Is this a brain tumour or just possible anxiety making me think I have one?

[CharlieR]

I want to start by saying I think I have severe anxiety, I will tell you all of my symptoms, and I want somebody to tell me what they think. I'm not stupid, I have got an appointment with my doctor tomorrow, but I just need some answers right now.

I have two things to ask my doctor.

I want to tell him firstly that I suspect I have a brain tumour. I am 17, and my symptoms are the following:

- I have for a while now suffered from migraines, they are not regular, but happen every so often, and when they do they are paralysing and unbearable.
- My mind keeps going blank, I am having real trouble remembering things in the short term - I will quickly forget names or details, often between hearing them and going to type them immediately.
- Following on from the previous symptom, my brain seems to be slowing down. I am having real trouble at college because my brain just won't allow me to type essays etc, I will forget words and sit there staring at the screen for ages.
- A few weeks ago, whilst on holiday, my thumb started vibrating. I couldn't stop it and it eventually went away, but then it started returning at random intervals. My eyelid has also started acting in a similar way.
- Today I feel very lightheaded, it's like it's a struggle to lift my head, and my whole body is trembling, not like a fit, but random jolts.
- A lot of weird things have been happening to me as well - for most of my life I have suffered what you could call deja vu, for a long time I have experienced things that I have dreamt about.But now, it's getting strange. If I think about saying something, and don't, somebody else will immediately say it. I don't know what the term is for this but it's scaring me now.
- Recently, tinnitus has set in, it was almost instant and I can't remember anything that could have set it off.
- When I read things I am starting to miss out words - I have always enjoyed reading and I don't remember experiencing anything like this before.
- Yesterday, I had a headache come on suddenly. It wasn't a migraine and I killed it almost instantly with ibuprofen, but I still felt uncomfortable, although I didn't have the pain, I could still feel it. I can still feel it today.
- Right now, I have completely forgotten most of what i have just written.

If I went in tomorrow and told my doctor all of this, would he suspect a brain tumour?

I don't doubt that I am having severe anxiety attacks, my mother had severe anxiety after my dad died, and she is still on pills to control it. She says what I am experiencing is very similar to what she did, and I want to ask my doctor whether he thinks all of my symptoms could be physical problems caused by the anxiety.

If I asked, would he send me for a scan? Just to put my mind at ease, so I could be calm and ready to start treatment (either with pills or therapy) for the anxiety?

If you were my doctor, and I came in tomorrow and explained all of this to you, what would your immediate reaction be?

Since my dad died, I have suffered from depression, and serious obsessive compulsive disorder. The OCD has been severely exacerbated recently as well.

One other thing is paranoia, I feel as though people are following me at night, and that people are talking or laughing at me when I walk past them. I went through a bad patch a few weeks ago where I kept seeing shadows out of the corner of my eyes.

My dad was also bipolar, and he killed himself, I don't know whether this could affect your answer in any way. Maybe all of this is a late reaction to his death (after the depression)?.

Mood swings also - a few weeks ago I went through a period of feeling very detached from the world - I felt at some points like I didn't exist, and everything blurred into one long day. That passed, but now I seem to be very quick to anger - after my dad killed himself, I had problems with anger, but I grew out of them. Or, at least i thought I did.

This is just another illness that I think I have in a long line, but I am so worried about it because it seems to be the only one that has any merit to actually existing.

Please, somebody help me?

[Jamie C]

Charlie

Ihave exacctly the same as you have listed, i am only 18 and i fear of a brain tumour, the thumb and eyelid thing is a trapped nerve, nothing to worry about.

And all of thge symptoms above are part of anxiety, it varys from person to person but atm i also have extreme anger, pressure on my head as well as vision issues.

Yor doctor will know what hes doing, if he was really concerned he'd first do a reflex test i think, i'm going to see my Dr soon about my problems aswell, i had been doing really well until this week when i started work and its all just came storming back, i feel utter crap.

i would of typed abit more but i have to go out now.

Hope you feel better soon.

Jamie

[mike_coventry_uk]

if you went to the doc he would do a series or nerological tests to check alertness,balance and other things, would check your eyes and ears and bp and temp. he would then use the results of that and ur medical history to make a diagnosis

chances are it is anxiety. all the symptoms you describe are things i have had ans still do.

i know this as i have had a relapse after 8 months clear of anxiety and felt the last 10 days like i too have a brain tumor. i had the above tests and the docs sent me for blood tests also,these were all clear. i am now on meds,loraazepam for a short while to calm me down and get me thinking rationally again.

please do not worry. the chances of you having a brain tumor are remote.the chance of me and you haveing a brain tumor at same time almost non exsistant.

please feel free to message me and i can help talk to you and give you advice.

hope it helps
mike

[madeuprolemodel]

First of all i am so sorry you are going thru all of this...

I went and still go thru it most of the time but have learnt to calm the brain obsession down( even tho i do obsess about other things)

Anyway you ask what i would do if i was a doctor after hearing what you would say... i wouldn't off the mark say it is anxiety because that isn't going to reassure anyone in our state! ( but i do think it is anxiety! so don't worry)

When i had my episodes of thinking i had a brain tumour i decided to see a psychiatrist / hypnotist and she basically explained why i have what i have and also the symptoms just like yours... she basically said our brains are like watering jugs and the information of daily life is a tap and all the information is running water.. and the watering jug is under the tap( i hope this make sense) so basically when you have events in your life the jug fills up and up but in your case you are still young and our "jugs" are quite full from the expectations we have anyway at this age with school and everything that surrounds that ... but after your horrible lose this jug has had so much water in it that it is overflowing ( which is making you have anxiety and depression) its basically overflowing and there is not enough room for anymore shit! so it makes you believe you are experiencing a brain tumour or something like that


i really hope this makes sense


i think you need to talk to someone about how you feel and just scream let some of the pain out!

i know this might not help but if you ever need to talk you can always message me

[shoegal]

Hi. When you see your Dr he will be able to do a few quick reflex/motor tests which will tell him instantly whether he needs to send you off for tests. If you don't have any symptoms that worry him he will probably tell you that your symptoms are caused by anxiety... because ALL of your symptoms can be caused by anxiety. Please try not to worry and assume the worst. I'm sure you have anxiety for which you can get help and treatment to improve things. Good luck.

[Jamie C]

Going to the Dr's tomorrow, really nervous, keep thinking of the worst, symptoms have got worse lately, vision is really bad, the glare i see off of lights is bad, however i noticed if i opened my eyes abit more it goes away quite a bit, floaters are bad aswell and head pressure, aswell as feeling very tried all; the time and stumbbling over words.

[rosa123]

I used to have exactly the same thing, i even had blurred vision and passed out once, i was so convinced i had a brain tumor i was planning my will. Anxiety causes blurred vision, weird sensation in your body and pretty much everything you've described. A friend of mine got excruciating head pains to the point where she was vomiting and got rushed to a&e (luckily a benign tumor) so if you had one, chances are you'd definitely know about it, this put it in to perspective for me, if your sitting around considering a possible life threatening illness you may have its most likely you don't have it! It is crazy how the body can mimic these symptoms though...also I'm really sorry for everything you've been through and i really advise you to get some counselling, i was told my health anxiety is apparently a distraction for the real problems in my life i was refusing to deal with, good luck!

[Schtopper]

• If I went in tomorrow and told my doctor all of this, would he suspect a brain tumour?

No. Brain tumor headaches are rarely 'severe' they are often descibed as mild - moderate and none throbbing. In fact it is often said by neurologists that the more severe the headache the less likely it is to be due to a tumor. Severe sharp headaches that come on suddenly can be a sign of a burst aneurism but believe me you would know immediately if that had happened. Any headache that you've had before and has gone away, or have been suffering on and off for a long period of time is not a headache a doctor would worry about. New headaches (headaches that feel different to any headache you've had before) are the ones of interest, especially if accompanied by nausea and vomiting (note migraines also often are accompanied by nausea/vomiting).

• If I asked, would he send me for a scan? Just to put my mind at ease, so I could be calm and ready to start treatment (either with pills or therapy) for the anxiety?

Depending on the Doctor but unlikely. MRI scans aren't that cheap and he'd have to suspect a brain tumor as a possability to warrant one and your symptoms don't point to brain tumor. Doubtful he'd send you for a CT scan either, a CT scan is the equivalent of 100-200 X-rays in one go and they're not going to expose someone to that amount of radiation without good reason.

• If you were my doctor, and I came in tomorrow and explained all of this to you, what would your immediate reaction be?

I would explain your symptoms are none specific and far more indicative of your anxiety disorder than any sinister underlying condition.



Brain tumors are RARE, and even rarer in someone your age. Physical symptoms manifesting as a result of sever anxiety disorders are on other hand very common (check any thread in here).

Even if they send you for a scan and rule out brain tumor you will simply worry about another illness next week, the anxiety is what needs to be under control through the help of medication and counselling.

[zo3096]

Wow I could have written this.

I am 34 and was hospitalised with what the hospital diagnosed as a severe migraine variant in September last year.

I have since been scared to death that I have a brain tumor as this migraine was very sudden and never having ever had migraines was a complete shock. Anyway follwing that I have suffered mega anxiety and all of the symptoms you have described above to a tee - even down to the thumb and eyelid twitches.

I have since had a long stretch of counselling arranged by my doctors and read a few anxiety books and am being told that these symptoms are extrememly common with anxiety.

The best way to think about it is that we can't all have a brain tumor and dont forget this affects 0.0074% of the population. This is how i try to rationalise it.

However of course always discuss your concerns with your doctor - if it is anxiety as horrible as it is it isn't life threatening.

Take care