Worried sick about stiff neck/jaw & shoulders after persistent headache! :'(

[87sal87]

I'm really worried now & you guys haven't let me down yet so this is the first place I came to!

I've had an headache for the past couple of weeks now, constant & very painful on right side of my head. It's been in my temple, especially above my eye/eyebrow, scalp & behind my eye.

I've been to the doctors twice & they've brushed it off as sinusitis & stress headache because of my anxiety. Which of course, I haven't believed.

& Now I've developed a really stiff neck with aching painful shoulders & a stiff jaw. I've also been feeling what feels like a lump in my throat & I'm really worried there's something wrong. I'm trying to tell myself it's because I'm tense but because of the headache, it's really worrying me.

I've been having some funny vision too, like flashes & dots [I had my eyes checked by the eye clinic this month & everything was fine] so it's not my eyes. :(

I'm scared to go back to the doctors for a third time, I hate going as it is :(

& Once, when I pinpointed a sore point on the shoulder, a pain shot from my shoulder to my right side of my head where my headache has been...I nearly had a panic attack in worry...

Can anybody help, please? Anyone else been like this?

[Jimpy]

An awful thing with anxiety is the way it invades our mind and makes it hard to be rational and makes us tune in to our bodies and start noticing every change however sleight, I really feel for you and the way you are feeling. I know I am case and point and I am sureany others on here will understand that anxiety and its many symptoms can cause all sorts of pains, jolts and aches that we just can't explain. I am sure you are fine and have a persistant headache caused by muscle tension which would explain the tender points in your shoulder and jaw, this is similar to a sensation I have experienced and I get bad tension headaches. Please try and relax if possible and I always say go back to docs and get the reassurance you need to help you through this, I know it's tough especially after a recent visit but you could write down everything you have experienced and hand it over, that way you don't have to think of what to say before you go in.

I hope you feel better soon, it is awful when we live in fear like this, please check out the symptom page on this site as I always surprised at howany different sensations anxiety can bring up! It's seemingly never ending sometimes!

Jim

[Lion King]

Hi there,

Some serious relaxation techniques are required, I had this really bad early last year, it took me months before I learnt to relax my body properly. The prooblem was that I suffered stress and anxiety and I hought I could switch off from these feelings, the thing is I would mentally but physically it strted to show through, I was constantly stiff and distraught as it looked so obvious to people so as much as I tried to relax I was overlyconscious that people would notice, so his again increased my anxiety.

After a few months away from work, I took citalopram and saw a CBT therapist and learned how to relax my body again, it seriously did take time, 6 months on I was comfortable to go back to normal living but it was horrible when I was in the middle of all this.

Hope you start to feel better.

LK

[87sal87]

Thank you both so much for the advice, I've been worried sick. I'm on a waiting list for a counsellor & CBT therapist, but they said it could take upto six months! :( Just have to get through till' then.

Anyways, I'll see if I can make it through the weekend without getting too worried & I'll go back to my doctor on monday.

I'm trying to relax my shoulders but it's like they're glued into a hunched position :(

[Kavincarlson]

Many patients from foreign countries such as Indonesians visit Singapore for medical care because of many reasons.Some travel because local doctors in their hometown do not have the suitable skills and expertise while others travel because of the unacceptably long wait to see reputable local doctors or to have their surgery done by top Indonesian doctors.

[milkcarton]

Hey All,

I am going through the exact sane experience as your initial post. My body has been building up to a migraine for the past week and it peaked on Wednesday evening on my way home from work. It was really scary and ever since I am tuned in to every pain, tweak, visual disturbance and sensation in my body. It's horrible :(

I seem to have this dull ache and sinus pain ever since Wednesday and I am also really tired in the evening.

I hope you feel better soon, hopefully we can keep reassuring each other that it is a result of stress and mind over matter. CBT can help and I have had it in the last, I am just trying to get on with normal day to fay things even though I feel terrible at times. Try not to avoid situations due to this as it will make thingd worse.

Milk x

[Cags48]

Doctor told me I was all tense due to anxiety when I had your symptoms , hope u feel better soon

[Rennie1989]

87sal - your shoulder is not glued upright. Just take some deep breaths, tense the shoulders further and then relax them. Do this a few times and it should begin to relax.

[Fishmanpa]

As I read your symptoms it was as if I were reading the "Symptoms" link on the left of the page. The reason your doctor shrugged you off is because nothing sinister is going on and it IS anxiety. It's a vicious cycle for sure... stress cause tension, tension causes pains, pains cause you to worry more, worrying more makes you more tense etc. etc. etc.

The relaxation techniques and suggestions are good ones as is seeking help for your HA :)

Positive thoughts!