Worried again about brain tumour anxiety :(

[anxious_thoughts]

Hey guys,

many of you know about my brain tumour anxiety. and I just want to say I'm really grateful to read all your feedback, comments and advice.

I have tons of good days, but I also have bad days when it comes to symptoms and today is one of them.
I'm not stressed or worried about anything so my anxiety is at a low level. But for some reason on and off today i've felt as though I am not real, my eyes feel heavy and I'm just overall tired. I have this feeling at the top of my head, almost like someone is resting their hand on it. I also feel kind of out of it, and slightly dizzy. I'm really scared that it will get worse, it feels like i'm going to pass out :( I hope to God I don't. I keep thinking it has something to do with the undiagnosed brain tumour

[Wombat Overlord]

I am in the same boat as you Jen! I am so worried that I have a tumour as well; everytime I cough I feel a sharp pain behind my right eye, and overall my head has just been hurting off and on over the course of the last week. I am 99.99% sure that we are overreacting and that these symptoms can be explained by much less severe problems, but it'd that .01% that occupies my thoughts constantly. Hang in there!

[anxious_thoughts]

Thank you for the reply. I'm happy to see I'm not the only one going through this, it's reassuring!
Can't get the thought of a brain tumour out of my mind. It also feels like I get symptoms every single day. :(

[Andria24]

Hey Jen - not knowing you but reading between the lines I guess you still have nagging doubts. I think that's part of the anxiety illness. We never quite believe that all really is well. It's one of those 'own worst enemy' scenarios.

I think all we can do is keep striving to conquer our fears and learn better coping strategies or whatever it is that works for us.

I'm sure you're ok, and that (like a lot of us) you're exacerbating your symptoms due to the anxiety :hugs:

[anxious_thoughts]

Thank you Andria for your kind words!:hugs:
It really makes me feel better to get ideas from others.
I'm really hoping anxiety is all it is so I can move on with my life, but it seems like this is never ending :(

[livethelife]

ah yes the dreaded brain tumour. i have been down that road so many times in the past and have been in a total state. seriously i had all of the symptoms. have you checked out the website called myhealthanxiety.com ? a guy from england put the site together. if you scroll down his videos he's got a great one called "Brain Tumour Anxiety" - this really helped me when i was in a state over a brain tumour

---------- Post added at 17:54 ---------- Previous post was at 17:51 ----------

here is my post from March 2012: things ended up getting worse after this post and i ended up in emergency due to dizziness and my left side feeling weak. had a CT scan and all was fine.

March 2012
Worried that headache is a brain tumour
Just wondering if anyone else has headaches that are kind of low grade thru the day but then when you lay down at night they become much worse - once I lay down i feel like my head is going to explode and I have a very hard time falling asleep. Last night it took me almost 2 hrs to fall asleep. When I woke up this morning the headache was still there. This has been going on for 5 days now. I have worried about a brain tumour before but it's been a couple of of years - actually the last time that I journaled about it was 10 yrs ago.

What else could cause headaches that get worse at night besides a bt? why would I have a headache for so many days in a row? I don't typically get headaches so this is why I am so alarmed. My husband asked me today what the other symptoms are of a tumour. I told him. He asked me if I had any of these symptoms. I told him that I don't. But i am so worried that all of sudden I am going to slur my speech, or drop something, or feel a numbness somewhere or have a seizure.

The other thing i have had for while is being startled awake by something right when I fall asleep. This can happen 5-6 times before I finally fall asleep for the night. It seems like it is kind of like the brain zaps that people have on Paxil and similar drugs but I am not taking anything.

I do have a few clonazepam on hand and will try to take one of these tonight to see if that helps with falling asleep.

Also, over the counter meds like advil have done nothing for this pain.

[anxious_thoughts]

Hello livethelife, thanks so much for your reply.

I will definitely check out that website! Thank you :)

Reading your post from March 2012, I see we have many symptoms in common. I get such bad head pains when I lie down that I can't sleep that way anymore. I also get head pains when I have my head turned to the left, right, or looking down/up. Do you get any of those?

Also, since you got an MRI which was clear. Did you ever get a diagnosis for what is causing you these pains? I mean, lots say anxiety but I noticed my head pains have been here since I was 10 and only recently have the symptoms gotten worse and has made itself look like anxiety.

Take care x


Just wanted to add in I watched the video on brain tumour anxiety, and I Have to say it was very reassuring. Thank you so much for the recommendation. :)

[Fishmanpa]

Hi Jenn,

Just a note about cancer. Having had it, it doesn't just magically appear one day nor does it come and go. Typically, by the time it's diagnosed it's been there for a while. I had oral cancer (oropharyngeal) and by the time I was diagnosed it was stage IV. the doctors said I probably had it for upwards of a year or more before it showed itself.

Once there is a tumor, it keeps on growing. That's why it's called cancer as it continues to grow and consume everything around it. In my case, the tumors were in the lymph nodes on the side of my neck (left). I first felt them in August on 2012, was diagnosed Nov 2012 and had surgery to remove them feb. 2013. By the time they went in to get them, they had grown to over 5cm! I had no pain but it looked like I had the mumps on the left side of my neck and I did feel a fullness and pressure there as the tumors were pressing against structures inside my neck.

So... if indeed there were tumors, you as well as your doctors would know by now. It makes perfect sense, especially if you read the symptoms link on the left side of the page, that anxiety would be the cause of your distress. I hope you et to the bottom of your symptoms and feel better.

Positive thoughts and prayers

[anxious_thoughts]

Hello, thank you so much for your reassurment and kind words. I hope you're doing better since your surgery.

I guess the main thing I'm worried about is if it's a benign tumour, as I've heard they can grow for 10-15 years until finally causing severe symptoms. :( Man…I got to stop reading things online.

[Fishmanpa]

Man…I got to stop reading things online.

That's the truth right there! Who are you going to trust? A trained professional that sees hundreds of patients and cases a year or an internet algorithm? ;)

Positive thoughts and prayers

[anxious_thoughts]

You're SO right!

I guess it's just the fact that the only tests I've done were blood tests, a small neurological exam by my family doctor, and a thorough eye exam. There has been no MRI's done. I'd be too scared to get one either way:weep:

[anxious_thoughts]

Hey guys. Not too sure if it's from my anxiety attack last night but this morning I feel kind of funny. Almost just disconnected :( I'm so worried that something bad will happen today while I'm at work. Ugh, it's not fun living in fear.

But is it normal to feel foggy, and for your limbs to feel slightly light after having an anxiety attack the night before?

---------- Post added at 08:30 ---------- Previous post was at 07:58 ----------

I started leaving for work, I didn't even make it down my drive way when I started to become lightheaded. Guess who is staying home today. :(

---------- Post added at 10:14 ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 ----------

anyone?

[HoneyLove]

Jenn did you ever follow up on TMJ like we talked about in the past?

[anxious_thoughts]

I haven't spoken to my doctor about it, although I do have a mouth guard that I find almost impossible to use.

I'm not sure if TMJ could cause all this though, I mean I feel lightheaded and dizzy, and I don't think it could cause that :(

[HoneyLove]

Lightheadedness and dizziness are two of the major problems I've seen people with TMJ talk about. They even suffer with depersonalisation and all kind of symptoms you'd never connect to the jaw normally. It's because the jaw tension can affect muscles, nerves and blood vessels, causing weird symptoms that are totally treatable.

See this site for a rough symptom list: http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/tmj-38544-5.html

I'd really suggest giving that nightguard a proper try, or if it's not working go back to your dentist for a chat or find a TMJ specialist in your area.

[anxious_thoughts]

I actually did not know that, I mean TMJ COULD be what's causing all of my symptoms. Thanks for the website, it actually made me feel better to know that something like that could cause these types of symptoms, I'm always thinking it's something sinister.

I want to believe it could be TMJ, but I also have ifs and buts, the top of my head is where most of the pain is located, so I'm not sure if TMJ can cause mostly just ONE area of pain. It hurts when I touch in most places on my scalp, but mostly when I touch the top. I Also mostly get sharp pains at the top of my head. Of course, this makes me feel that it's a brain tumour at the top :(

[HoneyLove]

I'm pretty sure that people here have explained to you before that brain tumour does not cause scalp pain - it causes extreme headaches and other severe symptoms that get worse over time. You definitely wouldn't be able to feel pain from a brain tumour by pressing on your scalp.

Your scalp is muscle and nerves, it's more likely to be muscle tension or even bruising from you poking it so much.

You're looking to the worst possible scenario, instead of to what logically would be an answer like muscle tension from anxiety or TMJ.

I know it's often hard to be logical with health anxiety, so getting some help like CBT would be beneficial to you. If it is anxiety or TMJ causing the problems then you'll likely get some relief from CBT and relaxation methods.

I'm not sure how much reassurance people on these boards can give you when you circle the same topics and fears all the time, it's good to reach out for help but you need to put some action into place to help yourself too. I really hope you can do this and start feeling better very soon x

[anxious_thoughts]

I understand how a brain tumour would not be able to feel on my scalp, but I heard somewhere that from the pressure it puts on your brain, it can cause scalp pain. :(

I have gone to CBT for about 2 months, it was helpful but I'm unable to go back since I don't have time anymore due to having school and work. I did get some relaxation methods and my therapist also told me to do meditation. Although I haven't done much of the meditation lately, I would like to start up again.

I just don't think it's all TMJ, as I do get constant head pains when I lie on my sides. Would TMJ do something like that? As in, when I lie on my left side I get left sided head pains, when I lie on my right side I get right sided ones. It scares me :(

[HoneyLove]

If you want to get better from anxiety you've got to make time for the meditation/relaxation and CBT, even if it's just one CBT session every few weeks if you don't have time every week. It is possible if you really want to do it and are serious about getting better.

Try to apply the CBt you've already learned to the brain tumour fear, think about what exercises would help you and work on them.

[anxious_thoughts]

That's true, I'm going to try to go back again and make some times for relaxation and meditation.

What do you think of the head pains getting worse when I lie down? I know that movement that worsens headaches can be from a brain tumour. But this has been happening for 4 years now

[Fishmanpa]

Here's the thing Jenn,

No one here can diagnose you nor truly quell your fears as demonstrated by this and other threads. I know this has been bothering you for some time :( Perhaps seeing a specialist for both what you feel is wrong as well as for your HA would be in order?

Good Luck!

[anxious_thoughts]

Hello Fishmanpa, thanks for replying.

I understand where you're coming from, I've gone to two doctors about this and both said no MRI is needed since they don't see anything wrong with me except for GAD. Even if I did get an order for an MRI I think I'd still be too scared to go. :(

Thank you though

[HoneyLove]

That's true, I'm going to try to go back again and make some times for relaxation and meditation.

What do you think of the head pains getting worse when I lie down? I know that movement that worsens headaches can be from a brain tumour. But this has been happening for 4 years now

Jenn, this has been happening for four years, it's really not logical to think any more about a brain tumour.

Headaches often get worse lying down simply because of the extra pressure naturally put on the blood vessels in your head, so you become more sensitive to the pain. It's a totally normal thing to happen.

Go look at the CBT exercises you've learned already and start applying them to your fear.

[anxious_thoughts]

I try to tell that to myself but then I think about slow growing tumours, it's just a never ending circle of fear.

Headaches can get worse with lying down, but there are days where I don't have headaches and I still get head pains with lying down :(

[HoneyLove]

You have a few options

- go back to your doctor
- go get a private test done yourself
- put the CBT into action

I don't think there's anything else I can say to you.

[anxious_thoughts]

Thank you for your help, HoneyLove.