I've had a strange headache (more like pressure)since last Thursday. Sometimes it's in my right temple area, then moves towards the top sides of my head. It feels like a vice is gripping my head (for lack of a better way to describe it). Other than this, I feel perfectly fine. It does feel like a sinus headache, just in other areas, not my sinuses. Is there such a thing? It hasn't gotten any worse, just won't go away. I've taken Sudafed and it doesn't seem to help.
Any ideas?

Hi Robste, Yours sounds very similar to my symptons, I have wondered if its my sinus's, but my doctor dosent seem to think so, I have been getting shooting pains in my head as well as throbbing temples, I have tried decongestion meds, but they dont seem to work, I have had these for about 3 months now, my Dr has refered me to a neuroligist and I'm still waiting for an appointment!! my Dr dosent seem to think its serious, but its best to get it sorted. Have you seen a doctor?? I know how annoying it can be when you dont know why its happening, keep me posted, maybe we can help each other on this one. Take care
blueyes29 http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hi Blue...well, my headache that lasted almost two weeks was a sinus infection...my dr. didn't even do an exam; he said he could just tell by my symptoms that it was probably my sinuses, and he gave me a decongestant to take for 10 days and an antibiotic to take for 5 days. It took about 6-7 days after I started taking both medications before I felt any relief, but now my head is no longer hurting and I feel so much better. My dr. doesn't believe in automatically sending you to a specialist until he rules out everything, which is good. I hope that you find out what's wrong and causing your headache pain and pressure. Have you thought about just getting a second opinion from a family dr. before going to the specialist? Let me know what happens, and I hope you're doing better by the time you read this message...
Robin

If there is every any doubt or you think it might be sinuses but not sure why not ask your doctor to run a set of sinus x-rays. Without a set of sinus x-rays your doc can only say that he doesn't think it's sinus. If you on the other hand really feel that is could be sinus then insist on a set of x-rays so you know one way or the other. As for robste: now that you know what sinus pain feels like keep that in the back of your mind so that if you have further problems you can call the doc sooner if the sinusitis doesn't go away in due time.

I have the exact same thing. I went to this massage therapist and she massaged my sinus's by pressing to fingers on the top of my nose, and pressing along the sinus under my eyes. When she was massaging I could feel that it was tender. Afterwards I felt great and when it keeps coming back I massage those areas.

Maybe give that a try.

I suffer from migranes. I am not a doctor or anything, but when I get the kind-of headaches you are describing it's usually caused from tension or stress.
My doctor has prescribed Maxalt for my headaches/migranes and it works great to relieve the pain.
When I get sinus headaches my symtoms are usually along the lines of extreme pressure around my nose and eyes and an overall pain/pressure kind-of headache from one side of my temples to the other.
Hope this helps!

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~Keepin' it real~

I too have suffered with the tension type headaches in the past. They just about drove me insane because none of the numerous doctors or specialists (ENT/Neurologists) I saw diagnosed them. Until one day, I went to the ER and saw a "junior" doc (fresh out of med school). He diagnosed me correctly - they were called Myosfascial Headaches. The headaches weren't pain like migrains or other headaches, they were more of an INTENSE pressure in my head that ran across my forehead over the top of my head and around my head. It felt like a tight band was wrapped around my head 24 hours a day. I would wake up in the morning and would be fine, but within a few hours the pressure would start and it would get worse as the day went on. I could not keep my head up for long periods of time. I had the CT Scan's of my sinuses and they were clear so they were not my sinuses. The Myofascial muscles surround the head and when they tense up, you get the intense pressure (like the vice grip you mentioned) around your head. The only relief I got from them was from Muscle Relaxants that I took at nighttime. I only had to take them for about a week because after the muscle relaxants kicked in and relaxed those muscles, I have not had another once since. I do keep the muscle relaxants on had though, just in case. My suggestion to you is this:

1) Go to your doctor's and demand a CT Scan of your sinuses to be sure to rule out that your symptoms are not sinus related.

2) If they aren't sinus related, discuss Myofascial Headaches (also knows as Tension Headaches) with your doctor and the possibility of your doctor prescribing Muscle Relaxants for you.

Please write back and let me know your results. I am curious to know if your symptoms are similar to mine and if you do take the muscle relaxants to know if they work for you too.

By the way, the reason I had those headaches was because I was mis-diagnosed for over 1 year by numerous doctors. I finally have been diagnosed with Eustachian Tube Dysfunction - that was the cause of all my problems.

Well, Good luck and I sure hope you get some relief soon.

Take care,

Rae http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/round.gif

Rae - your symptoms seem very similar to mine. What treatments have you had for the eustachian tube dysfunction? How was it ultimately diagnosed?

mbr

wow i thought i was alone w/sinusitis and allergies/headaches.
thanks.
i was diagnosed w/sinusitis but after reading these posts,i realize now that my idea that headaches can emerge from this is amazingly true.
i didn't really come to terms w/this.
my headaches range from allover pain from eyes to whole head.
this is probably largely from the fertizlier they place outside on grass due to mold irritants i have.
i have horrible ragweed and other inhalant allergies also.
this just makes me believe that the flonase or zyrtec i was supposed to take everyday(seasonally)would help this cause and cure it.
i may try oc decongestants again and see if it helps.
(antihistimines at night only)
decongestants ie sudafed daily
i'm assuming my problems had to do w/stress also but i'm sure its allergies now.thanks

mbr22,

Hi, thanks for replying. It actually took a long time to get diagnosed. I suffered with those tension type headaches for over 1 year before they were diagnosed. I saw numerous doctors, an ENT, and a Neurologist and believe it or not, an E.R. doctor (fresh out of med school) is the one who finally diagnosed me. Of course, I didn't believe him because he looked like he was 12-years old and I thought there's no way this "junior" doctor is going to know what is wrong with me when my "senior" doctors and specialist that I have been to couldn't do it - they all told me I was having anxiety attacks or panic attacks but my symptoms never went away. I saw this "junior" doctor one time in the E.R. and he diagnosed me on the spot. He gave me Muscle Relaxants to take and they were gone within a few days - just like that - amazing. I haven't had another one since. I keep the muscle relaxants on hand just in case another one pops up again, but thank God I haven't had another one. I strongly suggest you research the Myofascial Headaches on the net and print out the symptoms for them and take it in to your doctor to show him. Also, TMJ will cause these headaches as well. Do you grind our teeth at night? Do you clench your teeth at night? Do you hear popping/clicking/grinding sounds in your jaw? If so, you may need to get a bite guard to wear at night. I did that too and it has helped immensely with my TMJ pain. I still have the clicking and popping jaw, but I have no pain anymore. I suggest you discuss TMJ with your doctor too. What about allergies? Do you have any? You may have allergies that are causing your symptoms. That's what caused all of mine and once I got the Myofascial Headaches diagnosed and treated, I was finally able to pinpoint my symptoms were related to Allergies and because I was misdiagnosed over and over again it led to the myofascial headaches. Now I take Allergy medication for my allergies. I'm not 100% better, but I can at least function now. With the myofascial headaches, I was unable to function at all. I hope this helps you.

Rae http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/round.gif

Sorry,

I didn't answer your question about Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. I thought you were asking about the Myofascial Headaches. It is all connected though. It took about 14 months before I was finally diagnosed by the doctor I see now that I have Eustachian Tube Dysfunction - related to Allergies. I had been to numerous doctors, an ENT, and a Neurologist and none of them diagnosed me correctly until this doctor. He put me on Claritin-D and Nasonex and that helped me for a few months, however, this last month I have noticed the meds are not working anymore - maybe I'm getting immune to them? Not sure. There is a person on this website that "Cut-Throat" who swears by Chlortrimeton. I'm going to try that out this weekend. It causes drowsiness so I want to start it on a week-end when I can be tired so I can see how it will affect me as I can't be tired during the day cause I have to work. Have you been to a doctor yet about your symptoms? What are your symptoms? Now that the Myofascial Headaches are gone, mine are: my ears are clogged, my head feels like it is in a fog, the back of my head is sore and my neck below my ears on both sides is sore. I'm hoping the Chlortrimeton will help with this. I am told by my doctor that there is no cure for this problem and only medication will help, but the medication I am taking is not helping me lately. I hope this helps you.

Rae http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/round.gif

Rae - thanks for your replies. Yes, I too have seen many doctors, ENT's, TMJ specialists, etc. Currently, I am considering getting tubes placed in my ears due to Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, however, I don't have all the classic symptoms of ETD.

Allergies may be a culprit also. My symptoms are chronic headache around eyes, temples, jaw and recently into neck area, plus ear fullness, pressure and the "foggy head" syndrome. I have tried various muscle relaxants, but no help.

mbr

mbr22 have they done a set of sinus x-rays to totally rule out sinus problems on you? If not insist on this first to r/o sinus. It is also quite possible that you do have chronic sinusitis and need long term antibiotic therapy to clear this up. Many times if we let things go to long or they are chronic it can take a month or longer of antibiotic therapy to totally clear things up and if they don't get cleared up completely they tend to keep reoccuring.

mbr22,


I have the exact same symptoms as yours. Eustachain Tube Dysfunction really sucks doesn't it? I wish someone could find a cure for it. I've only had it for 18 months now and it is driving me nuts. I stopped taking the Claritin-D, Nasonex, and Saline Spray this morning and am trying the Chlortrimeton that someone from this board ("Cut-Throat") recommends. So far, it has been okay today. I don't have the foggy head feeling and no pressure in my forehead/temples area today. Hopefully, I won't have any tomorrow. My ears are still clogged up and full, but not as bad. I'm going to try this out for a while and see if it helps. I actually felt pretty good today considering the way I have been feeling. I'm not sure if it was from the Chlortrimeton or from just stopping the Claritin-D and other stuff. Maybe those meds were making me worse? Not sure. I guess I will have to see how I do from not taking them and see how it goes on the Chlortrimeton. What meds are you taking? I'm not sure if the tubes in your ears is a good idea or not. I've read some horror stories on this board of people who have ETD like us that got the tubes and they made their symptoms worse. You might want to check with some people first. I was also considering the tubes myself but after reading the horror stories, I decided against it and thought I would try the medication route. Let me know how you are doing and I'll keep you posted to let you know if the Chlortrimeton is working for me or not...

Take care,

Rae http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.gif

I just found out that TOOTH GRINDING is the cause of my chronic sinus problems and headaches. After 20 years of misery, my nose has COMPLETELY cleared up since I started wearing a dental device called an NTI. This device is different from a traditional TMJ bite guard because it completely prevents the molars from coming into contact. It has been FDA approved for treatment of TMJ syndrome and migraines, and so far it is not being marketed for sinus sufferers. That said, the improvement in my sinuses has been nothing short of miraculous. My dentist said that many of his patients have reported improvement in sinus problems. The website <www.nti-tss.com> has more info.

I too experienced an onset of head pain that seemed to move around to different areas of the head. An MRI showed nothing to be the source of the problem. The doctor suggested taking a calcium blocker (verapamil 80mg, twice a day). Within two days I was back to normal. He said to take the medication for 3 months then quit and that should be the end of it. I am stopping the meds today and will see what develops. The doctor did not give me a reason for the headache problem.-----Two days later and I had to start back on the verapamil. Changed the dosage to one 80mg pill at bedtime and the headaches are not returning. A related item is that 1 cup of coffee a day is the max. otherwise the headaches come back.

[This message has been edited by STEVE54 (edited 01-15-2002).]

[This message has been edited by STEVE54 (edited 01-15-2002).]

I get similar headaches and the advice posted here is helpful. I find that muscle relaxers do help. I'd like to try the calcium blocker but am hoping to become pregnant and don't want meds. I'm told that headaches and allergies tend to go away when pregnant, does anyone have any info on this? Thx.