does anyone else do that thing...

[conan]

where you:
a. search frantically for a thread about similar symptoms to the ones you're having
b. view the profile of the person who started the thread and go straight to the "most recent activity" field
c. if they started the thread ages ago, and they're apparently still alive, then yay! yet another free source of "reassurance".

i've noticed i've been doing that a lot. frantically looking for people who were convinced they had a brain tumour but then it totally wasn't that at all.

:'(

[Gary A]

Having been posting here on and off for over a year, I can tell you that I've answered many questions from people who are suffering exactly the symptoms that you are, and NONE of them have ever turned out to be a brain tumour.

I had a read of your other thread on this matter, and it sounds absolutely nothing like the type of symptoms a brain tumour would produce. Periodic dizziness and vertigo is very rarely a sign of anything nasty.

Brain tumours produce dizziness only when the tumour is located in the cerebellum or brain stem. These areas of the brain control balance and coordination. A tumour in either area would produce constant spinning vertigo that would get progressively worse.

I also note that you were seen by an optometrist who gave you a clean bill of health. Were you aware that brain tumours generally cause swellings of the optic disc of the eye, and this, of course would have been picked up by your optometrist?

You should try to rest and get as much relaxation as possible. Nothing you've written suggests brain tumour, and if your symptoms are being caused by anxiety, this constant worry will only serve to make your symptoms worse.

[conan]

thanks so much gary, but my vertigo is more or less constant... well not so much constant, but whenever i move my head or turn a corner. although it's very mild and honestly wouldn't be bothering me if i hadn't made the association. certainly not bad enough to put me off balance. if i'm sitting down or walking in a straight line i don't really notice it.

i am seeing a therapist and taking medication (escitalopram / lexapro), although i've been on lexapro for years and i feel like it's not working as well as it used to.

it did occur to me that my optometrist had a thorough look in both my eyes and also did some retinal photography and gave me a clean bill of health. and again, that made me feel better for a good 15 minutes or so.

thanks for the kind words gary.

[Gary A]

If you're getting dizzy upon turning your head then that very much sounds like an ear issue. The inner ear aids in balance by fluid movement in something called the otolith. As your head moves, the fluid moves with it and sends signals to the brain to aid in assessing balance, direction and gravity. That's why you get dizzy when you spin, you stop spinning but the fluid in your otolith is still moving.

I would wager that the issue is with your inner ear rather than your brain.

[conan]

uhhh the doctor actually suggested it was probably viral labyrinthitis, which actually accounts for all of my symptoms, pretty much... the long(ish) term dizziness, and a little trouble focusing. so... i don't know why i can't seem to just accept this and wait it out.

thanks again for the words of support.

[andysa]

G'day mate,

must admit that I do exactly that which you describe.For the most part it works however I realize that it is a false economy as eventually I am going to come across the one person who was actually correct and did have the terrible disease that they thought they had. I have taken to reading about advances in treatments for the various things that I think that i have, makes me feel a lot better about myself and also the world in general. It is very easy to get sucked down into thinking negatively when all you ever see on the news is negative stuff, hence looking for stuff about people that are finding cures and doing positive things actually has a massively positive effect on me. Another thing that actually helps me is taking the time to appreciate the fact that i am actually dying and nothing i do is going to change that fact, the only thing i don't know at this stage is that what is going to kill me ( in my case going to more than likely be stress related bought on by worrying about all the terrible thing i didn't have).

[MyNameIsTerry]

Well if you have OCD, I would put that down to a compulsion to seek reassurance or mitigate/close.

So, if you have OCD, this will reinforce your disorder and will form part of the key to breaking the cycle.

[conan]

fast fact: i have OCD

[J-P]

I've done that in the past, right now I'm avoiding threads that discuss my current fears. I have OCD also.

[KatiePink]

Yes I do this!! And naively thought I was the only one..

When I can't find any recent posts from the person of the thread I found my mind says 'thats because they're dead!' how morbid!

But yes I check there recent posts to 'reassure' myself that it was nothing as you say, maybe it's quite common with people on here x

[conan]

andy (?): i do exactly that too. when i'm worried about myself or a family member acquiring some life-threatening condition, i google "<condition> breakthrough", which again tends to make me feel better for a bit. hey, gotta be better than googling "brain tumour <current symptom>", which is what i've spent the last week doing.

---------- Post added at 14:22 ---------- Previous post was at 14:21 ----------


Yes I do this!! And naively thought I was the only one..

When I can't find any recent posts of the person from the thread I found my mind says 'thats because they're dead!' how morbid!

But yes I check there recent posts to 'reassure' myself that it was nothing as you say, maybe it's quite common with people on here x

haha yes! but then i say to myself, "probably they didn't post again because their symptoms went away and they forgot about this forum", which is more likely the truth in those scenarios.

[KatiePink]

andy (?): i do exactly that too. when i'm worried about myself or a family member acquiring some life-threatening condition, i google "<condition> breakthrough", which again tends to make me feel better for a bit. hey, gotta be better than googling "brain tumour <current symptom>", which is what i've spent the last week doing.

---------- Post added at 14:22 ---------- Previous post was at 14:21 ----------



haha yes! but then i say to myself, "probably they didn't post again because their symptoms went away and they forgot about this forum", which is more likely the truth in those scenarios.

Just shows us how negatively our minds work with anxiety, I can't remember how many times I've thought 'well they must be dead, and now it's happening to me' but yeah they probably just buggered off once things got better lol

[MyNameIsTerry]

andy (?): i do exactly that too. when i'm worried about myself or a family member acquiring some life-threatening condition, i google "<condition> breakthrough", which again tends to make me feel better for a bit. hey, gotta be better than googling "brain tumour <current symptom>", which is what i've spent the last week doing.

Cancelling compulsions. I used to do loads of them, tied in with my intrusive thoughts at times and including Magical Thinking.

They may help to provide reassurance but they really only reinforce the need for the cycle to be there. Cutting them down to extinction is important in breaking the cycle.

It won't scare you like Googling brain tumours but it will keep you in the cycle long term.

[conan]

Cancelling compulsions. I used to do loads of them, tied in with my intrusive thoughts at times and including Magical Thinking.

They may help to provide reassurance but they really only reinforce the need for the cycle to be there. Cutting them down to extinction is important in breaking the cycle.

It won't scare you like Googling brain tumours but it will keep you in the cycle long term.

i agree 100%, it's the same kinds of frantic, desperate thought patterns, just applied in a slightly different way. sometimes i think i need to pay someone to just stand near me and slap my phone out of my hands whenever they see me open the google app.

i think of it as this battle between fake comfort and real comfort... what you're searching for is the fake comfort of an instant fix, that in that flurry of thought and activity there's going to be a single shining fact that's going to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you *cannot* be sick. the reality is when you're actually recovering you don't even notice it happening.

anyway now i'm just rambling but it is always nice to hear that the bizarre thought patterns and compulsions you cycle through are actually pretty common.

[busterrufus]

On my goodness, I,ve only just joined and I,m already doing a). Definitely don't want to progress to b) and c). Thanks for the heads up! Good luck .