headaches and nausea for two weeks

[Badwinds1970]

Last year I had my first headache in which I had to go to the hospital to because I was concerned. They gave me drugs and a CT scan everything was good.  A year laterish I have been experiencing some similar headaches, for two weeks straight all day everyday.  I am a worry wart and stress case and have major anxiety.  My counsel says its anxiety, my doctor thinks I am a hypochondriac but I am freaking out that I may have a tumor.  I just got a CT scan last night, and I guess my doctor will call me with the results asap.  My symptoms are mild headaches on the right side of head then sometimes moving into the front of the eyes and nose and base of head neck.  I get really nauseous sometimes but I think that is from anxiety and panic attacks..  My counsellor said I need to get vigorous exercises.  So ran on Wednesday, played ice hockey on Thursday night and Friday morning.  My head never hurt when exercising but I did feel a little nauseous after, I think that was from panicking about the up coming CT scan.  So this morning as we sit I have a very very mild pressure on the head.  Does anyone have any comments on my condition.  I am sleeping really well, but awoke early this moring thinking about my scan.  Please help

[Badwinds1970]

Just got the call from my Doctor, everything is good with my CT scan.  I still have a little funny feeling but I think its from Ciperlax dreamy, spacy feeling.

Thanks all

[nursegirl6572]

That's great.  Exercise is good for anxiety, and like Paxiled explained, some headaches.  Sounds like it's very mild, the best thing you can do is to try NOT to focus on how you're feeling.  That's when you'll start to become more anxious.

[Badwinds1970]

I went for a hike this morning for one hour and I feel really good, my headache is a mild as ever but my back of my head is quite stiff.  Feel good, thanks all. Still have not heard from Dr.  I am OK,

thanks

[nursegirl6572]

I wouldn't recommend trying to self medicate or treat "possible" diagnoses.  Obviously, if something like Tylenol or Excedrin, or Motrin has been helpful at all, that's one thing, but to start guessing at possible causes on your own and then trying medications isn't the greatest idea, IMO.  Just wait until you speak with your doctor.

I would recommend that first thing tomorrow you start making some calls about the anxiety.  You need to start addressing it with a professional.  If you don't, you'll remain stuck in the same cycle.

[birdie0907]

Did your anxiety clear up immediately after stopping the antibiotics last time or did it take half a year?
If the CT scan found nothing last time there was nothing to find this time either. Follow ng's advice and see a professional about your doctor diagnosed hypochondria or you might get another ct scan next year. The negative results last time obviously didn't reassure you there is nothing wrong so likely this one won't either,
This poster stated he had taken 20 hiv tests and was still convinced he had worrisome symptoms. http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder-OCD-/hiv-ocd/show/1990557?personal_page_id=890501

[Badwinds1970]

guys, my last CT scan do to headaches was one year ago,  with nothing found.  I still have not heard from the hospital or my doctor so am assuming I am OK.  A we all know anxiety still is alive in me until I hear for sure.  Thanks you for all your time and words.  It helps me when I here this from you all.  I will keep you posted when I hear new news/

[birdie0907]

This is your second CT scan., How long ago was the first?

Also I know nothing about headaches to disagree with paxiled info, however I have sinus headaches. One doc felt my forehead and diagnosed me. I didn't realize sinus runs up there too, so if it is tender there (just above the eyebrows for me) that may be a clue. Who knows, perhaps you have sinus and migraines at the same time?
There are specific sinus otc remedies so you might try one or 2 tablets of them too to see if it goes away. After decades of suffering while taking lots of regular tylenol that didn't help so much, I got relief from sinus otc. Perhaps doc can enlighten you about whether there is a sinus component if it is still hurting when you see him next.

[nursegirl6572]

Paxiled has given you great info.

If you're normally a coffee drinker, but haven't had any, most definitely that could cause headaches.  Caffeine can and will cause physical w/d symptoms when a person abruptly stops consuming it.  Also, be sure you are drinking enough.  Not drinking enough would exacerbate your headaches also.

You will soon hear from your doctor, and hopefully be able to start accepting that there is nothing horribly wrong.  You can then ask the doc what the next logical step is.  Headaches are very tough to deal with, it's hard for doctors to put their finger on a cause a lot of times, and treatment usually just involves treating the symptoms.  Headaches involve more of a subjective assessment, which can make things more difficult.  If you're having a lot of anxiety, they could be tension headaches, which of course would improve once you've started addressing the anxiety.

As for worrying about something awful and life threatening, I can promise you that if your CT scan showed anything very bad, you would already be in the hospital.  Even though it may take the ordering doc some time to relay results to the patient, that doesn't mean the films are lying around somewhere, unattended to.  They are preliminarily read, quite quickly in fact by a radiologist, to rule out any urgent matters that need addressed right away.  Then, they're given a second, more comprehensive look after that.  Then, the films are usually sent to the ordering doc for even another look.

You can believe that if there was something ominous on your CT, you would have known VERY quickly.  The phrase in the field of medicine "no news is good news" really IS true most times.

I think it's important that you start addressing the anxiety with a professional.  Even if the headaches are NOT caused by anxiety, you're clearly suffering from a pretty high level of anxiety, which would definitely not help your headaches.  Anxiety treatment will also help you to learn how to stop catastrophizing things, or "what iffing" things like symptoms, always thinking the worst.

It's important to not dismiss everything as anxiety, and always make sure any new symptom is looked into medically first, but it's also important to find a common ground with the worrying you are doing about said symptoms.  

I wish you the best, keep us updated!

[Badwinds1970]

can coffee cause headaches I don't drink a lot just maybe two cups but my headaches resemble a coffee hangover.

[Badwinds1970]

thanks for your comments, I think waiting for my Doctor to call is makng them worse as well.  But its been 36 hours now and I trust if there was something bad in my CT scan the technician would have got ahold of a doctor to contact me.  I didn't drink much water yesterday and my headache is worse.

[Paxiled]

A headache combined with nausea is a sign of migraine headaches.  Yours don't sound like migraines, because you say they're mild and migraines are severe headaches, but they could still be vascular in nature.  They occur when the blood vessels, following a period of constriction due to some kind of mental or physiological stress, open up in the head while they're still constricted in the extremities.  Usually they start with blurry vision, then comes the headache and nausea.  I had them for years, and they're not fun.  I think your doctor suspects something of this nature because they recommended exercise, which evens out blood flow.  Meditation also often helps with this.  Something you can try next time is run your hands under warm water and see if the nausea and/or headache ease.

[Badwinds1970]

My headaches are not strong they are a mild or at the worst moderate, dull feeling,  I get the nausea when I think over the situation, I think its stress, anxiety and worry related.  And yes depression is the cousin of those three and I feel it coming on.  Once I get my results and I know they will be good, I will feel much better.  I obsess about these things which in it self is not good for my head, or stomach.  Really there are a million things that my headache could be from and only one is a tumor, but its the one I obsess about...go figure....

[birdie0907]

Nausea and headache pain are depressing to have when they last for a while so I can see why a person would get anxious. Depression and anxiety go hand in hand feeding off each other, although you didn't mention depression as an issue so maybe I am going a bit far with my explanation that I can sympathize with you, although I don't think that is what you came to this board for.
Hopefully the cycle will stop again soon and give you a long break. It is good to hear that the therapy tool works to keep the anxiety in check. Do they think the nausea is induced from anxiety or just happens to come at the same time as the strong headaches?

[Badwinds1970]

I guess the last thing I have to say is my headaches are very real, and I get very nauseated from them or from maybe my anxiety thinking of them, don't know which.

[Badwinds1970]

she is great, she said get exercise, meditate, yoga, I am on newly ciperlox, and she made me wear a elastic on my wrist and everytime I get panic or some other disorder snap the elastic and say there is nothing wrong.  Sound crazy but it works.  Thanks for your comments, British Columbia Out.

[birdie0907]

If there is anything wrong you will be given results in a day or so, but since they have already told you there is no problem you won't get notification so quickly because they have to prioritize people with bad results.So try to relax on Tuesday when no one calls, rather than worrying that they aren't calling for some other reason. I am guessing doc will call in a week or so so try to stop imagining something is wrong during that period,

The only way you will get peace is to stop worrying about every head hurt and accept the test results. That is not easy if you are a hypochondriac, but you are on the best path forward by seeing that counselor.
I am interested in knowing what the counselor has advised you to do to deal with your neural hypochondria.
All the "symptoms" you list are so common to other people that there is no point in commenting on them. Many people deal with headaches every day but few people have brain tumors so that should be a good clue that your 2 CT scans are conclusive. No one can diagnose you from here and you have already been diagnosed as no tumor plus you went for another MRI so you need to stop trying to self diagnose and listen to the docs who saw you.
.