Anxiety causing neck pain and eye problems

[gloz57]

Since the latter part of Dec. I've been having some eye symptoms.  They felt very dry and irritated.  Went to the opthalmologist and he told me that my eyes were fine just extremely dry. He prescribed me an eyedrop to use for the irritation.  In the first part of Jan. I began having headaches that I thought were migraines.  My left eye was the one bothering me.  I get really anxious over my eye.  I have a friend that was diagnosed with Sixth Nerve Palsy and she had been having eye tearing, temporal swelling, and a constant headache. They say she had a stroke.  This really freaks me out because I'm having headaches that feel like a band around my head, my eyes blurr and feel weird and tired, light sensitivity, and sore.  I'm also having a lot of neck and  shoulder soreness. Also I have burning feeling in my head at times and it gets worse with anxiety.  I was wondering if this sounds like anxiety to you.  Sometimes it doesn't happen, but it really comes on when I get worried or anxious.  My opthalmologist, after the second visit to him, prescribed Restasis for the dry eyes.  He told me that it'd take 2 months for it to start acting so he gave me a mild steroid eye drop to help it along.  It's abbreviation is FML.  I've been using these two drops for about a month now.  Also, using the computer makes the eyes worse.  I  hope someone can answer me soon and let me know if they have any problems due to anxiety like this.  I was diagnosed with anxiety when I was only 8 years old.  Went many years being just fine.  I'm now 52 years and possibly going through menopause too.  I take one .50mg of Xanax per day.

[StormyRenee]

Hi,
I have alot of the same issues as you. But I also get a feeling of pressure behind my right eye. My face will also burn and go numb/tingly too.My right side of my face will droop slightly.I will also have numbness and tingling in my extremities too. My migraines will mimic stroke. I have actually been diagnosed with migraine with aura ,migraine eqivalents ( hemiplegic & acephalgic )and low Vitamin D. I also have Anxiety and OCD to make matters worse.My neuro told me that it is common to have migraines/anxiety/OCD all at the same time.

Have you seen a neurologists? If you have not you need to! Migraines are very complicated and need to treated by a specialists.

I had a brain MRI,Evoked potentiels and Lumbar Puncture.Those are pretty much the standard neurological disorder diagnostic tools .
I am scheduling an appt with an opthamologist next week just to make sure that my eyes are not a contributing factor.
Good Luck and Take Care.

[mammo]

Anxiety has many forms and you certainly have reason enough to have a lot of anxiety.  I know what you mean about the side effects of the medications, I have a few but they are nothing compared to my depression, so I guess I've chosen the lesser of two evils.  There are two particular things that have helped me a lot.  Breathing exercises, where you slowly breathe in thru your nose, hold it for a couple if seconds and slowly release it out the mouth.  Do these 8 to 10 times when you feel real anxious. Our breathing becomes more shallow when we have a lot of anxiety, and this can cause the lightheadiness, and dizziness.  I also used the "rubber band" therapy, which at first I thought was a bit hokey but was willing to try anything.  You put a rubber band on your wrist and every time you start to worry or have a negative thought (like something is wrong with your eye)  snap it, and snap it hard.  It will sting, but it stops the thought process.  At first you're snapping like crazy, and then after a week or two you realize that you're not doing it nearly as much, and also not having the anxiety level, or as many bad thoughts.  I know a lot of people who have tried this simple therapy, and it does work! It helped me tremendously with my worrying and negative thoughts.  You may also want to look at the Xanax to be sure it's not causing you any side effects.  You have a lot on your plate, but bless your heart for doing all you do for your family. They are truly blessed to have you.  Now you also need to take care of you.  Take care, and we're always here for support.

[gloz57]

Thanks for responding.  I've had issues similar to this before and all the drs. tell me is that I have anxiety.  I have tried some antidepressants and they just increase my anxiety.  Can't stand all the head burning, ears ringing, and feeling so weird.  I don't stay on the computer too long at a time. The opthalmologist assured me that my headaches were not caused by my eyes.  He's told me that I have extremely dry eyes and allergies.  It's weird because it was about the same time last year that I started with the same type symptoms.  They finally went away.  Of course, that was when I was first prescribed the Xanax.  The nurse practitioner that I saw thought my headaches and weird eye problems were due to stress.  My mother has leukemia (remission at present) and I have a handicapped brother that I also care for.  I just have this terrible anxiety and it's usually this time of the year.  I do see a chiropractor and she has told me in the past that she can just feel the anxiety coming off of me.  I do have some neck issues and usually after an adjustment or even if someone massages my neck and shoulders it makes it feel better.  I do get anxious about health problems and I really freak when it's something to do with my eyes.  I do keep telling myself that there will be a better day ahead.  I'm just waiting for it.

[mammo]

Well at least you know that the dry eyes is a real medical issue. A lot of your symptoms go along with having a migraine, but can also be brought on by anxiety. When you saw your opthalmologist did he examine your eyes?  It could be eye strain from staring at the computer.  I think when we are very anxious over one particular  thing, we dwell on that part of the body and notice every little thing.  I would talk to your doctor to make sure everyhting is fine and then see a psychiatrist for therapy and/or medication.  He can teach you coping, and relaxation techniques, and get to the root of your anxiety, which will help a lot.  Your hormones being out of whack, can cause some of this also.  I would find out what is being caused by the menopause, and get a check-up.  Then if you and your doctor feel it is anxiety, address this. There is a lot of help for this, so don't stress about it, you will get thru it.  Take care.