Just being paranoid now?

[josbo13306]

Last week I was worried sick about having a brain tumour. I felt fatigued and was having daily headaches. Over the past few days however my headaches have all but disappeared and I don't feel as tired.

Problem is that my worries over my headaches have now been replaced by worries over my eyes. For some reason I tried to read some very small writing from a fair distance away and couldn't distinguish any of it. Immediately I began to worry about my sight and whether or not it was deteriorating. This worries me further as I know that sight problems are a symptom of brain tumours (although I've resisitance the urge to google for a few days now).

I don't think there's any noticeable change in my vision (no double vision or anything) but I seem to lose focus of what I'm looking at times. I also seem to "zone out" fairly frequently when I sort of look further and things may appear blurry during this time although I can "reset" back to normal quite easily. I guess my eyes feel somewhat tired.

I've always had moments when I've zoned out for as long as I can remember but it seems since I've focused on it it has become more of a problem. I do own a pair of glasses but haven't worn them in a good couple of months until recently but I don't like wearing because part of me feels that my vision is getting worse and that I must have a brain tumour.

Can anyone sort of relate to my eye issues or am I just being paranoid about the whole thing?

---------- Post added at 22:09 ---------- Previous post was at 22:04 ----------

I'm also seriously worried about going to the opticians about having my eyes checked because I heard they can find brain tumours that way.

[Gary A]

Opticians can't spot brain tumours, what they can see is a swelling or enlargement of the optic disc at the rear of your eye that signals an increase in intracranial pressure. This can be caused by a few things other than a brain tumour, but the fact of the matter is, if your eye issues were caused by a swollen optic disc, then you'd have symptoms of raised ICP along with it. This would involve constant severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and even siezures.

The fact your headaches have disappeared means that you quite categorically do not have raised ICP, quite the contrary, your headaches would become worse as time went on. Therefore, your eye issues are not being caused by a tumour. Go to the opticians, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

[.Poppy.]

Zoning out by not focusing on things is common. I do it when I'm stressed or when I have a headache, and it has become a bit of a habit.

It never hurts to get your eyes checked, just to make sure you're seeing as well as you could.

I don't think any of your symptoms sound like a brain tumor; you sound anxious/stressed, so if you can find ways to reduce that and direct your attention away from thoughts of headaches and eye issues I think you'll feel a lot better.

[Emilym80]

An optician can't find a tumour. Like Gary A said, they can see signs of increased ICP. If they photograph the back of your eye they'll be able to see whether or not your blood vessels are being compressed somehow but even that wouldn't be a conclusive sign of a tumour.

To be honest, if you go and get them checked, you'll find out in all likelihood that you're short-sighted. 40% of the population are. I'd wager that less than 1% of the population has brain tumours.

[josbo13306]

Thanks so much for the replies. I can only go to the optician week after next as I'm on holiday next week. Decided to wear my glasses again. Used to wear them all the time when I watched a film or played a game but stopped about a year ago. Problem is that me wearing them now worries me and sort of signals that something's wrong. I've read that eye problems due to brain tumours don't improve with glasses but mine seem to improve my eyesight slightly (everything is noticeablepy "sharper"). I have some head pains or aches that last a couple of minutes at most which still worry me.

The worries about my eyes shows how one problem can end up replacing another which can then be replaced by another.

[.Poppy.]

The worries about my eyes shows how one problem can end up replacing another which can then be replaced by another.

This is actually how I ended up getting past the worst of my HA. I kept a journal, and eventually noticed that I was replacing fears with other fears, and then my original fears would magically "go away", sometimes to come back months later, then go away and return, etc.

Once I noticed that cycle, I wondered if the things I was afraid of were just me blowing little things out of whack (which they were). It wasn't the only thing that made me feel better but it played a major role.

If you got your glasses awhile ago, your prescription probably changed, which is why the glasses make it better but you're still not at 100%. Do your best to relax (even if it's hard!) and see what the doc has to say. I'd be willing to bet a better prescription will make you feel better.

Headaches are a trademark sign of poor eyesight, because your eyes have to strain to see things, even if you don't notice how much they have to strain, and it causes your head to become tense which in turn causes a headache.