Suddenly Felt Heavy Headed, Pressure Behind Eyes And Blurred Vision. Migraine?

Posted on Fri, 4 Jan 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 4 Jan 2013 Answered on

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I had an incident almost a week ago for the first time ever in my life...vision went all hazy, felt strange - left with a heavy head...since then (29/12/12) I have had strong pressure behind my eyes which has faded but not gone - moved to the top of eyeballs and round to the front of them and in the middle. Now have quite a pressured feeling on top of my head. Went to Drs and Opticians 2 days ago, pressure behind eyes normal and blood pressure bit low (normal for me). Told to take paracetemol and yesterday told to try sudafed. Concerned as to what it is...any ideas??? Dr suggested visual migraine? Never had migraines before...want to know what to do to get rid of pressure feeling in head and discomfort around and behind eyes...please advise what my next step is...Thanks XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Piyush Ostwal (1 hour later)

Hello,
Thanks for the query.
At this age it is less likely to be the first episode of migraine. Migraine usually starts in younger age and can be diagnosed only when it is recurrent.
The stronger possibility is that of an attack of seizure. i would definitely like to do an EEG and MRI brain. The EEG will tell us about the electrical activity of the brain and the MRI will tell about the structural problems if any.
Paracetamol is likely to be helpful for relief of headache.
Since ears are feeling full so you can consult an ENT specialist for the same. He will be able to opine on both the ear and the sinus problems.
Hope that answers your query. If there are more questions I will be happy to answer.
Good luck.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Piyush Ostwal (8 minutes later)

Thanks for your reply. I am in the UK, do you suggest I go to my A&E dept and request a scan?? What do you mean by attack or seizure?? My vision is fine - but still have pressure behind and around my eyes. Have headache (dull) with a feeling of pressure on top of my head. These symptoms fade and then get stronger - this has been going on for a week. What should I do? Just want to feel better and for my head and back of the eyes to feel normal again. Thank you for your help.

Answered by Dr. Piyush Ostwal (55 minutes later)

Hello,
I would suggest you to consult a neurologist. There are different kinds of seizures. The one i am referring to is partial seizure in which there may be visual disturbance for some time and then it improves.
You should definitely try and get scan done at A&E. For headache you can temporarily take analgesics as has been prescribed to you.
Good luck.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar