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Posted 7/31/2008 5:37 PM (GMT 0)
OMG! I just googled "head pressure" and found this sight. I have been a lone sufferer since 2004. I came on gradually and has never left. My head feels like I have a helmet on that is way too tight. I also developed pressure in my ears and ringing in my ears after the first spinal tap and a tingling sensation in my face. My coordination is off and I am very clumsy and experience dizziness. THIS IS 24/7! I normally workout 5 days a week with weights and step aerobics. I eat a lowfat diet and only drink wine on the weekend. I went to my family doctor who put me on claritin. When that didn't work, she put me on flonase and a stronger allergy medicine. That just dried me out and the pressure remained. After one year of CT scans, MRI and MRA's and nothing working, she referred me to a neurologist.

He diagnosed me with pseudo tumor and gave me my first spinal tap. It gave me the worse headache and I had to be hospitalized. In the hospital they did another spinal tap and gave me a blood patch to cure the headache and sent me home. He then put me on a pain medication although I told him I had no pain, just pressure. When that didn't work he put me on topamax and some others drugs. NOTHING! My blood pressure was fluxuating because of the stress of the whole ordeal, I was in and out of the hospital to regulate my blood pressure. I quit my neurologist and went to an ENT who diagnosed me with eustachian tube malfunction, which is in the ear. He put me on Nasonex which actually helped the ear pressure and head pressure a little. I have been on nasonex for 3 years.

I went to a new neurologist who put me on that weight gaining drug.  I tried it for two months, nothing.  I then went to my family docotor who tried a couple other drugs that just gave me a full fledge headache.  I asked myself what was worse, a headache or the head pressure.  I continued the drug until I couldn't bear the headaches anymore.  I tried the B complex which did, of course, nothing.  I took myself off all medications except nasonex.  As of today, my pressure is still there, sometimes bearable and sometimes like today I want to fling myself out of the window. I also suffer from panick attacks and anxiety due to the whole ordeal.  I am now looking into a chiroprator or acupuncture.  I am going to thry my 3rd neurologist and ent and see what happens.

Post Edited (Under Pressure 2) : 7/31/2008 1:07:16 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/31/2008 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
What is a healing weekend?  I can't believe there is not one doctor out there who can accurately diagnos and treat this problem.

What about that doctor on Oprah. Dr. Oz?  How do I get in touch with him!

Post Edited (Under Pressure 2) : 7/31/2008 12:19:34 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/1/2008 2:31 PM (GMT 0)
Under pressure is all I can say is keep going to doctors until they figure out what is wrong, it took me more then seven.
Posted 8/1/2008 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Underpressure,

Welcome to Healing Well. Sorry to hear about what you have been going through. MMMNAVY is right in saying that it does take time to diagnose a headache problem. Yes, I know you say you do not have any pain with it and I am pleased you do not, but it can sometimes happen that you can have a Migraine without any pain at all just the pressure!!!!

The best advice I can give you is to get yourself to a Neurologist who is a Headache Specialist, as they are best placed to make an intelligent diagnosis!!! Unfortunately this will take time, as each sufferer is different and experiences headache/pressure in a different way! Hope this helps, let us know how you get on??

take care

Ann
Posted 8/8/2008 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
In 1997 I had a brain surgery for epilepsy and I just had an MRI today. It was due to the pressure within the head where the surgery took place,I told the Dr that the pressure was building up over the years. So..he sent me for an MRI. Hopefully all is well.
Posted 8/10/2008 2:03 AM (GMT 0)
Laura ,
yes I have a headache/pressure and pulsating tinnitus constantly 24/7 365. have 4 advil evey morning after breakfast and do a workout and can generally feel pretty good til aound noonish by 2 to 4 pm I have it again big time ,,, I have used booze but too much will make it worse the next day,,, so stick to one lite beer and a shot of vodka,,, I have tried everything from the accupunture, chiropractor, diet , topomax, and 3yrs of zoloft. nothing really helps, the zoloft makes you not care which is a help but has negatives as well, my Nuero.. wants me on depakote which has some nasty side affects, like hair loss and wieght gain,,, and more sorry I would rather deal with it, additionally liver tests regularly...
This has been a real issue in the marraige but I have decided Iwill persue natural deit solutions , alternative medicines, chinese hurbs,, these drugs are just not right, I just cant believe my cure is worse than the desease... now my headaches are daily head pressure, I understand migraines are worse. good luck and keep trying,, Ihave been wrestling with this daily for 6 years now...
Tony
Posted 8/10/2008 2:53 AM (GMT 0)
This is my first day on the site as well and I am amazed how many fellow sufferers are out there. I am the 24/7 head ache, pressure, and pain , pulsating tinnitus, I like the idea of having dietitian work done,,, I am going natural,,, I just dont believe in the meds,,,, they say all disease begins in the gut,,,, that will be my next area of work,,,good luck to you all..and thank you for sharing, these conditions are terrible to live with some people think we should consider it suffering for enlightenment,,, I will go that way if all else fails,,, make this a win some how...
Tony
Posted 8/13/2008 7:58 AM (GMT 0)

I have the same thing but with an accompanying list of unique symptoms.  Could you guys check out my thread "Head pressure all the time"?  Anyone else have something similar?

It seems the equation for me, in simple terms, is:

constant head pressure + vision problems + serious digestive problems

Posted 8/18/2008 2:25 AM (GMT 0)

Hello,

I am a 21 year old female and have suffered with daily head pressure for about a year now. From the time I would wake up in the morning until the time I would go to bed, I would have a constant, painful pressure in different areas of my head. It has been most dominant on my right side and occurs mostly on the very top of my head and above the back of my neck. My right ear also pops a lot. I have been to a family doctor (because I have no health insurance and cannot really afford much else sad ) and was first diagnosed with sinusitis- took the antibiotics- nothing (I never cared for that doctor anyway). I then went to a different family doctor and was diagnosed with migraines because of my drowsiness, dizziness, seeing "auras" (flashing lights), and nausea. I was prescribed a very low dosage of Amitriptyline to prevent migraines and have been taking one before bed every night. As of now I have not had a serious 'headache" and the nausea, drowsiness, and dizziness have greatly improved. I am still somewhat irritable at times though, but I really try to just not think about the pain and get on with my day. I mean, I'm 21 years old, I should not have daily pain! Atleast I no longer have to lay around in a dark room all day.

Of course, I still have this annoying pressure EVERY SINGLE DAY! It intensifies greatly whenever my head is bent downwards and whenever I get out of bed- if I'm just laying there I feel perfectly fine. I have recently noticed also that the back of my neck has been very sore so I have forcefully been massaging it myself (it hurts like hell) but over the past week the soreness has slowly been disappearing and the pressure has not been around ALL day as it usually is. I am considering going to a good massage therapist to see if it will help out at all.

Also, this is kind of weird to me, but it seems that whenever I am being active (like at work or exercising..) the pressure disappears, but it soon comes back afterwards.. I don't know....

 but I still have no idea what suddenly triggered these attacks. It's not cool! (Of course, having to quit isn't a big deal now- I guess we hafta grow up sometime)

Anyway, just wanted to share my story with my head pressure and see if anyone out there can relate in any way and maybe if there are some solutions.

I don't know if this is any help to anyone, but like I said, the neck massage worked wonders and the medicine helps with the headaches and I have also started taking a B-complex vitamin supplement because of the Riboflavin (I've read it helps for migraines) and energy.

Maybe a stomach/allergy issue?

Any feedback would be great.

Best Wishes to Everyone!!

Edit:  Please review Rule Number one and all of the rules and guideline before posting.

Thank  you

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 10/26/2008 11:14:34 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/18/2008 10:29 AM (GMT 0)

LotsaPressure said...

Hello,

I am a 21 year old female and have suffered with daily head pressure for about a year now. From the time I would wake up in the morning until the time I would go to bed, I would have a constant, painful pressure in different areas of my head. It has been most dominant on my right side and occurs mostly on the very top of my head and above the back of my neck. My right ear also pops a lot. I have been to a family doctor (because I have no health insurance and cannot really afford much else sad ) and was first diagnosed with sinusitis- took the antibiotics- nothing (I never cared for that doctor anyway). I then went to a different family doctor and was diagnosed with migraines because of my drowsiness, dizziness, seeing "auras" (flashing lights), and nausea. I was prescribed a very low dosage of Amitriptyline to prevent migraines and have been taking one before bed every night. As of now I have not had a serious 'headache" and the nausea, drowsiness, and dizziness have greatly improved. I am still somewhat irritable at times though, but I really try to just not think about the pain and get on with my day. I mean, I'm 21 years old, I should not have daily pain! Atleast I no longer have to lay around in a dark room all day.

Of course, I still have this annoying pressure EVERY SINGLE DAY! It intensifies greatly whenever my head is bent downwards and whenever I get out of bed- if I'm just laying there I feel perfectly fine. I have recently noticed also that the back of my neck has been very sore so I have forcefully been massaging it myself (it hurts like hell) but over the past week the soreness has slowly been disappearing and the pressure has not been around ALL day as it usually is. I am considering going to a good massage therapist to see if it will help out at all.

Also, this is kind of weird to me, but it seems that whenever I am being active (like at work or exercising..) the pressure disappears, but it soon comes back afterwards.. I don't know....

but I still have no idea what suddenly triggered these attacks. It's not cool! (Of course, having to quit isn't a big deal now- I guess we hafta grow up sometime)

Anyway, just wanted to share my story with my head pressure and see if anyone out there can relate in any way and maybe if there are some solutions.

I don't know if this is any help to anyone, but like I said, the neck massage worked wonders and the medicine helps with the headaches and I have also started taking a B-complex vitamin supplement because of the Riboflavin (I've read it helps for migraines) and energy.

Maybe a stomach/allergy issue?

Any feedback would be great.

Best Wishes to Everyone!!

Hello there, I don't have painful headaches (occasional at most), but a lot of your symptoms seem familiar.  I have head pressure constantly, all day and night, but there are a couple of exceptions:

-sometimes eating food makes it go away for a short time, but then soon afterwards it gets a LOT worse.. and it feels like there's a blockage in my digestive system.  Whatever my condition is, there's a definitely a dietary/digestive element to it.  So it's like digesting food aggravates head pressure.

-interestingly enough, exercise will also make it go away for a short time, but then it comes back soon afterwards (and it's usually really bad when it comes back.)

The other similarity here is my head pressure started during an extreme period of drug addiction for me, and you also had an addiction problem.  One has to wonder if a neurotransmitter imbalance is behind some of the symptoms you and I have.

I also have a sore neck and I've had a bulge in the upper left side of my neck for a while, and sometimes it feels like this bulge in my neck is blocking blood flow or something.

See my other thread "head pressure all the time" for full details.  Please let me know if any developments occur in your case.

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 10/26/2008 11:16:36 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/18/2008 7:16 PM (GMT 0)
To: (LOTSAPRESSURE)

You really need to read some of my forum posts on this site which talk about my nightmare of living with Chronic severe headaches. My condition reading your words carefully is almost 100% similar to mine. How u describe it worsening and effecting you is very parallel to mine!...

Another huge POINT i spotted which is scarily distinct in BOTH OUR CONDITIONS.

-is one our age similarity (both of us are in early 20's) mine began when i was 17 and progressively never went away.


Please can you get directly in touch with me, i am 21 years old live in London, UK and i would love and think it could be really important we possibly discuss it all in more detail. i dont mean to be negative but my condition begun identical to yours and has lasted 5 years... i am in the next month having my family consider re mortgaging our home to send me to Michigan's top headache institute.

My best wishes,

Richard

Please read the HW Rules................ Number 1 and also I took out your email from your post. It can be put into your profile.

Kitt

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 10/26/2008 11:11:10 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/19/2008 7:22 AM (GMT 0)
I should mention that the onset of my head pressure was also very closely intertwined with severe anxiety attacks, which were caused by drug addiction (eventually the only thing the drugs did for me was cause panic attacks.)

So there is some similarity between all three of us (lotsapressure, speedsneed, me.)

 

However, the difference for me is I was not a cannabis user, I never did that.  But I was using drugs that--like cannabis--are notorious for causing anxiety in people with anxiety problems, such as me.  I have a GAD diagnosis and I have social anxiety as well.

Posted 8/19/2008 10:36 AM (GMT 0)
that makes our conditions in my mind even more connected...

i also was diagnosed with GAD, and had mainly social anxieties. Batman, we really need to all 3 of us get in contact if we carry such similar signs, we must together understand that our conditions could be

1) the same underlying illness with the same cause/onset

+

2) maybe together we can identify something which innevitabley might help all of us get our lives back to normal...?

i am passionate to get better as i in no way can cope to live like this much longer.

Best wishes to you,
Richard
Posted 8/19/2008 6:50 PM (GMT 0)

SPEEDSNEED-

I would definitely love to get in contact with you.. I'm getting ready for work now and I'm leaving to go on vacation tomorrow morning but I will be back on Sunday and will email you within the next week or so. I am relieved that I am not the only person in the world who has this "condition" but it also makes me feel sad that so many people have to suffer daily as I do. Hopefully we can find something out together.

talk to ya soon,

Heather

Posted 8/20/2008 7:16 AM (GMT 0)

SPEEDSNEED said...
that makes our conditions in my mind even more connected...

i also was diagnosed with GAD, and had mainly social anxieties. Batman, we really need to all 3 of us get in contact if we carry such similar signs, we must together understand that our conditions could be

1) the same underlying illness with the same cause/onset

+

2) maybe together we can identify something which innevitabley might help all of us get our lives back to normal...?

i am passionate to get better as i in no way can cope to live like this much longer.

Best wishes to you,
Richard

You said in prior posts you're going to specialists (and you might be going to Michigan's headache institute), so please let us know of any new developments on your case.
Posted 9/5/2008 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
SPEEDSNEED-

Hello again.. I emailed you a while back but you probably didn't know it was me. I would very much like to talk to you and Batman also. My email is [email protected] if either of you would like to contact me. I feel so awful today :-( hope yours is better..

Heather
Posted 9/15/2008 7:21 AM (GMT 0)

LotsaPressure said...
SPEEDSNEED-

Hello again.. I emailed you a while back but you probably didn't know it was me. I would very much like to talk to you and Batman also. My email is [email protected] if either of you would like to contact me. I feel so awful today :-( hope yours is better..

Heather

LotsaPressure,

Did you get my email?  It's been a few days and I haven't gotten a response from you yet.

The topic line in my email message was "Constant head pressure," .. is there an outside chance that your spam blocker caught it before you did?

Please respond when you get the chance.  Two minds are better than one, especially for complex health issues like the ones we're faced with.

-Batman

Posted 9/21/2008 8:56 PM (GMT 0)
Friends,

I have the same issue for more than 12 years and was living with this pressure in the
head 24x7 365 days. I am sure the intensity could vary for different people. I always
had difficulty in explaining the condition to the doctors. It is the feeling on the head
like, after you remove a heavy hat removed after wearing for a long time. Or like you had too many drinks and had no sleep for couple days.
It is around the head, mainly upper Fore head and
right side of the face. Sao behind the head. feeling of tightness also there on the Right cheek under the eye.

I had been to neurologist twice. The last one was very good and tried
everything including CT Scan, MRI of the brain and neck etc. She also had me go to the Chiropractor for the neck.

I have a feeling that is some nerve jammed somewhere sending this false message to the brain. The doctor advised me at the end to ignore this and get on with life. I don't think about it but always looking for an end to this feeling and have a 100% productive life as this has an impact on my work, career growth, attending meetings, memory, learning new stuff, carelessness etc. I know this is not a life threatening issue but is nuisance and becomes issue thinking about it.

From the start itself I had floaters in the eye, astigmatism (2 eyes have different power).
If I press on certain spots behind my neck I can feel the pain. Never smoked or had any exposure to drugs and knew this is real and not just a feeling. I try to get the check ups when ever my family coverage exceeds the deductible so that I don't need to worry about all the tests and procedures and expenses.

I try to do some neck exercises etc.

Please feel free to e-mail me with any positive findings and good news.

Good luck and regards

Tom
Posted 9/25/2008 3:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Everyone-
I can't believe that I have found this site and there are others that feel like I do. This constant pressure on the back of my head/neck more so on the left side, constant ringing in my ears which I can't stand and spots in my vision. I too have had my first migraine about a month ago, then now because I am constantly on edge from the pressure and ringing in my ears, I now have started having panic attacks out of the blue, I feel depressed because I don't feel like myself anymore. I have 3 beautiful daughters and my husband who tries to do what he can for me. I just feel like I am going crazy. I just wish I could go to sleep and wake up and have all my symptoms be gone. Just this week I have gotten so out of sorts with myself I couldn't make myself go to work. I have also been having trouble falling asleep due to the loud ringing and find myself taking benadryl to pass out. I too will say that I smoke weed nightly which used to relax me, now I am beginning to think its bringing on the panic attacks. I have no insurance, but have made several trips to the ER for the panic attacks and migraine. Had all kinds of blood work done with no answers. This is so aggravating. I mean, atleast physically I am healthy. I am 28 years old, I have suffered from allergies and sinusitis for a long time, but no allergy meds help me with this pressure in my head. After reading on here, I might try eliminating wheat from my diet and trying the chiropractor. I don't have many options because I don't have insurance and don't really know when I will be getting any. I guess I am somewhat relieved that I am not the only one. But I hope for all of you that you find relief....I hope I do too, I can't live for years feeling this way.

Good luck to all of you

T
Posted 9/26/2008 8:22 AM (GMT 0)

ksmom3 said...
Hey Everyone-
I can't believe that I have found this site and there are others that feel like I do. This constant pressure on the back of my head/neck more so on the left side, constant ringing in my ears which I can't stand and spots in my vision. I too have had my first migraine about a month ago, then now because I am constantly on edge from the pressure and ringing in my ears, I now have started having panic attacks out of the blue, I feel depressed because I don't feel like myself anymore. I have 3 beautiful daughters and my husband who tries to do what he can for me. I just feel like I am going crazy. I just wish I could go to sleep and wake up and have all my symptoms be gone. Just this week I have gotten so out of sorts with myself I couldn't make myself go to work. I have also been having trouble falling asleep due to the loud ringing and find myself taking benadryl to pass out. I too will say that I smoke weed nightly which used to relax me, now I am beginning to think its bringing on the panic attacks. I have no insurance, but have made several trips to the ER for the panic attacks and migraine. Had all kinds of blood work done with no answers. This is so aggravating. I mean, atleast physically I am healthy. I am 28 years old, I have suffered from allergies and sinusitis for a long time, but no allergy meds help me with this pressure in my head. After reading on here, I might try eliminating wheat from my diet and trying the chiropractor. I don't have many options because I don't have insurance and don't really know when I will be getting any. I guess I am somewhat relieved that I am not the only one. But I hope for all of you that you find relief....I hope I do too, I can't live for years feeling this way.

Good luck to all of you

T

Please keep us posted on what happens.  The pressure in my head started when I was a drug addict and getting panic attacks for the first time.  Two others on here had the same general origin:  SpeedsNeed and LotsaPressure.

I know I can't take it anymore, cuz it just ruins the quality of life so much for me.  I'm going to try Wellbutrin soon to see if it helps preexisting ADD problems, and also see if it does anything for "atypical migraine" or whatever the hell this head pressure is.

Posted 9/30/2008 3:06 AM (GMT 0)

Hi, I was very surprised to find that so many of you have this same problem...I had never heard of anyone else having head pressure at all, never mind all the time like I do. I've had it for about 3 years now and I'm 22. Looking at all of your posts, I'm guessing it will not go away on it's own very quickly.

As some of you do too, I have stomach issues, and these started about 2 years before the head pressure hit. I thought that maybe the meds I was taking for my stomach had caused the pressure, but now I'm doing homeopathy and on something else to control my stomach, and the head pressure hasn't let up, except for about 3 days after I started it. (This always happens, with my head getting better after starting anything new and then going back to the same again a few days later.) It's very annoying bc just when I think there's hope, it returns for more.

I have the pressure all the time, and I've had so many medical tests come back negative (MRIs, CT scans, blood tests done by endocrinologists, tropical disease doctors, etc, GI scans, etc.) I can understand what many of you must be going through as well, and I am guessing that we all have a very similar illness that they just haven't figured out yet...hopefully they will soon, as a lot of people are clearly suffering from whatever this is.

The only things so far that I've found to make the pressure better are when I am actually in the process of eating and when I'm doing some form of extreme exercise (usually running). Naturally, this makes it difficult for other people without head pressure to believe that there is a real problem, as I'm sure a lot of you have experienced. I have a tough time relaxing, but get tired easily after exercising to get rid of the pressure. I am actually supposed to be going into Americorps starting next week, and I refuse to let this stupid pressure take me away rom that, but I am very scared that I will have to come home due to extreme over-exertion or something related to my head. At times I wish something drastic would occur so that I would just know what this stupid thing is and could find some way to fix it.

Thanks for listening. If anyone wants to talk about all this head pressure stuff, I would love to. You can facebook friend me if you want: Megan Conners     Please do. Although it is sad that so many ppl seem to have this pressure, it is also reassuring that I am not alone and it would be great to actually talk to one of you.

Posted 9/30/2008 2:24 PM (GMT 0)

Hey again, yeah I often have problems with my head getting a lot worse a few hours after running, but it clears it up for a little while, and anyways, I need to get into shape for my Americorps program. Good luck with the magnesium...let me know if that helps at all. I have finally decided to give in to my dietician aunt and try eating gluten-free for a few days to see if anything changes. I already wish wheat and I just started! It would be well worth the effort though if this pressure went away.

Speedsneed, please let us know if the people in Michigan find anything! I think it is just a matter of time before we see our problem become more well known when someone figures it out and goes on Mystery Diagnosis or something.

Again, if anyone wants to get in touch, facebook me and we can chat!

Posted 10/25/2008 3:39 PM (GMT 0)
TO: 'Lotsapressure' & 'constantpressure11'

Please do get in touch with me, you can email me directly at: [email protected]
and we can then add each otehr on facebook or something, i am hopefuly of to America very soon as i am just totally sick of the UK now, and nothing is helping.

My best wishes out to you all anyway!

Speak Soon,

Richard X

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 10/26/2008 11:18:10 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/26/2008 7:49 AM (GMT 0)

SPEEDSNEED said...
hi, i have been battling with exactly the same condition now for 5 years which has destroyed much of my teenage life, now 21 years old.

i just wanted to share with me, exercising in forms of weights or anything which involves bending or lifting or any change in pressure makes my condition unbearable!!.... does anyone get this reaction

my face will flush a dark red, blood pumps, i feel dizzy and my skin sore and stinging, so it ruins much of my life by limiting even exercise to do in my own home to keep active...

does anyone have any suggestions or similar reactions to certain exercises...?

I hate to say this, but PLEASE ask your doctors--*right now* without delay--about a condition called "Arnold Chiari malformation."  Please Google this on the web.

A major symptom of a Chiari malformation is excruciating migraine pain when bending your neck, lifting, and exertion in general.

This condition is OVERLOOKED so many times by incompetent doctors.

Please let me know if this helps.  I don't mean to scare you, but from what you say here, you have at least one symptom in common with Chiari.

Posted 10/27/2008 3:58 AM (GMT 0)
l am new to this  site but too suffer from head pressure . lt started about 4 yrs ago with pressure all over my head , l thought l was losing my mind , l lost a lot of confidence in myself in doing anything ,  the doctor sent me for a ct scan but it came back negative then l started on a whole list of meds and the dr. was still baffled as to what was going on . the pressure has subsided some but it now is just pressur in the very top of my head , it is like a tingling or something crawlling about inside my head . the dr. took some x-rays of my neck and found out l had ostroarthritas and a degenertive disk in my neck, and gave me inflamitory meds. but it hasn.t taken away the feelings in my head.  the dr. doesn;t seem to want me to see a neoroligist. but someone mentioned a spect scan has anybody heard of this , as it souppse to see the activity of the brain. keep me posted tks   samaria
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