Dreamweaver
20-05-16, 10:42
Hi, all ... I'm new here, and I'll try to keep this short. I'm 65 and male (and therefore not a spring chicken any more). In good general health, apart from a brush with melanoma in the UK in 2005, and there's been no further sign of that. Every year I have a checkup with a cardiologist and a whole lot of blood tests done (CBC, Glucose, Cholesterol, Prostate, Kidney and Liver function, and many others), and so I haven't neglected my health. Most recent checkups were last week, and all is well except for a high Urate level - that's what the Allopurinol is for, although even 200mg a day has made no impression on the Urate level for the last three years.
My wife and I have recently moved from South Africa to Germany (she's German), and communicating with doctors here isn't easy when you don't speak the language. In any case, you can wait 3 months to see one.
I saw a neurologist on December 1 because I was having some headaches when I woke in the morning. They disappeared as soon as I got up, and there were no other symptoms. I had some dizziness back in 2010, which disappeared by itself. Haven't had any dizziness since then. Nevertheless, I was worried about a brain tumour. The neurologist did the usual basic tests, and said everything seems fine and that if I had a brain tumour and was already symptomatic in 2010, I would long since have gone to the great doctor's waiting room in the sky. So I accepted that.
However, in the last six months, I've had a tendency to pins and needles, but only when I'm in bed. During the last two weeks I've been having it every morning, in my arms and legs, particularly along the toes and in my fingers, and at some other times too. In addition, random itching all over the body - just a tickle, and I scratch it, and it's gone. There is some low back pain along the belt-line and sometimes in the middle of my back. No numbness; no limb function loss, weakness or other disturbances; just this.So the brain tumour fear is back, coupled with worries about spinal tumours, etc. I was told in 1984 that one leg is half a centimetre shorter than the other, but I've never done anything about that. Dr Google says, basically, that what I've probably got is Multiple Sclerosis at the very least, and a whole raft of spectacular cancers at worst. I know I ought not to trust Dr Google, as his default diagnosis always seems to be cancer. Please be aware that there is a picture of me next to 'anxiety' in the dictionary, as I'm very stressed and anxious individual, and I tend to be particularly anxious about physical symptoms, and I focus on them when they appear. I don't want to burden my wife with all (or any) of this. So if anyone on here has had something similar, or could shed any light on the situation, that would be great.
The nature of my work means I'm hunched over the computer all day, and I know I have an appalling posture when I'm doing it. I suggested the neck as a possible culprit to the neurologist, and she fiddled around with the back of my neck and said 'Goodness - these muscles are absolutely rock-hard'. For exercise, I do quite a bit of bike riding (cycle, not motor), and take long brisk walks.
BTW - I'm on Atenolol, Amlodipine, Lansoprazole (for GERD) Allopurinol, Atorvastatin and 75mg Amitriptyline, which was given to me by the neurologist to help with sleep issues. My apologies for the length of this post.
My wife and I have recently moved from South Africa to Germany (she's German), and communicating with doctors here isn't easy when you don't speak the language. In any case, you can wait 3 months to see one.
I saw a neurologist on December 1 because I was having some headaches when I woke in the morning. They disappeared as soon as I got up, and there were no other symptoms. I had some dizziness back in 2010, which disappeared by itself. Haven't had any dizziness since then. Nevertheless, I was worried about a brain tumour. The neurologist did the usual basic tests, and said everything seems fine and that if I had a brain tumour and was already symptomatic in 2010, I would long since have gone to the great doctor's waiting room in the sky. So I accepted that.
However, in the last six months, I've had a tendency to pins and needles, but only when I'm in bed. During the last two weeks I've been having it every morning, in my arms and legs, particularly along the toes and in my fingers, and at some other times too. In addition, random itching all over the body - just a tickle, and I scratch it, and it's gone. There is some low back pain along the belt-line and sometimes in the middle of my back. No numbness; no limb function loss, weakness or other disturbances; just this.So the brain tumour fear is back, coupled with worries about spinal tumours, etc. I was told in 1984 that one leg is half a centimetre shorter than the other, but I've never done anything about that. Dr Google says, basically, that what I've probably got is Multiple Sclerosis at the very least, and a whole raft of spectacular cancers at worst. I know I ought not to trust Dr Google, as his default diagnosis always seems to be cancer. Please be aware that there is a picture of me next to 'anxiety' in the dictionary, as I'm very stressed and anxious individual, and I tend to be particularly anxious about physical symptoms, and I focus on them when they appear. I don't want to burden my wife with all (or any) of this. So if anyone on here has had something similar, or could shed any light on the situation, that would be great.
The nature of my work means I'm hunched over the computer all day, and I know I have an appalling posture when I'm doing it. I suggested the neck as a possible culprit to the neurologist, and she fiddled around with the back of my neck and said 'Goodness - these muscles are absolutely rock-hard'. For exercise, I do quite a bit of bike riding (cycle, not motor), and take long brisk walks.
BTW - I'm on Atenolol, Amlodipine, Lansoprazole (for GERD) Allopurinol, Atorvastatin and 75mg Amitriptyline, which was given to me by the neurologist to help with sleep issues. My apologies for the length of this post.