Could a physical pain stay this long?

[Jimmy28]

I'm 18 years old and I've been diagnosed with anxiety for 2 years. The problem is, I'm obsessed with the thought of having brain tumor. I started to get these sharp, shooting or stabbing pains on the back of my head and scalp, or like a weird pressure. Of course I googled the symptoms first and guess what? Brain tumor was the first thing that came up. So, I freaked out and went to the doctors. He did some tests on me and told me it's not brain tumor but I couldn't convince myself and two weeks later he told me to do a CT scan of my head, just so that I can finally realize I'm okay. And I did and everything turned out fine. I was okay for a while and then a friend of mine who studies neurology told me that those kinds of pains are brain tumor symptoms and that sometimes you can't see the tumor on the scan. I started panicking and immediately felt really bad, I wanted to throw up, like my world crashed down. I was, once again, convinced that I was going to die and went to the doctors again (this was one year later) and he told me to stop freaking out. But the pain stayed there for 3 months and it was constant so the doctor finally let me do another CT scan and everything was normal again. But the problem is, I'm still not convinced because I still get those pains. I went to a psychiatrist for a while and my pain really became rarer but didn't go away completely. My doctor (who is a neurologist) told me that I have to stop doing scans of my head and start accepting my health anxiety. But is it really just anxiety? Could the pain stay for so long, like, an year? I'm desperate, any advice would be good. It's prom night in 3 days and all I can think about is death instead of being happy :weep:

[bibliophilic]

Doctors don't want to be held liable for a patient having something seriously wrong and being responsible for not diagnosing that ailment correctly. So doctors tend to overshoot in any questionable cases--meaning that they'd be rushing you off for more tests if they had ANY hint of concern whatsoever. If you had a brain tumor that was big and troublesome enough to be causing you the pain, you'd be having mannnny other symptoms at this point (after a year, you'd be really messed up). And I'm positive that two scans would have seen something amiss if anything were there to see.

I have pains similar to yours. Mine get so bad that I feel like my head is going to explode from pressure. You know what else causes those symptoms? Muscle tension and things like TMJ disorder (which is exacerbated by tension and stress). When you are afraid it's cancer, please try to remember a few things. First, age is on your side. Second, think Occam's razor: it should be assumed that the most simple answer is the correct answer. In this case, it would be that you have muscle tension causing your issues, anxiety making you focus on your pains, etc. You say you have prom soon and you're 18, so I'm guessing you're in an upper year of high school. I don't know about you but those were stressful years for me! (I'm 24 and I'm still remembering!)

Now, could it be possible that you're getting migraines of some kind? (Which can also be triggered by anxiety, as well as certain foods, the weather, etc.) Do you notice a pattern to your pain? Worse when it rains, when it's humid, when you're warm, when you're tired--worse when you're stressed about something else? If the pains are really destroying the quality of your life, you may want to ask for something like a low dosage of Topamax or Elavil, which actually did wonders for my own problems.

I'm not a doctor, and I'm speaking only from my experiences and my own knowledge from obsessive researching and discussions with medical professionals. ;) Please, you're young and have exciting things going on in your life. Enjoy these times and understand that you don't have cancer. Feel free to message me if you ever want to vent about it. :hugs:

[Lilharry]

I used to get pains in my head and still do sometimes. The most likely cause is tension. Try doing some exercises to release tension in your back and neck and see if that helps. Getting a professional massage can do wonders too. It's highly unlikely it's a brain tumour - don't listen to your friend, it sounds like they were trying to scare you.

---------- Post added at 19:23 ---------- Previous post was at 19:23 ----------

Oh yeah - and I had the pains worst when I was a teenager and I'm still here at 33. The pains were and still are exactly as you describe - shooting stabbing pains in my head and scalp - mostly at the back. If I massage the fleshy bits at the base of my skull I can feel that it's often tense and sore in there.

[Jimmy28]

Wow, thank you, I really do feel better now.
bibliophilic, my aunt suffers from migraines, but her pain is way worse than mine, when she has it, she has to lie down in a dark room for a few hours and doesn't want anybody to disturb her. She also throws up when she's in pain. Mine is different, it's not unbearable and lasts only a few seconds. :unsure:
But anyway, thanks to both of you! I just found this forum and I can't believe there are other people who are going through the same thing, because this has never happened to any of my friends so they can't help me :/

[bibliophilic]

I understand completely--my friends and family haven't gone through any of my issues and so they find it very hard to relate, I think. This leads to a feeling of isolation which just makes the anxiety feel worse. Makes me personally feel like nobody is listening, which I'm sure isn't true!

Re: migraines, I used to have horrible, awful migraines that would ruin entire days for me. Had to lay in the dark with a cool compress, had to throw up to make it better, etc. My neurologist said that there are other types of migraines, too, which aren't as severe but which are still classified as migraines and could be treated with Topamax, Elavil, etc etc. But your neurologist would have probably mentioned that if he/she suspected it :)

I agree that you should look into getting a professional massage. Not only will it most likely help with your pains, but it'll relax your anxiety as well. Enjoy prom, enjoy wherever your life is taking you now and in the future, and enjoy your youth! Everything will work out just fine, I promise. :hugs:

[Ric77767]

I get left sided chest pains for the last 2 years. Get them every day and I'm scared that its going to lead to a heart attack. Been to doctors they say just anxiety but so real