Horrible head/ear/neck/eye pressure sensation
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi ladies - Happy New Year to you all.
I'm struggling so much at the moment with Health Anxiety and wondered if anyone has/had the same as me?
I get a pressure/fullness feeling in my left ear which spreads up into my head and face and around my eye/forehead, also down into my neck and shoulder. My left eye feels weird and different to the right eye. I've noticed that when this happens I get really really anxious and I can't work out if the anxiety is causing the pressure/sensations or if I'm anxious because of it. Weirdly when this happens an artery in my forehead pops out, which is freaking me out and making my health anxiety go through the roof. I've told my Dr about it every time I go and they can't give me any explanation. I had a head MRI in Oct and an eye scan at the opticians recently and nothing was found but I'm now worrying they've missed something.
Has anyone had anything similar to this?
Thank you xxxx
1 like, 3 replies
cat38281 bombodie
Edited
So sorry you're going through this 😦 I think you can take reassurance from the fact that your tests were fine. Could it be migraine? I've read that the fluctuating hormones cause blood vessels to expand and contract which causes head pressure, and can lead to headaches.
I think the anxiety probably contributes to it, and something you might want to consider is temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). It sounds awful, but it's just your jaw joint. Anxious people have a tendency to clench or grind their teeth, repeatedly and often unknowingly, and this can cause head and neck pain, and ear pain and pressure/fullness. Perhaps consider getting a dentist or oral surgeon to have a look.
Hang in there and feel free to write me if you need a shoulder XX
bombodie cat38281
Edited
Thank you Cat - really appreciate your reply. Yes I've been told it could be migraine but I suffered with migraine when I was on birth control pills and it was different to this. But I guess it might have changed with the fluctuating hormones.I also think that anxiety is a big part of it. And i know I grind my teeth and clench my jaw at night (and I've caught myself doing it during that day also).Might be a combination of all of these things 😦
I think I could cope if if wasn't for the debilitating anxiety that goes with it and makes me so scared that something is seriously wrong. I'm seeing my meno Dr on weds so I will mention it again and hope I can accept some reassurance. This has truly been the worse 3 months of my life. I've gone from being fit and active (running everyday) to feeling about 80 years old. I've tried estrogel/utrogestan but I stopped it as anxiety was out of control and I think it was making it worse. Trying to pluck up the courage to maybe give it a go again.
Thanks again for your support xxx
cat38281 bombodie
Edited
One thing that helps with the clenching/grinding, is to consciously keep the tip of your tongue positioned at the roof of your mouth, just touching behind your front teeth. That helps you keep your teeth apart. Did you know that actually your upper and lower teeth are never supposed to touch, except when you're eating? So being conscious of it when you're awake will help. An oral surgeon might give you a combo painkiller/muscle relaxant which could help ease your physical discomforts, which could in turn help with the anxiety. For me, the physical discomforts are the worst -- they can make one feel so miserable and unable to cope. But we have to just keep pressing on in faith X