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Vigilante
05-09-13, 16:00
Hello all, Just joined the forums.

I have worried constantly over my health for a number of years probably since I was a teenager. My very first case was a with a pain in my stomach wall which I kept prodding and poking at believing I had "stomach cancer" infact it was a muscle I was feeling.

I had this over and over with different things like:

Soar Throat = throat cancer
chest/back pain = lung cancer
urine infection = testicle cancer
small hernia and backache = bladder cancer/kidney cancer.

10 years ago I had what I called before this my biggest fear of all, I began to develop strange multiple vision like ghosting when looking at bright objects like lights or the moon, I was seen by the hospital eye specialists but they found nothing wrong, I got myself so hyped up believing I had vCJD for around 1 year, I even had twitching/jerking and lost the ability to throw darts ( I used to play a lot). Anyway years passed on that and obviously I forgot about it, symptoms like twitching disappeared, the vision did not but I kinda lived with it.

Around September/October last year my vision again changed, the multiple ghosting had got far worst just in my left eye, when looking at lights like the moon again I had a circle of them of almost infinite number, I went to see my gp who works at the local eye unit and got referred to the specialist. It wasn't until the appointment letter came through that I started to actually worry about what was happening and it was around this time in October that I started to get daily headaches around my forehead and sinus region as well as feeling spaced out.

Anyhow I saw the eye specialist who looked and said there was nothing wrong! although this time I could not believe that and questioned him, I was then told to go to my local optician. This did not help my fears and all I started to think was it must be a brain tumour....

I then visited the optician, who took 10 seconds in diagnosing me with the eye disease Keratoconus - the progressive disease of the cornea that makes the corneas thin and bulge into a cone shape.

I ended up seeing the eye specialists another two times before they finally did a cornea scan which confirmed this, as it stands now I am under another hospital that deals more with this disease but its progression of my left eye means I am likely facing a cornea transplant.

But all of this is not what worries me its still the fear of having a brain tumour....over the last 8/9 months I have had other symptoms which some have come and gone and some remain:

Headaches - have got better infact they are now rare for me
Perceived speech problems like saying wrong words.
uncoordinated
drooping eyelid
Itching
Excessive Saliva
Excessive Sweating including night sweating

and now I have what I think is peripheral neuropathy of my hands and feet!, I have what I can only describe as a burning pain sensation in my palms like where someone might get writers cramp as well as forearm pain which gets worst if I'm doing tasks like typing or mixing food or whatever. I have also got pins and needles in my hands at night for the past few months usually on the side I'm laying on.

My feet seem to hurt the more I stand on them on the soles.

I have had many tests already including:

Sinus CT scan without contrast

Blood tests for:

CBC
CRP
Thyroid
Vit D
B12
Iron

Many more too, the only ones which have come back abnormal are my Vit D being low and my B12 being high.

I believe I'm dying :weep:

---------- Post added at 16:00 ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 ----------

Well, I just about had another break down, my GP just prescribed me Gabapentin anyone have any experience with this?

aggiecuttler
05-09-13, 17:04
Hi so sorry you are going through so much worrying, it is horrible to be in fear all the time, i am happy to give you my oppinion for what it is worth (was diagnosed with a Brain Tumour jan 2013) with headaches they tend to get worse rather than getting better, and tablets do not touch the pain, sickness can accompany this, changes in personality, and eye issues blurring, stumbling around being very clumsy, BT tend to have different symptoms depending on where they are located, mine frontal lobe, hence the personality issues, if you would like to PM me feel free blessings

Vigilante
06-09-13, 13:38
Hello thank you for the reply and I'm sorry that you have a Brain Tumour I hope you are going to be ok.

I have been put on gabapentin (neurotin) by my Dr who is adamant I do not have any problems like a Brain Tumour. Not just him but every Dr at the centre I go to thinks the same.

My headaches were daily and around or even like behind my eyes up until I moved from a 1 bed flat with my fiancée and twin girls to a 2 bed house in April 2013 since then they diminished a lot to maybe 1 every 1-2 weeks while they also started responding to co-codamol 30/500s. I now rarely get them, I have a slight funny headache feeling right now but I have been so stressed out the last 2 weeks and broke down a couple of times in the last day or so. I have been struggling to think or do anything else other than concentrate on how I am feeling with the pains or the thoughts of having a BT.

As far as the headaches I had are concerned I am not sure if they had something to do with the eye disease I actually do have, I am still uncorrected at this time and it seems I cannot get correction with either glasses or even rigid contact lens (rgp) which are often used for this condition, I am in for another lens trial soon but I am also trying to get a procedure called corneal cross linking done which will help strengthen my cornea if they can do it at my current corneal thickness. To put it in short my visual symptoms are 100% caused by the eye disease - Keratoconus.

additionally I am on testosterone shots - hormone replacement therapy and on last testing my testosterone was quite high, scale 9-29 nmol/l and I was at 44.5 nmol/l

I am due a FBC on my next blood testing for my testosterone level because my red cells were increasing and were borderline high. Feb 2013.

I don't know if these play a part in any symptoms that I have, like increased sweating and night sweating? possibly hormones being high?

I know I am a complex case :blush:

xvolatileheart
06-09-13, 22:10
I have a lot of visual symptoms too that lead me to believe I have a brain tumour, and feel like I often say the wrong word, uncoordinated, feel that I am unreal, feel faint or incredibly fatigued, etc. It's an awful fear to have and nothing anyone says can make the fear go away.

With that said, it sounds like you've been pretty thoroughly investigated only to find it was something much less dangerous! All of your symptoms sound like they could be anxiety related, so I'm sure you're worrying unnecessarily. I hope you can get your anxiety under control. You're not alone.

Vigilante
07-09-13, 15:25
Hey, thanks for the reply.

Yeah its an awful fear, It's on my mind almost 24/7 right now. As far as the vision is concerned I have removed that off my BT list of symptoms really. I even have the cornea scan print out which shows how different it is to my other eye.

Last night was truly my worst ever in nearly 32 years on the planet, every single time I tried to sleep I was overcome by a pins n needles/buzzing/burning of my hands or feet, I went up and down to the toilet 3 times and downstairs 2 times, even tried breathing into a paper bag.

10 years ago I experienced twitching all over my body as a result of a health anxiety and also jerking movements while trying to go to sleep but I have never experienced pins and needles before.

I ended up calling nhs direct who told me to stop the gabapentin incase they are making me worst, I had also started taking a massive B vitamin 3 days ago which has sent my urine bright yellow. including B6 at 100 mg. They told me on the phone they feel it is anxiety related and that a BT would not effect my body all over symmetrically. how true that is I dunno.

I am a mess, I am due back at my GPs anyway on Tuesday to discuss a referral for my eye condition to Liverpool or London now that I am armed with my scan and have it in writing from the eye specialists.

The only test I didn't have was a CT or MRI of my brain, my GP or any other DR I have seen, which must number more than 10 including A+E Drs refuse to give me one.