Brain tumour worry

[Lissy43]

I am very sensitive to light lately esp in daylight, im squinting all the time, im exhausted, my eyes are very heavy (ok i had 4 hrs sleep last night but i dont every night), I haev pressure down the back of my head (probably from worry i know) but my eyes have lots of black squiggly floaters infront of them and I just feel very giddy. Its hard to explain but my head feels all fuzzy and not quite with it, as though im not incontrol of my eyes and head, sort of out of it.

I am not really getting headaches but i know this is a last symptom of a tumour. I have lost my apetite, im worn out I just want to sit down, I am not really going out either as the bright light makes me feel worse and i get very anxious. I am fine when sitting down, its when i walk i feel giddy and head feels fuzzy.

Petrified its a tumour or something. I am having my blood tested on tuesday, its a full blood count, do they show things like tumours up?is it tumour markers? if i knew this i think id relax as my last blood count was normal in Feb. I have regular tests due to my ferritin levels being slightly low.

[Dying_Swan]

Hello there.

Sorry to hear you're not feeling too good. It sounds as though you're really tired, for a start. I'll bet a good night's sleep would help you feel better.

The 'pressure' feeling? I've been having headaches recently which feels just like that. I am sure it's tension and nothing sinister. I've read a bit into tension headaches, and it doesn't have to be severe pain. So, even mild pain can be classified as a tension headache.

I'm glad you're seeing your doctor. Have you thought perhaps it could be an ear infection or something? They can make you feel awful - dizzy, sick, tired etc, without causing you any pain.

If your results come back fine, I would try to stop worrying and put it down to tiredness and anxiety.

Good luck and I hope you feel better soon xxx

[Lissy43]

Thanks,

Yes I do have fluid in my ears at the moment, well I have for months but the dr says ive no infection. I also saw an ear, nose & throat dr last week as ive had this problem so week and he said its totally normal, he did a presure test and said my ears are fine.

So what kind of blood test would include tumour markers? a nurse friend of mine said she though a fulll blood count did. I know a fbc is a good indication of how well you are and if any abnormalities show then they do further testing so hopefully if my bloods are normal this week i can relax.

Thanks again.

[mjb22]

Hi Cherry3,

I have registered especially so that I can reply to your message. I hope I can be of some help.

No less that 18 years ago, I was having exactly the same symtoms as you. I became obsessed with the fact that I had a brain tumour. I visited my GP on many occasions, each time to be told that I was having tension headaches and that my anxiety was making the situation worse.

One thing that my GP told me which I found very re-assuring was the fact that "...the medical history of someone with a brain tumour is very different from the normal". The one thing that the GP did do was give me samples of lots of different headache tablets to try and see which ones worked best for me. Eventually, I did find some that worked and of course, given that all this was back in 1989, the GP had been right all along; it hadn't been a tumour.

In your case, as in mine, it is very unlikely to be a brain tumour although I fully understand all your anxieties.

By the way, all standard blood tests, which are just done for general exploratory purposes will detect cancer cells as will most urine tests. That's my understanding, anyway.

Hope this helps and good luck with your tests.

[Lissy43]

Thank you so much for taking the time to register and help me.

My auntie had a brain tumour 2 years ago so ive been a nervous wreck ever since.

I shall try to relax and if my blood results this week are normal I shall relax.

Thanks.

[nomorepanic]

You do not have common symptoms of a brain tumour atall and I know cos my mum's mate has one.

[Dying_Swan]

Hey again Cherry.

Ah yes...you're the ear person! I think I might have replied to an earlier post of yours. I would think the ears are quite likely to be causing your symptoms. When I had fluid in my ears, it wasn't infected but it did make me feel a bit odd.

If you do get any funny results, I would try not to worry. Your doctor will know what the results mean and what to do next.

Good luck and I hope you got some sleep last night xxx

[Lissy43]

Thanks so much, ive had a head rush tonight so im going to see how i go, i feel incredibly tired now after the panice ive just had, its horrible.

I have my bloods in the morning so i shall hopefully feel better in a day or 2 when they are back and hopefully all normal but if the head thing is still bothering me i shall see my GP asap.

Thanks.