Persistent headache with anxiety (Depressed, please help)

[SparkyIreland]

Hi, first of all sorry in advance for such a long post. I would be very grateful with any help or info that you can give me as I am becoming more and more depressed everyday. Please read through my post and offer any advise you can

Ok my headache History :

Roughly two years ago I had a severe headache that lasted a few hours, with it I had numbness to my face, confusion, difficulty reading and general concentration problems (Typically bad migraine I know). After this migraine I had severe depression that lasted a week, It was the worst week of my life, anyway since the severe episode of depression  passed  I developed  a persistent dull headache, it would last anything from a week to 2 weeks at a time with brief periods of relief in between. The dull headache was also accompanied by a pulse like headache in a specific spot on the left side of my head. I also suffered from severe anxiety when the persistent headache was present, but I never informed my family doctor of this. Other symptoms with the headache included an overwhelming feeling of unwell  and bad colour, I generally just looked sick, my Mum that knows me only too well would regularly comment on me looking pale and ill.

I visited my doctor and asked him for a referral to a neurologist, on first meeting with him after listening to my headache symptoms he concluded that this was a form of constant migraine that wasn’t coming to a head. He done basic checks like checked my eyes and co-ordination etc which were fine. He put me on a half inderal beta blocker 80mg, and aspirin. The combination did help but did not take away the headache, it did help my anxiety, but again I did not mention to the neurologist that anxiety was a problem for me (Don’t know why).

I returned to the neurologist and he then changed my medication to amitriptyline which if anything made the headache worse, an overall pulsating headache is the only way I can describe it. On my return to the Dr he was surprised that the amitriptyline did not cure my headache, he then suggested an MRI which I was more than glad to have as I was convinced there was a problem, result? MRI Normal. My neurologist then suggested doubling the dosage of the amitriptyline, I decided against this and did not return to him, I went on with my life as normal as possible medication free. There were actually times I felt good during that next year or so, but still I  suffered from the persistent headache and anxiety too often.

As the headaches started to get worse more recently (Last few months) I dicided to visit an ENT Dr. I had a CT scan the next day and the results came back with my right nostril blocked, he told me that there was no infection but my nose had inflammation, he suggested surgery, I told him that I would go away and think about it. The cost of the operation is not an issue as it is covered under my medical insurance anyway, it’s the thought of going through the operation and it not making a difference that is putting me off. It seems that all the doctors I visit either want to just give me meds or operate on me rather than trying to find out what is causing the headaches or what is causing the inflammation. Anyway after a bit of research on the net I found out about nasal irrigation and decided to give that a go, and after a few weeks of doing it daily using a neti pot it actually helped a little, and without trying to turn stomachs there were a couple of times after blowing my nose there were a lot of really thick brownish mucus that came out of my nose, it honestly felt like it was up there for a few years.

Right anyway..now at this minute the persistent headache is back just like it was a couple of years ago, identical headache and the anxiety with it. The pulstating headache is there accompanying it just as before also with the only difference being that it occasionally will move to the right side of my head.

I need advise as to where to go from here? What tests would you recommend I have? What should I be asking my Dr to do? I am willing to do anything or try anything to feel even half better than I am now.

I will list a full list of my Symtoms :

Persistent headache (Pressure like, all over)
Pulsating headache (Mostly left sided, same place for 2 years)
On only a few occasions a striking like headache left and right sided, short and sudden.
Stiff neck with muscle pain (More so lately)
Anxiety and the pleasures with it  (Fear of death, teeth grinding, constantly bite my nails or shakig my feet etc when the headache is present)

Nose (Inflammation of one nostril, and I noticed recently that this changes throughout the day, say in the morning my right nostril is completely blocked and left one clear, at a later stage in the day it can be my left nostril is completely blocked and my right one clear, I did not mention this to the ENT Dr at the time)

Occasional ear pain and general ear problems including :

Buzzing, pressure in the ears while lying down, feeling of blockage in my left ear, pressure like pulse in my left ear, brief pauses in hearing in my left ear, and another hard to explain thing is as if at times my hearing seems to suddenly change direction if I am sitting in a quiet room.

I did mention my ear problems to the ENT Dr, he looked in my ears and said they look fine and seemed to totally dismiss them as being a problem. Probably just titinus I think his words were.

Eyes (In the last few weeks I have had pulse like pain in my left eye)

Known allergies (Animals, dust) I have never been tested though.

Also I am 27 year old male, I have recently had blood pressure tested and an ECG, both fine.

Again sorry for the long post, I don’t know what to do or where to go from here, this is seriously getting me down, I feel terrible most days, I try to put on a brave face for my family and I work hard, I now just need to get myself feeling better, help me if you can.

Many thanks for your time

[SparkyIreland]

Thank you for the replies.

My last visit to the ENT specialist was quite recently, he dismissed my ears as being a problem, I feel that he was wrong though and maybe should have looked into it further and listened to my symptoms more clearly.

He suggested an operation to clear my nose blockage, and by looking at the CT scan he concluded that there was no signs of infection, he said that the blockage was inflammation.

And typical the persistent headache was not present today, the one sided headache didn’t make an appearance to late afternoon. Trying to figure out what is triggering both  headaches is driving me mad.

I will probably go on a strict diet as of tomorrow to rule out food allergies, and avoid caffeine.

My neck today is probably worse than normal , and I have also noticed that if I apply any sort of pressure to my temples they are painful.

I have also noticed that my left  eyelid is drooping lower than my right, what this would mean I don’t know, maybe a result of the left sided headache.

Dr do you think there is any tests I should request from my Dr, is there such a thing as a general blood test to be tested for most things?

Again thank you for the replies, thank you Dr for answering so quickly on this busy forum, and beffqwerty will be sure to let you know if I find out whats wrong with me, sure keep in touch.

Goodluck

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi,

Based on your post, your condition seems to be focused on the ears. At this point, a new onset ear condition has to be ruled out. This seems to be an ENT condition and I suggest that you seek consult with your ENT specialist for further work up. Your sinuses and nasal passages need to be assessed. Blockage and infections of these structures may cause headaches.

It is possible that there is an overlying migraine or tension headache. Migraine headaches are given as a diagnosis when all other conditions have been ruled out. In your case, the scans and laboratory examinations came back normal. Tension headaches manifest as pain in both sides of the head with associated neck and shoulder tightness.

I know you are anxious about this but there seems to be a focus for your headache and it is something that should guide management. An ear and sinus problem have to be ruled out first. I suggest you try to learn relaxation exercises and seek alternative forms of medicine to supplement medical therapy. I understand you are deeply worried about this but unnecessarily worrying will only further aggravate the condtion

When was your last ENT follow up?

[beffqwerty]

Hi there, i know exactly how you feel, i have all of these symptoms apart from the nose blockage is only every few weeks. I'm on amitriptyline and its not helping much at all :( If you find any solution please tell me!! :)