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Pressure in head
About two and a half months ago all of a sudden I started experiencing high pressure in the front lobe part of the head, the feeling is best described as if the insides are trying to expand, but are contained by the scull (does not feel like a headache, quite different, more emphasis on innards wanting to expand, rather than pain/ache). The area affected by this high pressure feeling is front lobe part of the head, on the same level as eyebrows, from sideburn to sideburn, but mostly it is localized in the two spots, on the left and right side of the head, a funny comparison some place where cow has horns.
This is not necessarily painful, but has a distinct feeling of the insides wanting to expand out. The first month this was VERY apparent, I was distracted from everything happening around me, only being able to concentrate on the feeling of pressure/expansion. During the most severe episodes, the feeling from the two localized parts expanded towards each other, and joined right above the nose. If I was driving in a car, and looked in the rear view mirror, momentarily I would loose my orientation.
As implied above, the pressure sensation was not constant, it was start slow when I woke up, and increase throughout the day, taking a form waves, comes on strong, then lets go a bit, then returns again, sometimes disappearing completely from a few minutes, sometimes disappearing for a few hours even.
Throughout the first month for about 6 days (day here, day there, but not 6 in a row), I experienced loss of visual focus for the entire day. It was as if I was surrounded by light fog. Also throughout the first month, whenever I clutched my jaws together, it felt as if I had some liquid in my ears, but upon doctors check-up, no liquid was found in the ears.
After the initial 6 weeks there were some changes, the pressure decreased on average, the pressure attacks were not as severe, and at times the pressure disappeared for hours. I have noticed that it is often triggered by loud environments, or a busy/stressful workday, but not exclusively, sometimes it could happen right when I woke up in the morning.
After the initial week of this I have contacted my family doctor, thinking that this may be sinus related, since the week before my wife and son have just recovered from a sinus with help of antibiotics. Family doctor suggested to wait 10 days with no treatment to see if the body will recover by itself. After 10 days with no improvements, doctor suggested to take 1 tablet of Apo-Iboprofen 600 twice a day for 2 weeks, this did not help at all. I had CT scan.As I understand nothing abnormal was found. There does appear to be some atherosclerotic calcification within the intracranial portion of the left carotid artery but there is no evidence of previous CVA. The internal audiory canals are unremarkable. OPINION: Negative Study. Please help.
This is not necessarily painful, but has a distinct feeling of the insides wanting to expand out. The first month this was VERY apparent, I was distracted from everything happening around me, only being able to concentrate on the feeling of pressure/expansion. During the most severe episodes, the feeling from the two localized parts expanded towards each other, and joined right above the nose. If I was driving in a car, and looked in the rear view mirror, momentarily I would loose my orientation.
As implied above, the pressure sensation was not constant, it was start slow when I woke up, and increase throughout the day, taking a form waves, comes on strong, then lets go a bit, then returns again, sometimes disappearing completely from a few minutes, sometimes disappearing for a few hours even.
Throughout the first month for about 6 days (day here, day there, but not 6 in a row), I experienced loss of visual focus for the entire day. It was as if I was surrounded by light fog. Also throughout the first month, whenever I clutched my jaws together, it felt as if I had some liquid in my ears, but upon doctors check-up, no liquid was found in the ears.
After the initial 6 weeks there were some changes, the pressure decreased on average, the pressure attacks were not as severe, and at times the pressure disappeared for hours. I have noticed that it is often triggered by loud environments, or a busy/stressful workday, but not exclusively, sometimes it could happen right when I woke up in the morning.
After the initial week of this I have contacted my family doctor, thinking that this may be sinus related, since the week before my wife and son have just recovered from a sinus with help of antibiotics. Family doctor suggested to wait 10 days with no treatment to see if the body will recover by itself. After 10 days with no improvements, doctor suggested to take 1 tablet of Apo-Iboprofen 600 twice a day for 2 weeks, this did not help at all. I had CT scan.As I understand nothing abnormal was found. There does appear to be some atherosclerotic calcification within the intracranial portion of the left carotid artery but there is no evidence of previous CVA. The internal audiory canals are unremarkable. OPINION: Negative Study. Please help.
Hi there, this is really amazing. I thought I was going nuts - I mean, my Dr. kept saying, you are sick - it's just a virus. The pressure came one day in Sept out of no where. I was bending over to get a load of laundry and thought - that was weird. Then later again picking up some toys. That night when I went to bed, I put my head on the pillow and I couldn't even get comfortable - it seemed as if every time I put my head on a new spot that the pressure moved to that spot. I got up and went online - (I wish I had found this site, but all I found was the tumor stuff) - I finally got to sleep but woke up with the dizziness and nasuea and pressure AND a headache - this went on till that evening when I again went to bed and awoke to a bursting sensation in my head - I then got scared and thought it was an anneurism or something. I went to the ER but all tests were fine and they sent me home with my "virus" - I did have a low grade fever and after vomiting, I felt much better for a few minutes. They sent me home with loritab and promethezine. My family took my three small children for a few days and my husband cared for me - I was so scared though (and part of it was the anxiety I am sure) - that I went back to the ER - 2 more times. One Dr. thought it might be menningitis presenting with a low grade fever - (and the lymphs at the base of my next were very inflamed) - but I didn't want the risk of have the spinal tap seeing as how even if it were - there was nothing they could do. (They had already put me on an antibiotic) - So, after three days it was MUCH better and by another week - it was pretty much gone - except for the pressure. It would come and go - less and less each time until finally it was gone. It comes back though, ever so often, with just a small amount of the original pressure. Needless to say I went through all the same tests. CT scans, MRI's, blood tests out the wazoo. The only thing that came up was that I was iron deficient and slightly anemic. But, I have been like that since I was 15 (I am 29). I went on Big iron pills and now that is pretty much back to normal. I developed a schedule sort of. They did every test imaginable and it came back fine. I stopped talking about it to my family because they will just think I am nuts. I am going to a neuro soon - but I don't know why - this is something they can't explain. Stress is a MAJOR cause. I have in-law issues and they were HUGE last week and sure enough, the pressure came. I have never correlated the weather, but thinking now about it, yes - that's corresponds. Also, I mentioned the small children - they all end up coming to bed with me at some point in the night and they each have an arm of mine under their heads and me in some strange position trying to sleep, I have adjusted over the last few years, but that could be the problem - seeing as how USUALLY the pressure hits at night when they are with me -sometimes not - but I also sleep with high high pillows - so who knows. When I switched for a while to one pillow it did get MUCH better. Also, the Loritab seems to help a little - I don't know why - it's not a painful thing. I take a half of one if I feel it coming. I cannot take to promethezine though, I have to care for my babies and I cannot be out of it - that stuff makes me sleepy. I just don't want to get addicted to Loritab and have to depend on that stuff to get me through it when it hits. We have to find a way to LIVE with it and exist with the pressure. If you guys have had it for a while and NONE of us are getting diagnosed with anything FATAL - and that's my biggest concern. I can live with whatever as I long as I can LIVE and raise my babies. I have also gotten closer to God - I know it sounds silly - but hey, the Man that created us surely knows what is going on. He is the only One. I just pray every day and beg God to give me peace and comfort and learn to be happy in whatever state I am in. Sometimes it makes you feel crazy - like why is this happening? Until I found this I thought I was the only one - at least in my close circle who have ever experienced anything like this - so, thanks for sharing your experiences and hopefully this will comfort someone else with "helium head" :) (I also have the jaw cracking thing but I don't know if it's TMJ) If someone gets some new news, please let us know.
I am so glad I found this forum. I suffer the same symptoms of "helium head" it comes and goes with some days being better then others. I notice when I do a cardio work-out it goes away for a while and I feel much better. My question to everyone with this sympton is: Do you suffer from heart palpitations (pvc's/ pac's) also because I suffer from not only helium head but also palpitations- I've been to my cardioligist and he has run all the test and says my heart is fine. Could my palpitation problem be causing the "helium head" symptoms??
I just wanted to say that reading these posts are like stepping into the twilight zone - You people are describing my symptoms exactly.
First of all I would like to share my story. it all started about 3-4 years ago really. Nothing major, just constant blocked nose (swolen turbinates) and a mild pressure headache that I really only noticed when I laid down to go to sleep (went away by morning). Also started noticing some vague foggy-headedness. To tell you the truth, this all seemed to begin around the same time I started lifting weights and doing cardio exercise. However I can't imagine a connection since so many people workout..
Now comes the scary part. I had my wisdom teeth pulled in March of this year ('05) and around the end of April I simply woke up one day with this miserable pressure deep within my head and I had this terrible anxiety for no reason. I went to UAB hospital's ER and had a negative CT (except for one slight anomoly which the doctors didn't tell me about...I'll get to that in a bit).
I have to admit those first couple of months were by far the worst, I wasn't eating and the pain and pressure would wake me up in the middle of the night, with a loud ringing in my ears. I was having dreams that I was actually dead the pain was so bad, yet doctors kept analyzing me with seasonal allergies or depression!
One interesting feature that I must throw in is the dizziness. It comes and goes mysteriously. It won't happen for 2 months then it will start showing up again. It usually lasts 1 day to 1 week at a time, and then mysteriously vanishes for a week or 2 or longer. What happens is the room starts spinning around violently only when I'm laying down, and it doesn't stop spinning until I sit back up. As of the time I'm writing this message, I haven't had the dizziness in nearly 2 months now (thank god!) but unfortunatly it's gone away like this before and come right back.
The pressure in my head is constant. Vague, mild to moderate Nausea is present about 70% of the time. Most of the time I would say the pressure is centered in those sinuses between my eyes, but tension also spreads over my entire forehead and to the top (vertex?) of my head. Also I feel the pressure deep within the center of my head and it feels like there is a cord pulling my brain down into my cervical spine (or a heavy weight is sitting atop my head).
(continued..)
First of all I would like to share my story. it all started about 3-4 years ago really. Nothing major, just constant blocked nose (swolen turbinates) and a mild pressure headache that I really only noticed when I laid down to go to sleep (went away by morning). Also started noticing some vague foggy-headedness. To tell you the truth, this all seemed to begin around the same time I started lifting weights and doing cardio exercise. However I can't imagine a connection since so many people workout..
Now comes the scary part. I had my wisdom teeth pulled in March of this year ('05) and around the end of April I simply woke up one day with this miserable pressure deep within my head and I had this terrible anxiety for no reason. I went to UAB hospital's ER and had a negative CT (except for one slight anomoly which the doctors didn't tell me about...I'll get to that in a bit).
I have to admit those first couple of months were by far the worst, I wasn't eating and the pain and pressure would wake me up in the middle of the night, with a loud ringing in my ears. I was having dreams that I was actually dead the pain was so bad, yet doctors kept analyzing me with seasonal allergies or depression!
One interesting feature that I must throw in is the dizziness. It comes and goes mysteriously. It won't happen for 2 months then it will start showing up again. It usually lasts 1 day to 1 week at a time, and then mysteriously vanishes for a week or 2 or longer. What happens is the room starts spinning around violently only when I'm laying down, and it doesn't stop spinning until I sit back up. As of the time I'm writing this message, I haven't had the dizziness in nearly 2 months now (thank god!) but unfortunatly it's gone away like this before and come right back.
The pressure in my head is constant. Vague, mild to moderate Nausea is present about 70% of the time. Most of the time I would say the pressure is centered in those sinuses between my eyes, but tension also spreads over my entire forehead and to the top (vertex?) of my head. Also I feel the pressure deep within the center of my head and it feels like there is a cord pulling my brain down into my cervical spine (or a heavy weight is sitting atop my head).
(continued..)
(part 2)
After about month #2 and lots of anti biotics, I started having these passing feelings of fright for no reason (in my own freakin' backyard or bedroom). This escalated until I basically felt stoned, or like I was breathing dental happy gas 24/7. One particular annoyance is my difficulty in my eye-to-mind connection. It's hard to explain, but imagine if your significant other, or lets just say the cable guy shows up, when I look at someone's face it is a mental blur and I can't keep focus. Or if I'm watching TV, the moving of the camera overloads my mental senses and hurts my head and eyes til I just have to close my eyes and regain myself.
As a previous poster pointed out, I also feel better for about 1 or 2 hours after doing cardio exercise. Sometimes I think I also feel better during the day before I eat a big meal. Realistically, I liken this to simply being able to cope with the situation better in the morning and when I'm well rested than as the day wears on and I feel worse towards night.
I am now in month #8 or 10 (who's counting after this long), and I have to admit the pain and pressure is more tolerable now, but that doesn't mean that my life is anywhere near normal. I am no longer able to enjoy life at all.
I've had multiple MRI and CT scans. MRA scans of my brain and neck. An EEG. A radionucleotide bonescan of my head, and a ridiculous amount of blood tests, including an arterial blood gas and Lyme disease. All negative, surprise surprise!
I do however have an anomoly that was reported on the CT (the first scan I ever had), which turned out to be an anomoly known as fibrous dysplasia, which is a benign bone tumor of sorts (that is the most likely diagnosis, no biopsy was taken). It also could be a meningioma (less likely). Only one of my doctors, an ENT, even acknowledged this was there, and my neurologist and GP refused to discuss it with me because it was not even reported on the MRI report. All of my doctors have told me that there is a very low chance this is causing my problems (once I finally forced them to admit it was there). I encourage you to go pick up your own MRI films and look at them yourself. I will soon post a link to a scan of my MRI showing this. It is basically a tumor located outside the brain.
To summarize my story: 10 months of 24/7 pressure in head. Odd frontal headrushes. Occasional severe positional dizziness. Nausea most of the time. Heavy headed feeling. Swolen nasal turbinates 24/7.
Relief after cardio exercise
Relief by holding my nose and blowing air into my ears
Refief by putting pressure on the affected areas of my head
(very temporary relief)
In conclusion, I guess we can all be thankful that we know we don't have tumors or other critical ailments. Anyone of you who wants to talk about this more may freely contact me at any time at ***@****, or betteryet I'll check back here daily, hopefully this thread will still remain up seeing as its at the very bottom?
After about month #2 and lots of anti biotics, I started having these passing feelings of fright for no reason (in my own freakin' backyard or bedroom). This escalated until I basically felt stoned, or like I was breathing dental happy gas 24/7. One particular annoyance is my difficulty in my eye-to-mind connection. It's hard to explain, but imagine if your significant other, or lets just say the cable guy shows up, when I look at someone's face it is a mental blur and I can't keep focus. Or if I'm watching TV, the moving of the camera overloads my mental senses and hurts my head and eyes til I just have to close my eyes and regain myself.
As a previous poster pointed out, I also feel better for about 1 or 2 hours after doing cardio exercise. Sometimes I think I also feel better during the day before I eat a big meal. Realistically, I liken this to simply being able to cope with the situation better in the morning and when I'm well rested than as the day wears on and I feel worse towards night.
I am now in month #8 or 10 (who's counting after this long), and I have to admit the pain and pressure is more tolerable now, but that doesn't mean that my life is anywhere near normal. I am no longer able to enjoy life at all.
I've had multiple MRI and CT scans. MRA scans of my brain and neck. An EEG. A radionucleotide bonescan of my head, and a ridiculous amount of blood tests, including an arterial blood gas and Lyme disease. All negative, surprise surprise!
I do however have an anomoly that was reported on the CT (the first scan I ever had), which turned out to be an anomoly known as fibrous dysplasia, which is a benign bone tumor of sorts (that is the most likely diagnosis, no biopsy was taken). It also could be a meningioma (less likely). Only one of my doctors, an ENT, even acknowledged this was there, and my neurologist and GP refused to discuss it with me because it was not even reported on the MRI report. All of my doctors have told me that there is a very low chance this is causing my problems (once I finally forced them to admit it was there). I encourage you to go pick up your own MRI films and look at them yourself. I will soon post a link to a scan of my MRI showing this. It is basically a tumor located outside the brain.
To summarize my story: 10 months of 24/7 pressure in head. Odd frontal headrushes. Occasional severe positional dizziness. Nausea most of the time. Heavy headed feeling. Swolen nasal turbinates 24/7.
Relief after cardio exercise
Relief by holding my nose and blowing air into my ears
Refief by putting pressure on the affected areas of my head
(very temporary relief)
In conclusion, I guess we can all be thankful that we know we don't have tumors or other critical ailments. Anyone of you who wants to talk about this more may freely contact me at any time at ***@****, or betteryet I'll check back here daily, hopefully this thread will still remain up seeing as its at the very bottom?
Oh yeah, one important factor I forgot to add is that before this all began I used to get frequent syncop episodes (nearly passing out when standing up) but those stopped when this began back in april. Now what happens is, when I stand up, or walk up stairs, I frequently get intense heart pulsations that also cause intense pulsations deep within my head, along with the rhythm of my heart, and the same pressure that we feel all the time becomes much more intense during this, almost like something is about to rupture in my head (but it also feels strangly good at the same time-crazy i know, but true).
We all know the phrase misery loves company...and it's true, if for no other reason than to know we are not alone. But reading your stories helps me cope because most of you seem to take more than I can bear and still have hope. I feel a bit of a weenie when I hear of your extra added symptoms that I at least don't have. But I do have some advice, especially for vertigo (not just dizziness, but actual horrid spinning.) Once the neurology of the brain gets to the point where it has trouble keeping balance in the body, that part of the brain doing that job is basically "damaged." I don't mean permanently, but it isn't doing its job. You can do something about this. The brain is so enormous and so complex you can retrain it. You can make it use another section of itself to control your body's positioning in the world...and you can do this by excercise. You sit still, back straight, head held up. Then without moving your head, look to your right 30 times, to your left 30 times, up 30 times, down 30 times. Then do this again but this time move your head towards where you're looking. To finish off, roll your head first to the left, then to the right. Your brain will be coping with this, sending signals to keep your balance, and it will find an area of itself that will do the job. I promise you, fifteen mins a day will bring wonders for those of you with vertigo. As for pressure in the head...I'm still working on that. Taking my cat's claw, taking a strong anti-oxident called Resveratrol, and when I can afford it, a session with a good accupuncturist for the symptoms. Western medicine, as proved by so many letters here, isn't approaching these things correctly. But there's other things out there. I urge you to try them. As will as telling your own body (after all, it's your body) what you want from it. I want HEALTH.
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