a month and like but he hasn’t a clue wha to do really . Pills are not the answer . As you and others advise I have to learn to live with it and have faith that it will get better with time . Easier said than done !
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You’re feeling this pressure because your brain is under pressure and yes it sets you giddy and off balance too.
Your brain is repairing, whilst it’s relearning, whilst it’s trying to maintain current functionality all at the same time. There’s a lot more than usual going on inside your head at the moment in order to restore business as usual.
That’s why you need so much rest, frequent naps or close eyes and just be for a few minutes here and there. And it’s working through the night as well as day time…the Numbskulls are currently on permanent overtime 24/7 in there 
I had that “thick head”, “brain squeeze” too, probably for just over a year. I’m 2yrs 4mths post stroke (TIA) now and can still get an odd one. Usually from too much happening around me at once sort of thing. Too much information to process quickly enough, so I go into shut down mode. Have to take a step back, go and rest a while, take a break and just close eyes.
I did find a spot on the left side of head, where it seemed to stem from. I could press my palm over it and rotate which helped…that’s the side of my brain that had the stroke which affecting down my right side.
I also got hearing aids last April because my hearing started to be affected too. And as it turned out, it seemed to ease off after that. Balance is still somewhat iffy but so much better than the first year.
Personally, acceptance is the key to recovery, it certainly plays a huge part in it. Because once you accept the who you are now, you start to relax and just be with yourself. That takes a huge pressure off your brain, because you are no longer fighting to be the way you were before. And you stop wanting it NOW, like yesterday. The sooner you take off that pressure on yourself, the sooner you’ll speed up recovery…to the best of your brain’s capabilities!
A stroke could be likened to a fire in an electricity substation. Can you imaging how many homes would be affected. The work that would entail to get it back up and running again. The emergency measures that would have to be put in place to those homes and businesses affected. Well that’s what’s going on in your brain! So lighten up, it’s doing the best it can 
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Thank you for that message .I think im my case acceptance is the key . I haven’t yet internalised it . I am still upset that my recovery is taking so long after a so called small stroke . Every time I talk to a friend who obviously expects me to be better Ihave to say there is no change and I am still not venturing beyond my own locality for fear of triggering another attack of stroke fatigue .
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One of the corner stones for sure
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Hi Gay. I feel very much as you do. I am 6 months post stroke and still hobbling around the house with my stick. I can’t ever imagine walking without a stick. But this horrible tight buzzy cotton wool stuffed in head feeling is really affecting my mood. Went out to lunch yesterday with friends and I am still absolutely shattered this morning despite a good 9 hours sleep! I can’t understand how I can be deaf but still find noise hard to cope with.
Emerald Eyes - you are a mine of information and give so much help. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain everything. Right - I will stop ranting now - soon be time for my poor overworked husband to get lunch! Janet
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This is something I posted about a while back. I was initially told I had had a stroke in basal ganglia on ct but a few months later, there was nothing on the mri. All that aside, I have had the pressure at the base of my skull , the feeling of full ears and sometimes behind the eyes, also a very difficult to describe feeling in my neck which is only relieved by lying flat.
This took months to reach a manageable level, and I have found the following to be helpful:
Amyltriptaline- worth sticking with, takes a long time, weeks to have any effect, but I believe I have had some relief from this
Cold pack neck wrap- the coldness does seem to knock out the other feeling of pressure
Cold swimming- full wetsuit, hat, gloves etc- not an option for everyone!
Distraction- anything that takes my mind off the feeling
Initially, in the early days, I also felt nausea and any visual up/ down eye movement also left me nauseated. 9 months later the nausea has almost gone, I still have daily pressure, but it is much more of a background issue and I can manage it better.
Hope this helps
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Too many darn pounding migraines
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Gay I have only just seen your message. I have had this horrible feeling in my head for years. I have seen a neurologist and I have recently seen an ear nose and throat specialist who said it is caused by crystals in my inner ear. Living with this is dreadful I am so limited what I can do my husband does most of the housework and I never go in shops. I only walk short distances as I feel so unbalanced and feel as though I am going to fall. I have had several falls one recently I fell backwards in the garden and banged my head on a slab and was taken into hospital. I feel so lonely when in company as I am different to everybody else. Hope to hear from you and we can compare notes. Best wishes Norma Jean xx
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Hi Norma Jean , I haven’t signed in for sometime , just struggled on . have seen one neurologist who looked at my MRI and bloods and ecg and told me there is no abnormality . Nor could he explain why this head pressure persists after a year . I am going to see another consultant at st Georges who specialises in strokes . Just in the hope that he can explain why I am in this condition so long after my “small stroke “ . The first 6 months I made good progress and then it all started going down hill
I was prescribed Amitryptaline which gave me a quite terrible head ache , so I came off it
I assume I have to wait till things slowly improve which everyone tells me will happen .
It is truly hard to keep hope alive . We are all in the same boat if that is any consolation .Good luck !!! Gay
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Have they looked into your medications in case one of them could be cause?