Hi everyone, and I'm having brain tumor fears

[Dave_Lister]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Mike, and I am having brain tumor fears since about a month ago. I started smelling whiffs of cigarette smoke at work, and I would ask if anyone else smelled it and they said no. I didn't think anything about it, but then one day I searched it and lo and behold the dreaded "this is a symptom of a brain tumor" appeared.

I am not new to HA, and I tend to worry over stuff. I went through an HIV scare when I was a teenager in the 90s, and I think that is what started this all off for me.

Any way, back to my BT fear. I started having this smell shortly after a business trip where I came down with a cold right after I got back(possibly from breathing in other people's germs on the plane?).

I went to my GP and he did a quick examination me, and he said that in his 30 years of practicing medicine he has never had a patient present with just smelling phantom smells and have a brain tumor, and he prescribed me a 10 day dose of antibiotics because he thought it was a sinus infection. I am now on day 7 of the antibiotics, and i haven't had any relief.

I have had sinus issues with congestion and puffiness on my right side of my nose under my eye. I also had sinus surgery back in 2011, but I was still having issues with congestion a year after I had it.

My symptoms that I am worried about are smelling cigarette smoke, shich comes and goes throughout the day, and I am getting twitiching in my bicep for a few days, and my vision seems blurry.

I did go and get glasses with progressive lenses last March because I was having whoozy spells(I work at a computer) and the Opthomalagist did an exam with the puff in the eye thing and said everything looked good last March. The glasses have helped me with the whooziness, but it seems like my vision at home without them on is blurry. I was only wearing them at work, but now when I try to read the TV listings in my bedroom upstairs it is blurry.

I feel like my coordination is off, because I seem to not be able to type very well anymore. I always jumble up the words when I type now(ex I will type smell semll sometimes) it seems like my mind is too fast for my hands and I am not very coordinated.

I guess why I am here is to get some reassurance about this. Even though my doctor wasn't worried, I am.

Thanks for your time everyone.

---------- Post added at 15:59 ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 ----------

Any thoughts or advice? I am having a hard time with this.

[ServerError]

If your doctor isn't worried, it means you needn't be either. But you are. So what will you do about that? You say you've experienced anxiety issues before, but mention nothing about therapy or medication. Have you ever explored these routes? Even if you have, it's worth pursuing now. Honestly, the best advice anyone can give you is to seek help with your anxiety because you don't have a brain tumour but you're worried you do.

[Dave_Lister]

If your doctor isn't worried, it means you needn't be either. But you are. So what will you do about that? You say you've experienced anxiety issues before, but mention nothing about therapy or medication. Have you ever explored these routes? Even if you have, it's worth pursuing now. Honestly, the best advice anyone can give you is to seek help with your anxiety because you don't have a brain tumour but you're worried you do.

I have used ssris in the past. I was on Cymbalta for for stress and depression I also have OCD. I have also gotten some counselling but I live with HA.

---------- Post added at 17:59 ---------- Previous post was at 17:29 ----------

I guess I always obsess over stuff. It drives my wife mad, but I always think the worst. I just hate getting g this smell of cigarettes off and on because when it comes on it gets me down. The funny thing is, I have a stuffy right sinus and can feel it and it is putting some press on my right eye so I should believe that it's sinus related, but I keep having these thoughts that it is a tumour. I hate this

[ServerError]

You're not alone in this. Your concerns are so commo around here that your posts could almost be copy-and-paste jobs from other users! So it's common to feel the way you do.

I'm not one for spending too much time on unfounded concerns. Our anxieties rarely deserve the credibility we give them by focusing so intently on them - which is exactly where you are right now.

There are ways out of this. Take it from an anxiety sufferer. I advise you to explore further treatment options, and in the meantime, do your best to tolerate and live with the way you feel right now. I'm not saying you have to like it. I'm just suggesting you let it be there for now. After all, I doubt fighting it is making you feel any better.

[Dave_Lister]

So I went to my GP again because I still get the cigarette smell off and on again, but my right eye has some pain and I was getting twitches in my left arm. I asked him about an eye exam catching any brain tumors, and he said it would necessarily catch it, but he said that my neuro reflexes were good, and that he said it is highly unlikely that I would have a brain tumor because I would have more symptoms than just the smoke smell, and dizziness.

He is sending me for a CT scan of my sinus and my brain to cover his bases he said. He is also giving me another sinus spray because the Nasonex gave me headaches.

Even though he said it is highly unlikely I am still scared and anxious, I wonder if that is causing my head to feel dizzy?

[KatiePink]

Hi Mike

You sound just like another member on here!

The only advice/reassurance has already been given really, so it's just a matter of people repeating themselves.

Take a search through the HA board it may help you see how common this is.