[Tmcgills]

Hi everyone - tired of going back and forth between doctors without finding results, so looking out for some help here.

For the past 3 years, ive had extreme facial pain, most notably from the bridge of my nose to the middle. The discomfort is all along the bone, or what seems like inside my sinus walls. Pain actually may be a wrong word to use - the feeling is almost like how a pulled muscle feels, very "tight" feeling in my nose and almost as if there is a steel plate nailed to my face. The discomfort does cause anxiety and senses of "being outside of myself" and not necessarily panic attacks.

I had balloon sinuplasty 3 years ago to open of nasal passages to breath, but as much as it sounds like a sinus problem it's not. I've had 2 more CT scans of sinus since, MRi of my brain and and Eeg other in the past 3 months. Nothing is wrong whatsoever. My Neuro had me taking Pamelor 10 mg then increased up to 20 after 2 weeks. I saw maybe 5% improvement from that but started waking up in the middle of the night trying to catch my breath with feelings that my heart has stopped. I also take .50 Xanax on occasion, maybe once a week if that if the pain is bad at night. Also take Clarinex d for allergies.

Have been crazy the past few years googling symptoms and the closest thing seems to be trigeminal neuralgia but my Neuro quickly ruled that out.

Since my Neuro tests checked out ok, can it stem from my heart, or maybe sleep? Or is it in fact just anxiety causing the issue? If it is, anyone with similar problems take anything besides Pamelor or cymbalta to help?

Background on myself, mid-30s, married, kid on the way, very good shape, eat healthy, run about 30 miles a week.

Thank you all for listening, any help is greatly appreciated!

[Kitt]

Welcome Tmcgills.

[mrsD]

Does your forehead hurt? Does your face throb?

Have you had a good dental exam with X-rays of your upper teeth?

When you press your upper lip under your nose, does it hurt?
There is a nerve bundle there.

If you can locate a trigger point by pressing ..you might be able to try a compounded pain cream that doctors use for chronic pain patients. These creams have various ingredients in them.
gabapentin
clonidine
ketamine
lidocaine
and NSAID like diclofenac
etc.
You would have to keep this away from your eyes however.

If a nerve trigger decided upon, the cream may work. Or lidoderm patches (RX also) may be tried.

Do you wear tight hats? Do you use a netti pot?
Have you used Accutane for acne in the past?
Sometimes you have to look carefully at your past leading up to the present. Hit in the face with a ball of some sort. Concussions? Do you work with formaldehyde, solvents of any kind, or chemicals? Drugs used in the past... like Cipro or Levaquin or Avelox, or Flagyl?

[Enna70]

Welcome and sorry to hear about you pain....if those test results aren't successful, I agree with MrsD....have a dental exam with a panoramic; sometimes dental issues can cause sinus pain....hope this helps...

[Tmcgills]

Thanks so much for your feedback. I tried gabapentin a few years ago when it initially became severe, but gave me some weird reactions when going to bed, like I'd almost be asleep, and i would feel like my brain has frozen, then i'd immediatley get this jolt. (I know that sounds very weird.)

One thing I forgot to mention is that i did try acupuncture for about 3 months, and while it seemed to help a little bit while actually there, symptons came back always the next morning.

The face discomfort in my nose/sinus reason is constant, almost seems to never go away.

I have tried netipot on multiple occassions and nose sprays for allergies, but the issue is that it's not my sinuses it seems.

Migraines have been ruled out by my Neuro, who seems to think its caused by anxiety. you'd hate to question your doctor, but amonst my GP, ENT and Neurolgist no one can seem to help after 5 years.

[Lara]

I came across an interesting ENT article. I will post it here below even though it may be totally different from what you're experiencing. Worth a look.

http://www.fauquierent.net/contactheadache.htm
Contact Point Headaches (note it has other names)

[mrsD]

That is an interesting article, Lara. Thanks for finding it.

@Tmcgills.... Use of netti pots without sterilized water or sterile saline --- can be a source of Mycobacterium chelionae

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/...-nasal-washing

When this organism gets into your sinuses, it is difficult to eradicate if at all. It can set up inflammation that is quite terrible.