For about a week now, I've been
experiencing a kind of off-and-on pressure
build up in the right side of my head.
It started with pressure and then sharp,
sudden stabs of pain around the back of my
head (right side). Each stab lasted maybe
a second or two, but left a kind of pain
"echo" when it disappeared. This happened
maybe five or six times over the course of
an hour. This then launched me into fear
about aneurysm and medical question-all,
and I had a panic attack. After the panic
attack subsided, I felt better and the
pressure seemed to have gone.
I experienced the same thing to a lesser
degree the next day, and the day after,
the pressure alone. The third day's
pressure also triggered a panic attack.
I finally went in to see my GP (who I
don't totally trust), and he said it was
probably just sinus related, told me to
keep my head lowered for 15 minutes twice
a day in a warm bath (to soak up the steam
or whateverthefuck, I have no idea). He
also said it could be a precursor to
shingles.
When I asked if it could be something
neurological, he dismissed the idea and
gave me some 600mg ibuprofen tablets.
Eek.
Here's what I know:
* The pressure seems to be made worse by
stress.
* The pressure seems to go away if I lay
down for awhile.
* The pressure seems to come on randomly--
sometimes right when I wake up, sometimes
not until much later in the day. It rarely
lasts more than an hour or so.
* I don't feel like I have any sinus
congestion. My mucus is white and
clean-looking.
* The stabbing pains are anywhere from
mild to actually making me wince and
reflexively touch my head.
* My pupil dilates normally, and I can
move my eye without any problems.
What I want to know is this:
Has anyone else with GAD or panic attacks
experienced this kind of one-sided head
pressure?
Or has anyone experienced this kind of
weird doing it headache pressure/pain at
all?
It's driving me mad and (being prone to
anxiety and panic attacks) making my life
miserable. I'm half convinced I have an
aneurysm or a blood clot in my brain, but
I know that's terribly unlikely at 23.
For the record, I'm 23, female,
lean/healthy weight, ex-smoker (smoked
maybe 2 years total in my life), currently
not having any caffeine/liquor/nicotine
(UGH), normal liver and kidney function,
no thyroid problems, taking birth control
(Ortho Tri-Cyclen) and 1mg
Lorazepam/Ativan as needed (usually a few
times a week).
Help?
