Constant pain and pressure, right side of face/head

Hello, I'm new here - first post! I have found this site by googling my symptoms for the millionth time! I know nobody can diagnose me here but I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences to me. I will try not to make this too long but give as much background info as possible. I am a 24 year old female with no other health conditions.

Around 4 -5 years ago, I had a strage feeling of pressure behind my right eye, I went to the opticians and whilst my left eye had better vision than the right, they didnt find anything significantly wrong with my eyesight. I also went to my GP a few times who didnt seem too concerned and I never actually ended up getting referred onto anyone. After about 3 months, I noticed it had gone away.

2.5 years ago, the feeling came back although this time it was much worse and I had pain with the pressure. Over a series of months and years, more symptoms have appeared. I have pressure and 'stuffiness' in my right ear and a constant feeling of needing to pop that ear. I have pain deep in my ear also. The pressure behind my eye also gets so bad sometimes and feels so tight that I need to sort of open my eye wide and strain it when I blink (sort of hard to explain) and it makes this squeaking or popping sound that other people can hear. It feels like it is going to relieve the pressure but actually doesnt. It almost feels like I have air or fluid trapped behind it.

I also have pain in the right side of my jaw (newish symptom, only had it for around 3 months) and pain in the right side of my neck. I always feel the need to click my neck on that side also. When the pain is really bad, my cheek and nose tingles and the pain goes down my right shoulder. Touching my face doesnt make it worse and neither des the cold or wind.

I have seen a neurologist who diagnosed me with trigeminal neuralgia (wrong) and hemicrania continua (wrong) none of the medications for these two conditions helped in the slightest. I have also had an MRI on my brain and nothing was found. I have had four treatments with a chiropractor but cannot afford any more. I have also seen ENT who have looked in my ears and sinuses and found nothing. 

This pressure/pain is contstant. From the second I wake up to the second I go to sleep it is there. Sometimes the pain isnt horrendous and it just feels more uncomfortable than anything but sometimes the pain is so bad all I can do is sit there and cry. It isn't particularly worse at any point in the day and I cant work out why some days it is better than others (maybe stress makes it worse?) this has been going on for 2 and a half years and the symptoms seem to be just increasing. It is affecting my life terribly. I am depressed, constantly irritable and snappy. It is affecting my work and all I want to do is sleep.

Every time I go to my GP now, they try and fob me off with new tablets - the last time even telling me 'take these and see what happens!' - I just want an answer and to be taken seriously. I have taken so many pain killers and medications to help with nerve pain but nothing helps in the long run. I just try to deal with it now and take nurofen or paracetamol when it gets unbearable.

I know this has turned into a really long post and may be a bit all over the palce but if anyone has any advice or has a similar experience I would really really appreciate your response.

Thank you

 

Did any of the docs put you on antibiotics? From your description it sounds possibly like a sinus infection. I've had ENT look at my sinuses and find nothing, but my GP put me on antibiotics and the pain went away.

If it is a sinus infection it can often be seen on head MRI, if they're looking at the right spot. It can be missed even with that though. I've had infection caught by that by neurologist, also by radiologist.

'When the pain is really bad, my cheek and nose tingles and the pain goes down my right shoulder.'

Hi,
Have you had a shoulder or neck injury...even a mild one? The tingles are a nerve that's edit off. Is this bilateral of just right side? Any hand or elbow issues?

I have edited a word out of your post, please read the forum rule concerning language. Thanks.

Post Edited By Moderator (straydog) : 2/21/2015 8:26:04 AM (GMT-7)

Hello everyone, thank you for your responses I really appreciate it.

I have never been given antibiotics actually - i will mention this to my doctor.

I have had an Xray of my back and was told I had muscle spasms but they left it at that, didnt tell me where abouts or what to do about it! the chiropractor also did a scan of my back and neck and said I did have a lot of muscle tension and I have had 4 adjustments with them but like I said, I can no longer afford to see them. I dont know if I can be referred on the NHS, I will have to ask the doctor about that aswell.

cogito, I have never been given muscle relaxers but I do think that is probably what I need. I will also mention this to my GP. your comment about your face feeling 'off' is literally how I feel. I get the 'numb' feeling but when I touch my face it isnt numb. I also get the feeling that my eye isnt working properly but when I close my other eye, I can see fine. It is so strange.

Reading back on what I have just written it seems almost ridiculous that I have gone to the doctor so many times and am still in this situation. I just find every visit so stressful as I feel like they dont take me seriously and I just end up crying every time and leaving without any help. I have seen multiple doctors too so maybe I need to change practice.

I am very stressed, I am a nervous/stressed person naturally but my Mum died almost 4 years ago very suddenly and it was extremely traumatic. I was very very close to my mum and this was probably the worst thing that could happen to me. I do think this stress could be playing a part in my situation (although during the first incident with just my eye, my Mum was alive and well at this point)

I just find it hard to know where to start in getting this resolved, I just want answers and because of what happened to my mum, I do worry about my health so this constant feeling of being in pain and unwell it just making me so anxious and I just feel defeated. I find my symptoms so strange (the eye noise, the ear pain, ringing and pressure etc) that I find it hard to believe tension or stress in my neck or back could be causing all of this.

I feel like I am too young to be living like this. All I want to do is sleep. I have panic attacks all of the time, I have gained a load of weight and I am just so miserable.

My next plan of action is to go to the doctors next week, mention some of the advice I have got here and not leave until Im am satisfied I am going to be moving forward with either some medication or a referral.

Thanks again to everyone who has responded to me.

Post Edited (hhicks) : 2/16/2015 2:18:28 AM (GMT-7)

Hi Radles

Im sorry to hear what you have been going through :( are you finding doctors being helpful?

I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and was prescirbed gabapentin which I need to take 3 times a day 100mg - not a high dose and not making any different I dont think. I have notices the past week or so, my jaw is sort of slipping to one side as if my bite is off, I dont know if I am doing this out of habit or if its something I cant control. all other symptoms still present.

I got the feeling that the doctor thought it was either all in my head or not that serious a problem to worry about (apart from the fact its ruining my life) he refused to refer me to any specialists as he said going from doctor to doctor wont help me and he thinks I will never get an answer.

I went away with the tablets hoping they may help and I have a follow up appointment tomorrow in which I will tell him they have not helped and I want an answer!! Something must be going on and I just cant beleive they are willing to let me live like this!

You mentioned being put on Gabapentin, total dose 300mg a day. You are right, this is a very low dose. Gabapentin is one of those medications that the drs will have to increase the dosage over time to get it to a therapeutic level. So, try to be patient as this can take up to a couple of months.

Take care.

So I just got back from the doctor and he doubled my dosage of gabapentin. I also take citalopram and he doubled my dosage of that an also proscribed me propanolol for anxiety. He wouldnt give me antibiotice, he was convinced I dont have a sinus infection. I guess I will see where this takes me over the next few weeks.

Hi Alcie. Ugh I'm not sure why he is Prescribing me gabapentin. I don't think I have nerve pain. If it's not my sinuses I am sure it's muscle pain. I'm worries about the side effects, what did you have? He prescribes me propranolol for my panic Attacks, he said it should stop the physical symptoms. I am a bit nervous to be taking all of these medicines but I'm in so much pain and have such bad anxiety at the moment I just feel desperate. I don't have high blood pressure, no. I do lose my faith in doctors sometimes I just get the feeling they get it so wrong with medications!

My experiences started with waking up with pain in my neck in 2017 so severe I could hardly move. After months of trying to work it out with Chiropractor I had MRI. Disk in neck degenerated and slipped into my nerve in neck so profound it looked like I was in some sort of accident. I saw an Orthopedic doctor who couldn't believe I didn't go to emergency room for this. He recommended an epidural steroid injection which I had a reaction to causing me to black out. An 8 minute procedure turned into an hour. At that point my head was feeling really weird but I managed to make it home. I went to work and all the next week I had severe pain in my head. I ended up on a Saturday after a training class in the emergency room because my words were slurred and my husband said my entire demeanor changed. I thought maybe I was too stressed because I was soon to take my exam to get licensed in my field. Well come to find out I had a brain bleed. CT scan showed this then I had to have an MRI which showed a small cavernoma on my brain. After seeing a Nuerosurgeon he put me on a three month check up with him and agreed I should have my neck surgery. I did in December. I ended up with more stroke like symptoms and in hospital twice after my surgery. Still could not figure out what was causing this. My orthopedic doctor kept me on oral steroids for a long time because I was still having some discomfort from surgery. I hate taking medication period. I took the steroids for almost a year, until I had more symptoms. Tremors in my legs, migraines every day by 2:00pm, pain from shoulder up, pain in hip. I ended going on medical leave because I couldn't function. I went in for a check up with my Nuerosurgeon and he recommended I see a neurologist. the one he recommended took three months to get in to. I decided to schedule with a local one who I have seen since. He decided to run a slue of test. MRI's being the later. My new MRI's show another disk compressed into my spinal cord and two herniated disk in my lower back. I had to have neck surgery a second time. All this time I have had this weird feeling on the left side of my head. My surgery took care of my migraines. So now the migraines are relieved, I started getting periodic sharp pain in my ear. I went to GP to see if it was an ear infection (which I have never had) and he didn't find anything wrong with my ear. I said can you just give me some antibiotics to see if it goes away. He is the sweetest GP, I know he feels for me knowing all of what has been going on with me. He decides to give me antibiotic. I had a reaction to it and he had to call in another. It didn't help my sporatic pain unfortunately. I then started having pain, spasms, and numbness in my face, and pain down my neck. I then went back to my orthopedic surgeon to make sure I didn't have something new come along again.(MRI in clear for neck, I was elated) I also saw my neurologist. Oh I forgot to mention that I have been taking gabapentin(treated for nerve pain) for over a year. I have been exhausted feeing after just being awake a couple of hours. It got worse as my face pain appeared. So Neurologist put me on Cimbalta to take with the Gabapentin. I couldn't stay awake, I thought was because of Gabapentin. I stopped it all together but the tired feeling was still getting worse. The Cymalta was numbing my facial pain but too tired to care about it. He then put me on Keppra, which I have been on for almost a week now, I started with one pill and noticed my head pressure relieved. I have woken without the pain and vice like feeling in my head. I am taking it twice a day because it seems to wear off in 11-12 hours. Keppra generally treats patients with epilepsy, but has been know to help with nerve pain. My nuerologist thinks I have an autoimmune disease, but he is working diligently to find answers for me. There is entirely too much information online to diagnose myself. I know there is an answer and hopefully a cure to what is going on. I know I'm missing a ton of information about symptoms but to be honest I think the exhaustion is the worst of all symptoms. It's pretty debilitating to wake up and then feel like I need to go back to bed. One more symptom, remembering. My memory is aweful. example, I juiced for dinner instead of cooking. I set my cup up on bar in front of me while I put dishes up from dishwasher. After I completed I looked in 3 rooms trying to find my drink, then I thought great I must have poured it out when I did dishes. As I poured myself more juice (I made extra for tomorrow) I look right in front of me and see my juice I had poored 10 minutes prior. Pretty irritating!