Power Surge Forums > yet, another diagnosis for me!

mydarling

Mar 27 2007, 12:23 AM

OK, here we go.! As you ladies know, I've been posting for weeks now about temple pressure and squeezing, and this sort of little tiny "vein" looking thing there on the upper part of the temple that pops out SLIGHTLY (hardly noticeable, but I can see it) and it feels pressurized and sometimes aches. OK, so, I had a very bad night last night (which i just posted earlier today) with all of this darn pressure and squeezing (which by the way, happens on that TMJ joint there too, and under my left cheek bone as well).....I had taken xanax and fell asleep, sort of...but it was bad, I kept waking up. I didn't end up taking the Benedryl last night, becaue I had taken 3 sets of them during the day, and I had read that can cause liver and kidney damage, so I figured maybe I ought to lay off the Benedryl last night, so I only took the xanax.

OK, well, bad night....crazy dreams, etc....now, today, I woke up, still with the darn temple pressure and squeezing (the squeezing comes on and off, but the temple press. is pretty much always there, at least for the past few days, before that, it was on and off) .... I took Benedryl at that point, and xanax. I had had it! I called my girlfriend, and I asked her if I could maybe get an appt. with HER dr. and if she could help me pay for it, since HER dr. of course, isn't covered under my husbands ins. at work....she said sure, and off we went.

Well, here we go! I told him all the symptoms, that this all started on feb. 16th, after I had been touching my left temple on and off for a few hrs. one night when I noticed a blue vein there. I told him that ever since then, I've had this temple pressure (see, to me, and I'm not a dr., fine, but to me, that's just to coincidental that the next day, after I was touching the temple,...i get this pressure and squeezing!) and squeezing, it was continuous pressure for the first week, all the time, then it got better, but then it started doing other things...like, let's see, moving to the top of my head on the left side (pressure), or to my sinuses on my face and eyebrow, and nose area, or, it started in with the squeezing stuff....now the squeezing feeling, is both in the temple itself (more like the upper part of the temple, kind of by where that tiny little vein is puffed out), and the other squeezing is on the TMJ joint, outside your left ear. I ALSO have pressure under my left cheekbone. In fact, when I press up under my left cheekbone, it releives a lot of the pressure in the temple too. I explained to him, how this pretty much comes and goes....how I thought it was sinus, for which he examined my face and looked in my ears and eyes and said "NO", ok...well, then he decides to tell me that he thinks its someting called GIANT CELL ARTERITIS! OK, now I am familiar with that, since when all this temple stuff started, I started reading everying about temple pressure, and that was one of the things that had come up...in fact, Jenny here had suggested that to me as well. But, when I read the that mostly women over 60 are affected, AND I read the symptoms...ok, I DO have maybe 2 of those symptoms, the jaw pain (which could be TMJ or the trigminal nerve) and I do have scalp tenderness, ON AND OFF, not all the time. The other symptoms I don't have. So, I don't know. Now, he scared the daylights out of me with this, since that's a fairly serious thing, and can cause loss of vision, and strokes etc..IF not treated. My husband was with me THANK GOD, becasue of course, I freaked. LOL....NOw, he is pretty sure this is what it is, yet as my girlfriend said to me when i got home "what exactly is he making that diagnosis on,,,,this could be many different things" which is true! He promptly dismissed perimenopause as being a culprit, which I knew he would, being that he had to be about 60 yrs old. I told him I've read extensivley, and he even admitted that he was suprised that I knew about that giant cell arteritis, and I told him i research things....but after I got done panicking...I talked to my girlfriend about this, and my husband and son....now, ok, it DOES seem like that's what it COULD be....but it also seems like it COULD be other things too. I've had some ladies HERE tell me they have templre pressure and squeezing too. So what the heck? And we are chalking that up to hormones. NOT HIM!

so, now, he then tells me and my husband in this very concerned voice that he wants me to get my blood tested TOMORROW, for this, apparently you can see this in the blood.........and then, SEE HIM THE VERY NEXT DAY..WED.! HOLY COW....you just know I"m panicking now! I asked him point blank if you could die from this, I asked him 3 times..lol..and3 times he said NO,,,,,I asked him could my blood vessel burst, and he said NO,,,but I got the feeling that he was placating me to a degreee, he could see i was nervous and frightened, and I think he was just being "nice"....I looked htis all up when I got home, and no, this isn't something you usually die from IF you treat it, which he said...he wants to give me PREDNISONE, an antiinflamitory.....I aasked him if that's how yhou treat this, with prednisone?????, is that"normal" and he said YES...now, my other dr. that I saw on Mar. 5th never mentioned this at all.....i even explained the temple pressure and squeezing. I also called a local pharmacy here,,,,,I explained the temple pressure and squeezing, and sinus pressure in my forehead and face....the pharmacist plainly told me that, those are very common symptoms of sinus! YET, THE DR. DISAGREED,...and siad to me "well, that's why HE'S the pharmacist, and I'M the dr."...!

so, I am going for this darned blood test tomorrow, I don't know what else to do. My husband and son both don't "feel" that that's what it is, but I don't know. I don't know what to think. Yes, I know, I will go and have the test, and go from there.....but if anyone here has any other info on this please LET ME KNOW!!!!!!! LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINIONS HERE! I mean, I KNOW some ladies have said they have the same thing, and I know the pharmacist said it is very common for sinus to present itself on the temples as squeezing and pressure....but this dr. doesn't think so....nor does he think i have a sinus infection.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EveningPrimrose

Mar 27 2007, 03:58 AM

QUOTE (mydarling @ Mar 27 2007, 05:23 AM)

OK, here we go.! As you ladies know, I've been posting for weeks now about temple pressure and squeezing, and this sort of little tiny "vein" looking thing there on the upper part of the temple that pops out SLIGHTLY (hardly noticeable, but I can see it) and it feels pressurized and sometimes aches. OK, so, I had a very bad night last night (which i just posted earlier today) with all of this darn pressure and squeezing (which by the way, happens on that TMJ joint there too, and under my left cheek bone as well).....I had taken xanax and fell asleep, sort of...but it was bad, I kept waking up. I didn't end up taking the Benedryl last night, becaue I had taken 3 sets of them during the day, and I had read that can cause liver and kidney damage, so I figured maybe I ought to lay off the Benedryl last night, so I only took the xanax.

OK, well, bad night....crazy dreams, etc....now, today, I woke up, still with the darn temple pressure and squeezing (the squeezing comes on and off, but the temple press. is pretty much always there, at least for the past few days, before that, it was on and off) .... I took Benedryl at that point, and xanax. I had had it! I called my girlfriend, and I asked her if I could maybe get an appt. with HER dr. and if she could help me pay for it, since HER dr. of course, isn't covered under my husbands ins. at work....she said sure, and off we went.

Well, here we go! I told him all the symptoms, that this all started on feb. 16th, after I had been touching my left temple on and off for a few hrs. one night when I noticed a blue vein there. I told him that ever since then, I've had this temple pressure (see, to me, and I'm not a dr., fine, but to me, that's just to coincidental that the next day, after I was touching the temple,...i get this pressure and squeezing!) and squeezing, it was continuous pressure for the first week, all the time, then it got better, but then it started doing other things...like, let's see, moving to the top of my head on the left side (pressure), or to my sinuses on my face and eyebrow, and nose area, or, it started in with the squeezing stuff....now the squeezing feeling, is both in the temple itself (more like the upper part of the temple, kind of by where that tiny little vein is puffed out), and the other squeezing is on the TMJ joint, outside your left ear. I ALSO have pressure under my left cheekbone. In fact, when I press up under my left cheekbone, it releives a lot of the pressure in the temple too. I explained to him, how this pretty much comes and goes....how I thought it was sinus, for which he examined my face and looked in my ears and eyes and said "NO", ok...well, then he decides to tell me that he thinks its someting called GIANT CELL ARTERITIS! OK, now I am familiar with that, since when all this temple stuff started, I started reading everying about temple pressure, and that was one of the things that had come up...in fact, Jenny here had suggested that to me as well. But, when I read the that mostly women over 60 are affected, AND I read the symptoms...ok, I DO have maybe 2 of those symptoms, the jaw pain (which could be TMJ or the trigminal nerve) and I do have scalp tenderness, ON AND OFF, not all the time. The other symptoms I don't have. So, I don't know. Now, he scared the daylights out of me with this, since that's a fairly serious thing, and can cause loss of vision, and strokes etc..IF not treated. My husband was with me THANK GOD, becasue of course, I freaked. LOL....NOw, he is pretty sure this is what it is, yet as my girlfriend said to me when i got home "what exactly is he making that diagnosis on,,,,this could be many different things" which is true! He promptly dismissed perimenopause as being a culprit, which I knew he would, being that he had to be about 60 yrs old. I told him I've read extensivley, and he even admitted that he was suprised that I knew about that giant cell arteritis, and I told him i research things....but after I got done panicking...I talked to my girlfriend about this, and my husband and son....now, ok, it DOES seem like that's what it COULD be....but it also seems like it COULD be other things too. I've had some ladies HERE tell me they have templre pressure and squeezing too. So what the heck? And we are chalking that up to hormones. NOT HIM!

so, now, he then tells me and my husband in this very concerned voice that he wants me to get my blood tested TOMORROW, for this, apparently you can see this in the blood.........and then, SEE HIM THE VERY NEXT DAY..WED.! HOLY COW....you just know I"m panicking now! I asked him point blank if you could die from this, I asked him 3 times..lol..and3 times he said NO,,,,,I asked him could my blood vessel burst, and he said NO,,,but I got the feeling that he was placating me to a degreee, he could see i was nervous and frightened, and I think he was just being "nice"....I looked htis all up when I got home, and no, this isn't something you usually die from IF you treat it, which he said...he wants to give me PREDNISONE, an antiinflamitory.....I aasked him if that's how yhou treat this, with prednisone?????, is that"normal" and he said YES...now, my other dr. that I saw on Mar. 5th never mentioned this at all.....i even explained the temple pressure and squeezing. I also called a local pharmacy here,,,,,I explained the temple pressure and squeezing, and sinus pressure in my forehead and face....the pharmacist plainly told me that, those are very common symptoms of sinus! YET, THE DR. DISAGREED,...and siad to me "well, that's why HE'S the pharmacist, and I'M the dr."...!

so, I am going for this darned blood test tomorrow, I don't know what else to do. My husband and son both don't "feel" that that's what it is, but I don't know. I don't know what to think. Yes, I know, I will go and have the test, and go from there.....but if anyone here has any other info on this please LET ME KNOW!!!!!!! LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINIONS HERE! I mean, I KNOW some ladies have said they have the same thing, and I know the pharmacist said it is very common for sinus to present itself on the temples as squeezing and pressure....but this dr. doesn't think so....nor does he think i have a sinus infection.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darling, try to relax ...You are very agitated and need to just calm down a bit...Personally I think the doctor should have diagnosed you with a high anxiety state. I really do understand that you're anxious about the temple issue but you'll make yourself worse by working yourself up. Just go along for the blood test tomorrow and take it 1 hour at a time...we will be here to support you through all things so dont worry about that. Just step back from the problem and try and go out for a walk today to distract yourself ... I know how difficult anxiety is in Peri...I had visual problems yesterday that had me rooted to the spot Just live your life for today! And Enjoy it!

Speculating about what it could be will just make things worse and no-one at PS can make a diagnosis for you - only your doctor can do that. But anyway, you are getting attention from your doctor now and he's taking care of your health... lets face it, you could be second guessing yourself all day...but try not to...it will deprive you of a day that could be nice.

Gez~

squiggle

Mar 27 2007, 05:11 AM

mydarling,

Go for the blood test. If it is Giant Cell, they can and are already treating it, if not and it is just your sinuses, then no harm done.

You do sound like you have health anxiety (I do too). I have a tendency to jump to the worst case scenario, but I am getting better. Do you drink camomile tea? it has a calming effect. Also i am taking a course in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (which trains you to think differently about things and challenge your negative thoughts) and also undergoing acupuncture which are helping me a lot.

You do need to stop looking up things on the internet as Kleeo suggested - I used to do that and all it does is set me off worrying about other things it could be. I know you feel like you need to know but all you end up doing is confusing yourself more. Trust your doctors. It sounds like this latest guy is taking you seriously and will sort you out.

You sound like you are in a high anxiety state at the moment. Do you exercise at all? 30 mins of cardio exercise can burn off a lot of that adrenalin that is freaking you out.

Hugs & hope some of this helps.

EveningPrimrose

Mar 27 2007, 06:35 AM

[quote name='squiggle' date='Mar 27 2007, 10:11 AM' post='163577']

Also i am taking a course in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (which trains you to think differently about things and challenge your negative thoughts) and also undergoing acupuncture which are helping me a lot.

Is acupuncture helping you Squiggle? I'm thinking of going that route myself - Where are you in the UK?

squiggle

Mar 27 2007, 07:01 AM

Hi Gez.

I'm in Oxfordshire. Where are you?

The acupuncture does seem to be helping quite a bit on the whole - the past month I've felt a lot better & actually pretty good - but then out of the blue, today I've got that horrid unfounded anxiety/ edgy feeling back again. (I separate this from the health anxiety because I get it even when i have no health symptoms to worry about). I usually get it in the mornings and it gets better as the day goes on.

Haven't had it at all for the last couple of months since i started the acupuncture. I think it's back possibly because I'm a bit run down/ weakened with a cold (sore throat/ cough) and I have the dentist today (filling to look forward to) plus recently developed tennis elbow which is just annoyingly painful & have packing to do for the family for a trip to Center parcs this weekend. Just busy & run down really.

I saw the acupuncturist last Friday and am not due to go again until 2 weeks time. I also have CBT on Wed. The CBT really has helped me to force myself to think logically, even though the anxiety feeling is probably brought on by the hormones.

dawn

Mar 27 2007, 08:41 AM

Do you know what he's looking for in the blood tests?

I see you're in Florida. Pollen counts have been at an all time high. Everybody I know is having sinus issues.

As far as the Prednisone, just be informed that there are "side effects" with the drug, and you should know what they are ahead of time so you will be prepared if you experience them. Prednisone will often make you more jittery and nervous, and can also make you really hungry and bloated, and can cause insomnia.

sunflowermmh

Mar 27 2007, 10:18 AM

Mydarling,
I posted on your other thread. It is good they are doing the blood test and if it turns up as that then you can get treated.

I lived in Fl. for about 11 yrs and found I always needed to have a halls in my mouth and vicks on my chest. I was always plugged. I recall my car having this coating of yellow pollen on it from the palm trees often. I moved north eventually and everything was fine in that department until severe hormonal symptoms hit now I am stuffed again.

I just wanted to tell you, as posted in your other thread, I wear a mouth gaurd daily and nightly. Before I had this made I had horrible pain on the left side of my face, into my ear and eye, down my neck and through my teeth. Sinus trouble was my search or a really bad tooth. It was laways one sided. I used heating pads, hot rags, tooth numbing stuff, steam...for 7 mo. tring to figure out what was causing such pain. I was so convinced it was my sinus' that I would take onions and sniff them to make my nose drain because that is the only way it would. When I touched or rubbed my joint just below the ear it was so sore and hurt and one day I was rubbing and opened my mouth wide enough and it popped. After that I paid attn. to it and when I chewed it sounded like something filled with sand that was grinding( not all the time) I went to my dentist and he made a mouth gaurd and with a few adjustments and a few weeks later my pain was gone and I haven't had it since. I feel little bits of irraitation when I have really been tense, but it is short and not nearly as painful if painful at all.
When I wake up in the morning I have to pry this gaurd of my teeth because I have clenched so much in the night when normally I can just pop it off with my tongue.

If your test comes back normal maybe you want to look into this. I have a high anxiety lately and that is where I am holding my tension...my jaw and neck. Grinding your teeth is a subconcioous habit and I am not sure you can control it especially when we sleep. You can notice your doing it if you really pay attn. Your teeth don't have to be or look worn to have a problem with this either, my didn't. You can buy mouth gaurds from stores for a trial...my husband did this, however it didn't fit eal snug and made his mout look like one of those cave man commercials..we had a good laugh anyway. Let us know how your test was and hope all goes well for you. Mikki

EveningPrimrose

Mar 27 2007, 12:07 PM

QUOTE (squiggle @ Mar 27 2007, 12:01 PM)

Hi Gez.

I'm in Oxfordshire. Where are you?

The acupuncture does seem to be helping quite a bit on the whole - the past month I've felt a lot better & actually pretty good - but then out of the blue, today I've got that horrid unfounded anxiety/ edgy feeling back again. (I separate this from the health anxiety because I get it even when i have no health symptoms to worry about). I usually get it in the mornings and it gets better as the day goes on.

Haven't had it at all for the last couple of months since i started the acupuncture. I think it's back possibly because I'm a bit run down/ weakened with a cold (sore throat/ cough) and I have the dentist today (filling to look forward to) plus recently developed tennis elbow which is just annoyingly painful & have packing to do for the family for a trip to Center parcs this weekend. Just busy & run down really.

I saw the acupuncturist last Friday and am not due to go again until 2 weeks time. I also have CBT on Wed. The CBT really has helped me to force myself to think logically, even though the anxiety feeling is probably brought on by the hormones.

Hi Squiggle - I will PM you so I dont disrupt the thread too much..

I hope you're feeling better my darling and you've had a peaceful day...

mydarling

Mar 27 2007, 02:14 PM

Hi ladies.....oh thank you all so darn much for your compassion and understanding, I mean, to be honest with you all, I'm sitting here crying because I truly needed this from all of you!!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I am a nervous wreck, and I have to wait till tomorrow for the bloodwork results to come to the dr....and then he wants to see me RIGHT AWAY TOMORROW! geez! come on, iff your dr. says that, you get scared! I looked the whole Giant Cell Arteritis thing up, ok, it's not "good", but it's treatable with prednisone...now, I looked up prednisone....well, yes, it DOES have side affects, I'm very aware of that! Thank you for reminding me though, and these side effects aretn't to nice either! so, I don't know what to do...I guess I have to still take it though. I can't do nothing! I am having so much anxiety, thank God my husband went with me to the lab, geez, I thought I was going to croak! I'm not good with things like that anyway, I become very very anxious in those kind of enviornments...but my dear husband was there for me! Now see, my dr. had told me last night when I saw him, to get ALLEVE and take 2 with breakfast, and two with dinner....so that when I see him tomorrow (Wed.) I can tell him if that helped at all, because Alleve is an anti inflamatory, so if it helps, then I think he feels that we may very well be dealing with that Giant Cell thingy, because it will have lessened the inflamation of the artery. But then he wants me to take the Prednisone after that. Now, I read on a few sites that apparently you take Prednisone for a month, and that should do it, I really hope that's all there is to this!

See, I realize to other people, I must sound ridiculous or over worked, because I think other people have dealt with other health issues in their life, but I havent'. I've had two miscarriages, YEARS ago, and that's been it! NOTHING ELSE...well, other than anxiety. So, when this popped up out of nowhere, I freaked! My husband is very strong, which is what I need right now.
He himself had a very bad blood disease in 1995, but he put his faith in God, and he's still here,,,,,I remember the day they came out of the lab and told him he had 3 mos. to live! So, I'm thankfull he's still here with me! I can really lean on him.

I dont know where I'd be without all of you though, I mean, this place has become a haven for me! I can't even imagine my life without this now! Well, I just wanted to keep you all posted about this, and how it's going,,,,I will most likely be here again tomorrow (if not tonight..lol) and let you guys know the results of the bloodwork and what the dr. says tomorrow.

thank you all for being there for me!!!!!! sincerely, MyDarling

loganbil

Mar 27 2007, 02:41 PM

Hello mydarling;

I know this is very scary & we all want to get to the bottom of what ailing us.

Please don't take this wrong, but I feel you need to lighten up........... you can't run to the doctor with every little problem. By doing that, the doctor thinks "gosh here she comes again, what I'm I going to tell her" because she doesn't believe me anyway. You must have some trust & faith in the doctor - by reading your posts, I get the oh my god feeling - this women is loosing it!!

I think you need to get focused on something..... take up a hobby or whatever to get your mind off this journey. If you don't, YOU will drive yourself crazy. As well as the people here on Surge. We are all here to help each other & I'm all for that .......if you want advise great! .... take it and do something. If you are going to go on & on and not listen, well I'm sorry people will get tired of you. That includes Doctors.

Sit back and reflect in where you're energy is being directed......

Shannon

Careergrl

Mar 27 2007, 03:22 PM

MyDarling, You need to get yourself some help with the anxiety that you have. You are not going to make it through this time unless you get a grip on your emotions...I am post meno and I have been through some health scares over the last 12 years or so. I found that it didn't help me a tad to go on the internet with my health concerns, in fact, it just amplified my anxiety disorder.

The doctor who prediagnosed you was wrong to to so until he had a blood test in his hands saying it was positive for Giant Cell Arthritis. Like Others have said, you have gotten some good advise on here but you don't seem to be listening. Please try to stand back from all of this and take stock in how you are spending your days. Fear is the flip side of faith.

SusanC

dawn

Mar 27 2007, 05:03 PM

QUOTE (Careergrl @ Mar 27 2007, 07:22 PM)

.

The doctor who prediagnosed you was wrong to to so until he had a blood test in his hands saying it was positive for Giant Cell Arthritis.
SusanC

I feel like this too. The guy was just making a guess based on symptoms, when he really has no idea.

I did some reading on the disease, and it basically says that even a high sed rate on a blood test is not conclusive for the disease. (I imagine that's what he's looking for with the blood work.)

I was diagnosed with MS years ago, it took many, many visits and lots of tests to nail down the diagnosis, even though there were symptoms. I can't imagine a doctor, having found problems during a neuro exam, telling me I had MS. Seems they want to have a lot of evidence for most diseases before they even attempt to make a diagnosis.

Maybe the doctor's a good guy, but seems to me he was jumping to conclusions (which may or may not be right) but which have done nothing but to cause you further stress.

584296a

Mar 27 2007, 05:24 PM

Hi MyDarling,

I am confused here because you have been saying that the vein in your temple seems to be popped out a little. Is it a vein or artery that you feel that is popped out? A vein would just feel squishy but an artery would be pulsating—it would have a pulse. Did the other doctors palpate your vein? I think that if you really had giant cell arteritis the other doctors would have noticed that your dilated blood vessel on your temple had a pulse. It is normal for veins to distend and look larger but this is not true for arteries.

I did a quick check on Google and one of the pages that I read says that there is no blood test or noninvasive way to confirm the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis. The article does say that a “sed rate” blood test can indirectly measure inflammation. Is the doctor checking for a sed rate? Even if the blood tests is elevated that would not confirm giant cell arteritis.

If the blood vessel that is bothering you is a vein, it seems more likely that you probably just bruised the area when you were messing with it for an extended period of time. The anti-inflammatory will also help with pain so just because it helps you means nothing else except that it is a good pain reliever.

I do not think that the doctor can just look in your nose and say that you are not having a sinus infection or sinus inflammation. I had a sinus infection once that cleared up with antibiotics but one doctor looked in my nose and said that I did not have an infection.

Kathy

girlsmom

Mar 27 2007, 05:26 PM

Please do not combine xanax and Benadryl. You should do a search on xanax and drug interactions. Antihistamines do not mix with xanax. Be careful what you take over the next day while waiting on your results. Get out as much as often, maybe see a movie! Work your mind, don't let your mind work you ! :0)
Girlsmom

Yikes!

Mar 27 2007, 10:48 PM

Hi there, I agree that you definitely need to check the drug interactions. Just las week I took Advil for 3 or 4 days straight because of sinus pressure and ear issues, just like my doctor told me. Then I read the warnings on the Lexapro pamphlet (which I've been taking for 2 months now), and it said to not take with Ibuprofin. Then I looked at the Advil label and it's Ibuprofin! I searched the internet for Lexapro/Ibuprofin and to my surprise, It can cause Seratonin Syndrome which if left unchecked can cause internal bleeding, Muscle spasms, seizures, and DEATH. Holy cow! I freaked. Immediately I felt an adrenalin rush thru my whole body. I tried to stay calm and read on that if caught in time, just stopping the Advil should resolve the problem in 24 hours. And it did, thank god! So please, please check all drug interations. Even simple decongestants can interact badly. Talk to your pharmacist too.
I've been dealing with some of the same symptoms you have with your head. Sore spots on the top of my head for no reason, tingling and chills in my head, in front of my ear soarness. Extreme anxiety, panic attacks, fear, etc. I'm dealing with it. Exercise is good. I'm not one to do it, but if I walk for 20 min outside I always feel a lot better.

Try not to focus and obsess with each symptom. I know it's easier said than done. But distract yourself with projects or puzzles, anything that will get your mind off it.

I hope you the best and good luck tomorrow!

Yikes!

Marchgirl

Mar 28 2007, 04:30 AM

Hello Mydarling,
just wanted to say 2 things:

Firstly, if it does turn out to be arteritis try not to worry too much. My mum had temporal arteritis (not sure if it's the same as giant cell) & she was treated on steroids & was just fine. Once you know what it is or isn't I'm sure you'll feel better, it's always hard to deal with the unknown.

Secondly, please don't feel that you can't post on here because others will 'get tired of you'. If you have never suffered from health anxiety then it is very hard to understand the need for reassurance. I have suffered from HA most of my life & am now going for CBT to get help for this. When you have HA your mind always goes straight to the worst case scenario & then your body responds in panic. Peri is doubly hard for HA sufferers. We are all entitled to our opinion but no-one is forced to read every post on here & if you can't relate to someones suffering or offer compassionate, supportive advice then it's probably best to say nothing.
I feel very strongly that PS is about supporting each other, we are all different.

Hope today goes well for you & if you aren't getting help for it already then consider CBT for the health anxiety-but only if you feel that you have this & it has become a problem for you.
Take care, try to stay calm & let us know how you get on!
Good luck,
love Marchgirl xx

sunflowermmh

Mar 28 2007, 11:06 AM

I agree with marchgirl...we can pick and choose which post we read, so I don't see or understand some comments made. I felt it was a bit harsh and it wasn't even directed to me. I agree with some of it... like maybe the time you have extra could be spent with something you really enjoy it just could have been worded a little gentler(sp). If there is nothing right now, and I say this because I know when you are being swamped with one symptom after another it rather strangles the enjoyment out of most things, that you find enjoyable maybe look a bit deeper into yourself....there are things we all are good at or things that make you feel good about yourself or just bring a smile to your face. It doesn't have to be huge, but it requires a bit more than just finding a hobby... find something that requires your full attn. something that you can get so involved in that everything else around you disappears and your attn is drawn outside yourself instead on inside.

something I thought I'd try is I have always wanted to learn spanish, however I draw and paint and have never really had the time to really give it my full attn. until now. I haven't worked in about 5 or so months because of crashing fatigue and many other symptoms that became overwhelming over the summer. When I took this time off at first I was filling my days with not so good things and my mind had plenty of time to run FREE and if it is given the time it will run if we are neg. thinkers. So I had to find something to fiil my mind with good things or at least occupy it with someting else. So started to draw and paint and it actualy has become my new job...we are printing some things, framing them and selling them. When I draw I am completely consumed by what I am doing. Time just flies and I look at what I have done and feel good. Do you like crafts or photography? Anything to envelope your mind. Right now your thoughts are so inside yourself and you are so tuned into your body( which is not a bad thing in and of itself) that you are noticing every hitch, glitch, bump and so on. I do the same thing if I don't occupy myself with something else. If you don't keep your mind busy with good stuff it will find something to do as you are finding out...trust me.

I was in nursing school a few yr's back. I was given a book 4 in. thick with every disease known...NOT GOOD. I had to study it...NOT GOOD. Need less to say I dropped out when I found myself suddenly worried about having most of them. Without truly knowing what these diseases look like in the true clinical sense it hard and counterproductive to try and diagnose everything we feel.

My husband tells me all the time I have to trust someone, meaning Dr's I am sure, because I have had countless tests ran and all were normal, but when I am having a "bad" day and my symptoms are at a peak or there are many at one time, my mind runs and I am scared they missed something. I quess I try to remember what my husband says when I am having a bad day..."if there was something truly wrong it wouldn't go away for a month or a few days or whatever time."

I post to your topics because I have been where you are and know the fear you have. Fear so controlling that it is hard to break free. So much fear it is hard to carry on daily activities. I can feel it just reading your posts because I remember what it is like. I reply to you not because I want to shut you up , but because I want to calm you somehow and reassure you...but truthfully you are the only one who can calm yourself I have had to realize this myself. Searching the net for answers( have to agree though this is not good for any of us and it only feeds it) Don't give "it" anymore energy mydarling, use the energy for something else that will do you good.

Don't ever feel uncomfortable coming here...we are all like sisters in a way supporting eachother and if we can't contribute anything that may help, as marchgirl said we don't respond. Look back through my past posts...I have had some rough moments myself. HUGS MIkki

mydarling

Mar 28 2007, 03:13 PM

HI all....

thank you for all of your replies! I really need the encouragement and support. I know the anxiety is through the roof, but that didn't used to be me! It seems with peri, all my emotions are over exagerated, but what can you do? I try to relax, and you can just about forget it,,,,LOL..especially NOW! I will see the dr. later this afternoon, and post here what he says.

I am taking a xanax befofe I go! I have read a lot about this thingy, and well, I don't know what to think right now. I mean, it seems that this temple pressure squeezing thing, can be worse on some days than others, and I have to wonder if that's really what that is then. I also looked up sinus and temple press. and squeezing, and sure enough, i found it, so that could be it too...the bad thing is though, that this dr. has already made up his mind, he seemed positive that this is the problem. I don't really like him either, he's the kind of dr. who if you question "to much", he gets annoyed, and you can see it. He has a tendency to sort of "condensend" (sp?) to you somewhat too. He's been a dr. for about 35yrs. so you tend to think he knows what he's talking about, (which of course is why i got so scared, because you tend to think he must know!), however, I was reminded by some friends that even their dr.'s over the years, who had indeed been dr.'s for YEARS had been wrong sometimes too....so there you go.

NOw, I'm not trying to belittle him, it's jus that when I sat there that day, and talked rather openly about how much I knew about this Giant Cell thing, he was very suprised, and I could tell, that he felt slightly uncomfortable, well, it's MY body, not his!
He's probably going to sit there, and tell me he thinks that 's what this is, due to the SED rate, which I really read up on...and I'll definatly say that that's not a positive diagnosis for this, and he'll prob. agree, but then, he'll say to the best of his knowledge, he thinks that's what it is......and tell me to taket he PREDNISONE. Again, I don't belittle his opinion, obviously he knows more than I do,....but, I can't overlook all the other info. i DO know, all the other things this CAN be either. Does anyone knw what happens if you take PREDNISONE and you DON'T have this Giant Cell prob.? I'm going to call some pharmacies and ask them, but if anyone here knows, please post it , I really would appreciate it!

Thanks to all of you!!!!! Sincerely, MyDarling

Kleeo

Mar 28 2007, 05:41 PM

L~I~S~T~E~N TO YOUR DOCTOR~! LOL!

Stop worrying about what MIGHT be, or what COULD be, or what SHOULD be! You have to start believing in your doctor and let HIM make the judgements about your medicines, tests, etc! You have to give yourself a break, girl! In my personal opinion, your allowing your anxiety to become your worst enemy right now. Nobody can honestly answer your question about what happens if you take prednisone withOUT having the giant cell problem. Each individual is different and their bodies handle medicines differently. Seriously mydarling, you NEED to start having faith in your physicians~they are the ones that are TRAINED for this stuff! If you fight them every step of the way you'll drive yourself crazy! Give yourself a break!!!!
Hugs!

squiggle

Mar 29 2007, 02:05 AM

My darling,

I wouldn't think that any effects of taking prednisone would make any difference if you don't have giant cell. People are prescribed it for many different reasons (arthritis, lupus, MS). It's not like it targets just one area of your body. It targets where it's needed. Even if you had giant cell, it would be floating around the rest of your body that has nothing wrong with it. The doctors know this. Other people take it for a different thing and don't have giant cell remember. Remember some people have to take it on a long term basis.

Please, please find out more about health anxiety. As a fellow sufferer of HA, I do understand your suffering, but you need to recognise you have it and then you can get do something about it. CBT has been a boon for me.

kar4242

Mar 29 2007, 07:09 AM

Mydarling,

I certainly understand your health anxiety. I have a touch of it myself, expecially with all of these symptoms I've had for 1 1/2 years now. I've also had a headache for almost a year - every day - I've had a little relief over the past week but I always feel like I'm wearing a tight cap on my head. Imagine what my mind is doing to me at times. But, I did have a CAT Scan and MRI when this all started and they were okay and that really helped relieve me of a lot of anxiety over it. I have been not well for a long time now myself. I hear from friends to pray to God for the strength to get me through whatever he sends my way and. Please try and have faith in something and try to do something to take your mind of off all of this for awhile. Do you have any hobbies, any pets, etc. Whatever it takes to get your mind off of things. "Move a Muscle, Change a Thought." I have a puppy that I walk just about every day if hubby doesn't - I meet others on my walk and it really helps me cope at the moment. I'm also trying to cook lo carb as I found out that I am "almost" diabetic. Try to divert your thinking with other things. Are you in any type of therapy? I find that really helps me and go when I need to go. I will be praying that you get through this. By the way, I was on prednisone for 10 days for my headache and didn't have any side effects. My sister was on it for years and it saved her life for awhile.

Hugs,
Karen

sunflowermmh

Mar 29 2007, 10:49 AM

Mydarling it is not all about relaxing and tryng to breath...we know this is hard to do when we are so worked up and in the throws of anxietyand even when relaxing our mind has time to wonder. Its about finding something else to do with your mind and energy. Seriously... find something that completly envelopes your mind, so it is diverted, distracted however you want to put it. When you find someting that does this put your whole self into it daily, hourly if you are not working. STAY OFF THE COMP. researching and analyzing. Visit power surge as often as you like, but the rest let go. You only feed the fear, every time you go on searching you will find several things that we all have symptoms to, or side effects of drugs tha are too numerous to count, and then you wonder...hhhmmmm maybe. Before you know it more fear has started and more symptoms with that fear...it is a vicious circle...round and round we go. this was hard for me, if I felt something not quit right or new and tried to research it I would make myself a mess not to mention my husband would get angry when I did that...I have learned it is NOT GOOD for me. It is not good use of my time and in the end I feel worse.

I by no means am anxiety free...but I have learned the computer, while full of neat and wonderful and educational sites can be your enemy(sp) at this time. Please hear all of us. I guess I got a bit frustrated myself when I saw that others and myself posted messages with ideas to help stop this cycle and you seemed to ignore the ideas. when I get in this mode my husband can get rather blunt, and it hurts my feelings, but he is right. He wants whats best for me and sees when I am on a road to self destruction, when I am not thinking rationally. we care for you and alot of us see you doing what we ourselves have done and know it is only going to make things worse for you. Not that anyone of us have it all mapped out and are walking around anxiety free...we ahve just learned what makes it worse and that finding more productive mind and time enveloping tasks or hobbies works for the most part when things get rough. I'm not anxiety free...would like to be, but i take responsability for my anxiety...I am causing it. I know that is a hard pill to swallow, but there is nothing outside of me causing it, it is what i think and how I interpet my symptoms, however I think peri with it's adrenaline rushes is not helpful. HUGS Mikki