Please tell me you've had this - Neck/face/head pain

[inha]

Hello,
so first a trigger warning, if you think you might get triggered by stroke/brain problem fear, this might not help you... I'm leaving a blank if you want to back off.







I'm totally freaking out after reading a lot of medical articles and journals about carotid artery dissection. The artery can be dissected and the stroke occur only days or weeks later. Patients mainly present with headache, neck pain and facial pain exactly where I'm hurting right now. I've had the headache for 6 days on and off, from waking, and my neck as been hurting as well as my jaw, up to my ear and then my temple (precisely what I read on diverse medical websites).
Sometimes the artery can be dissected and the only sign is the stroke that ends up occuring. It's the leading cause of strokes in people under 30.
I keep checking my face for Horner syndrome (droopy eyelid and small pupil), freaking out over numbness in my arms, taste problems...

I just can't find a reassuring information and I've been googling rather rationally trying to understand the problem and see exactly what I don't have. This fear is just tricky. The only evidence I have againt artery dissection and for muscle pain, is that it started spreading to my shoulder and arm, which might mean tension.
I'm desperate because I know this isn't a well-known condition, and strokes are so rare in young people, that I'm scared even the hospital would overlook it. I'm afraid I might have the stroke during my sleep.

To be precise, the pain is located on the left side, on the back and side of the neck (where the carotid artery is), goes up to my jaw and ear, stops there and it hurts again around the temple and eye. It sounds like a migraine, except it's been on and off (like it never really left me) for a long time and the neck pain is just weird. During the first few days of this I had visual disturbances such as flashing lights/colorful shapes, in a very fleeting manner.

I would be very grateful if someone could tell me about his or her experience with a similar pain, I really don't know what to do except wait for my stroke...

Thank you !

[sial72]

Hi, I'm sorry I can't help on this but I just wanted to say how nice and thoughtful it was of you to say about possible triggers and to leave a space x

[Fishmanpa]

All I'll ask is this: How's your heart?

Why? Because a month ago you thought you were having a heart attack despite the near impossibility.

The same applies here. Let's hope you don't need 4 doctors and an unnecessary ER visit to help you dismiss this fear.

You have some rather severe anxiety IMO. It causes real physical symptoms. Look into getting help with the real illness and you treat the physical symptoms associated with it. At 19, you shouldn't be held captive by the dragon.

Positive thoughts

[wubu]

I had something similar which was due to a pulled muscle in my neck and had a sudden severe headache and after the initial ice pick headache the pain was in the same places as yourself and lasted almost 2 weeks. I saw an OOH doctor who sent me for a CAT scan to rule out an aneurysm, thankfully it was all ok but this is done by default.

There won't many positive things on the net about this because it's always the doom and gloom stuff thats written. One site you might want to check is spine-health.com/forum - your symptoms aren't that uncommon.

Also I think you'll find with carotid artery dissection you'll get a headache like you've never had in your life! My headache almost put me on my arse.

You might wanna call 111 and get an OHH GP appointment to put your mind at rest. At 19 I think it's more tension than stroke!!!!

[inha]

Hi, thank you all for your answers. No worries sial, I wish sometimes I hadn't read some stuff I found online !
I find it hard to keep my mind at ease as the symptoms won't let me alone and I'm just on high-alert waiting for neurological things to start happening... I'm already noticing tingling and numbness and I think I'm so focused on my body I just feel everything ten-folds, even when I'm actually focusing on something else.

Fishmanpa, my heart is fine, it's true. I saw a cardiologist for an echo and it's fine. It's just so hard. I feel on the verge of the catastrophe and it's even harder as I can't trust my own brain in this case.
I feel like health anxiety is just me against my body who's trying to kill me.
I've done some yoga before the symptoms appeared and since dissection can happen after very normal activity, it's hard to convince myself this is just anxiety. I know though, it's classic health anxiety.

wubu, thank you ! It means a lot to read this. I need to keep in mind I've also slept in a very bad mattress which might explain the onset of the symptomes...
I'm reapeating to myself anyone who goes to the ER with dissection ends up there because of severe pain or neurological symptoms, not just some mild ache, as no ER would keep someone for just some neck pain.

I keep thinking that even though my heart worries were for nothing, this time, this is it, and it's only harder because I have never had such pains before (except migraines).

Thank you all. I really wish I could stop caring and just sleep.

[swgrl09]

Honestly I have these symptoms every day from a bad neck and TMJ in my jaw. My neck gets really tense on one side and that spreads to shoulder, jaw, temple, etc. All of your muscles are connected. It could be as simple as that.

[wubu]

I agree with swgrl. Once you pull a neck muscle you get loads of odd pains, I even had a funny tingle down my face which felt like a spider was walking up and down lol!

[inha]

Thank you, I'm trying to dismiss every thought of dissection that passes through my mind, it's good to know others have a similar pain (though I'm not wishing it to anyone)...
This morning even my teeth were aching, and the pain goes from on side of the neck to the other. I'll go to the GP again to see if they can help with the pain tomorrow!