Head pressure, Brain fog, odd head sensation, feeling detached
Posted , 724 users are following.
Hi all,
I decided to become a member and make a post here after reading the forums for quite a while, great site by the way.
I am currently suffering with various symptoms and am in a bad way and just don't know where to turn any more so thought I would post here and see if anyone has any similar experiences or advice.
So first of I am male and 26 years old. I have been suffering with the symptoms in the title pretty consistently for about 2 and a half years now. I used to have some relief from the symptoms for a day or 2 here and there or maybe a bit of relief for a few hours in the day but recently the symptoms are pretty much constant and I cannot shake them.
I have an overall mild pressure feeling in the head, its not painful but is just very aggravating and feels really strange. I also have extreme brain fog with this and like a fuzzy head, there is a constant cloud over my brain and I never have any mental clarity or a clear head. My cognitive function is extremely poor now, my short term memory is non existent, its scarily bad. I often feel, detached from reality when the symptoms are bad and suffer from de-realisation, although I think this may be down to some anxiety and depression I experience when the symptoms run me down. I also get random sharp cramping pains in the head, they are quite painful but do not bother me so much as they only usually last a second or 2, it varies on how many I get of these each day but its usually less than 5. It often feels as though my brain is malfunctioning somehow and my cognitive function and senses are all out of whack, its hard to explain. There can sometimes be a build up of these symptoms throughout the day and by the night I can feel like I somehow how the flu without a fever? Like I have the head pressure, completely foggy headed, I feel super unwell, weak, sometimes even start feeling cold. Also have night sweats usually for about 4 or 5 days each month, there doesnt seem to be any sort of pattern to them that I can notice, so not sure if they are relevant. Another thing I have is ringing in ears which is mild but seems to have gotten worse recently if that sounds relevant at all. The main thing that gets me is the odd head pressure/sensation and the utterly life hindering brain fog, my brain feels like it is coated in a dark blanket constantly.
I do suffer from anxiety, I know many of these symptoms can be caused or made worse by these symptoms. I dont doubt that anxiety is a contributing factor and the way I think about they symptoms probably makes them worse but I have come a long long way with my anxiety, I have good control over it, I haven't had a panic attack in a couple of years, I manage to control most of my concious anxiety and stay in a positive mindset. No doubt I still have some subconscious anxiety underlying and I am working on that but I am not convinced this is the route cause of my symptoms. I am in therapy for my anxiety. I do not feel I will ever fully recover while I have these symptoms hanging over me though.
I have been to the doctor about these symptoms, although I do think I struggle to explain them or put them across very well in the doctors office. I have have blood tests which are all normal. I saw a neurologist couple of years back when this started, had a CT scan which was normal, they put the stabbing pains down to icepick headaches and thought the other symptoms were probably made worse by my anx/depression. Since then I went away and have been on anti depressants etc with no improvement of symptoms. I have also had a few ECGs and a 24hr ECG as I have slow heart rate and low bp so thought maybe the symptoms could be down to low bp and lack of blood to the brain, doctors do not think think this is the case and all my results came back normal. I have recently been back to the neurologist who is referring me for an MRI although he said he is sure there is nothing sinister and thinks the symptoms are probably tension type headaches and made worse by and previous drug use, he only put it down to the drug use when i told him about it though so it seemed like a convenient diagnosis. I forgot to mention I used to take drugs on the weekends socially, cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy on different occasions for a couple of years, I have had periods where I have felt ok since taking these drugs and do not really think they are the cause, I was not an addict this was just one or 2 nights a month at the weekends. So I have an MRI coming up but the neuro thinks it will be clear and obviously I hope it is and I am looking for other answers.
What could be causing these symptoms? Other than anxiety which i no can be a factor, but I have periods where my anxiety is pretty much non existent but these symptoms still build up out of nowhere and persist. I was thinking maybe some sort of allergy could be a possibility, I have tried cutting out gluten and lactose, this didn't seem to make much difference although I didn't stick to this for very long. I actually did a juice fast for 2 weeks with eating nothing other than fruit and veg juice put through a juicer to see if that would help but it didn't really give me any relief. Are there any other stomach issues that could cause this? I never have diarrhoea or constipation, my stools always float recently though, to the point of not being able to flush them, also whenever I have seen chance medicine doctors they check me out and say they think i have issues with digestion, i don't feel i have these issues but do wonder if there might be something in it.
Could there be something going on with the blood vessels in my head? Could it be a spine/posture issue? Some sort of epilepsy or electrical activity in my brain? I just have no idea now and am desperate for some relief. If anyone has any ideas or advice I would really appreciate it.
Oh just to add I am reasonably fit, I try go to the gym a few times a week and I do some weight lifting. I am a normal weight. I have been losing some weight recently which is a concern but I am still in a normal weight range for height and age.
Thanks for reading
56 likes, 1496 replies
EF2010 Recoverandheal
Posted
Hello everyone with similar symptoms,
I've been dealing with this 'floating' feeling, where I feel like I'm rocking on a boat or swaying while completely still for 4 months now. It gets particularly bad during the end of the day usually, and is often bad when I lay down to go to sleep. It will wake me up in the middle of the night, it's very uncomfortable.
For reference I am a woman in my early 30's, a goldsmith, and in excellent health otherwise.
I've gone to so many doctors, none of whom have been able to help, that is until now. After so much personal research, and also ruling out the 'big stuff' (no BPPV or other balance disorders, tumor, cancer, autoimmune diseases, etc) I came across an eye disorder called Binocular Vision Dysfunction. The symptoms that I have and that so many of you are having are all in line with this vision problem, where the eyes are not working together creating these mysterious symptoms. It seems it is a relatively unknown or rare problem in the medical community, so I think that's why the doctors aren't of much help. Plus, they make money when they order tests like MRI's etc. Unfortunately dizziness is a common problem for a lot of medical issues and doctors don't have time to solve our mysteries. But that's a whole other story. You must be your own advocate and do the research it seems.
I went to Dr in San Francisco and sure enough, I have a convergence issue with my eyes and was prescribed glasses with prism. I have had the glasses now for 4 full days and I do have to say that I am experiencing a great deal of relief, not complete relief unfortunately, but a lot. And for me that's better than nothing. My convergence problem happens only at close distances, so I have to deal with taking the glasses off and on throughout the day; I imagine more relief could be found for someone who just has to put the glasses on in the morning and take them off to go to sleep. After the first 30 days of wearing the glasses you have to come back and get re-examined as they say the eye muscles relax and the prescription may shift and change. I'm looking forward to more time with the glasses and hopefully more relief.
Anyway, I hope this information can be of help to some of you. I know how awful this all is.
Good luck!
dona57225 EF2010
Posted
I am on my 7th pair of glasses of midline shift syndrome from my Traumatic Brain injury from falling in my kitchen. Yes, I agree it helped with my walking sideways and some of my horrific migraines. But, I still have all the other symptoms. Brain fogginess, short-term memory loss, cloud over my brain, can't remember what I am thinking about. So it is a possibility that many of the people on here have had brain injuries from sports or hitting their heads in car accidents or a fall. If so, yes getting prism in your glasses is a HUGE help, also getting a blue tint helps too as it reduces the glare. I had mine made darker blue, so my glasses are blue all the time. They turn dark black in the sunlight so that my eyes (which are now very sensitive to sunlight) don't create a severe headache later in the day...
My blood pressure has dropped out the bottom for no reason, and I went to the hospital...all the nurses standing around me waiting for me to code...yes all of them came in. Why didn't they just give me a pill under the tongue to stop it? NO, just observation sport.
If you have
Migraines, Brain fog, night sweats, Ringing in your ears or high pitched sounds like crickets, a pressure in your head, a band around your head, like a balloon in your head, cognitive function poor, memory poor, recall poor, short-term memory non-existent, feel detached from reality or others, feel tired and run down from the minute you get up until bed, Random sharp cramping pains like an ice pick being shoved in muscles or your head makes you call out with an OUCH or GRAB your head in PAIN. You have days of literally getting nothing done trying to get out of your own way. You might get one bill taken care of and that was a major undertaking. Just getting the paperwork, finding the phone number and your checkbook and actually getting that check written and in an envelope and out to the mailbox. Huge undertaking. Or it may take a few days to make it to the mailbox or a week.
These symptoms are exhausting. The mere trying to get past yourself to achieve something is tiring. Not to mention the falls from the lack of balance.
I did go on a nongluten no sugar diet for over a year. The headaches still pursued me along with all the other symptoms. Weight off weight on has nothing to do with these symptoms.
I am not diabetic, No BP or any other issues.
I have allergies that I take meds to keep under control and stay away from all that I am allergic to.
GMO's I try my best to eat organic, but I am sure that the genetically orchestrated foods and chemically sprayed foods have a great deal to do with why we are having so many more issues like this.
maureen59588 Recoverandheal
Posted
thierry40000 maureen59588
Posted
joevii maureen59588
Posted
My name is jonathan and i am 34yrs old from west afrcan, I have being having waves of squeezing presure in the brain, upper part of the brain, for 3 weeks now and I have being to 3 hospitals and have being placed on drugs like voltarin retard100mg nuriobium to say the least, but it's not getting better, have asked to do a CT scan, and I did, every thing came out fine, but said I have synopsis, was giving meds for that and still noting has changed
Aside the upper head squeezing presure that comes in waves of 2sec per period, the left side of my head is tight too, the pain slides down to the back of the ear, jaw line and down to the neck.. all on the left side...which started a few days back..
I am new here and read a similar case,
I was hoping to share, if anyone shares this kind of health issues and what they did to make it better... thank you
joevii thierry40000
Posted
My name is jonathan and i am 34yrs old from west afrcan, I have being having waves of squeezing presure in the brain, upper part of the brain, for 3 weeks now and I have being to 3 hospitals and have being placed on drugs like voltarin retard100mg nuriobium to say the least, but it's not getting better, have asked to do a CT scan, and I did, every thing came out fine, but said I have synopsis, was giving meds for that and still noting has changed
Aside the upper head squeezing presure that comes in waves of 2sec per period, the left side of my head is tight too, the pain slides down to the back of the ear, jaw line and down to the neck.. all on the left side...which started a few days back..
I am new here and read a similar case,
I was hoping to share, if anyone shares this kind of health issues and what they did to make it better... thank you
joevii Recoverandheal
Posted
My name is jonathan and i am 34yrs old from west afrcan, I have being having waves of squeezing presure in the brain, upper part of the brain, for 3 weeks now and I have being to 3 hospitals and have being placed on drugs like voltarin retard100mg nuriobium to say the least, but it's not getting better, have asked to do a CT scan, and I did, every thing came out fine, but said I have synopsis, was giving meds for that and still noting has changed
Aside the upper head squeezing presure that comes in waves of 2sec per period, the left side of my head is tight too, the pain slides down to the back of the ear, jaw line and down to the neck.. all on the left side...which started a few days back..
I am new here and read a similar case,
I was hoping to share, if anyone shares this kind of health issues and what they did to make it better... thank you
dona57225 Recoverandheal
Posted
Well,
I had a Traumatic Brain Injury 2 years ago - fell hit my head on the oven then the floor. Since then I have had EVERY Symptom you described above. Everyone. They have done every test on me under the sun. Even tested me for Lupus and put me on the med for awhile which was a nightmare! Don't do it! MRI's, Contrast/no contrast. B-12, Magnesium/Zinc, Anxiety meds, Up to 200 mg of Topiramate to help w/ the Migraines that that just made all the symptoms worse (Brain fog, vision, falls, short-term memory loss 100 mg was ok not as many headaches or band pressure but still brain fog) The worst are the lightning strikes in the brain of pain. The cloud over your brain of fog. The inability to remember what you were doing. The general What the heck was I doing from minute to minute. They say the kind of B-12 shots you take makes a difference, but then don't give you an option on your insurance for what you get. Magnesium/Zinc a necessity to get started out of this dark alley sublingual. (Drops) Put them in a juice or something (Taste nasty). From Global Healing Center is where I get mine online. I am on my 3rd year w/ this ...so hopefully, we can help each other. This MUS Misunderstood Symptoms that Dr.'s are not diagnosing just shooting in the dark is crazy. I also am going to start going to acupuncture and I was given a prescription for a new tool for migraines called Cefaly Technology. It has two magnets on the sticker you put on your forehead and two on the little device. (Kind of looks like a superhero thing on your head) the first time it goes for 20 minutes then pauses then for longer on next cycle. You can set it for stronger intensity. But do it at minimal for the first time. It gives off a gentle pulse wave that causes the brain to relax. It doesn't pulse on/off like a tense unit. It stays on steady. It seems to make my brain relax. some. Which is a blessing seeing as how we are constantly worrying about what the heck is going on with our brains.
nina11974 Recoverandheal
Posted
joevii nina11974
Posted
Warm regards
Jonathan
jamie8883 Recoverandheal
Posted
peterjones9000 Recoverandheal
Posted
Hi,
I'm replying to this in the hope of helping anyone who comes across the post. I recently experienced similar symptoms for a period of three months from 15th December 2017 to mid-march 2018.
The symptoms came on overnight. They included:
Dizziness- It wasn't 'vertigo'. It was more a feeling on being on a rocking boat 24/7
Fatigue- this was at its worst for the first few weeks and then lessened. But for the first few weeks everyday tasks- changing the bedsheets for instance- totally exhausted me and I would have to sit down after. For the first week or two, I would crawl into bed in the afternoon and fall into very deep sleep. As I say, the extreme fatigue went away after a few weeks. All the other symptoms remained though.
Flustered- As the person above describes, I would have to really concentrate on things that don't normally require a lot of thought. Selling something on eBay, for example. This was probably the most distressing symptom. I could only manage one straightforward task at a time. If a few problems arose at once I would get this awful overwhelmed feeling, like I was hanging on for dear life. This was usually accompanied by a feeling of pressure at the back of my head, similar to the sensation of blushing.
Concentration- A few typos per sentence if I was writing on the computer, for example. Missing words, wrong endings on words etc. Just muddled.
Puffy under eyes and a feeling of pressure around the eyes. Also a redness at the edge of my eyelids. These symptoms gradually went away over the months before I was fully recovered.
Clumsy- my proprioception was off: crashing glasses and plates onto tabletops, breaking a piece off the shower, pulling stuff out of the cupboard onto the floor unintentionally.
Depersonalisation- for the first month I was in a very dreamlike state all the time.
Incapable of exercise of any sort- even using a cloth to wash the windows would aggravate the dizziness. I think the increased movement of the head may have been responsible for this.
The dizziness and brain fog/confusion were worse when I was tired and when I was hungry. Eating a meal would ease things quite a bit, for an hour or so at least.
My GP found nothing wrong with my ears when he examined them with his little scope thing. He prescribed anti-vertigo medication, but this did nothing. Maybe 10 weeks in I had an MRI and this came back with nothing.
The symptoms remained constant until mid-march then cleared up in the course of 24 - 48 hours. In the few days before they cleared up, I had started taking long baths. Could the steam have done something to the passages in my head? I had also been reading about cervicogenic dizziness- dizziness arising from issues with the neck. I was going to go to a physio specialising in that and in the meantime had been massaging the back of my neck myself, stretching and rolling my head etc, trying to loosen it all up. Maybe that had some effect. The prolonged heat of the baths might also have loosened something up.
It was a big relief when it cleared up. For the duration, I just stuck to routine as best I could, including a walk for 45 minutes in the evening. That's all for now. If I can think of anything else I'll be back! Cheers.
dona57225 peterjones9000
Posted
Hi Peter,
I am familiar w/ Prism glasses. I am on my 8th pair as they have been changed numerous times as I go along. I had Midline shift syndrome after falling and getting a traumatic brain Injury (TBI).
Symptoms:
Couldn't read, disoriented, spatially off in all aspects. Handling objects, walking in halls, I list to one side, head tilt, nauseous, Can't sleep, BRAIN FOG, can't be around anything that has lines close together going to many directions or a strong pattern makes me dizzy or throws off my balance - or Harsh movement, can't concentrate on or retain anything I do read...2 paragraphs later. Typing same as you leave out words/letters/punctuation, as you said smashing things into the counter - misjudge distance to setting things down, or it simply doesn't occur to me, Drop stuff , fall down, stutter, forget what I am talking about. Difficulty thinking about what I need to do next.
I agree if there is more than one task, and I have multiple things that HAVE to be done - I feel like I am in a pressure cooker. Heat completely covers my full body. Especially if time oriented critical items. Like Post hurricane. The thought of having someone tear my roof off, and totally turn my house upside down makes me melt down just thinking about it. The paperwork associated with it for the Insurance Co, all the receipts, Quotes, decisions, MELTDOWN. Taxes forget it. Meltdown.
I was normally the take charge do everything w/out even thinking about it person everyone came to...Well, No more. I can't take care of the paperwork myself. Hmm, wonder where the person like me is that will help with all of this for me. I will have to read what I have written here and correct it 4 times before it reads correctly.
They tell me, I will never have the same brain again- get used to it! Spelling things wrong side out, not even recognizable. Can't spell words well enough to even get spell check to help me any more. So, if it is anything I wouldn't use in a normal sentence forget it. I often have to change what I am saying so I can use a different word because I can't remember the vocabulary I used to have. I just know there is a word for that. Names of stuff or shows or things forget it. I can sit with a blank look trying to get anything to come up on my blank black board of a mind. Nothing comes so I have to move on to doing something else. Scrambled.
Stacks of paper by me where I sit. I have a BRAIN pad so I can keep up with thoughts that I know need to be followed thru with. I keep them on one brightly colored YELLOW Clipboard or i wouldn't find that either.
They have tried changing my meds around too...Well that just throws me into a tail loop of TBI world. I only take allergy, sleeping, and pain pills. however shift one of those and I am tanked like a fish in a barrel. No where to go and have no clue what I was just doing.
But, I stay busy with the multitude of "I have to do's" even if I only get one thing done today. I am still behind, but at least "one less thing". Feeling of disconnected and not caring. It would be entirely too much work to keep up w/ someone else too. Get dressed, meet them, and listen to drama...umm no. I am lucky I have a partner who understands me and the TBI and is willing to help me whom I would be SUNK w/out.
I'm so glad you talked about the Prism glasses, you are right not many doctors nation wide are familiar w/ what to do or are trained in them. If I hadn't hit my head so hard and gotten a TBI I would never have found out about this myself. The normal Eye doctors were not helping me at all. they would say you are 20/20 I'd say that is funny I can't see anything w/ these glasses. 8 months into the TBI the VA finally recognized I had a TBI. So they started treating me w/ the corrective lenses and care.
I am now 2 1/2 years into this and am just starting to see SOME daylight (depends on the week/month). But there are so many out there with Head injuries that happened so simply and people don't know about the symptoms from them due to being dismissed by so many doctors... Most of what we are described is what all head injury patients talk about with their injuries. If people can relate back to a head injury or two that was the onset that can help. The doctors will do an MRI, some will find something others will find nothing.
However, you will be on the track to getting help. Brain injuries can be as simple as a slip and fall like mine or a car accident or sports accident. What ever the cause they leave us in a "different state of Mind" trying to deal w/ our life using a different brain. Struggling for answers. All the books I have read about this say the same thing. Until I knew what was causing this I went from dr to dr. No one could help me. Then I talked about when I hit my head in a car accident, sports accident, slip and fall...and I finally got help.
I am not saying that it will be the "Wake up call" from the fog...but between the PRISM glasses, going to someone you can talk to about it, and getting the correct help. You will start to make progress. I had to be shown how to read again, walk w/out staggering....
There is hope, we just have to help each other
Gussysmom dona57225
Posted
I too have TBI; 4 years later and it still effects my life. Though it’s definitely better than before HBOT. (This is only one of a list of health issues.)
Have you considered doing Hyperbaric Chamber Oxygen treatments (HBOT) ?
It helped me a lot with tbi symptoms. I did 80 treatments in a large chamber. It almost looks like inside of a plane but much more comfortable. There’s only a few chambers of this size in the USA that treats TBI. The one I’m referring to is located in Panama City Beach, Florida. It wasn’t covered for TBI by VA or other medical insurance. Insurance sometimes covers it for other medical conditions. There’s more than 30 years of research demonstrating this therapy helps with TBI. I was desperate to be able to continue living independently. I paid for it myself. It was expensive but my quality of life is worth it.
Just thought I’d mention that treatment... in case you weren’t aware of it.
dona57225 Gussysmom
Posted
Gussysmom,
I read your response a week ago I think. I am NO GOOD with time. Today/ yesterday/ last week I don't know when something happened, lucky to remember past the day it DID HAPPEN ...that it was something I though was important or of use to me. I do appreciate you writing to me about the HBOT. I am going to a specialist at the VA and assigned a therapist who meets with me to help me "Try to live life". I will bring this up to them as there is a NEW WING at the VA here in Tampa just for spinal injuries and TBI's...etc. Severe injuries that "Normal Dr's" have no idea how to treat. So far just drugs as an answer to help w/ sleeping, functioning, and finding a reason for tomorrow. I have some tools that I work with that I have listed in last reply, but - Frankly I don't know if they are helping. It is like- go live and the human body will help you heal - because the Dr's really have no clue what to do.
They put me thru a battery of tests that did nothing but make me nauseous and dizzy and feel like crap for 2 days each time. Almost like the test were just for their studies, not to help me. I asked my partner who was with me during the testing what was supposed to be achieved, NO IDEA.
I can so closely relate to what others are saying here. I often say- GOSH how well they said that! IT covers me in a nutshell. But, for me to be able to put it together concisely like they did...Forget it.
I asked if there was a group I could go to here that had just TBI or brain injury people. I was sent to one area of the hospital to determine where I would fit. Well, NO I don't want to go w/ the people that have been sexually/physically/mentally assaulted. WOW, just the interview for which group sent me into a tail spin. NO NO NO I do not want to be with people and listen to their trauma. (Some of which I have suffered) I want to go listen to others w/ TBI's or brain injuries and find out what we can do ...
The Natural Reader for books etc. That you can adjust the speed on when it reads to you was a huge help in the beginning because everyone read TOO fast for my brain to understand what the F" they were talking about. With Natural Reader you can slow down the speed with which it is read to you until you find your comfort level. that was nice. I could at least hear stuff I couldn't read. (That I found out from the librarian at the VA)
I don't even remember how I found this group. I am glad I did as I get to hear what others are feeling and I don't feel so alone in my mental fog. And the complexities of the TBI, and having "SOMEONE ELSE'S brain to deal with not my own. (Thankful for the brief glimpses of my old brain now 2 1/2 years later) Gives me hope that someday/month/year I may get to use my own OlD brain. The one that actually functioned when I asked something of it. Not go totally blank. Like a blackboard that had been totally erased.
As you have probably surmised -It has taken me awhile to answer - Partly because I forgot- partly because anything I type like this i have to read over many times and unscramble it and try to make sense of what I am trying to say. Doing SO MUCH better than a year ago. This would have been impossible.
I will ask at the VA to see if they will alow me to go for HBOT. Thank you!
Dona