Hey Folks, has anyone ever checked to see if they grind their teeth at night or had TMD? This causes my morning headaches and also aggrevates my anxiety. Tension throughout your day doesn't necessarily dissipate when you go to sleep and if you are clenching your jaw subconciously when you sleep its likely that the stress will make you wake up with pain. I used to think it was a blood clot or tumor (still sometimes do to be honest) but its likely that its my TMD, a jaw disorder.

Pete its okay, I startl easy these day's almost any information scares me to death. I think I have everything.. Oh how nice it would be to be living in Ontario again, I was born there and moved to the U.S 4 years ago. I do not have insurence right now so I can not afford an MRI and even if I could the thought of somone looking in my head really freakes me out! Yet I know this will be the only way I know forsure that I don't have a tumor.

Sorry Cassie I didnt mean to alarm you, I did have some days where I did wake up with the headache and got better as the day went on. I know how hard it is to believe the doctor when they say they can tell by just looking in your eyes that you don't have a brain tumor. And I know how hard it is to believe that anxiety is what are causing these crazy symptoms, but anxiety is powerful and it is why it is difficult to overcome. I thought to myself there is no way anxiety by itself could be doing this to me? But it just goes to show that indeed it can. I don't know whether I was just in denial about having a problem with anxiety or panic. An MRI will tell for sure and I am not sure of your health coverage but can be expensive if you have to pay for it out of pocket, however if your medical insurance covers it you could ask your doctor to order one. I live in Canada so I had to wait 3 months almost because of the lack of MRI machines here in Ontario, plus I was viewed as non urgent.

Cassie mine were worse in the morning too and hot baths made them feel better because my sinuses have small cavities and when you lay down they don't drain as easily. The steam helps.

Oh one more thing, I had to ask my doctor to look at me, I asked her to do some sort of nuro test, she said she would look in my eyes and that she did.. She explained that if I had a tumor she would be able to see the pressure at the back of my eyes. She looked very carefully and for a long time and she said it was all perfect, everything was sharp and not fuzzy.

Pete, that was very informative, you sound like you have been through allot to get to the bottom of things, Im happy to hear it was all clear for you. One thing you said sort of scared me because lately the last few weeks on and off I have been waking up with a headache in the morning and it gets better or comes and goes through out the day. Sometimes it comes in the evening and still is there when I wake up. Now Im nervous... Hot baths and Ibuprofin relive the dull ache in my forhead but thats about all that makes it feel better. Thanks for all that information Cassie

Cassie, I had headaches for 2 months straight, mostly tension headaches that were not too debilitating but none the less made me worry ever so much I had a brain tumor. The reason I thought this, was I too had the "off balance" which I still do get sometimes, and the kind of not being able to focus properly vision. I am the type of person that needs to see proof, so me and my doctor worked together to rule out a brain tumor, in fact he had to hold back the laughter when I told him that is what I thought I had. These are the steps that he took: 1. Basic neurological exam(checking eyes(major give away here if you have a brain tumor), reflexes etc. In fact I had 3 seperate doctors do this exam(ER doc, family GP, another ER doc) all found nothing. Here is a really good website with what the exam tests for(almost anyone can do the exam)http://www.neurologychannel.com/neuroexam.shtml#mental 2. Xray of my sinuses. Came back totally clear.(A really good doctor will be able to tell almost right away by tapping your sinus areas with their fingers and if there is any pain, most likely you would have sinusitis, also if you lean forward and it feels like your face is falling off = sinusitis. 3. Eye exam by my eye doctor. Came back everything normal. Usually if you have a brain tumor your eye doctor can pick up that you have increased intracranial pressure. 4. MRI of head. Totally negative of tumors or other signs of neurological disorders like MS, etc. 5. An examination of my ear found that possibly had an inner ear virus which can damage the nerve that goes from the ear to the brain and cause almost unoticable hearing loss and feeling of off balance. I was given antibiotics although the doc did say that it would only help if it was a bacterial innner ear problem and not if it was a viral inner ear problem. The nerve was shown on the MRI to be normal. As you can see my doctor was very reassuring and he told me before the tests he expects to find nothing wrong. He did say that he had read in mental health journals that anxiety can cause tension within the inner ear itself which can impede sensory impluses that travel on the nerve from the ear to the brain. Also I good indicator that you do not have a brain tumor is that your heada

Ask your doctor to refer you to an ear nose throat doctor to have a look at your sinuses. I'm sure my doc felt it was just another thing I was blowing out of proportion. It wasn't a tumor thank goodness but it was my sinuses!

I guess it could be sinus related, sometimes in the morning Im a little congested but not to badly. I have been sneezing allot also, I keep thinking Im getting a cold and then nothing happens. Everyone keeps telling me that if my doctor isnt concerned then I shouldn't be either but when the headaches are on and off for months you get a little concerned.

Cassie could it be sinus related? I had the same sort of thing. Now it did get worse due to when I had the symptoms I did begin to panic but my doctor had referred me to an ear nose throat specialist who told me that I have narrow sinuses and am prone to sinus infections. That was causing my initial symptoms and my anxiety made them worse.