What could be wrong with my head?

[RooRem2]

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been suffering with the right side of my head. It feels very tight, like it might explode (I know that sounds dramatic but best way I can describe it) It starts just above my ear then moves up to my temple. Sometimes it can go the other way down towards my jaw. My face also feels numb/tingly. If I move my head too fast then I get an awful sharp shooting pain. I’m thinking of phoning the gp but I’m wondering if they’ll just tell me to take pain killers although I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily painful, more tight unless I move my head too fast.

Call your GP. It could be a few things. For some people, Covid felt like that. It could be a sinus pressure headache. It could be a pulled nerve in your neck. It could be connected to your teeth and your jaw. It could be a reaction to the very high pollen levels. It could be an ear infection. There are lots of things it could be and they have different treatment plans not just painkillers.

@GoldenSongbird thank you, I’ll give them a call

@RooRem2 Not to scare you but numbness / tingling in face or jaw should never be ignored... that needs checking out pronto... how old are you and are you otherwise healthy?

@CadburyCrunchy I have an appointment at the gp this afternoon so will see what they say😳 I’m 27 and yes I’m otherwise healthy. I do have epilepsy though

@RooRem2 how did it go with the GP?

@GoldenSongbird The doctor wants me to go to an opticians tomorrow for something called a slit lamp examination. I asked what they’d be looking for and her words were “if you tell them what I’m requesting they will know what I’m thinking” I should asked what she meant by that but I think I was taken aback a little. Hopefully I get to the bottom of it soon🤞🏼

On the plus side, the optician should be able to tell you more and usually they can give you the results of their tests straightaway even if they end up referring you elsewhere. Write down any questions tonight so you can ask the optician tomorrow and maybe write down how you described your symptoms to your GP - just in case they don't have access to her notes. Good luck!

@GoldenSongbird Thanks so much! I have an appointment soon so I’ll see what they say😊

How did the opticians go @RooRem2 ? I’m curious as to what your GP was referring to.

Good luck op

@Herejustforthisone Hi, it went ok. The optician couldn’t find anything bad. She said everything looked perfect. Spoke to gp, she said now that nothing serious has been found she thinks it could be a trapped nerve in my neck🤷🏻‍♀️

@Herejustforthisone sorry I meant trapped nerve in my head not neck

Hi, I've been experiencing problems with my head recently too. I have previously posted asking for advice on here, so I was drawn to your post. My head trouble sounded very similar. It actually started on 1st April and is only just getting better now. I constantly tested negative for Covid and the gp at first diagnosed sinusitis. I had 2 courses of antibiotics and but was no better, I too was advised to go to the opticians for extensive tests which all proved OK . I then saw another gp who was concerned about the shooting pain in my temples. He immediately sent me for blood tests for inflammation and temperal arteritis (?). Thankfully, these too were OK. I also had an urgent CT head scan and only found out last week that this was normal. I am currently taking amitriptyline to help with the headaches, although I don't take them everyday anymore. It is an absolute mystery as to what was wrong with me. I honestly thought I would never get better and it has taken many weeks to start feeling normal again. Maybe there is some weird head virus going around? I hope you start to feel better soon.

Interesting you've suggested a weird head virus, I've had an horrendous headache for 6 days now, it feels more like a weird tension headache rather then the migraines I usually get, my amitriptyline is not touching it nor is paracetamol and ibuprofen, I was thinking earlier today if its possibly some weird virus I've picked up.

I would recommend going to see a good osteopath. I've had amazing results for all sorts of things. I was on the waiting list for surgery on my nose/sinuses and after seeing the osteopath I didn't need the surgery any more. See if you can find a good cranial osteopath (I say good as there are some cowboys out there but a good one is worth their weight in gold).

@Moonchild18 Sorry to hear about your headaches. Mine also felt like a tension/pressure type headache and was definitely not migraine. I've never had migraines but my brother has, so I know they didn't have the same symptoms. Mine also did not respond to the usual paracetamol. They only responded to the amitriptyline a few weeks after I started taking it, or it could be a coincidence that the virus was starting to get better. I also found reading and looking at a screen made them worse. I'm still not back to normal but I feel a lot better. I'm convinced it's a virus or maybe a strain of covid that doesn't show up when testing. Every day I woke up hoping the headache would be gone but it was still there. I hope you feel better soon.