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Headache / Head Pressure for a year and half.
Symptoms:
Constant pressure in temples, occipitals and jaw joint which resembles sinus pressure. Difficultly concentrating. Head is in a fog. Irritable, extremely moody, lack of sex drive, difficultly remembering things, depression, anxiety, argumentative. Pressure increases during high stress/anxiety situations. Rarely have a stabbing, shooting paint on the right side of head lasting several seconds. One nostril is always stopped up unless active.
Who We’ve Seen:
1. Chiropractor: Said I had a cranial misalignment on right occipital.
2. Primary Care Doctor (New Hampshire): Said that I was suffering from headaches which where brought on from high blood pressure. Later found out that I do not have high blood pressure.
3. Primary Care Doctor (Louisiana): Did blood work and found that I had hypothyroidism which I am now treating and referred me to Neurologist.
4. Dentist: Had all four back wisdom teeth removed when I was told my headaches/head pressure could be caused by pressure from these teeth against the nerves. However, once healed headaches/head pressure stayed the same.
5. Message Therapist: Claimed right occipital was very tight. Also found a hard bump on right side of located below the hairline.
6. Ear Nose & Throat: Said I had a minor sinus infection but could not complete tests because uninsured. Treated with steroids and Mucinex.
7. Neurologist: Had a mind set that I was having a tension type headaches. Treated me with powerful muscle relaxers and anti-depressants that had little to no effect. Requested that I have a MRA done which came back with normal. Stop seeing him.
8. Optimoligist: Said eyes were fine according to MRI and initial tests. Pointed out I had a prominent sinuses.
Time Line:
Moved to New Hampshire from Louisiana in February 2008. Began working for a mold removal company and used a dry ice blaster. Then began working for a coal powered power plant for three days when the headache began. Left job at that point.
In March 2008 headaches persisted for two weeks when finally decided to visit a doctor who referred me to the hospital to have tests done. Admitted to the hospital where they ran a series of tests including:
1. MRI
2. EKG
3. Catscan
4. Lumbar Tap-Blood Patch
5. Blood work
All came back normal except the MRI which showed a small brain bleed. Was released from the hospital and told to follow up with Primary Care Doctor.
Started seeing Primary Care Doctor who thought I had high blood pressure headaches and put me on blood pressure medication. Moved from the area and stopped seeing her.
Moved back to Louisiana and began seeing another primary care doctor who ruled out high blood pressure and removed me from the medications. He then took more blood work and found out I have hypothyroidism which I now treat with Levothyroxine however has made no different in my head pressure/head aches.
Primary care doctor referred me to a Neurologist who thought I was suffering from tension type headaches and prescribed me strong muscle relaxers and anti-depressants which had little to no effect. Requested that I have a MRA done which came back normal. After months of treatment I stopped taking all medication and discontinued seeing Neurologist. Currently looking for a new neurologist.
Recently I started the South Beach diet and noticed that during phase 1 of the diet where you eliminated bread and fruit, I started to feel better. However after the two weeks of phase one I started phase two where I started eating fruits and breads again and the head pressure came back.
I am unsure as to what I can do. I have seen everyone I could see and I just need someone’s advice on what to do now. I have been on a bunch of different medications including several over the counter/prescribed pain relievers and none of them have any effect on my headache/head pressure. The only thing that seems to make me feel bad is a massage to my neck/head area.
Any help of any kind would be greatly appreciated.
Constant pressure in temples, occipitals and jaw joint which resembles sinus pressure. Difficultly concentrating. Head is in a fog. Irritable, extremely moody, lack of sex drive, difficultly remembering things, depression, anxiety, argumentative. Pressure increases during high stress/anxiety situations. Rarely have a stabbing, shooting paint on the right side of head lasting several seconds. One nostril is always stopped up unless active.
Who We’ve Seen:
1. Chiropractor: Said I had a cranial misalignment on right occipital.
2. Primary Care Doctor (New Hampshire): Said that I was suffering from headaches which where brought on from high blood pressure. Later found out that I do not have high blood pressure.
3. Primary Care Doctor (Louisiana): Did blood work and found that I had hypothyroidism which I am now treating and referred me to Neurologist.
4. Dentist: Had all four back wisdom teeth removed when I was told my headaches/head pressure could be caused by pressure from these teeth against the nerves. However, once healed headaches/head pressure stayed the same.
5. Message Therapist: Claimed right occipital was very tight. Also found a hard bump on right side of located below the hairline.
6. Ear Nose & Throat: Said I had a minor sinus infection but could not complete tests because uninsured. Treated with steroids and Mucinex.
7. Neurologist: Had a mind set that I was having a tension type headaches. Treated me with powerful muscle relaxers and anti-depressants that had little to no effect. Requested that I have a MRA done which came back with normal. Stop seeing him.
8. Optimoligist: Said eyes were fine according to MRI and initial tests. Pointed out I had a prominent sinuses.
Time Line:
Moved to New Hampshire from Louisiana in February 2008. Began working for a mold removal company and used a dry ice blaster. Then began working for a coal powered power plant for three days when the headache began. Left job at that point.
In March 2008 headaches persisted for two weeks when finally decided to visit a doctor who referred me to the hospital to have tests done. Admitted to the hospital where they ran a series of tests including:
1. MRI
2. EKG
3. Catscan
4. Lumbar Tap-Blood Patch
5. Blood work
All came back normal except the MRI which showed a small brain bleed. Was released from the hospital and told to follow up with Primary Care Doctor.
Started seeing Primary Care Doctor who thought I had high blood pressure headaches and put me on blood pressure medication. Moved from the area and stopped seeing her.
Moved back to Louisiana and began seeing another primary care doctor who ruled out high blood pressure and removed me from the medications. He then took more blood work and found out I have hypothyroidism which I now treat with Levothyroxine however has made no different in my head pressure/head aches.
Primary care doctor referred me to a Neurologist who thought I was suffering from tension type headaches and prescribed me strong muscle relaxers and anti-depressants which had little to no effect. Requested that I have a MRA done which came back normal. After months of treatment I stopped taking all medication and discontinued seeing Neurologist. Currently looking for a new neurologist.
Recently I started the South Beach diet and noticed that during phase 1 of the diet where you eliminated bread and fruit, I started to feel better. However after the two weeks of phase one I started phase two where I started eating fruits and breads again and the head pressure came back.
I am unsure as to what I can do. I have seen everyone I could see and I just need someone’s advice on what to do now. I have been on a bunch of different medications including several over the counter/prescribed pain relievers and none of them have any effect on my headache/head pressure. The only thing that seems to make me feel bad is a massage to my neck/head area.
Any help of any kind would be greatly appreciated.
they put me on a t3 t4 combination.. and right now i am still getting my dosage together but i definately have found to be leass argumentative and depressed and the headaches arent as bad anymore... i think i still need to up my dose and my body definately needs to get used to feeling normal again and not sleeping all day... its been like this for ten years ... i still cry.. because i miss feeling like the old me... but im hoping once my body adjusts i will feel better.. i think he should also get on some thyroid medicine.. i think diet just helps with your thyroid.. someone told me that diet can trigger your thyroid to be out of whack and she said once she started to cut out food with gluten her thyroid came back to normal.. but i dont know... its hard to cut out all those foods.. but it might work... its worth a try... the headaches are almost like im drunk with pressure on my temples and one of my nostrils is plugged on one side.. its weird... it has gone away before a couple times and when it did i felt completely normal.. so i dont know whats wrong.. i just know i have started to feel better on this medication.. im starting to think the inflammation from my thyroid is whats causing the headaches and stuff.. its hard to tell..
Thank you for responding suzanna1. My name is Alicia and I posted this question for my boyfriend in hopes to find something, anything to help him.
In regards to your question about him having excessive gas, he does not. And about what you said about gluten made me come back to something we’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Celiacs disease runs in his family. His Aunt has it and now his sister has it and recently his sister was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism which made me start thinking his headaches could be triggered either by Celiacs-like symptoms or something related to his thyroid.
Sometimes I even wonder if he may have Celiac disease however he has none of the symptoms which you would find in a patient with Celiacs. He has no digestive problems or anything like that.
How do doctors treat your thyroid problems? And how would you describe your headaches?
This is very helpful because I think once I tell him I found someone else who has been going through some of the same things he’ll be excited to find he’s not the only one.
Thank you again. – Alicia
In regards to your question about him having excessive gas, he does not. And about what you said about gluten made me come back to something we’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Celiacs disease runs in his family. His Aunt has it and now his sister has it and recently his sister was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism which made me start thinking his headaches could be triggered either by Celiacs-like symptoms or something related to his thyroid.
Sometimes I even wonder if he may have Celiac disease however he has none of the symptoms which you would find in a patient with Celiacs. He has no digestive problems or anything like that.
How do doctors treat your thyroid problems? And how would you describe your headaches?
This is very helpful because I think once I tell him I found someone else who has been going through some of the same things he’ll be excited to find he’s not the only one.
Thank you again. – Alicia
that sounds exactly like what i have.... and i have seen almost all of those people but i was recently reading something on this sight i was going to try.. it seemed like it all made sense.. http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/migraine.htm you should read this and then message me and tell me what you think.... and they also told me that i have a thyroid problem and i am taking the medication for it but it doesnt seem to help at all. and also i did the same thing with the diet... one girl said that i may have a gluten sensativity and so i tried cutting out breads and gluten and i started to feel better.. so i started researching all this stuff and came to the conclusion its my diet... something is off... do you have a lot of gas also..? i think my intestinal tract is all off and needs to be fixed... i have had this problem for ten years though.. i am going insane.. please message me it would feel nice to talk to someone who also has the same problem
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