Anxiety and head problems

[anxietyellie]

Does anyone else have head issues and have been told that it is anxiety?  I am about tired of this constant head pressure/pain that I keep getting.  Its very weird.  I will wake up in the morning and feel ok, then about 1/2 hour later this pressure/pain will start on the left side of my head near the top.  It will seem to intensify and then lessen itself throughout the day with no real rhyme or reason to when it is worse or better.  If I ignore it and go about my business it seems to get slightly better but if I acknowledge it.. it seems to get worse.  Is this all from anxiety?  I am so worried that it is something so serious.  I have seen 4 different doctors and had blood work and urinalysis done and always given anxiety as diagnosis.  I am currently taking lexapro for about 3 weeks now.. seems to help a little but annoying head pressure/pain will not seem to go away.  Does anyone have any advice?

[anxietyellie]

Not that anyone posted a response to this ... but if you guys are curious how I turned out .. so far so good.  I've been taking the Lexapro for about 6 weeks now and I am really starting to feel good.  My head pressure is so mild that it is almost gone.  Sometimes I don't even notice it at all so that is good news.  I am going places and I am spending time with friends and family again.  No longer am I thinking about death constantly.  I won't lie and say I don't but its not nearly as bad as it was.  I'm sure that if my head pressure I was feeling was due to a brain tumor or some serious head issue.. I wouldn't be doing better.  I'm sure I would be feeling the same or worse.  My appetite is back in full force and according to my last lab workup, all is well.  Good Luck to the rest of you struggling with anxiety.  Its good to know that there are people here to listen.

[benzina]

Im glad to read your doing better...our stories sound very similar.  I have also been told that its anxiety...I have serious appetite disturbances too..Im the exact same...if i go about my day then the pain is minimal but if i pay attention to it it gets a lot worse..Sometimes I feel like I will just lose my mind or become horribly ill at any moment...I feel like the pain in my head is related to a physical problem that has yet to be diagnosed...Isn't that crazy?  BTW did you have an MRI?  Well just wanted to respond to u and hope that things are still going well for you...Good luck..

[anxietyellie]

No I did not go for an MRI.  The doctor I am seeing did not think I needed one.  She said that if I did not respond to the meds that we would further investigate.  Since then I can report that I'm still on the Lexapro and doing quite well.  I am feeling the best I have felt in a long time.  The head pressure is gone.. still have it every now and again but for the most part it is gone.  My anxiety symptoms have really diminished.  I hope that it stays this way.  I saw the doctor today and she did a blood work up on me last week and she said all was well.. so I am holding my head high and hoping this lasts.  Thanks for your post and good luck to you!

[CatApple]

Hi what dose are you on? I just started and day 4 getting that pain in the right side of my temple on and off. I'm taking 5 mg. So far, I feel like myself unlike when I tried Effexor (felt out of it and didn't like it from the get go) but doesn't seem to really be doing anything except the pain in my temple and feeling tired...like someone is pulling the reins on my energy...Thank you!

[frankeee]

I seem to have the same problem. I get a tingle or pressure outside the skull as opposed to a headache, I definetely have anxiety, I went through a strange order where I was overstimulated on viagra and had to go to the ER. They check me out and said I was OK. I then had symptoms of hypoglycimia, which I was told later by my doctor is possible from anxiety from all the adrelin that can be produced during a traumatic event. However I didnt get to see my doctor for over 2 weeks and I went nuts with anxiety,  i actually thought I was hypoglycimic and follow the diet strictly. When I finally saw the doctor they did tons of blood tests and said I wasnt hypoglcimic, Sure enough the symtoms weny away. But I still get the head pressure and I still worry about it. It gets worse if Im stressed or even excited, like if Im laughing hard. But never a serious pain but just always prevelent. I also feel slightly dizzy. Ive been listen to meditation stuff to keep me calm, and I seen a therapist.

Does this sound like your experiences? Where there any side effects for lexapro?  How was you experience with it. Is their a generic? I'll ask my doctor all the details, but I'd appreciate any input.

  

[Megan74]

Hi, I do have anxiety problems. Recently, I experienced tingles, numbness on my toes, feet, hand, face. It all started with tingles on top of my head all of a sudden while on the computer one night. Then woke up with a phone call around 3am one night and noticed my left feet was numb and tingles.  This was last Wednesday. Then Friday, my ears completed got plugged up I could hardly hear only for a few minutes. Since then my ears are more plugged than the usual (I have plugged stuffy ears all the time but not extreme). I also feel nasal discharge back of my nose. The worst was about a week after this past Tuesday night, I had the worst kind of pressure at the top of my head. (I usually do get pressure at top of my head maybe due to the neck problems I have). I never used to get headaches or have these type of pressure until year after a car accident where the car backed up into my door. I was laying on the ground flat for about 4 hours with the pressure I was feeling on the top of my head. For some reason laying flat on my back on the ground was helping the pressure somewhat. I was feeling like my head was going to explode otherwise. Yesterday and last night I did not have the pressure like that, but felt more pressure around my ears and sides than the top of my head. Today I feel pressure and pain all over my head at different spots. Nothing extreme though. I noticed yesterday and right now too, on the left side my cheek feels tingly numb type. I noticed this yesterday when I was sewing buttons with my head a little bit tilted forward even though I try to be careful. I looked on the web and do find a lot about head pressure, but nothing too much about pressure on top of head? Does anyone else have similar feelings? Can this all be stress related? Opening my mouth seems to help the pressure I feel temporarily with my ears and laying down seems to help with the head pressure. I always find that helpful when my neck bothers me and I get a lot of pressure in the neck area as well. Could this all be related to just stress and muscular tension? The extreme pressure on top of head?
Please help.
Thank you. Wishing everyone a very long life as well as health and happiness.
Megan.

[Megan74]

I forgot to add, I've had balance problems for many years now. I've had three times really bad where I had problem walking without holding on to the walls. The only thing that would help was to just look ahead. Nothing of this sort recently thought. It's been over a year since I had anything like this. The doctor tells me that my eustachian tubes don't function well, but other than that he also says I have anxiety. He doesn't say anything else, so basically this is all I've been told over the years that is over 6 years maybe. The posting I have before this is something recent though. That is within the last week. My balance problem is of type where I feel like I'am in a boat.
Thank you again. Best wishes to everyone.

[annie25]

Reading this page has made me feel so much better. I suffer severe anxiety and have constant pressure in my head. I convince myself that i have a tumour or something. It takes over my life

[Lightning28]

I have a panic and anxiety disorder.  I get all kings of head feelings..pressure, ear plugs, ringing, constant buzz, balance, no headaches though..but feel like in the clouds.  I've been doing very well until the last couple of weeks and it all hit again.  This time dizzy and vertigo.  My doctor says I don't need a MRI but I asked for one anyways.  Had it done today - with the panic attack.  I shook like a wet dog and twitched, sweated, palpatations, got very dizzy.  Almost fell off the table when I was done cuz I got vertigo and off balanced.  I looked like a drunk.  Told the tech I have anxiety to explain myself.  Now its going to me and 0.5mg Ativan until I get my results back.  It doesn't take much to activate the anxiety.  Its a long healing process but with time it will get better.  I think we're just looking for a medical solution cuz its hard to grasp that strictly anxiety can do all of this.

[leftmyhrtinnyc]

I know how everyone feels! I'm a 23 year old female who is VERY healthy. no major problems at all. i have recently had a very stressful point in my life. i am getting married in 4 weeks, and my ex boyfriend and i just went through a horrible custody battle with our son. and on top of that i had my first medical scare of my life. my last pap came back abnormal and the ob gyn did a colposcopy and a biopsy. everything came back fine but that night i seemed to have a panic attack, which i have had before. but this was weird. its been almost a week now and i've seen 3 different doctors, even went to the ER two days in a row! they all said it was anxiety. my grandmom has battled panic attacks for her whole life basically. but its impossible for me to believe that anxiety can do this to a person physically. i seriously feel as though I'm dying. and sometimes its worse than others so i take half of my .50 xanex. it seems to get better but the pressure in my head never seems to completely go away. my ekg, blood work, urine test, and xrays all came back normal but now i feel as if i need to go get an mri or something just to see if i have a tumor or  something else terminal. i know it sounds crazy but i'm freaking out and can't relax or think about anything else. i havent even been to work all week! its so NOT like me to miss work. Someone PLEASE HELP! :)

[james052584]

I believe this tingly/pressure in head is related to xanax! do the sensations subside while the xanax is in your bloodstream ?

[pauline258]

After reading your post I swear you are descibing me to a tea and the only thing you didn't mention is the pressure on my head like I am wearing a helmut. I have had the balance problems, vertigo 3 bad attackes over the last several years.  I also noticed that when I get nervous about things (meeting, going out to dinner etc I feel more off balance than anything). Can you tell me what your outcome has been, anyone else out there is welcome to comment as well. I find that Clorazapam (not sure of the spelling) has helped me greatly and I only take it when I need it.

[Tashad321]

I have that exact feeling on the right top side of my head. it feels numb or like there's alot of pressure. but if i don't think about it, it goes away. but i've obsessed over it for days now and it's not going away. i have no other symptoms of anything wrong. just the head numbness

[abelito]

i have anxiety as well and i wonder if i will ever get bettter its been a month already and im scared to even go out

[Godsangel90721]

This is so funny and strange that we all are experiencing the same things.  This has truly interrupted my life, but I have hope!  I actually am self employed but havent truly worked in a few weeks thank
God for my husband.
I am a 27 year old female and had anxiety problems years ago but went away with prayer, and taking control and refocusing my thoughts...
I also must add that my 2 of my sisters and my cousin has suffered with the exact same things at some point or another in their lives  which kind of eases my mind.
But what brought about a new fear was when I suddenly became ill after about a week after having a massive panic attack from having too much caffeine (mixture of Green Tea fat burners, cold medicine (because I caught a bit of the flu from my son and Midol (for cramps)).   I know awful combination of OTC meds I was so busy and guess trying to kill myself without knowing it lol! But seriously, the panic attack I had was ABSOLUTELY terrifying I had my son in the car with me traffic was congested and was on my way to meet a client at the office and had the flip out of my life which I had not experienced in years.  They called the ambulance and I realized that I had a full blown panic attack. I was released and actually it was kind of funny after the fact.
*Its also important to note that I was under a lot of stress working so much and marital stress when all of this came upon me.  & I am not the stress out type of person but some stresses we do internalize without realizing it until later.
Ive seen serveral docs and specialists my primary doc was not very helpful just wanted to put me on antidepressants.  Ive been on anti-inflammatory med (Mobic) by my neurologists who ordered my MRI I even saw my obgyn which did discover that I had a sort of large ovarian cyst which she told me not to worry and put me on birth control pills.  I have been to the ER about 3 times, had several ultrasounds, chest xrays 3 ekgs blood work and all has been normal.
Now below I will list my symptoms that Ive had for about the past 2 months now on and off and at one point and time or another during this duration:
in between my big toe of my left foot is numb when I wake up some mornings
eyefloaters--seeing black spider looking things that appear and vanish
burning and tingling in my legs-temporary
chills-which was only temporary
shaky hands
left leg twitching and my right leg as well
twitching when I sleep or at a resting state
loose bowels
frequent urination (not too bad it just seems that I go more than I use to)
insomnia (interrupted sleep) and inability to stay sleep all night without waking
head ache and pressure mainly on my right side or in the back of my head and forehead which has terrified me making me think I have a brain tumor and or aneurysm or something else seriously wrong with me which finally caused me to see a neurologist and he ordered me to get a MRI and xrays.  I finally did get a MRI yesterday which I had an anxiety attack when they put me on the machine (but dont panic nothing to be afraid of) which I am freaking out about now waiting on the results but am trying to relax and not think about it.  Its great to have a support system when going through this I have a wonderful patient husband and family because I've really been freaking out because of all these sudden onset on symptoms, Ive had anxiety with some similar symptoms in the past but not as bad as what I have experienced in the past few months.
Also I must mention that I have sinus and allergy problems and am seeing an ENT doc and she has me on Allerx which seems to help. Like I said I notice that we all have similarities in symptoms and I know Ive said a lot, but let's all follow up with our doc and try and stay positive and not think the absolute worst I have a strange feeling that we all are experiencing physical systoms of ANXIETY but I will keep you posted on my results lets just pray that all is well!

[scoobydoo1]

hey there i have some of the symptoms you have been having. please let me know how your MRI went? i have already had a CT scan ages ago which showed nothing BUT then i read and heard in several places that a normal non-contrast ct scan sometimes misses aneurysms.
please let me know your results.
thanks and God bless you!

[dayreader]

Hello, My name is jason and i recently turned 30. I never had a panic attack until a couple of weeks ago. I was just sitting at my computer thinking about being 30 and how people usually get health problems at that age and higher....then all of a sudden i was freaking out...i couldnt breathe and my heart was going crazy. not to mention i almost passed out....The following days after were rough, everytime i thought about the attack i could feel my lungs tighten and it was hard to catch my breath....well now the breathing thing is gone and in jumps head pressure....Im fine when im laying down or sitting still...but 30minutes after im up and begain doing things around house it hits me....Whats up with that...All i have to do is think about it and its right thier....weird how the brain works.....

[702]

you will be fine its just axiaty no illness just relax it will go away .when you dont relax you dont let your blood circulate witch is where the numbness comes in. calm down tell your self im normal just like every one eles ignore your breathing dont pay attention to your breathing cause then your axiaty keeps going breath free get comterble what ever it is thats bothering you ingnor and see how you axiaty goes away breath in a paper bag buy some chamamile tea its calming or take a zen the numbness and pain and what ever will leave when you relax be happy think positive be around people that make you feel happy belive me i know about axiaty

[KDBanks]

I have suffered from anxiety for almost 3 years now. I also get what is like pains in either side of my head that will just come and then go real quickly..they freak me out I'm always thinking that I have a brain tumor or anerysm...last night I had the really bad and through myself into an attack thinking that I was dying. I have a friend who also suffers from anxiety and I called her and she reminded me that anxiety will cause the pains in the head because she gets them also..after talking to her for almost an hour on the phone they began to go away..I haven't been on my cymbalta for almost a year because I just had a babyboy a week ago and I wouldn't take the meds while pregnant so I kinda had to suffer through them. But I had the doc put me back on it..I haven't started it yet but I think I'm gonna start today. I feel for everyone that suffers from this "disease" because sometimes it feels like it controls your life...

[pokerface166]

hi
it nice to hear that there others getting the same symptoms as me,im a 42 year old male it all started 7months ago i stood up and went completly dizzy to the point where everything was blurred and couldnt focus at the same time i got real bad heart palpitations and the blood drained from me and i was shaking,after a while it passed but since then ive been left with the strangest symptoms which seem to change a lot i would get pressure in my neck and head and feel like something was crawling around in my brain,i also get really bad dizzyness to the point where i think im going to pass out but never do i also get heart palpitations and tingly crawly feelings in my arms and legs.i have been to my doctors about 6 times with this now and im so frustrated when im told that all it is,is anxiety,ive had blood tests blood pressure ekgs,and 24hour ekg's but i still get told theres nothing wrong because i feel that something bad is wrong with me..the most worrying thing for me is the head dizzyness that can last for hours,i dont feel like im in control,it leaves me with really tired itchy eyes for some reason and very down...can anyone give me some advice

[Sara490]

Hi all. I too am glad I found this forum. Maybe I can find some calming words of wisdom here. I am a 30 year old female and I have been experiencing all kinds of symptoms for about 8 months. It started with these weird headaches. It was more of an intense pressure sensation, like someone was squeezing my temples and I couldn't see straight. They lasted 15-20 minutes and then completely went away. These sound much like the pressure sensation that others have been describing.

One night, I freaked out that I was having heart palpitations and I went to the ER. Diagnosis was "near syncope" and "dehydration". They took blood, gave me a cortisone shot and IV fluids, and discharged me.

The headaches continued and got worse. Eventually they were constant and the intense pressure was paired with a dull, aching, pain that spread from my neck all the way through my scalp and to my forehead. I saw an ENT doctor to check my sinuses and he said the sinuses were clear and I was having tension headaches. The headaches continued. I went to a neurologist and he said that I had occipital neuralgia. He recommended that I get a brain MRI and have my eyes checked just to be sure. Both the eye exam and MRI came out normal. Strangely, after seeing him and having the tests, the headaches seemed to get better. I still got them ocassionally, but they didn't really bother me and I seemed to be doing a lot better. This "remission" lasted about 3 months.

Then, about a month ago, I started getting the headaches again. This time the pain and pressure was worse. I also noticed I was getting short of breath and felt like there was a lump in my throat and that my respiratory system was paralyzed. I went to see another neurologist and he said the headaches were migraines. He prescribed a migraine medicine. I took it a few times and it never helped. About a week after seeing him, the headaches went away again!

As soon as the headaches went away, I began to have leg pain in my left calf and thigh mostly. Sometimes the pain is in the right leg too, but much more noticeable in the left leg. It is spontaneous and doesn't matter if I'm laying down or standing. .At the same time my leg pain started, I began to feel short of breath again. I will start to feel like it is very hard to breath and there is a lump in my throat. I also have tightness in my jaw muscles and feel like my tongue is paralyzed as well. Now, my chest and back hurt with an intermittent, stabbing pain. I am so worried I have deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. I keep checking the symptoms and forums over and over. I almost went to the ER tonight because I started to have trouble breathing and felt like I was wheezing and the back pain started right at the level of my lungs. The acute attack has gone away but I'm still having chest pain and back pain. I'm freaking out that I have blood clots in my lungs!

I don't know what to do anymore because these episodes are taking over my life. My husband doesn't understand at all and it is certainly affecting our relationship. I am trying to get in to see a counselor in the next few weeks so I can have somebody to talk to. I feel so alone and scared. I really don't want to go to the ER or to the doctor every week. But I'm scared that something is happening to me. Why do I have such random pains and why do I have all the symptoms that go along with something bad? I keep telling myself that it's because it may truly be something bad and that I shouldn't ignore it.

What makes matters worse is that I have a medical background. I don't know if I should be taking myself seriously anymore and what to do about it.........

[Sam090183]

Hello I'm 26 and suffering health anxiety I get tingly sensations across my head and stabbing pains in different places they only last 4 a second but really worry me. Last nite I came across a website that has given me alot of hope that things will get better the website is www.thelindenmethod.co.uk hope this helps

[prissychrissy83]

I have the head pressure to in the sides on the top even in my face, its all anxiety symptoms , I am 26 years old and have learned over the years that anxiety can take your life away until you fight to get it back, it will make u feel like ur dying it will make u feel the worse I for years struggled like I was the only one out there with this problem but I'm not. I used to get so scared I would judt prepare myself for death but with the lord by myside and a good doctor u can be happy! I'm on 3 halves of .5 xanax a day and a antidepressant I jsut started but after reading this is have faith its going to work!

[kazza367]

im 39 started having anxiety at 21 then had agraphobia for 4 years that passed but ive always has anxiety, i could control this up until last week, i was ill with the flu was sooooo dizzy so now i think im goin to pass out. My symptoms are cloudy vision, dizzyness, shakes very bad, sweaty everything, and just panic panic panic. My head at the base of my neck upwards is always heavy and it feels like its being stretched, i can tell you ive been to so many doctors and ITS ANXIETY i know this because when i was 21 this happened to me before, i suppose we have all just got to carry on go out and do what we have to do, we can only change ourselves nobody else. Ive been to my gp and im now on a COGNATHEAPY course over the phone hope this helps, just done sit there and think about it cus it will get worse, think to yourself you will not die you are ok

[cjoynson]

Happy to hear that the weird/tight sensations in my head is just anxiety.
All of you know that anxiety is terrifying and sometimes you just feel like your going to die. As Kazza367 said you are not going to die. You are safe. Think positively and dont let anxiety control your like remember you are in CONTROL. best wishes