Constant headache for 3 weeks

[Lcon]

Hi,

I am a 34 year old mother of a 2.5 year old boy. I have dealt with anxiety and depression since high school but over the last two years the anxiety has gotten progressively worse, especially regarding health issues.

I am currently taking 20 mg of lexapro and because I want to try for another baby started tapering about 1.5 months ago to 15 mg. everything was going fine. I got a very bad sinus infection and was out on antibiotics for ten days and it seemed to go away. Two days after ending the antibiotics I started getting head pain and pressure in my temples, forehead and top back of head. Assuming it was sinus related I went back to doc and got a z-PAC, which did nothing. I then went to a ENT who checked my sinuses and said they looked clear. She worries about temporal arteritis so she had a blood test (sed rate) done. It came back normal. I then immediately went to ER worried it was something worse and they did a CT and it came back normal. The doctor felt it was a tension/stress headache and had me book an appt with Neuro this week. He gave me bac-amec-caff to take, and they decrease the pain a bit but the pressure is still there and I feel weird on the meds.

So now I am worried this will never go away and I think about it all day. I am basically couch ridden and feel awful. I wake up with a headache and think about it all day. I only feel happy when I think of going to bed.

I went through something similar last winter only I was having numbness all over. I saw a neuro, GP, ENT, went to emergency room and it ended up stopping once I was on lexapro for awhile (it hasn't returned).

I have moved back to 20 mg of lexapro for 4 days and hope that once it kicks back in I will start to feel myself.

I am in a bad place and don't know what to do. I feel like I will never be normal and headache free again.

Please help! Advice or experiences welcome.

Thanks so much.

[LunaLiuna]

Hello, I had a similar problem and found out it was my jaw because I was grinding my teeth during sleep!

All the spots you listed especially the temples are connected to your jaw, I know I get pretty bad temple aches when I clench to much.

Good luck, I'm sure things will get better :)

[KLP]

Have some physio, you maybe holding some tension in your neck. My physio showed me that we have two main arteries that run up our necks and if you have knots in your shoulder and neck it can decrease the blood flow slightly to your head, as soon as I have it my headaches disappeared. Try it.

[RoseEve]

Lcon I went through the very same thing over the holidays. I thought my headache would never go away. I woke up with a headache and it lasted over 2 weeks. I wanted to die. That's actually when I joined this site. I didn't want to get up. I went to the doctor twice she gave me the same blood test. She told me it was tension and said I could go to the neuro that she would give me a referral but she thought it was all anxiety and that I would benefit more from a psychiatrist. I have 2 small children 1 and 3. And I'm 31. Anyway I couldn't stop thinking about my headache and worrying it would never go away. It was Christmas Eve and I started zoloft that day and I told myself people live with chronic pain it's how you respond to the pain that matters. I told myself I could live with this pain and enjoy my children. And guess what it went away completely a few days later. I surrendered to my anxiety I let it run it's course and it was gone. Sometimes I say come on anxiety do your worst I welcome it and then it retreats. I hope this helps. Feel free to message me. Hugs