axlrose
02-05-14, 14:28
Hi there everybody!
I have been on this forum many times in the past and always found it very reassuring - after a severe bout of health anxiety over the past 5 weeks i wanted to put a post on here in case it may help anyone like the forum has helped me through my latest fear, pulsatile tinnitus (and subsequent fear of brain/ear tumour and annuersym)
Without going into too much of an essay, I have had health anxiety for over seven years which was triggered by the birth of my first daughter, mainly worry of cancer (lymphoma and brain cancer) - I had a few months worrying I had ALS too last year which was petrifying. Basically I was twiching everywhere non stop, arms, legs, face, toes, feet 24/7. I think this is BFS caused by anxiety as i still get it most days but just ignore it now after seeing a few doctors who reassured me there was no "sinister" cause.
Anyhow, the HA comes and goes and i had my second daughter almost a year ago and everything was going very well until a few weeks ago where drifting off to sleep i started noticing some light flashes in the dark (immediate thoughts brain tumour!!) - so i went to the optician who checked my eyes, i performed very badly in the vision field test (probably because I am -7 and had some dilating eye drops in) and they suspected a tear in my retina. I went to a private eye doctor who checked it over and said there was no tear the optician had made a mistake, although I was thinking from this point, maybe they have missed a brain tumour, and went to two private doctors. Then to boot, i started to get a strong pulsing sound in my right ear every night, pulsatile tinnitus which was very loud and waking me up usually a 5am, i was noticing it (and still am) everytime i move from my chair to standing position
Of course, Google is consulted furiously and the worse case scenarios are presented in relation to PT. First I went to NHS doctor who said probably Eustachian Tube Dysfunction and gave me some nose spray. No improvement in fact it gets worse and then I start feeling dizzy and noticing tingling in my cheeks so after worrying the entire bank holiday easter weekend (thoroughly miserable!) I booked to see as specialist ENT (again private - on the credit card) who said ears looked fine but due to it being new and only in one ear, guideline is to do and MRI/MRA
Cue extreme anxiety, panic and the thought that you are not going to see your children grow up, I am sure you all relate..
I had the MRI/MRA this Tuesday gone and got the all clear thankfully and cannot tell you the relief it will be not to obsessively Google brain tumours/ear tumours etc and just feel like i am a spectator in the world. If anyone is having PT and is convinced it is a sinister cause then please try to be reassured that you can actually cause symptoms to get worse through stress and really worrying about them. I have PT in one ear and i have had a clean MRA/MRI so do not be afraid to contact your GP and go and get tested (easier said than done)
All the best
r
I have been on this forum many times in the past and always found it very reassuring - after a severe bout of health anxiety over the past 5 weeks i wanted to put a post on here in case it may help anyone like the forum has helped me through my latest fear, pulsatile tinnitus (and subsequent fear of brain/ear tumour and annuersym)
Without going into too much of an essay, I have had health anxiety for over seven years which was triggered by the birth of my first daughter, mainly worry of cancer (lymphoma and brain cancer) - I had a few months worrying I had ALS too last year which was petrifying. Basically I was twiching everywhere non stop, arms, legs, face, toes, feet 24/7. I think this is BFS caused by anxiety as i still get it most days but just ignore it now after seeing a few doctors who reassured me there was no "sinister" cause.
Anyhow, the HA comes and goes and i had my second daughter almost a year ago and everything was going very well until a few weeks ago where drifting off to sleep i started noticing some light flashes in the dark (immediate thoughts brain tumour!!) - so i went to the optician who checked my eyes, i performed very badly in the vision field test (probably because I am -7 and had some dilating eye drops in) and they suspected a tear in my retina. I went to a private eye doctor who checked it over and said there was no tear the optician had made a mistake, although I was thinking from this point, maybe they have missed a brain tumour, and went to two private doctors. Then to boot, i started to get a strong pulsing sound in my right ear every night, pulsatile tinnitus which was very loud and waking me up usually a 5am, i was noticing it (and still am) everytime i move from my chair to standing position
Of course, Google is consulted furiously and the worse case scenarios are presented in relation to PT. First I went to NHS doctor who said probably Eustachian Tube Dysfunction and gave me some nose spray. No improvement in fact it gets worse and then I start feeling dizzy and noticing tingling in my cheeks so after worrying the entire bank holiday easter weekend (thoroughly miserable!) I booked to see as specialist ENT (again private - on the credit card) who said ears looked fine but due to it being new and only in one ear, guideline is to do and MRI/MRA
Cue extreme anxiety, panic and the thought that you are not going to see your children grow up, I am sure you all relate..
I had the MRI/MRA this Tuesday gone and got the all clear thankfully and cannot tell you the relief it will be not to obsessively Google brain tumours/ear tumours etc and just feel like i am a spectator in the world. If anyone is having PT and is convinced it is a sinister cause then please try to be reassured that you can actually cause symptoms to get worse through stress and really worrying about them. I have PT in one ear and i have had a clean MRA/MRI so do not be afraid to contact your GP and go and get tested (easier said than done)
All the best
r