Left Eye Pain - Eye need help :P

[raggamuffin]

I get it now and then the past few years. Always in the left eye. Comes and goes in the past. Never lasted longer than a few days and pretty mild.

Recently it came and went more frequently ver the past few months. Then again I focused on it - so of course it stuck around more often.

Had an eye exam - all good. Never had any issue with vision in either eye throughout this.

I wondered if it could be neck or sinus related. Apparently both can cause pain behind the eye. I get neck tension a lot with my anxiety. It's almost always on the left side. GP's have said in the past that the sternocleidomastoid muscle can cause issues with the neck, jaw, ear and eye. Guess where I have pains? Ear, neck, eye only on the left side. The side that, when I touch around the muscles are sore on the left side.

2 days ago I had a bout of severe neck tension. It spilled into a very bad headache. I went to sleep and woke up with the eye pain but it was a lot more intense. Instead of the dull constant ache it's switched up to a quick come and go stabbing pain. Still no vision issues or anything like that

I've looked up on forums on here and elsewhere and eye ache has happened to a lot of people. Optician and GP relate it to stress/anxiety/muscular tension.

I've been trying to remind myself to just "let it be" to just allow a pain to come and go and realise that focusing on it only makes things worse. It makes the pains last longer or get more intense.

I think it's because it's a relatively new symptom for me. i'm approaching 10 years with anxiety. Chest pains I've experienced hundreds of times. I can easily say "this is just anxiety and tension" but something like the eye or ear. That's a rarity for me. It's happened before and the tests come back fine...but it's rather new to me.

Anyone found any relief?

Ed

[raggamuffin]

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[raggamuffin]

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[Airescape]

I’m experiencing something similar right now. I have about a 5 year history of HA, but haven’t had an episode in about 3 years. Back then, I had chest pain, headaches, and other anxiety symptoms for weeks at a time over the course of a few months. Had an MRI for the headsches that turned up nothing. I was going through a lot of job stress at the time and it was determined my chest pain and headaches were likely caused by stress and anxiety. Dr prescribed Buspirone, 500mg Aleve, and muscle relaxers. After a while, the symptoms faded

Now, fast forward 3 years, I woke up about 2 weeks ago with eye pain in my left eye. It would hurt when I touched the inside of my eye (with eyelid closed). The pain was orbital (behind the eye) and came on sharply immediately upon applying pressure to the eye. Also, when I look up or to the sides, it hurts the eye.

This symptom started a couple days after a very major stressful event (again work related) that happened over the course of 3 days.

This symptom lasted for a couple days, just with eye pain, before the headaches started. Now, for 2 weeks, i’ve had persistent one sided headaches that last all day long and generally go away when I lay down to go to sleep, and right when I wake up. A few days ago, about 10 days into the headaches, the eye pain subsided and I no longer feel immediate pain when pressing on the eye, but I do still have aches behind the eye.

I wake up every morning with a stiff neck and back and wonder if this poor posture / sleeping issues is causing the eye pain (occipital neuralgia?). When I squeeze my left upper trapezius muscle, where the occipital nerve runs it causes pain that nearly replicates the eye pain and headache I experience. I’m also feeling pain in my left temple, and jaw, and I do have a history of TMJD.

I’m taking the 500mg Aleve twice daily and that is helping a little bit, but I’m still concerned about why the headaches are not going away. I have a history of maxillary sinus cysts and have noticed more drainage than usual, which I also wonder if it is causing the problem. I hope they aren’t pressing on my
eye causing pressure

There’s one other thing I’ve read about called Trochleitis which is inflammation of a tendon behind the eye that controls movement of the eye. And this matches my symptoms pretty well.

I know I should probably make a dr appt and am planning to on Monday.

Here’s something written by RLR, an eloquent member who used to frequent these forums. I found it when searching for my symptoms and it has helped me to stay calm until I visit my Primary Care.

Okay, you need to take a breath and relax. Your symptoms are not due to a space-occupying mass such as a tumor, which produces clinical signs and symptoms long before you start experiencing pain or other sensations.

There are six muscles which move the eye and it can be very common for any one of the these muscles to experience strain, much like a sprinter might experience from running at any given time. The initial symptom of pain on elective movement of the orb is an indicator that muscle strain was quite likely the original insult.

Seasonal allergies can also produce swelling of the mucous membranes which lie proximal to the eyes and can cause inflammation. The affected eye or eyes typically appear red and glassy in appearance, with tears being expressed more than usual.

Once pain subsides, movement of the affected eye can feel foreign for up to several weeks because the eyes are rather incapable of having their movement restricted in order for the muscle(s) to recover more quickly.

You'll be fine. Again, this is not in any way associated with the presence of a tumor.

Spend a bit less time on activities that require rapid sacadic or pursuit movements, both necessary to track objects in the visual fields. Computer time should be restricted as well, since it produces strain upon the eyes in general. Also do not rub or otherwise prod the eye, or engage in extreme side to side gaze in order to test the sensation, but rather let it alone. You'll recover from the odd sensation more quickly.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)