Headache from Urination Strain (worried)
September 4, 2013 9:24 AM Subscribe
hey everyone. A short while back, I was in a phase where I was straining alot when I was peeing. I was being very OCD about emptying my bladder is what I'm saying. I did this until I started to feel a pain in my abdomen as well as an aching sensation in the right side of my head. I immediately stopped. While the pain in the abdomen went away, the headache persisted. Eventually I went to my MD and he didn't seem that worried about it and said it would go away. The head sensation sort of changes often. Sometimes it's a mild to moderate pain and sometimes it feels like sort of a cold feeling on the right side of my head if that makes sense. i wanted to get you guy's takes on this.
sometimes it feels like sort of a cold feeling on the right side of my head if that makes sense.
I have gotten scalp tingling (which is sort of like what you describe, the tingling is very mild but it mostly feels chilly) when I was having anxiety-attacks. While I think going to the doctor is always a good idea, if yours is not concerned I'd try to track it yourself and see if it's happening when you are either particularly anxious or particularly not anxious. And see if anxiety reducing things (exercise, distraction, sleep) seem to have an effect on it. I don't know if you mean you have OCD or if you just have an OCD-like compulsion to empty your bladder (or did) but the way you describe it makes it sound like there could be an anxiety component to this. Best of luck sorting it out.
posted by jessamyn at 9:41 AM on September 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
I have gotten scalp tingling (which is sort of like what you describe, the tingling is very mild but it mostly feels chilly) when I was having anxiety-attacks. While I think going to the doctor is always a good idea, if yours is not concerned I'd try to track it yourself and see if it's happening when you are either particularly anxious or particularly not anxious. And see if anxiety reducing things (exercise, distraction, sleep) seem to have an effect on it. I don't know if you mean you have OCD or if you just have an OCD-like compulsion to empty your bladder (or did) but the way you describe it makes it sound like there could be an anxiety component to this. Best of luck sorting it out.
posted by jessamyn at 9:41 AM on September 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
Best answer: How long has the head feeling lasted? Would you ever characterize it as "severe" pain? Have you had any weakness or numbness, in your face or elsewhere?
If you see another doctor, I would present it as "sudden onset, one-sided headache for the last X days, sometimes feels more like cold than pain, seemed to start when I was straining." Make it about the headache, not about the straining. I think feeling like one side of your head is cold/painful for while would be worth looking into, even if you didn't have any ideas about what might have caused it.
Personally, when I'm worried about a symptom and my doctor isn't, I find it really helpful to be up front about asking why he's not worried. Otherwise I'll go home and think, "Maybe it never occurred to him that it could be X thing I read about on the internet, or that it could be related to my other Y diagnosis that he might have forgotten about." So if I know I'm anxious about a symptom, before I go to the doctor I make a list of all the things I'm worried it might mean. And if he doesn't specifically address them on his own (e.g. "I know it's not a stroke because..." or "I don't think this is related to your chronic condition because..."), then I ask. "I'm relieved that you don't seem worried about this. I keep thinking of this thing or that thing, and I know I'm going to still worry if I don't know why you ruled those things out." Other good ways to get similar info/reassurance are "Are there any changes that would mean I should see you again about this?" or even "When should I start worrying if it doesn't go away?"
posted by vytae at 9:45 AM on September 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you see another doctor, I would present it as "sudden onset, one-sided headache for the last X days, sometimes feels more like cold than pain, seemed to start when I was straining." Make it about the headache, not about the straining. I think feeling like one side of your head is cold/painful for while would be worth looking into, even if you didn't have any ideas about what might have caused it.
Personally, when I'm worried about a symptom and my doctor isn't, I find it really helpful to be up front about asking why he's not worried. Otherwise I'll go home and think, "Maybe it never occurred to him that it could be X thing I read about on the internet, or that it could be related to my other Y diagnosis that he might have forgotten about." So if I know I'm anxious about a symptom, before I go to the doctor I make a list of all the things I'm worried it might mean. And if he doesn't specifically address them on his own (e.g. "I know it's not a stroke because..." or "I don't think this is related to your chronic condition because..."), then I ask. "I'm relieved that you don't seem worried about this. I keep thinking of this thing or that thing, and I know I'm going to still worry if I don't know why you ruled those things out." Other good ways to get similar info/reassurance are "Are there any changes that would mean I should see you again about this?" or even "When should I start worrying if it doesn't go away?"
posted by vytae at 9:45 AM on September 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Yeah, I should have been more up front with him about my worry. Just because he is not worried, doesn't mean it's nothing. As for having 'severe' pain...I don't get anything like a migraine or anything like that. My feeling has lasted for about 2 and a half weeks. About the bladder emptying, I meant that I am OCD about that in particular. If I had to guess with no medical training, I would say that i pulled a nerve in my head or something when I was straining. I don't know if the headache will eventually go away, but I hope it does.
posted by Thanquol180 at 3:05 PM on September 4, 2013
posted by Thanquol180 at 3:05 PM on September 4, 2013
I don't know about your headache, but there's a whole technology out there about peeing and its difficulties. I suggest a urologist look into why you need to strain.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:41 PM on September 4, 2013
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:41 PM on September 4, 2013
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posted by oceanjesse at 9:29 AM on September 4, 2013