the weight of the world between two eyes

February 19, 2007 3:47 AM

I have a weird headache. Maybe this is what botox feels like!

'Headache' might be the wrong word:it's not so much pain as a feeling that there are weights attached to my forehead and the latter is trying to lift them, if that makes any sense. It's a general feeling of heaviness. Advil doesn't help, and neither did a massage. I don't feel it all the time (mostly in the morning and when I try to sleep.) I thought it was just a result of too much stress and not enough sleep, so I haven't gotten it checked out, but it's been over three weeks (of better sleep) now and it's still there.

I'm going to try to get it checked out, but in the meantime, does anyone know what this is?

posted by lullabyofbirdland to health (10 comments total)

I'm going to guess sinus infection. I came to this conclusion because you feel it in the morning and when you try to sleep and a massage didn't help. Fluid in the sinuses will cause pressure when you lie down and massage won't help.

IANAD
posted by Osmanthus at 4:10 AM on February 19, 2007

Vision, diet, relationships, hydration, exercise, smoking, drinking, previous medical history, gender, job, reading quantity, medication, duration of symptoms and whether anything relieves them and are the symptoms severe enough that they prevent you doing normal activities, family medical history, changes in activities/routine/behaviour and no doubt a few other topics require questions being put to you in addition to a physical examination in order to answer your question I think.

I'm not a doctor either but beyond sinus infection there are undoubtedly a range of conditions or reasons from benign to ... less than benign, to account for your symptoms. I know this is the answer that people hate to see and I also note that you are possibly in the process of doing it anyway, but nonetheless, the fact that this bothers you enough to ask the question suggests that you ought to actually make an appointment to see a doctor.
posted by peacay at 5:20 AM on February 19, 2007

peacay: I know. It's just an incredibly strange sensation, and I've never had anything like it before, so I wondered if would sound familiar to anyone else. I am going to the doctor.
posted by lullabyofbirdland at 5:48 AM on February 19, 2007

I get a similar feeling during allergy season, in the morning as well, due to upper respiratory congestion.
posted by muddgirl at 6:14 AM on February 19, 2007

I have a weird headache. Maybe this is what botox feels like!

My former doctor now runs a pain management practice and he uses botox to treat headaches.

Back on topic: another vote for sinuses
posted by winston at 7:03 AM on February 19, 2007

If you feel more acute pain when you press on the area around your brow, sort of like the feeling you get when you apply pressure to a bruise, you’ve probably got a sinus infection.

Even with treatment, this can last for weeks. Without treatment, the infection can spread to your brain and be possibly fatal.
posted by ijoshua at 8:05 AM on February 19, 2007

I am also not a doctor, BTW.
posted by ijoshua at 8:30 AM on February 19, 2007

Yep, that's what my sinus headaches feel like. A hot shower and decongestants help me. Unless there's an infection, then go to a doctor.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 9:00 AM on February 19, 2007

Thanks to everyone. The weird thing is I'm not congested at all, and haven't been.
posted by lullabyofbirdland at 9:39 AM on February 19, 2007

It sounds a lot like my tension headaches. These can hurt as much as migraines but have a different set of symptoms and a different cause (and thus different treatment). However, they sound nothing like my friend's tension headaches, because these are varied beasts and the symptom set isn't always the same. Tension headaches may be the problem for you or may not.

Also, my sinus/allergy headaches (which have a different treatment again) aren't accompanied by congestion but rather by some swelling and inflammation in the mucous linings up there. I can breathe fairly freely but it still hurts. Your symptoms overlap with those of sinus problems too so that may still be the cause despite your lack of congestion. But then it may not.

So yeah. See a doctor. That thing on the painkiller packet where it says 'if pain persists...'? Three weeks = persists.
posted by shelleycat at 1:02 AM on February 20, 2007