It sounds like the headaches are getting beyond just bothersome. Headache can come with a variety of other symptoms also, some of which you are describing. The best person to see is a neurologist specializing in headache, or at a headache center, such as the Cleveland Clinic Headache Center. They can differentiate benign from non-benign headache and provide appropraite treatment for both the headache and the other symptoms.
I had gone to the Hospital because I had recently had stroke like symptoms and was developing extreme dizziness. All my tests came back normal for the most part. But the neurologist I went to thought to check my blood pressure. And thought I fit the bill for POTS. POTS is not well known yet. I was lucky that I went to a neurologist who was familiar with POTS. He started me on medicine that helped a lot. My Neurologist had me record my blood pressure standing, sitting, and laying flat. You might do that also and keep a record of it for a while and then show your doctor and ask to see a Neurologist. "POTS is defined by excessive heart rate increments upon upright posture. A person with POTS will experience heart rates that increase 30 beats or more per minute upon standing and/or increase to 120 beats or more per minute upon standing" (Grubb, 2000). You might also check out the Dysautonomia Information network (www.dinet.org) I have found it to be very help full. It was nice to hear others similar experience to mine. I didn't feel as alone anymore.
Hang in there!!
veryperry
PS. Here are some of the symptoms that can come with Postural orthostatic tackycardia syndrome:
# Tachycardia (Grubb, 2000)(rapid heart rate)
# Lightheadedness (Grubb, 2000)
# Dizziness (Grubb, 2000)
# Palpitations (Grubb, 2000)
# Exercise intolerance (Grubb, 2000)
# Blurred Vision (Grubb, 2000)
# Chest discomfort and/or pain (Grubb, 2000)
# Clamminess (Grubb, 2000)
# Fainting or near fainting (Grubb, 2000)
# Anxiety (Grubb, 2000)
# Flushing (Grubb, 2000)
# Fatigue (Grubb, 2000) (which can be disabling)
# Headache/migraine (Grubb, 2000)
# Shortness of breath (Grubb, 2000)
# Postprandial hypotension (Grubb, 2000) (low blood pressure after meals)
# Blood pooling in limbs (Grubb, 2000) (can make legs feel heavy and appear mottled and purple in color)
# Intolerance to heat (Grubb & Karas, 1999)
# Feeling cold all over (Grubb & Karas, 1999)
# Low blood pressure upon standing (Grubb, Kosinski, Boehm & Kip, 1997) (Some physicians feel orthostatic hypotension is a separate entity from POTS)
# Bloating after meals (Grubb et al., 1997)
# Cognitive impairment (Grubb et al., 1997) (may include difficulties with concentration, brain fog, memory and/or word recall)
# Delayed gastric emptying (Grubb et al., 1997)
# Polyuria (Jacob & Biaggioni, 1999) (excessive urination)
# Diarrhea (Jacob & Biaggioni, 1999) (sometimes with alternating constipation)
# Narrowing of upright pulse pressure (Jacob & Biaggioni, 1999)
# Tremulousness (Low, Opffer-Gehrking, Textor, Benarroch, Shen, Schondorf, Suarez & Rummans, 1995)
# Tunnel vision (Low et al.)
# Sleep disorders (Low et al.) (can cause unrefreshing sleep and an increased need for sleep)
# Cold hands (Low et al.) (and often feet & nose)
# Loss of sweating (Low et al.)
# Hypovolemia (Low et al.) (low blood volume)
# Chills (Low et al.)
# High blood pressure (Low et al.)
# Hyperventilation (Low et al.)
# Numbness or tingling sensations (Low et al.)
# Generalized weakness (Low et al.)
# Reduced pulse pressure upon standing (Low et al.)
# Low back pain (Mathias, 2000)
# Aching neck and shoulders (Mathias, 2000)
# Excessive sweating (Robertson, 2000)
# Nausea (Robertson, 200
I've tried pretty much everything. I've been to two chiropractors, 2 neurologists, all tpes of regular Dr's. I had two MRI's. X-Rays, CT Scan. All types of medications. I went to two ENT's to see if it is an inner ear problem; all tests turned out fine. I went the Sansum Clinic and they couldn't figure it out. I had a sleep study done to see if i have some sleep disorder. Everything turned out fine there too. I feel for everyone in this forum. There has to be answeres out there somewhere. We just need to keep looking.
I STRONGLY feel that your problem is in fact anxiety disorder- it is a chemical issue in your body that can be treated with an antianxiety medicine. You will have to get in to see a psychiatrist/psychologist doctor as they are the only ones who will probably prescribe the medicine for you. My daughter is also 14 and has been on Paxil for a couple years now. She had the same exact problems and was having panic attacks 3x a day and even at school causing quite a problem. She is now symptom free and getting all A's in school. It does not change her behavior or anything else. Its a tiny little pill and she is totally normal now. I am so thankful to her doctor for prescribing it to her. This started when she was 9! We went to the emergency room 3x and many other doctor tests. Its simply Anxiety/panic disorder. It also is hereditary. Do you worry a lot? Does your parents or one of them seem to be a worrier too? Lots of worry sets up the chemicals in your body for this to happen.. Anyhow, you will be better once you get on something like Paxil. I would reccommend this medicine over the others but I hear the others are good too. Also, her doctor told her to NOT stop taking it and that it is called a 'maintenance drug' with no long term side affects or problems. Email me at briank226@yahoo to talk more about it if you want, or to have your parents email me too. You're not crazy. But you might feel like you are!
TTFN
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((("Part 4 : Hyperventilation (overbreathing) and other panic attack symptoms
Now we're going to take a look at hyperventilating (or overbreathing), which causes, or makes many panic attacks worse. It can be counted amongst panic attack symptoms, or amongst causes, as one 'feeds' off the other.
About 60% of attacks are accompanied by hyperventilation and many panickers overbreathe even whilst relaxed.
The most important thing to understand about hyperventilation is that although it can feel as if you don't have enough oxygen, the opposite is true. It is a symptom of too much oxygen.
With hyperventilation, your body has too much oxygen. To use this oxygen (to extract it from your blood), your body needs a certain amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
When you hyperventilate, you do not give your body long enough to retain CO2, and so your body cannot use the oxygen you have. This causes you to feel as if you are short of air, when actually you have too much. This is why the following techniques work to get rid of hyperventilation.
Some hyperventilation and panic attack symptoms are:
Light headiness
Giddiness
Dizziness
Shortness of breath
Heart palpitations
Numbness
Chest pains
Dry mouth
Clammy hands
Difficulty swallowing
Tremors
Sweating
Weakness
Fatigue
Getting Rid of Hyperventilation
Anybody who hyperventilates will find that symptoms of over-excitedness or panic will occur. So how can learn to breathe more evenly and naturally?
Hold your breath. Holding your breath for as long as you comfortably can will prevent the dissipation of carbon dioxide. If you hold your breath for a period of between 10 and 15 seconds and repeat this a few times that will be sufficient to calm hyperventilation quickly.
Breathe in and out of a paper bag. This will cause you to re-inhale the carbon dioxide that you exhaled. Naturally there are many times when this would be inappropriate and may appear a little strange. It really helps though.
Thirdly you can take vigorous exercise while breathing in and out through your nose. A brisk walk or jog whilst breathing through the nose will counter hyperventilation. Regular exercise will decrease general stress levels decreasing the chance of panic attacks.
If you find that your breathing pattern is irregular or uncomfortable a lot of the time, the best way to 'reset' it is by exercising. Start off gradually and check with your doctor if you are not used to exercise.
The 7:11 Breathing Pattern - the opposite of hyperventilation
Finally you can practice a special type of breathing, not into your chest but deep into your tummy or diaphragm which is below your chest. The important thing here is that the out breath must be longer that the in breath. This causes stimulation of the part of your nervous system responsible for relaxation. This is a basic law of biology and if you breathe in this way then your body will have no choice but to relax.
It may take a few minutes but the body will respond regardless of what your mind is thinking. Experience this now. Sit down and close your eyes for a little while. Just become aware of your breathing…and breathe in to the count of seven… and breathe out to the count of eleven. You can hold for a couple of seconds at the bottom of the out breath if that's comfortable for you.
It may be a little difficult at first, but doing this regularly causes your general anxiety level to come down. You may also find that you begin to breathe this way automatically if you feel anxious. Regular relaxation actually starts to inhibit the production of stress hormones in the body so it actually becomes harder and harder to panic. As you become more generally relaxed the 'baseline' of arousal from which you are starting lowers. It actually becomes harder to get stressed!
Hyperventilation responds very well to this technique. If you practice this daily, hyperventilating should cease to be a problem very quickly. It can also give you much more control over panic attacks.
You are hopefully coming to understand that panic attack symptoms are natural physiological reactions. Next, how a panic attack causes the brain to behave in a certain way...")))
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here's the website that helped me understand what's happening.(http://www.panic-attacks.co.uk/panic_attacks_1.htm)
Nothings really helping me, so my last resort is to see my Dr. and hopefully he'll perscribe me something to help with the anxiety.
Any thoughts abour potential diagnosis?
Thank you.
I am concerned.
I was originally diagnossed with PTC in 1994 when I was 24. The Spinal Tap showed that my Cerebrial-Spinal Fluid Pressure (CSF) was 54 cm of water. I was having total vision loss "blackouts" in my right eye. I weighed about 240 lbs and I did have some headaches, but they weren't too bad at the time. I had the surgery called Optic Nerve Sheath (Decompression)Fenstration and my symptoms seemed to disappear. They said I was all better and for years I never thought twice about it.
Until last summer. There were several weeks when it was like 90* even at night. I seriously thought my brain was frying. I was so hot and dizzy and so uncomfortable, I landed in the ER twice. I had the most intense headache of my life and it lasted 2 soild months (and so did my period-which never happens.) It didn't take long for me to remember what that kind of headache felt like, I just had to find a doctor that would believe me and give me a spinal tap. And I did. My CSF was 43 cm in Sept 2005.
This time it is so much different. This time it is really bringing me down. I am 35 now and I weigh 350 lbs. I am a single mom and I am having trouble doing my daily tasks like laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning. I had to take a semester off from school and take a medical leave of absence from my job.
Since Sept 2005 I have been diagnosed (again) with PTC, Diabeties and Sleep Apnea. Also, I have been experiencing problems breathing and the doctors can't seem to figure out why. They have taken X-rays, EKG, Nuclear stress test, Echo, Pulmonary Function test, and they can't find a problem. They have even tested me for Rheumatoid, Lupus, Cancers, etc. It is good to know what I don't have wrong, but until then I have been going crazy!
My problem breathing seems to get worse when my headache is worse, even while resting. Almost as if, when the pressure is building up in my head it is putting pressure on the part of the brain that controls my breathing, makes sense, right? (like Central Sleep Apnea but when you are awake) I am convinced that it has something to do with PTC. Anyway, that's my recent theory, but I'm no doctor, I just know what my body is feeling and that it is REAL.
What I do know is that PTC a rare condition and that it manifests itself differently in each person. Also, these doctors are not GOD'S and they do not have all the answers. We need to be proactive in dealing with our condition and not rely too much on a "miracle cure." Alot can be said for prayer & meditation, diet & exercise, education & support.
www.pseudotumorcerebri.com is made for patients not doctors!
I thought it may have something to do with the consumtion if Aspertame and an researching to see if stoping the use of this will minimize the symptoms.