What causes waking with up with severe pain in the head, and then pain going away if you stay awake?

Sounds like something to do with having your head in a different position, but the only answer to excrutiating pain in the head has got to be – see a doctor.

@janbb thanks, seeing a doctor is a sure thing. It only happened about twice, months apart,so it is not urgent enough to go to the emerg. It will take a while to see the doc. But in the meantime we have never heard of such a thing, so I was trying to find out how many people have know of/have experience with this.

Could be severe teeth grinding. (bruxism)

If you drink coffee all day you might wake with a headache the next morning. This is from a neurologist. Same thing if you eat a lot of sugar all during the day. In both cases it’s kind of a withdrawal due to the eight hours or so without the caffeine or sugar.

Could also be sinus issues. Laying down could cause mucus to back up and cause pressure, whereas being upright facilitates drainage and reduces pressure.

I clench my teeth in my sleep kinda like bruxism and this makes me wake up with a headache which does gradually dissipate but I agree…they should go to a doctor.

Thanks everyone. But it is not teeth grinding or sinus related. Also the pain is more than just the ordinary headache. “Excrutiating pain on the left side of the head and down the neck” is how she described it.

Yeah – excrutiating pain didn’t sound like sinuses or teeth-grinding to me, especially if it resumed as soon as she lay down again.