Scared from cavernous sinus thrombosis

[MagpieWitch]

Hey, I know that I post a lot but this is my new fear and I am seeing my therapist in two days so I have to somehow pull through.

I am scared of cavernous sinus thrombosis because I had a headache for 3 days and my eyes feel burning and tired, especially the right one. I can't stop checking myself for swelling and fever.

I am scared I got it cause I popped a big pimple on my nose by accident last week or so.

I am miserable and scared and I just had a very bad breakdown an hour ago with panic, crying, screaming and hyperventillation. I don't know how I am going to pull through two more days 😭😭😭

[Elen]

Please read the below message from Admin. You are posting about a lot of different things frequently. Perhaps start a thread where you can keep all of your worries in one place.


Can posters, especially those who are posting a lot about a variety of fears please confine their posts to one thread.

This helps others to build up a clear picture of what is happening and makes it easier to offer suitable advice.

You may not see the pattern but usually it is there, especially if you are posting frequently about different things.

Your co-operation with this would be greatly appreciated.

Elen

[utrocket09]

Hey, I know that I post a lot but this is my new fear and I am seeing my therapist in two days so I have to somehow pull through.

I am scared of cavernous sinus thrombosis because I had a headache for 3 days and my eyes feel burning and tired, especially the right one. I can't stop checking myself for swelling and fever.

I am scared I got it cause I popped a big pimple on my nose by accident last week or so.

I am miserable and scared and I just had a very bad breakdown an hour ago with panic, crying, screaming and hyperventillation. I don't know how I am going to pull through two more days 😭😭😭

I have never even heard of a sinus thrombosis. Popping a pimple has nothing to do with sinus issues or blood clots.

[MagpieWitch]

I will try to not make a new thread after this I promise.
Also today I was at a doctor and I have sone nild sinus infection and I am positively freaking out because it says it's one of the most common causes (chronic sinusitis which I have)
Today I think I had ny worst breakdown and now both rabies and amoeba fears seem like nothing by comparison. I just sat on the floor and cried for a good hour I don't even know where that energy came from.

[Fishmanpa]

I see from your post history you had a year without posting from August of 2017 to August of this year. What's changed or happened that prompted this recurrence and spiral? How did you manage during that year away from the forum?

Positive thoughts

[utrocket09]

I will try to not make a new thread after this I promise.
Also today I was at a doctor and I have sone nild sinus infection and I am positively freaking out because it says it's one of the most common causes (chronic sinusitis which I have)
Today I think I had ny worst breakdown and now both rabies and amoeba fears seem like nothing by comparison. I just sat on the floor and cried for a good hour I don't even know where that energy came from.

I have chronic sinustitis, it's not a big deal. I have had it for 30 years. Really jjst means you have chronic sinus issues.

[Elen]

I see from your post history you had a year without posting from August of 2017 to August of this year. What's changed or happened that prompted this recurrence and spiral? How did you manage during that year away from the forum?

Positive thoughts

That is a very pertinent question

[MagpieWitch]

I don't know all I know is that I had random symptoms that scared me last year and I have different and equally scary symptoms this year.
I can't cope.
I am scared. I go to therapy I take my meds and I do my school work and I am still scared.
I keep rotating topics that scare me hoping to find a solution or to understand what is it that causes all these symptoms.

I have hit rock bottom now. This is it. I've been crying all day. I am convinced I'll die. I told my partner he probably won't see me. I worry everyone around me. I cry and my heart hurts so much I can't explain. I am so scared of death I can't live anymore. I can't do anything but google my problems. I don't know what to do I just wanna sleep until it gets better.

[Fishmanpa]

We can't help you through a computer screen :( Perhaps a real life intervention is necessary?

Positive thoughts

[MagpieWitch]

I am going to my therapist on Monday I just really need to hold on for two more days.
This is hell, this is living hell. I cannot take this anymore :(

[AMomentofClarity]

“Scared from cavernous sinus thrombosis“

How do you find this stuff???

[MagpieWitch]

Do you really want me to say because this is a HA forum and I don't want to scare or trigger anyone? :weep:

[AMomentofClarity]

Do you really want me to say because this is a HA forum and I don't want to scare or trigger anyone? :weep:

Sure.

[MagpieWitch]

TRIGGER WARNING! IF YOU ARE EASILY TRIGGERED BY NEW DISEASES DONT READ!





I learned it like 2-3 years ago because I read about the so called "triangle of death" which is the part of your face from the edges of the mouth to the bridge of your nose. Apparently as myth has it, if you pop pimples here you can die from a severe infection. Well about 30% chances you will die if you get the infection.

And I had some minor sinus infection that I was given 4 days of antibiotics for, I had a sinus x-ray today which showed a thickening of the lining in my sinuses and also I did pop a pimple on my nose a week ago. Now I've had a headache for 3 days and my eyes feel tired and weird which are all first symptoms of this disease so I am freaking out and made the mistake of Googling (after 2 weeks of Google free) and now I am positively scared and I want to scream and cry all day

[AMomentofClarity]

TRIGGER WARNING! IF YOU ARE EASILY TRIGGERED BY NEW DISEASES DONT READ!





I learned it like 2-3 years ago because I read about the so called "triangle of death" which is the part of your face from the edges of the mouth to the bridge of your nose. Apparently as myth has it, if you pop pimples here you can die from a severe infection. Well about 30% chances you will die if you get the infection.

And I had some minor sinus infection that I was given 4 days of antibiotics for, I had a sinus x-ray today which showed a thickening of the lining in my sinuses and also I did pop a pimple on my nose a week ago. Now I've had a headache for 3 days and my eyes feel tired and weird which are all first symptoms of this disease so I am freaking out and made the mistake of Googling (after 2 weeks of Google free) and now I am positively scared and I want to scream and cry all day

There’s nothing “triggering” about this....like every other poster here, you read “something” on Google, most likely from an uncredible source, and applied it to yourself. That’s nothing new around these parts.

[MagpieWitch]

There's a wikipedia article and I did find some case from 5 years ago where a person with sinus infection died from this and that's what really triggered my fear - but I only googled it cause I remembered it from few years ago. Yes it's a very rare but I am very very scared.

To top it all off, my father is a maxilofacial surgeon and doctor and this is literally something he knows about so it kinda makes my fear worse that he will dismiss my symptoms and leave me to die :(

[MRS STRESS ED]

“Scared from cavernous sinus thrombosis“

How do you find this stuff???

exactly what l was going to ask
ermmmmm Google :D

[MagpieWitch]

Okay you guys to be fair, you never had one of those quirky girl magazines as a teen? I did and that's how I remembered the "triangle of death" on the face thing, it was in one of those girl magazines.
Back then I didn't think much of it, but it seems something stuck with me and here we are :/

[Fishmanpa]

Maybe logging off and finding something to distract yourself would be in order. It's definitely not helping you being here dwelling on your fears, waiting for that magic word of reassurance that will never come :shrug:

Positive thoughts

[AMomentofClarity]

Okay you guys to be fair, you never had one of those quirky girl magazines as a teen? I did and that's how I remembered the "triangle of death" on the face thing, it was in one of those girl magazines.
Back then I didn't think much of it, but it seems something stuck with me and here we are :/

Interesting.....I’m glad I stuck with the Sports Illustrated....

[MagpieWitch]

Maybe logging off and finding something to distract yourself would be in order. It's definitely not helping you being here dwelling on your fears, waiting for that magic word of reassurance that will never come :shrug:

Positive thoughts

Thank you Fishmanpa, you really out here trying to help me and I appreciate that! I do go for a walk and do housework and such so its not just this. But whenever I feel a headache I instantly panic and come here for comfort. Or phone my father :/

[AMomentofClarity]

What has your father told you about your worries?

[NervUs]

There's a wikipedia article and I did find some case from 5 years ago where a person with sinus infection died from this and that's what really triggered my fear - but I only googled it cause I remembered it from few years ago. Yes it's a very rare but I am very very scared.

To top it all off, my father is a maxilofacial surgeon and doctor and this is literally something he knows about so it kinda makes my fear worse that he will dismiss my symptoms and leave me to die :(

Why would he possibly do that?

Reading your threads, really, I think there might be something of mortality crisis underlying your state of mind. You are jumping from thing to thing.

Personally, I think part of getting out of this terrible pattern you are in is to find a way to accept that, yes, you might die. Once you can get to acceptance that death really happens, you might not jump from thing to thing. You are really young, right, and in college? I never really gave a thought to my mortality until I was like 40 and had a health scare and resulting HA. I feel like I really got myself to a point of, yep, I might die young and the rest of the world will go on just fine. It is hard getting there, but ime it helps end the hypochondriac disease shopping that you are doing really hard core right now. Just my experience and reaction to your posts.

[MagpieWitch]

He did the sinus x-ray today and said I do have a thicker lining of the sinuses and prescribed me some nasal spray, otherwise he said that 1. he has a 35 year career and has seen only one (after surgery) and 2. that's a complication of an illness not an illness so i'd have something serious before like an infection that wouldn't get better or a big boil that also wouldn't get better.
And he also said that he will be the first person to know if I develop something as life threatening as that.
The catch is I don't trust him even though he hasn't been wrong so far. I think aside from living hell, the other thing about my anxiety I hate is the strain it puts on my parents and loved ones :/

---------- Post added at 23:49 ---------- Previous post was at 23:45 ----------


Why would he possibly do that?

Reading your threads, really, I think there might be something of mortality crisis underlying your state of mind. You are jumping from thing to thing.

Personally, I think part of getting out of this terrible pattern you are in is to find a way to accept that, yes, you might die. Once you can get to acceptance that death really happens, you might not jump from thing to thing. You are really young, right, and in college? I never really gave a thought to my mortality until I was like 40 and had a health scare and resulting HA. I feel like I really got myself to a point of, yep, I might die young and the rest of the world will go on just fine. It is hard getting there, but ime it helps end the hypochondriac disease shopping that you are doing really hard core right now. Just my experience and reaction to your posts.

This is a pretty scary thought for someone who is 22 and yes I know people my age die. I see it on the news. I wish they didn't but that's not how things work.
I did kind of accept death when I had the rabies fear two weeks ago and I did a lot of reading on it and stuff however it didn't actually help it only just made shit worse. Cause I didn't do anything except wait to die even if I was more or less calm.
I really do switch between 4 illnesses - rabies, amoeba, this thrombosis thing and MS, usually with some minor side things like allergy or dehydration fears.

[NervUs]

This is a pretty scary thought for someone who is 22 and yes I know people my age die. I see it on the news. I wish they didn't but that's not how things work.
I did kind of accept death when I had the rabies fear two weeks ago and I did a lot of reading on it and stuff however it didn't actually help it only just made shit worse. Cause I didn't do anything except wait to die even if I was more or less calm.
I really do switch between 4 illnesses - rabies, amoeba, this thrombosis thing and MS, usually with some minor side things like allergy or dehydration fears.

It is a pretty scary thought for EVERYONE. My grandfather died at 88 and never accepted it.

Sounds like you have not really come to peace with mortality, if it only made it worse. LIke I said, I stopped obsessing about diseases for a while when I got to a point that I was unfazed by my death empathy trips (where I really imagine and acknowledge what that means). My peace with it lasted about 2.5 years and then came back when I had a legit cancer scare about a year and a half ago. But, I am clawing my way back again.

[Shadowhawk]

BTW, thanks to people like "Dr" Oz, the danger triangle risk is VASTLY overrated. yes, the blood flow there is a bit different and an infection CAN happen.. but it is not common, and not something instantly lethal. If you notice an infection, like any other, go to the doctor (perhaps in this case, even your dad), and get it treated.

[AMomentofClarity]

He did the sinus x-ray today and said I do have a thicker lining of the sinuses and prescribed me some nasal spray, otherwise he said that 1. he has a 35 year career and has seen only one (after surgery) and 2. that's a complication of an illness not an illness so i'd have something serious before like an infection that wouldn't get better or a big boil that also wouldn't get better.
And he also said that he will be the first person to know if I develop something as life threatening as that.
The catch is I don't trust him even though he hasn't been wrong so far.

Your dad is going to absolutely error on the side of caution with his own daughter. There’s no way in hell he’d ignore it if he thought you had something even remotely fatal. You have to trust him.

[MyNameIsTerry]

TRIGGER WARNING! IF YOU ARE EASILY TRIGGERED BY NEW DISEASES DONT READ!





I learned it like 2-3 years ago because I read about the so called "triangle of death" which is the part of your face from the edges of the mouth to the bridge of your nose. Apparently as myth has it, if you pop pimples here you can die from a severe infection. Well about 30% chances you will die if you get the infection.

And I had some minor sinus infection that I was given 4 days of antibiotics for, I had a sinus x-ray today which showed a thickening of the lining in my sinuses and also I did pop a pimple on my nose a week ago. Now I've had a headache for 3 days and my eyes feel tired and weird which are all first symptoms of this disease so I am freaking out and made the mistake of Googling (after 2 weeks of Google free) and now I am positively scared and I want to scream and cry all day

Yes, it's a myth and it's something the media can own 100% because they completely misreport it. They say you get it from popping pimples.

The fact is this is nothing new, it's been around a very long time. So why don't we hear about it? It's rare. Sinus infections and popping pimples are seen in their millions-billions each year.

And it's not pimples at all, it's boils. I've read articles about this before when it's stated triggering threads on here and people say they've never heard of it. It's not heard of because the media are distorting it into a fear of popping pimples which is nothing to do with the medical terms connected to it.

https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=189586&highlight=triangle&page=3
https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=189525&highlight=triangle&page=2

---------- Post added at 03:15 ---------- Previous post was at 03:07 ----------


Interesting.....I’m glad I stuck with the Sports Illustrated....

You just go blind with that...:whistles::winks:

[MagpieWitch]

Yes, it's a myth and it's something the media can own 100% because they completely misreport it. They say you get it from popping pimples.

The fact is this is nothing new, it's been around a very long time. So why don't we hear about it? It's rare. Sinus infections and popping pimples are seen in their millions-billions each year.

And it's not pimples at all, it's boils. I've read articles about this before when it's stated triggering threads on here and people say they've never heard of it. It's not heard of because the media are distorting it into a fear of popping pimples which is nothing to do with the medical terms connected to it.

https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=189586&highlight=triangle&page=3
https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=189525&highlight=triangle&page=2[COLOR="blue"]



Thank you for those two links! I am surprised other people struggled with this.
TMI! My pimple or whatever it was was weird cause it was pretty deep and I had no idea it's a pimple cause I touched it and thin yellow came out but no blood and there's still red on my nose where it was but it didn't really hurt nor collected puss or anything afterwards. And that was over a week ago so I guess there would've been some kind of primary infection related to it by now before it became the thrombosis?

As for my sinusitis or whatever it is, I did get a low grade fever, was on 4 days of antibiotics and the low grade fever slowly went away, then my temperature dropped completely cause I got my period and then it kind of returned but it also dropped so I don't think that can be very telling.

My father is literally a professor and a surgeon in this field and he doesn't seem concerned at all even though he instantly called me in for a sinus x-ray so he took the sinus thing pretty seriously.

[MagpieWitch]

I know I bump my own thread a lot but I am just 1 day away from seeing my therapist. I don't know what kind of magic I expect to happen when I do see her but I guess I expect some kind of relief.

As for symptoms, I have some tightness in my forehead and these annoying brief pains above my eyebrows and down my scalp so I am not sure if it's the sinus thrombosis, meningitis or just strain headache :/

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think I would be going with your father who clearly is very well qualified to understand any of this better than all of us on here. Sinus infections can be unpleasant so he probably just wanted to help his daughter not have it on top of your mental health struggles, more a parent than a doctor point of view if you see what I mean?

Remember this is very uncommon stuff. Considering this can be caused by damage to the face in that "triangle" that becomes infected you have to consider how common any break in the skin in that area is, how little it seems to become infected, and how successful modern antibiotics are. The introduction of antibiotics alone massively reduced reporting of this a long time ago. And if you have an infection on your face you would clearly see it quickly and be seeking your GP anyway to get it treated.

As for the "facts should stop you worrying" argument that sometimes comes up. anxiety doesn't work like that at all. If it did, it wouldn't even be a disorder let alone one based on irrationality. It can't be expected to go just because we consciously accept we are safe because the subconscious isn't designed to work that way with fears that are built into us. If it did, it would be dangerous to us as we would have the ability to accept one scary bear as not scary and then all the ones we encountered may just eat us therefore it takes time & repetition for the subconscious to change core beliefs (and it was never designed to need to remove a fear easily since fears aren't expected to be removed anyway).

The subconscious will eventually learn as long as you keep consciously accepting you are ok, don't feed into it's cycle with compulsive reinforcing behaviours, don't allow it to spike your fear into more fear which is sees as an importance (starve it out with no reaction or positive reactions, it doesn't see these in the feedback of the cycle), understand your negative thinking to change it, etc.

[MagpieWitch]

Thank you for this reply, it was a pretty long and insightful one and I agree with it. HA just took over my life and refuses to let me go.

Reading news articles even when I am doing good sends me into spiral months later. Read some article on my news site about boy who died from sinus infection and one in millions means nothing to my fear cause it keeps saying "what if you are that one in million."

My father wants to help me so he ordered a CT scan tomorrow and said that if my CT scan is clear I will have to work on my anxiety otherwise he will be very mad. We will see how that CT scan will go tomorrow but I didn't want to take it - he already scheduled hoping it will give all if us a peace of mind. We will have to wait and see.

Thank you again everyone for trying to help me. I will keep this thread updated.

[MagpieWitch]

Hello everyone!

Today I just had a CT scan and it came back clear. The doctor told me that even my sinuses were clear. Apparently there's nothing.
I still can't stop worrying, I am still scared. I don't know what to do. I went to my therapist too and I cried for a good hour because I am scared.
I wish I could just stop worrying about everything in my body, every bump, pain, change.

I am now scared because two weeks ago I was prescribed 4 day course of antibiotics for my mysterious raise in temperature that I caused myself some kind of antibiotic resistant bacteria. I wish I could just turn off my mind for 5 minutes.

I can't accept anything doctors say and I also feel guilty over everything that happens. I don't wanna make more threads and I feel like I am bothering you all but I just need to talk to people who understand.

I feel like if I die from some antibiotic resistant bacteria its my fault, and if I die from rabies/amoeba is my fault and if I die from another infection it's my fault for not noticing etc etc. I just want it to stop I want my normal life back!!!

[MagpieWitch]

Don't wanna open this thread again but today my dad saw a boil i had on my lip and told me to pop it. I did cause I trusted him and he is a surgeon so I popped it and pus and blood came out. I am now scared cause the boil is technically in the death triangle and I don't want to get this cavernous sinus thrombosis I feared for so long. Like should I worry? It was a pretty big and red and a little painful but it was gonna pop so I thought better with some wipes and soap then against my pillow or while eating.

[AMomentofClarity]

Don’t take this the wrong way, but in the last few weeks you’ve started around 15 new threads, all over the spectrum of anxiety and health anxiety. Have you considered that all of your time spent on here could be keeping everything in the forefront of your mind, and that taking a break could be beneficial?

I’m not trying to be rude, but I know for someone like me, if I’m spending my day on here I’m going to be obsessively thinking of anxiety all day, versus say doing something fun where the anxiousness pops up only occasionally.

[Fishmanpa]

Like should I worry?

Magpie, with respect.... You're already worrying and nothing said in this medium is going to reassure you. 16 threads in the last 2 weeks and it's quite apparent you're in a deep rabbit hole about a lot of things.

Curious though... Your father being in the medical field, does he not recognize how you're suffering mentally?

Positive thoughts

[MagpieWitch]

Yes we are constantly in contact with my therapist and did I really open 16 threads? Yeah that does sound like me. But we are in contact with a therapist, taking meds, I have to do some sports daily and I also draw and watch movies and cook and clean around the house.
I just come here when the anxiety hits a little too hard and I can't bear it. I feel bad I ask so much but I am trying to make it through the day and I already asked everyone else. I'm surprised how patient people around me are given how bad it is. It's probably because I only get this bad during the summer (If you see my older threads last one was last summer around the same time)
None of you are rude and I really appreciate these eye opening moments. I am both aware and unaware of my hypochondria and I know that almost every summer it gets unbearable.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Remember:

a) a fully training surgeon & professor of these areas has said to do it.
b) these infections are very uncommon
c) and they are highly treatable these days even if they occur because modern antibiotics have greatly reduced bad outcomes.
d) oh and this highly trained man is also your father who I'm sure wouldn't expose his daughter to risks and like most parents would always do their best to shield them from anything they can in life

But you do need to talk to your therapist about all this. Your compulsions will only feed back into the cycle. It's not always a case of cold turkey, which often doesn't work in so many cases of exposure work anyway, but having a plan is what is needed to keep you moving forward.

It's not going to change until you reach a certain stage in your recovery and then you will see things are different and look back on this knowing it was just the stage you were in. Try not to fight with yourself over it all, it only upsets you further, although it is hard.