What causes terrible headache when suffering from anxiety?
Patient: Hello, I am super worried for my mom she has really bad anxiety, but she for the first time ever woke up and her tongue was an awful brown color and she had a headache that was so unbearable she went to urgent care. They sent her straight to the hospital because ever blood pressure was through the roof. They gave her a bunch of pain killers and sent her home once her BP went down. What could be wrong with her. They gave her a CT scan to rule out aneurysm,  and said they don't know. She is home and still suffering from a terrible headache. Doctor: !I have read the question and from that I can say that the headache can be beacuse of combination of factors- 1. anxiety attack2. hypertensionI think she has hypertension and with simultaneous anxiety, the blood pressure increases more..making it shoot and causing severe headache.You have not mentioned if she is taking any anti hypertensive regularly along with something to cure her anxeity attacks.If not, I must insist that she needs it. For headache, one may rely on Voveran or naproxen sodium with an antacid. For anxiety I would have given her sertraline or escitalopram. Plus etizolam for few days to check acute increase in anxiety.with drugs she will show good improvement.Hope the reply is usefulfeel free to ask more questionsDr. Manisha  GopalMD psychiatry