I need Medical Advice

[BlackoutCreature]

Alright, I never really wanted to put out my personal life like this on these boards, but at this point I'm not sure where else to turn. I'm asking any of my fellow FAN's with any kind of medical experience to give me some advice here.

About a year and a half ago I would start getting weird headaches. They would be very mild pressure headaches that would start at the top of my head, just left of center, and travel down over the top and side of my left eye before settling as a weird sinus pressure just below my left eye. It would last like that anywhere from minutes to hours until the cycle starting over, usually after I stand up from sitting. Like I said, very mild pressure, feeling like a balloon or something is slowly being inflated and pressing against my skull or sinus cavity. I also got bouts of lightheadedness from this.

After about a month of this I went to see my Doctor. At first she thought it was related to my hypertension and upped my meds, she also prescribed my some antibiotics in case it was an infection. Neither worked. After another month of this she started to believe it was some sort of allergy and sent me to an ENT. He put a camera up my nose and found nothing and prescribed me an inhalant. After about another month (about three months in total since this first started) the symptoms passed. I don't know if it was the inhalant or if they just passed on their own. About two weeks after I started taking the inhalant I got fed up on the lack of progress, went to the nearest ER and got a CT Scan taken. They found nothing and sent me home.

I got the impression that towards the end of this my Doctor thought I was just a paranoid hypochondriac and the ER Doctors seemed to agree.

About two weeks ago the symptoms resurfaced. I've also been having, and I'm not 100% sure how to describe this, but "head jerking". Basically just a random, split-second uncontrollable jerking of my head and neck, a handful of times a day, like my head is being struck by a quick electric jolt. I've also been having some very minor neck pain the last couple of days, but I don't know if it's related (I just recently switched pillows on my bed, the new ones being a lot fluffier then the old ones and keeping my head at a different angle then usual when I sleep).

I hate to go back to my Doctor just to be again treated like a hypochondriac overreacting to a minor allergy (which I might very well be), but I just don't feel right and I'm looking for any information or advice that anybody can give me.

[Urethra Franklin]

Maybe see a different doctor if possible.

I don't think you're overreacting. It might be nothing, but it might not.

Get yourself checked out.

[4TheGlory]

The weird head sensation that feels like a jolt sounds very similar to a phenomenon referred to as brain zaps. Which is usually caused when people stop taking SSRI meds. Have you ever taken anything for depression or anxiety?

[BlackoutCreature]

Sept 3, 2015 2:49:39 GMT -5 4TheGlory said:

The weird head sensation that feels like a jolt sounds very similar to a phenomenon referred to as brain zaps. Which is usually caused when people stop taking SSRI meds. Have you ever taken anything for depression or anxiety?

No, just my blood pressure meds, metoprolol and losartan. I was also on pantoprazole for a couple of months for some severe acid reflux, I stopped taking that about a month ago.

[Deleted]

I'm not a medical expert in any way, but these could be panic attack symptoms. It could be phantom pain. I get that headache type thing you mentioned where one eye hurts, and sometimes I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack but I just need to take some deep breaths and sit down and drink some water and smoke a cigarette. The symptoms aren't the same for everyone. Try to pay attention to your mood when it happens. Are you anxious or stressed out when this occurs? Or do you often suppress anger and unhappiness? It might be manifesting itself this way.

[BlackoutCreature]

Sept 3, 2015 7:16:42 GMT -5 @therealoblivion said:

I'm not a medical expert in any way, but these could be panic attack symptoms. It could be phantom pain. I get that headache type thing you mentioned where one eye hurts, and sometimes I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack but I just need to take some deep breaths and sit down and drink some water and smoke a cigarette. The symptoms aren't the same for everyone. Try to pay attention to your mood when it happens. Are you anxious or stressed out when this occurs? Or do you often suppress anger and unhappiness? It might be manifesting itself this way.

I suppose it's possible, but I've actually had panic/anxiety attacks in the past (although not in a long while) and they've never felt anything like this. I know panic attacks can have a variety of symptoms, but I'm not feeling unusually anxious, nervous or stressed, no racing of the heart of shortness of breath, nothing I would describe as feeling like a heart attack. Also pressure pain against the left sinus seems like a very specific and unusual symptom for it to be psychological, and seems pretty constant and doesn't go away with changing of moods.

[Deleted]

Sept 3, 2015 7:43:00 GMT -5 BlackoutCreature said:

Sept 3, 2015 7:16:42 GMT -5 @therealoblivion said:

I'm not a medical expert in any way, but these could be panic attack symptoms. It could be phantom pain. I get that headache type thing you mentioned where one eye hurts, and sometimes I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack but I just need to take some deep breaths and sit down and drink some water and smoke a cigarette. The symptoms aren't the same for everyone. Try to pay attention to your mood when it happens. Are you anxious or stressed out when this occurs? Or do you often suppress anger and unhappiness? It might be manifesting itself this way.

I suppose it's possible, but I've actually had panic/anxiety attacks in the past (although not in a long while) and they've never felt anything like this. I know panic attacks can have a variety of symptoms, but I'm not feeling unusually anxious, nervous or stressed, no racing of the heart of shortness of breath, nothing I would describe as feeling like a heart attack. Also pressure pain against the left sinus seems like a very specific and unusual symptom for it to be psychological, and seems pretty constant and doesn't go away with changing of moods.

If you have had panic attack and they don't feel like this, and your doctor says nothing is wrong, you should see a different doctor for a second opinion if that is an option for you.

[Red Impact]

I'd try to go see a different specialist. Headaches can be caused by a variety of things, from stress to food allergies to cardiac conditions to tightness of the muscles on the back of your neck and skull (in my job, I've treated people with muscle-related headaches and I work in rehab), and it might help to try to see different types of doctors, therapists, or specialists to see if any of them can help. The head jerking could be a muscle spasm or something neurologic, so you should go see a doctor about that too. You should be allowed to just go an get a consult in your state if you want to avoid seeing your primary care doctor first.

[MC Blowfish]

Go to a different doctor. You're going to be your best health advocate.

[Joe Neglia]

Second opinion, period.

[BlackoutCreature]

Well I want to thank everybody for their advice.

I went to my Doctor's clinic today. My normal Doctor wasn't there but I met with one of her partners. She once again prescribed me an antibiotic and a nasal inhalant for my headache/sinus pain. If I don't see any improvement in a week she said to come back and they'll prescribe me a steroid. For the head jerking thing, they took some blood tests and will let me know if they find anything. If the blood tests come back fine and there's no change in a week then we'll start looking into things like MRI's.

So there's some treading of old ground here, but at the very least it sounds like they're willing to examine things more closely if things don't get better this time and are not just dismissing me as a crank.