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Head pressure, pupil size change, panic attacks?

Hey everyone, I have not been myself the past month and a half and I still dont know whats wrong with me.  A little background: I am a 27yr old male with tourettes and bad OCD.  I have always had a head pressure and I twitch my head from tourettes a lot to relieve this head pressure.

I have been fine until a month and a half ago when I was just getting over a cold.  I took a mucinex dm one morning and about an hour later I felt a bad head pressure that caused me to fall over.  I could move a little but every time i moved the pressure in my head would build up and I thought I was going to die.  I just sat there for a good 2 hours thinking it was the end.  The first attack lasted around 15 seconds and I thought I was having an aneurysm.  For the next 2 hours, I had smaller attacks about every 30 seconds where it felt like everything was rushing to my head and my head was going crazy inside.  I went to a doctor immediately and they thought it was a bad reaction to mucinex and this was causing me to have panic attacks.  I have never had a panic attack before and my heart beat/breathing remained completely normal this whole time.

The next day I noticed one of my pupils was much larger than the other, which I know is something that just happened. (the 3 doctors and neurologist I have been to have all ignored this and told me I just didnt notice it before, but I am 100% sure they were never different sizes before.)  I have also noticed one of my eyelids drooping, this started a few months before any of this happened and I havent realized this might go together until now.

For a week I had these attacks off and on and couldnt go to work.  It felt like everything was rushing to my head and there was a whirlpool going on in my head.  I have thought about nothing but my head for 6 weeks now.  I went to the ER and had a CT scan done.  They said I had a sinus infection and gave me antibiotics.  They also said my white blood cell count/neutraphil count was high.  A couple weeks later I finished the antibiotics and my white blood cell count was back to normal.

3 more weeks have passed and I still have these attacks.  It feels like everything in my head is going nuts and something is going to pop.  My doctor says it must be panic attacks and has given me lorazapem and fluoxetine.

These attacks happen at random times when I'm doing random things.  But I usually have a head pressure or headaches (it feels like my head is cramping) the entire day before the attacks start.  They can last for hours and are a constant head pressure with really bad attacks that come and go every 10 seconds or so.  They cause me to freak out but my breathing and heartbeat never change, My body is usually normal and its all just my head feeling weird.  There have been a couple times it made my whole body very numb.

My doctor thinks its just panic attacks but the head pressure has been constant for the past 6 weeks(more so than normal).  This doesnt explain the pupil size change either.  I'm not sure if my droopy eye that started 6 months back is part of all this or not too?  I went to a neurologist and he just said if I had a CT scan i was fine and he walked out of the room after 30 seconds of talking to me.

So does this sound like panic attacks?  Could something in my head be off that the CT scan didnt see?  Could it be something else with my body?  The pressure in my head is getting worse and worse and my OCD and tourettes have gotten because of this.  Anyone know what this could be or other tests I could have done?
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Avatar universal
Can you go to an ear nose throat ENT man, to make sure your nose is completely clear of any bacteria that may still be lodged, as well as any continued mucous buildup, by cleaning out your nose?  PLEZ do that.  Also, please get into an exercise program, you gotta exercise at least three or four times a week to where you break a sweat for it to relax you.  Also, a massage therapist will help you, too!  These are simple things, and while I'm glad you'll eat some cilantro leaves, I wish you'd also do these other things too.  GG
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the reply!  I have tried the nose spray with no help.  My doctor also thinks this is not due to my sinus issues.  I have still had a constant light head for the past few days with a lot of pressure on the top of my head.  I will try the Cilantro plant and my doctor also thinks I should have an MRI done just in case.
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Avatar universal
Dear Jonny Drama,
I apologize ahead of time for this being a long post, but I've just got to tell you what I think you should do to get a whole lot better in a pretty big hurry, and I may be wrong, but it doesn't hurt to hear me out.  I'm thinking about your sinus infection and how the medicine for it set off all this misery.  Also thinking about how when your sinuses get really clogged up, since those cavities are above and below the eyes, people who feel a lot of pressure in there, well, their eye or eyes will do exactly what yours is doing, the eyelid will droop and it can also make it dilate and water.  

Now, I have several reasons for you to try this, but just fixate on the idea of a very big need to really clearing out your sinuses.  I understand the antibiotics killed the bacteria, but I have my own reasons for going beyond the norm.  Two ways to clean sinuses, one takes a while, the other is quick.  The long way is to get a plain saline nose spray, with NO other ingredients in there, and in the morning and evening, squirt a couple times into each nostril, sort of breathe up with the first squirt.  The quick and sure way is to visit an ear nose throat ENT doc, and ask that he please wash out your nasal cavities for you, that's really the very best way to do it, just remember to tell him you're allergic to that medicine you used before.  Also, drink some extra water daily for a couple weeks whilst you're trying to do this.

Now, there is another thing I think you should try.  Again, I'm thinking about this pressure you have and also your tics happening after the pressure, and there is a little spice plant called Cilantro, I remember growing it in my garden and adding it to my salads, and I used it in a few Mexican recipies, the fresh leaves of that plant have a lemon type scent, really refreshing.  What it does is, it helps rid the body of toxins that can build up, like after an infection of some kind.  Since you had this sinus infection, well, the endless extra pressure in the head indicates a sort of autoimmune process, which can come from remnant bacteria floating around in the human body and creating stress.  Just by eating the leaves of that spice plant, maybe once or twice a week, for a couple months, should help tone down this head thing going on forever.

Now, your doctor prescribed lorazepam, and that tranquilizer really makes a person feel good and also relaxed.  Relaxation is good for OCD, it's good for tics, and it's good for your sense of well-being.  So, since you have this tic thing where you muscles kind of let loose when too much pressure builds up, I think if you were to get into a pretty vigorous regular exercise activity maybe three or four days a week, this wil specifically release your tense muscles.

I might add that you could benefit from a massage therapist once a month, this will release muscle tension too, if you go to a gym they often have them there.  Also, think in terms of a schedule, where you exercise at the same time on the days you do it, and then that should be followed by a routine like showering, then comfortably sitting quietly for about ten minutes.  Then whenever you eat dinner, take one of your tranquilizers at that time, really enjoy a nice meal, after which the medicine will start to relax you, and that's when you can again do that relaxing, this time 20 minutes,listening to music or going for a twilight walk

I think within three weeks of fooling with this stuff, HOPEFULLY you are going to notice a very big difference in how you feel.  By the way, I have panic disorder and I do not think that's what you have!  I think this all is centered around the sinus infection you had, as well as having relaxation issues, and since you already have OCD and tics, well, you cannot really take on ANY other health situation.  But I also think some of what I've said will ALSO help you regular health problems, too.  Let us know how things go.  GG
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