Sinus infection or anxiety symptoms?

[doodlemerchant]

Hi everyone, newbie here (though I'm a long-term lurker). I could really do with some input if anyone can offer some, please. I'll try and keep it as short as I can:

I gave up smoking (about 3 months ago) and my (chronic) anxiety has gone through the roof as a result. I've had so many different physical symptoms and my HA has gone on the rampage. I'm 100% certain that the majority of the symptoms are due to anxiety because they stop as soon as I force myself to stop thinking about them, and then a few days later a completely different one presents itself. The latest one though is dizziness and sinus pressure. The dizziness came first, it's not like the room is spinning or anything but I feel woozy and not all there, a bit like an alcohol buzz. It's as though my head is full of cotton wool. Now (for about 3 or 4 days) I also have horrible sinus pressure in the middle of my forehead and around my eyes. My eyes also feel sort of jerky, very heavy, and as if they don't really fit in my head properly if that makes any sense. I know sinus infections can cause some of these symptoms but I haven't had any pain at all which I think you normally do with a sinus infection, and I haven't had a bug or anything like that. I keep telling myself it's either anxiety or an infection, in either case not something that will kill me, but the little voice at the back of my head keeps on at me that it might be neither, it might be something serious, etc etc until I just want scream. Has anyone else had anything like this? I'd be really grateful for any input as the constant fretting is getting me down even more than feeling dizzy all the time.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the wall of text. All the best x

[emlica]

It might just be a virus - there's one going round at the minute where I am that seems to cause weird symptoms. There have been a few people off with sinus problems (and I've definitely had sinus infections with no/very little pain), and I think I've got it now, though my only real symptoms are a general feeling of being a bit 'washed out', headachey feeling, tickly cough/dodgy throat, and a slight feeling of blocked ears. Seems to be lasting a while as well.

[doodlemerchant]

Thanks for the reply emlica. I hadn't thought about a virus as a potential culprit. I know this is a really ignorant question but are there viruses that don't cause cold/flu type symptoms? Because I don't have the sniffles or a cough or anything like that ... I don't feel ill that's the thing, it just feels like someone's squeezing the front of my head and I'm 'out of it'. The rest of me feels 'normal' (ha ha), it's just my head that's symptomatic. And of course my heart is racing but that's because I'm scared witless all the time:shrug:

[emlica]

I know what you mean - you can cope with what's obviously a common cold virus but not with less usual symptoms, right? But I think so, yeah. A virus can make you feel fairly non-specifically rubbish, depending on how your body reacts to it. Some people will have different symptoms from the same virus as well. I was a little anxious about mine but I read another thread on here and saw someone else had posted that they were having slightly weird non-typical virus symptoms, so I do think there's something a bit unusual going round!

[doodlemerchant]

Yeah, that's basically it - if I have a textbook cold, I know it's a cold and I don't tend to stress about it. But if something's slightly 'off', or different to what other people seem to have, I freak out. And you're right, people react differently to the same thing. Thanks again ... guess I'll try distracting myself for a few more days and see if it gets better. I hope you feel better soon!

[greenlady]

i have had same thing for 4 weeks ..also swollen neck glands..feel totally washed out and could sleep all the time...think it was a type of flu virus..slightly sore throat,blocked ears,runny nose for 2 days and cough...no temp but was roasting all the time..
gina

[catherineinky]

My husband had a headache for 6 months solid. Every night at 5pm he would get a massive headache... the problem? Sinuses were blocked with terrible infection and they could not drain... not everything is anxiety. he had surgery and has not had a headache since.
My sister had terrible face pain and headaches for months... the problem? Sinuses.. her sinuses also had massive amounts of undrainable infection.