Head pains

[Shelly15]

I don't no what's wrong with me, I can accept I suffer anxiety but I just get get over it with all the symptoms I have. My head feels so weird all the time I get pins and needles, dizzy, pressure in my head and face. The one that is really affecting me is being extremely off balance to the point I can't leave my house because when I walk anywhere I can't walk straight my eyes go blurry I shake feel like I can't breath and go lightheaded and if I move my head then it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, it's getting me down so much I can't even go for a walk. I have been to the doctors and don't get any help all they say is its anxiety which I no. I've also had thrush for the past 6months and its making me think what if I'm diabetic. I have racing thoughts all the time I constantly feel like I'm dying. I have a lot of tension in my head and shoulders and jaw pain and when I move my head left to right I can hear my bones rubbing together. I did CBT a few months ago and it really did help I was able to go out on my own to the shop but then a family me never passed away and CBT didn't really work for me. I just don't no what to do anymore no one is listening to me and how I feel, I refuse to take medication as I'm to scared of the symptoms or it making me worse. I just want to be able to walk to the shop with my 3 year old son without feeling petrified when I step foot out the door, as soon as I see people my symptoms get worse that everyone is staring at me and I feel even more off balance and i usually just run back home

[HoneyLove]

Hi Shelly, I'm sorry you've been going through all of this and that your doctor hasn't been much help.

I think that some of what you're experiencing may be down to a problem with tension in your jaw joint, usually called TMJ. TMJ can cause a lot of the symptoms you describe - jaw pain, head, shoulder & neck pain, dizziness or balance problems, feeling lightheaded, vision problems.

It's all down to muscle tension from an irritated jaw. This can happen if you tend to grind your teeth or clench your jaw (especially at night in your asleep), or if you've been really stressed out and anxious which can make you tighten your jaw without realising it.

The weird feelings you experience from it can contribute to anxiety, which in turn can make the muscle tension worse so it can turn into a vicious cycle.

Obviously I can't diagnose you, I can only tell you what I think based on my own experience with similar issues! If it is TMJ then it's totally treatable, but don't go Googling about it - if you want more info let me know.

The best thing for you to do would be to visit your dentist, as they are the most equipped to help you with this issue - or see if there is a TMJ specialist in your area. Explain your symptoms and they can tell whether it's an issue for you or not.

If it is TMJ there are lots of lifestyle measures you can put in place to help relieve the pain. One of them will be learning to deal with stress and anxiety in a healthy way, so that's something you can get working on today :)

[Shelly15]

Thank you for replying, I think it could be TMJ, when I'm asleep I wake up and my jaw is clenched together where I'm so tence and scared all the time for the past few days I've had really bad pain in the left side of my jaw up to my ear. I honestly think that its these symptoms are what's making so anxious and if these symptoms go I no I won't be anxious because its happend before I was really stressed a few years ago and it made me dizzy then when I relaxed the dizziness went so when the doctors give me medication it really annoyed me.

Does TMJ make you off balance? And how do you get rid of it, I no that exercise would but I cant make the first steps to go outside. I don't google things anymore CBT taught me not to so any advice would be appreciated.

[HoneyLove]

If you're waking up clenching your jaw then it's very possible that your jaw muscles are irritated and sore, and that could be causing a lot of your symptoms. Even the dizziness can be related - I'm not exactly sure how it happens, but it must have something to do with how the tension affects the inner ear or even nerves/blood vessels.

You need to visit your dentist first, for a proper TMJ diagnosis.

Then the first line of treatment is usually based on trying to relax the muscles in the jaw, so things like not eating chewy or crunchy foods for a while (a soft diet), exercises to relax and release the TMJ (you can look them up on YouTube, they're just exercises with your jaw - nothing very physical!), antinflammatory medications, applying heat to the muscles (I have a heat pack that I warm up in the microwave) and relaxation exercises like meditation.

If you're clenching your jaw in your sleep then your dentist might talk to you about getting a mouth guard to stop you doing this. The relaxation exercises will also help with it, as will dealing with anxiety issues you're having during the day.

Because you tense your muscles when you're anxious it will be hard to get rid of this problem without relaxing! So working on accepting your symptoms and relaxing into them will be really helpful for you. Trust me on the mediation, you need to do something that relaxes you every day. A yoga class would be great.

Watching your posture can be a big part of it too. If you're spending lots of time bent down looking at your phone, tablet or working on a computer then you may unintentionally be straining your muscles.