Undiagnosed :: Brain Fog With Head Pressure - Feeling Detached
May 23, 2015
I am male and 26 years old. I have been suffering with the symptoms in the title pretty consistently for about 2 and a half years now. I used to have some relief from the symptoms for a day or 2 here and there or maybe a bit of relief for a few hours in the day but recently the symptoms are pretty much constant and I cannot shake them.
I have an overall mild pressure feeling in the head, its not painful but is just very aggravating and feels really strange. I also have extreme brain fog with this and like a fuzzy head, there is a constant cloud over my brain and I never have any mental clarity or a clear head. My cognitive function is extremely poor now, my short term memory is non existent, its scarily bad. I often feel, detached from reality when the symptoms are bad and suffer from de-realisation, although I think this may be down to some anxiety and depression I experience when the symptoms run me down. I also get random sharp cramping pains in the head, they are quite painful but do not bother me so much as they only usually last a second or 2, it varies on how many I get of these each day but its usually less than 5. It often feels as though my brain is malfunctioning somehow and my cognitive function and senses are all out of whack, its hard to explain. There can sometimes be a build up of these symptoms throughout the day and by the night I can feel like I somehow how the flu without a fever? Like I have the head pressure, completely foggy headed, I feel super unwell, weak, sometimes even start feeling cold. Also have night sweats usually for about 4 or 5 days each month, there doesn't seem to be any sort of pattern to them that I can notice, so not sure if they are relevant. Another thing I have is ringing in ears which is mild but seems to have gotten worse recently if that sounds relevant at all. The main thing that gets me is the odd head pressure/sensation and the utterly life hindering brain fog, my brain feels like it is coated in a dark blanket constantly.
I do suffer from anxiety, I know many of these symptoms can be caused or made worse by these symptoms. I dont doubt that anxiety is a contributing factor and the way I think about they symptoms probably makes them worse but I have come a long long way with my anxiety, I have good control over it, I haven't had a panic attack in a couple of years, I manage to control most of my concious anxiety and stay in a positive mindset. No doubt I still have some subconscious anxiety underlying and I am working on that but I am not convinced this is the route cause of my symptoms. I am in therapy for my anxiety. I do not feel I will ever fully recover while I have these symptoms hanging over me though.
I have been to the doctor about these symptoms, although I do think I struggle to explain them or put them across very well in the doctors office. I have have blood tests which are all normal. I saw a neurologist couple of years back when this started, had a CT scan which was normal, they put the stabbing pains down to icepick headaches and thought the other symptoms were probably made worse by my anx/depression. Since then I went away and have been on anti depressants etc with no improvement of symptoms. I have also had a few ECGs and a 24hr ECG as I have slow heart rate and low bp so thought maybe the symptoms could be down to low bp and lack of blood to the brain, doctors do not think think this is the case and all my results came back normal. I have recently been back to the neurologist who is referring me for an MRI although he said he is sure there is nothing sinister and thinks the symptoms are probably tension type headaches and made worse by and previous drug use, he only put it down to the drug use when i told him about it though so it seemed like a convenient diagnosis. I forgot to mention I used to take drugs on the weekends socially, cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy on different occasions for a couple of years, I have had periods where I have felt ok since taking these drugs and do not really think they are the cause, I was not an addict this was just one or 2 nights a month at the weekends. So I have an MRI coming up but the neuro thinks it will be clear and obviously I hope it is and I am looking for other answers.
What could be causing these symptoms? Other than anxiety which i no can be a factor, but I have periods where my anxiety is pretty much non existent but these symptoms still build up out of nowhere and persist. I was thinking maybe some sort of allergy could be a possibility, I have tried cutting out gluten and lactose, this didn't seem to make much difference although I didn't stick to this for very long. I actually did a juice fast for 2 weeks with eating nothing other than fruit and veg juice put through a juicer to see if that would help but it didn't really give me any relief. Are there any other stomach issues that could cause this? I never have diarrhoea or constipation, my stools always float recently though, to the point of not being able to flush them, also whenever I have seen chance medicine doctors they check me out and say they think i have issues with digestion, i don't feel i have these issues but do wonder if there might be something in it.
Could there be something going on with the blood vessels in my head? Could it be a spine/posture issue? Some sort of epilepsy or electrical activity in my brain? I just have no idea now and am desperate for some relief. If anyone has any ideas or advice I would really appreciate it.
Oh just to add I am reasonably fit, I try go to the gym a few times a week and I do some weight lifting. I am a normal weight. I have been losing some weight recently which is a concern but I am still in a normal weight range for height and age.
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Iv'e been feeling head pressure and slight ear pressure for over 3 weeks now and it has been a nightmare for me. I went to the ER a couple of times and they diagnosed me with tension headaches. I do have a history of anxiety but I must say that I've never experienced such discomfort. Tylenol, Naproxen, nothing helps it go away thus far... I had CT of my brain done which came back normal as well, blood work too and that came back normal as well. I'm currently taking antibiotics because I was told that I have fluid in my ears but the antibiotics are not helping at all. I guess I'm not convinced that anxiety is causing these symptoms. Normally, during my anxiety attacks I experience heart palpitations, hot flashes and shortness of breath and it lasts only like 15 minutes or so, but this head pressure is ongoing all day nonstop. It makes me feel like I'm going to pass out but I know I'm not. Each day I wake up hoping and praying that it's gone for good but that day has not gotten here yet.
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After eliminating everything from heart to thyroid and tests with different doctors for 2 years, the head pressure, nausea, dizziness, brain fog, and weakness have gotten much, much worse. Is it possible that an Otologist should be seen for diagnoses of of a problem with the nerves in my ear or a viral infection?This discussion is related to Constant head sensation/pressure, nausea, weakness, terrified!
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I wanted to have an opinion on what I could be Going thru. It's like I feel pressure on my head and like my vains on my head feel pressure when I touch em. At times when I'm watching a movie or on the computer I feel like it was to fall asleep like the brain. And i also have this dizzy feeling all day that I feel and it'll go away suddenly. It messes with my vision like when I turn around quickly it makes me dizzy. I wonder if it has to do with the stress I'm going thru.
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Okay, so I’m 16 and I’ve been suffering for about a year with constant headaches, although sometimes it feels more like pressure building up on my head, and sometimes it feels like its at the back of my eyes, I also find it hard to sleep because I have this weird pulsating feeling in my head. I don’t know if this could be connected but I also get some days when I just feel detached from everything and everyone and just totally spaced out and I have
to think really hard to remember things, like literally what I’ve done in the day, I have to recall my whole day to remember what I have done and I have a
really bad memory. I also get random shooting pains up my back, I would really like some help to find out what this is if anyone has experienced similar or has any tips?
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I have a question for all of you, I have had these very strange symptoms for the last year, year and a half and I can't tell my primary care doctor because he is treating, or barely treating me for chronic pain due to a pretty bad car accident years ago, (I was holding on to the steering wheel watching this guy drive right into the back of my car and was hit with so much pressure that I clenched up , went forward and when I came back I actually bent the steering wheel in half. I now have severe pain in my neck and lower back. After the accident I went to a chiropractor for 3 years 2 x a week, but only got worse. My PC doc for 8 years told me my pain had more to do with my emotional problems than anything else (I was continually raped by my father and then periodically beaten by my mother for being a ****, starting very early in childhood, also suffered a lot of physical abuse by both, I am really pissed that I have to apologize to the world that this happened to me and that my doctor would blame my pain on this), and always threatened to take me off all my pain meds if I complained about any other pain and symptoms. At one point 3-4 years ago I had such horrible pain in my lower left leg I thought I had bone cancer, it was the first time he ordered an MRI and when he got the results he sent me to a neurosurgeon immediately who told me if I move the wrong way they will never be able to stop the pain. When I told my PCP he dismissed it, but never put me down as having chronic pain syndrome anymore, but now he is taking my pain meds away slowly because he say the CDC is making him do it??? Anyway, I dare not tell him anything else cause I can't walk and do much of anything without a lot of pain in my lower back.
But a couple years, 1 1/2, I started to have this weird feeling of "something not right" in my head, I can't really explain it. Then I got this strong ZAP, like a strong electrical jolt in my brain. It took a while for the sensation to go away, but I ignored it. I also noticed I was "forgetting how to swallow", weird right? Since the ZAP wasn't really painful, but if it was I would be too afraid to tell my doctor, especially if it was painful, so I did nothing. Every few months this would happen again, maybe 4 times total. Last week, I could "feel" something in my head not right, Like something was going to happen, then I got that powerful zap, like an explosion in my head, and it took a little longer to feel okay again, then I got another one, and felt extremely fatigued after this one, and it took longer to "clear" my head. My blood pressure has been rather high lately too, in fact I've noticed my blood pressure goes up the more pain I'm in and since he's lowering my medication, my blood pressure had been around 164/90 to 175/90 from around 128-138/80 normally. My mother died of a brain aneurysm. I don't know if this is something I should worry about and maybe find another doctor, but then I'm afraid I'll be accused of doctor shopping...
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I am a fit, healthy 28 year old guy who has spontaneously developed severe high blood pressure, temporal pressure headaches, dizzy spells and blocked ears. The symptoms vary, with acute periods lasting a couple hours and occurring on a weekly basis. Generally an acute period is characterized by severe headaches, needing to lie down, blocked ears and extreme lethargy.
I have had CT’s and MRI’s of the brain and cervical spine, PET scans, ECHO’s, a multitude of blood tests and various other tests with no abnormalities.
I gym 4 times a week, eat healthy and work as a hairdresser, so my lifestyle is pretty healthy overall.
This condition is starting to limit my lifestyle and with two years of no answers I am putting it out there for someone to recognize or provide advice about what could potentially be going on!
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I've been having those 3 symptoms for about 2 months now. I'm a 22yo male, 6 feet tall, 160 lbs.
The head pressure was the first to show up. It feels like if someone is pressing their palm against the top of my head, its very light and 80% its not bad or painful, its just -there-, but sometimes the pressure rises up and it can be quite overwhelming, making me having to stop whatever I'm doing.
Painkillers used to work, now they don't anymore, although I think it's because I started to use them way too much.
Since about 2 weeks ago, I started to have dizziness and head fog. It's like if I'm "typsy" all the time.
This all started a few months after I had to quit my job since I'm preparing myself to live in another country, I'm short on cash and I have arguments about various things related to that almost daily, making me think that this might be an anxiety issue.
3 days ago I had to go to the hospital because my BP spiked up (180/104), and since then the pressure/head fog became 10x worse. I keep catching myself hyperventilating throughout the day, having cold sweats and hot flashes.
Thoughts keep racing in my head that I have a brain tumor and how that would wreck my life even if its a benign one.
Something that makes me feel better is that I'm not having any seizures, nose bleeds or actual real bad headache, its just a weird pressure, which calms me down a bit at the possibility that its a tumor.
Also, sleeping is the only thing that makes the pressure/dizziness go away, although it gets bad again throughout the day. Today I've tried to oversleep a bit to see if it was a sleep deprivation issue and it made the pressure better but the dizziness way worse.
I've already scheduled a cardiologist/neurologist, but I can only go friday so I still have some days to worry myself to death over this.
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I haven't posted before on here but i would be greatful if anyone has any more info regarding 'head shocks' or 'brain zaps'.I read a few old posts that some have called them 'zingers'.I prefer to call them 'belters' as that's the ferocity of them.
Iv'e been getting these debilitating and life affecting shocks for years and they have been non stop.They sometimes happen when i blink but sometimes they just happen.I've been diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and i was prescribed pregabalin for that and neuropathic pain.I have depression too but so far i have been able to cope without meds foe it, not sure how long that will last.I als have a numbness on both sides of my head and it also feels like i have a worm travelling along and underneath my scalp or a weird tingling feeling.I have not taken any anti-depressants for over a year and so i don't think it can be anything to do with that.
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I am 21 year old female college student, I have been dealing with these health issues since November 2013. I used to lead a healthy lifestyle, doing great in school, had a job, and participated in school organizations. Also, I was able to exercise everyday and was in the best shape of my life and ate extremely healthy no bread, lots of veggies and grilled chicken. Happier as ever.
Then one day after exercising i began to feel this nauseated off feeling that made me feel as though im not stable. I have never fallen over or fainted (except once when i got my blood drawn to check for this problem). Then gradually over time dizziness is what i began feeling not the room spinning but i feel like i am moving when im not, i feel like i have to second guess where i walk and concentrating on the computer or driving long distances is a challenge. Then started these headaches since April 2014 where i feeling like my head is shaking and pulsing inside. This pulsing and pressure worsens when I am lying down and it takes a while for me to adjust from lying down to standing up i feel woozy when i do. Anyway I have had this constantly everyday. At first it got me really emotional but I have been practicing yoga/meditation everyday as well as acupuncture and massage therapy to help manage the stress and anxiety i was having about the dizziness/head pressure.
Heres the many doctors I have seen:
blood work - all normal according my GP; blood pressure, b12, thyroid is normal
eyes (i wear contacts) - optometrist, ophthalmologist, neuro-opthamologist - all normal; no elevated optic nerve pressure; prescription is the same
ears - saw two ENTS, had vestibular testing done - nothing wrong
finally got an MRI - it showed i have a cavum velum interpositum cyst (3x3.7 cm in sagittal views (side), 3.2x 4 cm axial view); i was most likely born with this - it is hard to say if has grown or always been this size and might be an incidental finding - hard for doctors to say which makes it super frustrating
**NO HYDROCEPHALUS, hemorrhage, midline shift, extra axial collection, or acute intracranial mass effect
i have seen about 3 neurosurgeons all with different opinions
- first was an adult surgeon at the cleveland clinic - said my cyst is very rare; suggest a shunt (but would not want this due to the risky foreign object nature of the device, i would rather an endoscopic procedure)
- second saw a pediatric neurosurgeon; put me on diamox 250 mg twice a day it has been making my head feel better so the doctor is inclined to think its the cyst
- third pediatric neurosurgeon at University of miami; was not convinced the cyst is causing my problems said it was probably incidental and wants me to wait 3-6 months to get another MRI
is anyone going through this.. i'm trying to stay as optimistic as possible. i just hope i do not have to feel like this forever i had to take the semester off of my senior year of college because i wanted to get to the bottom of these problems that have affected my whole life. just want to be normal again.
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I'm 25 male. About 2 weeks ago i started noticing strange feeling in my body, discomforts and occasional sharp pains. It has got progressively worse but now there seems to be a pattern. It starts with i tight pain in my chest on the left side, over time it moves to my back under my left shoulder, then to between my shoulder blades. Finally i get a pressure in my head followed by tingling lips and tongue with a horrible sensation all down the front of my body that last for a long time.
I've been to A&E a couple times thinking im having a heart attack but they have never found anything wrong with me. I've had a blood test, multiple ECG's, blood pressure tests, chest x-ray, everything always comes back normal.
My GP diagnosed Anxiety and prescribed Propranolol, but i know its definitely not anxiety. I'm gonna try and push for an MRI scan if i can but i really worried.
Besides that i get random short pains in my hands and legs, i'm thirsty all the time, lost my appetite.
Does anyone have a clue what this could possibly be?
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About a year ago I had what they originally thought was a stroke but when I had mri and cat scan they showed nothing. Since whatever happened I have a numbness feeling in my left arm and leg and they feel very tired (as if I have done a hard workout at the gym) which has never improved. My right arm and leg has started having a burning sensation. None of these symptoms ever go ever when I sleeping is making nights hard. Doctors keep saying they can find nothing wrong. So what do I do........ I am starting to get panic attacks now as i don't trust my own body I have 2 young children and I am getting extremely frustrated. Is it nerve damage? Why are tests showing nothing up? And now doctors saying is it in my head?
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What causes my headaches? Sometimes I feel disoriented and get dizzy! On top of that, I get headaches very frequently. I have to carry pain reliever with me everywhere I go. If I am around too much smoke I get a headache, too much noise, lights too bright. The list can go on forever! The most important thing to me is the pressure in the back of my head. I cannot lay down on the back of my head or there will be an instant headache. If I take my hand and just touch the back of my head, I feel pressure, which will cause me to get a headache! I worry of a brain tumor or something! I might just be really paranoid, but it's like there is constant pressure on my brain and when I push back there then it just intensifies! I a m at a loss for understanding at what may be causing this!
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I really need somebody to put my mind at ease at this point. I am a 20 years old guy in Montreal and a couple of weeks ago I went through a really bad cold/flu. I couldn't go to work one day because of how bad I felt. The symptoms I had were mild fevers, extreme fatigue, congested nose of white mucus and the other usual symptoms of a cold. I noticed that cold was more aggressive than the usual colds I've had before. I also noticed my nose was extremely congested, I kept blowing my nose frequently and had lots of white mucus coming out of it. Once the cold began to go away I began experiencing a lot of pressure in my head (sinuses areas and kind of in the back of my head), confusion kind of feelings with dizziness, brain fog and still a congested nose but dry (white mucus always). Together with all of this I have been experiencing anxiety spells because of the frustration of not knowing exactly what to do about it.
It has been a little over a week since all of this started and I believe this could be a sinus infection. I just got a decongestant with saline solution and got some tree tea oil to inhale with boiling water once a day. I have been feeling better very slowly throughout the week but I am TERRIFIED this could be something not related with a sinus infection. I have been googling my symptoms like crazy and found stories from people experiencing this stuff for years and that scares the sh* out of me. The brain fog has been very frustrating because it has been affecting my concentration and short term memory. That kind of comes and goes but it is very frustrating since I don't have any memories of experiencing this before.
As far as I know, I haven't had any allergies my whole life and I don't think that is the root of the problem because as I said earlier, I had a really bad cold before this. I know colds can cause sinus infections afterwards.
I don't have access to doctors for now because I am an international student about to graduate next month. I don't have a health card or insurance to cover me with medication or doctors. I am hoping the decongestant and the tea tree oil might cure me so I am waiting a week to see how I feel but the anxiety about this has been killing me because I don't really know what's going on.
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Does anyone else experience random head pains sometimes mild sometimes severe, or constant head pressure? Or headaches I feel like I'm the only one I have something going on in my head everyday and it's always one of these three right now I have a head pain on top of my head feels like some things sat on my head I hate it makes me anxious everyday
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Past week I keep getting this pressure in the back of head and it kind of goes behind my eyes too making Them feel tired. When I get this pressure it makes me head feel heavy and it's a horrible feeling and Then along with that it makes my anxiety go sky high. Anyone else get like this?
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I'm a 28 year old female who is currently suffering with a pressure feeling in head. Its like theres a build up of pressure throughout my head and when i move it as though there's a fluid build up. Sometimes there's a sharp pain and im always lightheaded especially when i move about and feel as though im spinning slightly. Its also making me feel really nauseous and when i breathe out its as though it pushes on the pressure. Is this some type of headache or more?
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Does anyone else suffer with head pressure and is there any way to ease it ?
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Basically I have constant pressure in my head that makes me so nauseous and drowsy. It is very uncomfortable makes me wanna just faint. my brain MRI was normal and I went to a neurologist and he gave me muscle relaxant and anti depressants that made me worse. I went to the emergency room and they didn't help they gave me Fioricet (Butalbital, Acetaminophen and caffeine) it helps but doesn't cure the issue. I'm scheduled to see a new neurologist tmw I hope I find a solution Bcse it's been 6 months since I'm suffering with this condition
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Hiya for the last 7 months I have experienced visual problems and hearing loss that make me feel dissociated/depersonalized (out of it) 24/7 and I am unable to function and unable to concentrate. I get a lot of pain in my back shoulders and neck, and a lot of pressure in my face head eyes and neck, that radiates to my entire body and makes me extremely fatigued. these are the main symptoms that are bothering me the biggest one being "this out of it" feeling! does anyone else experience this?
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I started these pressure headache on top of the head and my one ear felt like was close also i feel weird sounds in my ear ( not always). The head pressure was soo much that i feel dizzy and felt that i would fall off.
I did CT sinus , MRI cervical , MRI head and all these test came clear so the neurologist told me that it's basically your anxiety as you have panic attack in which i feel pain in my chest , shortness of breath and constant muscle pain.
The most important factor here is that i have IBS for the past 2 years now which is high enough for me.
The doctor has given me Seroxat 12.5 mg ( paroxetine hydrochloride) which i have been take for the past 6 days but this medicine is not helping and in fact when i take it i feel that headache has grown more with shortness of breath and stomach upset and tremor in my hand or shall i say fingers but ve but the doctor is saying that it's not the reaction , its normal thing and you would adjust it in 2 weeks.
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