Constant head pressure and dizziness

[Verity74]

Hi all. Haven't been on this site for a while as have been unwell now for 10 months with pressure in my head and constant dizziness. The doctors first thought it was sinus problems, but after having a camera shoved up my nose and a ct scan, they can find nothing wrong with them and are now saying they are tension headaches. I have suffered anxiety and depression for so many years now, but decided after so much medication that i wanted to go it alone, and took myself off of all my meds about 18 months ago. Since then i thought i had been coping okay. Not so sure now. I am virtually housebound and pretty much bed bound most days. I have passed out a few times and have ended up in a & e. All my blood work is fine, so that was of no help. I take propanolol for ectopic beats and occasional diazapam when things get too much. The pressure isn't always painful like a headache, its just constant pressure accross my eyebrows, nose and sometimes the back of my head. Its completely ruining my life and my kids as i can no longer look after them properly and they are having to do everything for themselves. Has anyone else suffered anything similar to this as i find it hard to believe i have been this tense for 10 months. They gave me amitriptyline but it aggrevates my heart rythm, so i am back seeing the consultant this friday, probably to be fobed off again. Just need someone to talk to really, as i am very scared of whats happening to me. Thanks for reading

[avasnana]

Hi,

Im sorry you are feeling like this, it's awful isn;t it.

There have been a few posts on here lately about tension in head and sinsuses and it seems that yes it is all anxiety. Im suffering with this at the moment, as you its not so much as a headache more very intense pressure and I can feel it in my head, forehead, nose, neck and shoulders and also my jaw. I too have had a CT scan of my sinuses and full blood count done and all come back clear so it would appear that it is anxiety.

Im finally plucking up the courage to start my tablets this weekend and I cant go on feeling like this.

[countrygirl]

have you tried stopping the beta blocker as these can cause dizziness etc due to the reduced pumping ability of the heart and your blood pressure being kept artificially low. I assume you have been taking them constantly for some time???

I know someone who kept passing out suddenly and he also was feeling constantly dizzy etc and it was due to his dr changing his beta blocker, once he went back onto his old one he was fine - he needed it due to having had major heart surgery.

If you can cope with your ectopics without beta blockers this is much better as ectopics are harmless just horrible.

worth a try.

[countrygirl]

Sorry I should have added to my reply that you would need to reduce your beta blocker dose with your Drs advice as pointed out. I was not meaning to suddenly stop it!

[Verity74]

Thanks for your replies. No i don't take the beta blockers reqularly, only when i have a period where they won't calm down. My dr had already discussed them with me, but it appears they aren't the cause. I feel terrible again today and at this moment am in bed, yet again. Its come to the point that i can only get up when i have to pick the children up from school or take them. Its completely ruining my life and i'm now getting to the point that i think there is something more serious wrong. I've had another ct scan done and get the results on friday, which i'm starting to worry about too, which isn't helping. Just feel completely helpless at the moment and i want my life to go back 10 months, before these started, as at least the anxiety was manageable. Thanks again guys for replying

[Pipkin]

Hi Verity,

Sorry you're not feeling well.

I can sympathise with the pressure feeling and dizziness you're describing. These are a couple of my regular anxiety symptoms, though a few years ago, I felt like this constantly for months on end. I too was really worried, convinced it was something more sinister but now I am absolutely sure that it's brought on by anxiety. Actually acknowledging this to myself was the first step to it improving.

I also discovered that the more time I spent either in bed or lying down, the worse it got. And of course, the worse it got, the more I wanted to lie down! Vicious circle... In the end, I forced myself to be more active, which was one of the hardest things I've ever done because all I wanted was to sink into my bed and sleep. The improvement was pretty quick though and soon I was able to be much more active and even starting running again each day. Not saying this will definitely work for you though worth a try?

Take care

Pip x

[Ckilts]

The same things have been happening to me for over a year now , I got blood tests , ECG and scans done and they also came back clear , I have the pressure and dizzy spells happen to me every day , the only things that help is taking 1mg of Ativan , it helps me feel "normal" for a few hours , then it goes back to the head pressure and dizzy spells , I hate leaving the house, I find when I walk across the street or if I'm in large crowds I feel like I'm gunna pass out... It's so scary and the feeling sucks so bad .

[wcb123]

Did any of you manage to rid of this problem in any way? I get a pain all over my head and neck. I don't want to go to the docs if it's just anxiety.

I've had it for quite a while but it seems to be an 'all day' thing now. My eyes go funny and it usually results in me getting dizzy. Are these definitely tension headaches? How do you distinguish between something serious?

[Gary A]

A few questions. When you go dizzy, how long does the spell last? Are your headaches relieved by pain killers? Is there anything you're anxious about and do you know if you suffer from panic attacks?

[worrywart29]

I had the same exact thing still have it as a matter of fact. I started seeing a psyiotherapist and she noticed that my neck and shoulder muscles were extremely tight she said tight muscles can cause all of the dizzy and pressure feelings. I started getting my muscles stretched for the past two weeks and it's helped me loads the feeling is only sometime now although it took me a week before seeing results .