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 all,
I'm writing because I hope to help--I finally figured out what was going on with me and have finally found relief, so hopefully anyone else who is going through this can get some help, too.
Binocular Vision Dysfunction (also known as BVD), has these symptoms:
Pain symptoms: headache, face ache/sinus pain, eye pain or pain with eye movements
Head tilt symptoms: neck ache and upper back pain due to a head tilt
Dizziness / Vestibular symptoms: dizziness, lightheadedness, off-balance feeling, motion sickness, nausea, poor depth perception, lack of coordination, unsteadiness or drifting to one side, disorientation
Reading symptoms: difficulty with concentration, fatigue with reading, difficulty with reading comprehension, skipping lines, using a line guide (e.g. finger) to maintain one’s place, words running together, losing one’s place
Routine visual symptoms: blurred vision, difficulty with close-up vision, difficulty with night vision, eye strain, sore eyes
Binocular vision symptoms: double or overlapping vision, shadowed vision, light sensitivity, difficulty with glare or reflection, closing one eye while reading
Psychological symptoms: feeling overwhelmed or anxious in a crowd, agoraphobia, feeling overwhelmed or anxious in large spaces (e.g. a mall)
Many of these broad range of symptoms are not commonly appreciated by the medical community to be associated with a vision problem. Additionally, regular eye exams do not look for these small misalignments. There are only a limited number of eye doctors who diagnose and treat this eye dysfunction in the USA.
The most disturbing symptom I had was that I would wake in the night (at the beginning of deep REM sleep) with severe dizziness and anxiety. I am also sensitive to extreme and quick light changes, as in they make the dizzy/floaty feeling come on.
I am 4 weeks into a treatment plan with my eye doctor in San Francisco and I am feeling SO MUCH BETTER. The treatment plan is a 2-3 month course of prism lenses in glasses, in addition to eye exercises to address my personal issue which is that my eyes are having a difficult time converging at close distances.
I hope this helps you guys, I wrote before but I was only a few days into my glasses and I was still skeptical.
Alexxx EF2010
Posted
Hey! How is it going now?!
julie63514 Recoverandheal
Posted
Long shot to all of you but please do research Functional Neurological Disorder. I've been recently diagnosed with this and most of the symptoms you list, I have. It's usually a label for the unexplained however if persistent, therapy can help with this. I have awful bouts of brain fog, my speech has become different, different intonations, slurred etc. I also have visual disturbances, they call these dissociative seizures or NEAD. Everyone has completely different symptoms, not one FND person I've met has the same as such. http://www.neurosymptoms.org/ is a great resource to check what you're experiencing, especially if like me, you've never heard of FND. Usually with most FND people, you will have clear tests, clear scans and can be a pretty healthy person.
paula08755 julie63514
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Hi Julie, hope you are coping well. My partner is just suffering and going through hell with this at the moment, I feel because he is European and is living in the UK with me I'm English that he's not getting the correct help and that we are being ignored, all we want is a diagnosis so we can learn to deal with what is happening. I'm doing my best working and researching and chasing different specialists but we are just getting nowhere, I have looked at the above email it's in every language but Romanian and I really need him to look at this but he struggles to read in his own language never mind English. I feel so sad for him and exhausted.
odette97618 paula08755
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I just commented on this thread. Fits everything. Can have this feeling for months or years without actually headache, until receiving treatment. Look up Facebook groups for vestibular migraine, they sound exactly like this .
julie63514 paula08755
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If you join the FND group on Facebook, you can contact the charity and request it's translated for you, also they have a group that is for 'the world' as opposed to just the UK, you will more than likely find other Romanian FND folk. It's difficult to say this is exactly what he has however it’s something neurologists tend to label when there is no organic cause (clear bloods, clear MRI, CT, clear lumbar). Unfortunately for FND there is very little treatment as such. You can have therapy that's tailored to your symptoms. For me, I'll have to have speech, CBT and physio. I have most of what you list, I also have dissociative seizures, this means my vision will go and I kind of go space like. You can have movement disorders also, this can trigger many sensations also. They describe it as your brain being a computer and its having a malfunction, the only way to get passed FND is to retrain your brain. I would start by asking the GP to refer to a neurologist, if this is a migraine as others suggest, they can diagnose and prescribed treatment. They thought that's what I had initially however my symptoms are functional, like trying to talk, trying to lift my arms, things that require my brain to do things. I understand the brain fog too, some days I get it awful, it's usually down to sensory overload and it can be very hard to conduct yourself safely. I will say it wasn't an easy road to get my diagnosis, it took me three months of worsening symptoms before I got anyway in the NHS. It's also not a well known diagnosis, there's very little research into the cause of FND, many GP's will never have heard of it, you sometimes have to be the one educating.
julie63514
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julie63514
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paula08755 julie63514
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He's seen several neurologists already been suffering and annoying our GPS for well over a year now, seems like everyone is laughing at us, they think he's faking and having me for a idiot. Surely you can't fake something for almost 2 years. I am really disappointed with our NHS I have been myself several times with injury to my shoulder and hip to be sent away with antidepressant,
b659540 paula08755
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julie63514 paula08755
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I can't say its a sure diagnoses, but for the unknown it's usually the one they give. I've spoken to many people who have had FND for years and years and it's took a real battle just to get the label, let alone treatment. It's not well researched condition either and many doctors have never even heard of it. Think back to the triggers, to when it all started, see by writing a diary if there is anything that increases the symptoms. Only then can you present clear evidence, I also recorded my episodes so I could show the type of thing I experience.
julie63514
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It's sad because just because you can't see something, doesn't mean its not happening. To look at, I appear perfectly healthy and normal (until my speech gives me away). I've never felt unwell either with FND and that has at times even made me question myself and if I'm somehow putting it on. The brain fog is the worse and that actually makes me feel like I could section myself at times. I get so confused and can't comprehend much at all, I feel like I'm loosing control then. On scans and bloods, I'm fit and well, there is nothing organic to find. I'm simply malfunctioning at times and my brain is telling my body to feel pain where there is none, or twitch and tic when it doesn't need to. Sometimes my symptoms are damm right annoying, pins and needles in my nose (I hate being tickled and have to prevent myself from wacking myself). Tiredness is the worst for me, if I'm tired, you can guarantee I'll have a day of vision interference and really poor speech. Ask your partner to write a diary, if his symptoms are anything you can see visually, then record them. It's hard trying to tell someone else what's going on in your head when they can't see it. The amount of times I've been told I'm just stressed by doctors and to go home and rest, I think in the end they made me stressed. It just takes one good doctor and that can take a long time as you know. So quick to chuck anti depressants at people no matter how much you protest you're actually a pretty happy person. It's a shame because some doctors let the pressures over take patient care. I had to complain about the first neurologist I seen, he was awful and so dismissive. It's not like I had a long history of doctors notes, I rarely ever go to the doctors, this is completely new to me. Only recently I got told FND, only recently did someone actually care to listen to me and not fob me off. I've still however had no therapy appointments, so I don't expect to be clear of my symptoms any time soon. I'm back to work and my own positive outlook I think is keeping me going and trying to suppress what I can. If you think it could be emotional related with your partner, perhaps you could consider private CBT and see how that goes. Some can be silly money but local to you, you can find one who charges a reasonable rate per session. My friend has PSTD and they really help her. I think I've found them at low as £40.00 per hour, usually one session per week.
b659540 julie63514
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dona57225 b659540
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Thank you Julie!
b659540 dona57225
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b659540 dona57225
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julie63514 b659540
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julie63514 b659540
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Ah sorry, you weren't asking me
b659540 julie63514
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