Head/face pressure, anxiety WAY up.

I need some reassurance here. I'm 11 months benzo free and my anxiety is the worst it's ever been. For the last 10 days I've been getting really bad headaches, which might be better described as pressure in my head. It usually starts about an hour after I wake up and lasts all day. I'm sooo scared there is something seriously wrong with me.

 

Sometimes I feel it in my temples, sometimes in my forehead, or the top of my head or at the bridge of my nose, or a combination of these. The back of my neck and scalp feel sore, too. I went to the doctor last week who gave me a mini physical and drew blood. During the visit he said he thought it was all anxiety.

 

My bloodwork was fine except for a slightly elevated c-reactive protein, which he said is caused by inflammation somewhere in the body.

 

The neurological/reflex physical exam was fine, but I'm worried this is something serious. Could it be withdrawal this far out? Or just pure anxiety? Previous to the headaches my anxiety levels had gone up due to a scare I had with a pain in my right breast, which an ultrasound confirmed was nothing.

 

Do I need to ask for an MRI of my head? Has anyone had this before and how long does it last?

    I too suffer from anxiety and that sounds like that is what it is, there are over 100 symptoms to anxiety and face pressure is one of them..... Your okay... Deep Breaths...

 

 

God Bless....

You seem to have done a very sensible taper off a relatively low dose so I am a little surprised at the headaches and other symptoms.  It isn't unheard of to have a flare up but I'm glad you are getting checked out.  I'm not sure what an MRI would show. You do say your anxiety is worse than it's ever been and that can cause a lot of what you are experiencing.  What have you been doing to manage your anxiety since you've been off the benzos?

 

Did the doc show any interest in finding out what was causing the inflammation?  I get that from allergies which also give me awful headaches.  I don't always have the itchy eyes/runny nose type of allergies but they cause inflammation that results in a lot of facial pain and headaches.  It feels like my brain is swelling inside my skull.    Just a thought....

Natedogg, thanks for the reassurance. You say you have anxiety; have you ever felt anything like this before?

 

Beeper, I don't have any allergies that I know of. I see an ENT regularly for an ear issue I've had since I was a kid, and I'm going to see her on Thursday. I'll have her check, maybe my sinuses, but that really doesn't seem feel like the problem. The anxiety has been so bad I've considered breaking my own rules and asking for some kind of medication -- not a benzo, but maybe an anti-depressant. But I'm so scared about what that would do to me. I just need to get over this hump, since I'm starting to feel so hopeless and anxious all the time. I worry that I've got a brain tumor or some other fatal illness. I KNOW this is a classic symptom of anxiety but as I sit here with this head pressure I find it hard to think of anything else.

midsummer99,

 

I have allergies, and what Beeper described sums up my allergy to a tee.  I'm rarely bothered by itching watery eyes or sneezing, but when my allergy flares up, I get these awful headaches directly above my left eye that can linger there for days.  I've been suffering with this type of allergy symptoms for two weeks now.  I generally take Tylenol Allergy sinus, but even that didn't alleviate the sinus pain/pressure like it did in the past.  I've had this congestion on the left side of my face for weeks and even a decongestant/Nasonex doesn't even give me relief.  When I lay down, I avoid sleeping on my left side and when I sleep on my right side the pressure is alleviated.

Hi midsummer99,

 

I got hit hard with a bad wave at 11 months off, too.  Glad you are having yourself checked out.  I had a lot of sinus pressure during and after my taper and is still with me at times.  Hope your anxiety calms down shortly for you.

 

Patty  xo

Thank you all. I'm just so freaked out that there is something seriously wrong with my head. I'm going to call my doctor again tomorrow and let him know that the headaches are still here and whether I can get an MRI just to calm my nerves.

 

Has anyone had an MRI? What were the results?

 

I hope my anxiety subsides by tomorrow so I can make it into work.

Sorry I missed this thread. Don't know if midsummer will see this, but just to let her know that head pressure of various descriptions has been my chief physical complaint throughout this process. At about five months it reached new depths. Like a vise around my skull and temples. This causes anxiety and is a manifestation of anxiety. Vicious circle. Don't have time to write more right now but please don't go on a/d yet. More later. Michaelp