Posted 11/10/2016 3:22 AM (GMT 0)
I have never really had many headaches, just the occasional caffeine withdrawal headache/pounding headache.
Two months ago I started getting this dull achy pain on the upper right side of my head, I think it's the suboccipital area and can g all the way around to your eye. Anyways, I was also having some neck and upper back pain. The dully achy pain was very constant, mild enough I did not have to take any otc medications for it. It was happening most every day, not at a specific time. My sister who is a surgeon told me I should make sure I'm not dehydrated. I certainly was drinking less than 16 oz fluids every day and it was bad. I have since increased my water intake to about 40-50 oz. I'm not sure it helped.
After a month of headache, I went to see my primary care physician who is a family medicine DO. I broke down crying in his office because I was starting to get really scared that I had something more serious going on my head like a tumor. He thought my headache was stress related (I have been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the past). He put me on Prozac (fluoxetine 10 mg) and I started to take it. A week later I missed a pill and then had the worst 2 days of anxiety - panic, heat sensations, tingling fingers and arms, chest pains, hyperventilating, vertigo. I was completely freaking out that I was going to die of a brain tumor. I started taking the fluoxetine again but still he vertigo. I went back to my PCP and he told me I had just had a panic attack and all those symptoms were from panic and anxiety. And to keep taking the fluoxetine. He also sent me to he physical therapist to work on my postural issues/pain.
I would sit at my desk at work and it would be very hard to concentrate on the screen because it felt like there was movement around me (not a lot, not enough like the room was spinning, it was a weird feeling like my eyes were bugging out, hard to explain). But it was very hard to concentrate at work. It didn't prevent me from doing anything or driving, and I didn't fall or anything. So after a week I stopped the fluoxetine again because I was thinking it was causing my vertigo. After four days off the fluoxetine I was still getting vertigo and starting to panic again so I started taking it again.
I started physical therapy today and she told me she has seen a lot of women in their 30s who work at a desk all day, come in for postural issues and therapy to correct it. And that she had seen a lot of people with headaches too. And usually correcting the postural issues helps with the headaches. Obviously too early for me to tell. Oh and also in the last week I have noticed more pounding headaches. And also mild pain that lasts for a second or two when I stand up. I am terrified and losing my mind. Trying to do as much breathing and mindful exercises as I can, and yoga too. It is hard to get through each day. I have two young children and I am so caught up in my own issues/pain I haven't spent a lot of time with them recently.
Any support, advice, or similar experiences please share. Thank you for reading.