View Full Version : Convinced it's a brain tumour, scared!
Hi everyone..
I going through a really hard time at the moment and I am really struggling to get hold of what is anxiety and what is real.
My symptoms have started around 5 months ago I was get a tingling and sometimes numb feeling in my right calf/foot and right hand. This is still present but not as much.
Fast forward 5 months and two weeks before my wedding I start having bad head aches now I'm not one that suffers from headaches at all saw the doc who put it down to tension. Well I'm 3 weeks clear of the wedding and I now feel even worse the head ache is still there and it's 90% of the day always around, some days better than others but still there. It can range from a full ache to stabbing sharp pains, at the front of my head and both sides, temples everywhere really except the back of my head. I have seen the doctor who checked me over and I have also had 2 in depth eye examines testing pressure, sight and taking a good look into the eye and all this came back fine. This head ache is now going into week 6. It's there as soon as I open my eyes!
The most recent symptom I have now is I'm feel really light headed and dizzy, not room spinning dizzy but off balance and if my inside is moving, it's nothing like I havnt experienced before!
I'm am so scared now I spend all day in bed crying, researching m, Iv just got married it should be the happiest time but I can't explain how terrible I feel, I think only a scan is going to solve this for me but I'm even to petrified to go and have that as I just keep thinking they will tell me I have a few months to live! I have a 6 year old with autism who needs me, I'm so scared.
emanticoff73
06-09-17, 14:37
I went through the same exact thing. Had the eye tests too. Which is a good sign if it came back fine. You don't have a brain tumor. I got up the courage to have a SCAN and it was normal and I had serious headaches.
Would you mind telling me what kinda things were happening for you?
I don't think Iv ever been this scared before. I just seem to be getting worse as the weeks go on and I just can't seem to grasp what's real and what's not. I hate this, I just wanna enjoy my family and enjoy being a newly wed I just wanna curl up in bed and be alone
choccychompa
06-09-17, 15:32
I have that off balance feeling too. Like something is shifting in my head. Feels very scary, but I'm sure it's just weird vertigo from anxiety. It's amazing what symptoms health anxiety can throw up. I've had hundreds over the years :(
Okay, I had the same thing you're having almost 3 years ago. I had to make some lifestyle changes. First and foremost, I cut out all caffeine. I had chocolate every now and then but I eliminated coffee out of my diet completely. I began drinking a gallon of water a day. I carried water to classes in college, when working out, going out shopping to make sure I drank. Since then, headaches are a rare occurrence in my life. They usually happen when I don't drink enough water.
Also as a recently married woman (February), I know the stress involved into a wedding as I was just in your shoes. My hair was falling out and I lost weight. Stress/anxiety plays a havoc on our bodies. I wouldn't be at all surprised these headaches are caused from wedding stress. Even after your wedding, your body is still in shock from the tension, and you will experience headaches, weird sensations. I know I did. Try to kick back, take a long bath everyday for a week, drink some wine, or get a nice massage. It helps loads!
I quite new to the health anxiety this is what scares me most! Iv had vertigo in the past and it dosnt really feel like that (room spinning etc) it's more like an off balance, light headed feeling. I was worried when the headaches came on but I just feel like now I have this light headed dizzy feeling it's just more evidence that I have some sort of tumour..
---------- Post added at 16:01 ---------- Previous post was at 15:55 ----------
Thanks for the advice girl18, how long did your go on for? I don't think I can go in much longer like this I really feel like I'm dying or am gonna collapse some days. I don't drink caffeine but I am a sucker for chocolate, I have upped my water a lot recently, will continue to drink as much as I can. I have so much in my life that needs doing and I just feel housebound with all these complaints, I don't even know how I'm going to get through work tomrrow
New17. My older brother had a brain tumour a few years ago.
He didn't FEEL off balance he WAS off balance, he could not walk without someone holding onto his arms and supporting him.
His headaches were servere to the point he would vomit any time he turned his head
He couldn't speak properly, not just the odd stutter like we all do but he sounded drunk.
He couldn't even hold both his arms out in front of him, or do anything day to day like brush his teeth or wash his hair. Brain tumour symptoms are servere to the point everyone around you knows there is something very wrong, there is no second guessing it.
I have experienced all of the symptoms you have described including the off balance feeling which lasted 6 months. What you're describing in no way sounds like a brain tumour. More like a heavily stressed nervous system and body.
Thank you very much for replying to me and I'm sorry to hear of your brother.
I really need to get a hold of this as it's ruining mine and also my families lives. Iv already cancelled my honeymoon through fear of me being very ill. It's just these symptoms are so real and have been ongoing. The headache is literally every single day from when I open my eyes each morning for 6 weeks, it's really getting me down, the "dizziness" has only been for about 3 days now but I just keep thinking right this is getting worse and will continue to do so untill the point I collapse or something and will then be no doubt that I have something serious going on, it's really awfull I'm 28 years old, a daughter with severe needs and I just got married I should be happy and focused on that not all this, I just wish I could wake up tomrrow with no pain.
Worriedwellornot
06-09-17, 21:24
Hi
So sorry to hear how you are feeling. I've had severe HA for 30 years and have similar symptoms to yours from time to time. The dizziness you talk about and the daily headaches I've had on and off for years and constantly worry about having a brain tumour. Mine started shortly after I got married. Was convinced I was dying. I had a brain scan and it was clear.
Unfortunately a colleague was recently diagnosed but her symptoms were very obvious,she couldn't walk without falling over. Her gp diagnosed her very quickly and she has now had them removed. Try not to worry. Easy to say. ( I don't follow my own advice! ) take care x
Well my symptoms have been great the last two days! I had small pain in the morning one day but that soon cleared and I then went on to have small shootingpains throughout the day that only lasted minutes and went away, yesterday I woke up with pain but that soon went also and I felt great for most of the day, but today again it's all come crashing down and I have that dull fullness feeling inside my head that moves around. I'm so fed up of it all now. This is now week 6 of head pain that just dosnt seem to be going anywhere.
The dizziness has now stopped thank god but everything else still stands!
Iv read some really scarey things about tumours that head aches would be worse in the morning then settle abit, worse laying down, a steady pain that would be there constantly, a pain that you wouldn't of felt before.
I fit all these boxes and I'm really scared again now!
Iv had two optition checks where your eyes are dilated and they look into them with light and all fine but I didn't get a photo taken of the back of the eye.
Iv also had 3 checks by the gp and physio to test strength, balance, blood pressure, reflexes.
Iv also had full blood work but before the headaches started.
These were all normal but still the headache still remains and I have no explanation for it bar "tension headache" but I can't believe it would present this way or hang around for this long!
I'm absolutely petrified to get a scan for the reasons of it will show up my fear and that it would make me 10000x more anxious, I'm so lost!
Eventhesparrows
11-09-17, 15:04
I had something similar happen 3 years ago. My headache lasted weeks. My GP referred me to a neurologist and he said he wanted an MRI STAT!....which obviously increased my anxiety all the more. I had the MRI and it was clear. Guess what? As soon as I got the results, the headache disappeared. (I wish the anxiety would have! It's now my main focus in terms of my health..... EVERYTHING is a brain tumor symptom to me!) I think when we focus on something so much, we literally make the pain/dizziness worse than they actually are. Guaranteed if you get a scan, it'll disappear. I'm not advocating for you to get a scan, I'm just hoping you realize that the more you focus on it, the "worse" it'll be.
fuzzylogic35
13-09-17, 19:34
Hi I have had a similar experience recently. It has been 10days now of constant headaches. I thought having moved to a new building with my work (not a new job) the change of lights to big fluorescent lights triggered my headaches but having been away from them for the past 5days has made no difference! I have had an eye test and had my blood pressure taken and it has all come back normal! I have convinced myself I have a Tumour why else won't these headaches disappear!! Doctor thinks it is a tension headache but do they really last that long? What is tense my neck and shoulders feel fine??
I quite new to the health anxiety this is what scares me most! Iv had vertigo in the past and it dosnt really feel like that (room spinning etc) it's more like an off balance, light headed feeling. I was worried when the headaches came on but I just feel like now I have this light headed dizzy feeling it's just more evidence that I have some sort of tumour..
---------- Post added at 16:01 ---------- Previous post was at 15:55 ----------
Thanks for the advice girl18, how long did your go on for? I don't think I can go in much longer like this I really feel like I'm dying or am gonna collapse some days. I don't drink caffeine but I am a sucker for chocolate, I have upped my water a lot recently, will continue to drink as much as I can. I have so much in my life that needs doing and I just feel housebound with all these complaints, I don't even know how I'm going to get through work tomrrow
I had this headache for almost a month. It was bad! It would come and go. From the minute I opened my eyes, it was there. Keep drinking plenty of fluids. Anxiety causes headaches as well, so try to relax. Do you have lavender oil? Put a few drops into a bath and soak in it. Lavender helps with anxiety and tension.
Well I havnt been in here for a few weeks as my headache stopped for a week!! I thought I was over it then bam for the last week it has come back! I'm so down. The dizziness has now gone thank god, but I'm having really bad tingling in my lower right leg and sometimes right arm :(
Iv had this before which lead me to an MS fear but it stopped for a while but now it's returned with this headache. The headache isn't a pounding but more of dull, sometimes sharp pain in different parts of my head. I don't know how much longer I can go on like this it's really impacting on my life, it's waking me up in the night and it's really bad in the morning. Along with the tingling in my leg I'm pretty much convinced I'm not gonna be around for much longer. I'm 28 with a 6 year old this is horrible Iv felt this way for 6 months now with the headaches being around for 2 months
Beckybecks
27-09-17, 11:15
Just been reading your posts. Because I have a bad headache now so I did a search on the forum.
I've had anxiety for many years and health anxiety too, so I've experienced a large number of symptoms over the years.
Headaches is one if them. But here I am with a headache and I can't talk myself out of the "but what if it's something else" panic......
What really needs to be addressed is the anxiety. Nothing else. If the anxiety goes, the symptoms go along with it.
But if we have anxiety we get the symptoms, then we worry about those symptoms and that just causes them to worsen, or more symptoms appear.
I've had dizziness, off balance, floaty feelings too. They were all due to anxiety.
I know you feel you can't live with this any longer, and it has been a while. But the fact that you anticipate and dread the symptoms actually brings them on.
Reading your post above, you started to worry about MS and your headaches came back. Doesn't that tell you something?
Hi, thank you for your reply :)
Today has probably been the worst day for me I feel like I'm living on a knife edge just waiting for the day that the pain becomes so severe that it will confirm my fear. The pain today has been really bad on and off and I can't help but think this is it. The tingling in my leg hasn't been around for 4 days now but the head pain is unbearable, I'm so frightened I'm due to go on honeymoon on Sunday and I just can't go like this, everyone is going to be so upset with me but I'm so scared that something is going to happen while I'm away. There no explanation to this pain and all I can think if it was neck, viral, sinus etc it wouldn't of stuck around for 8 weeks! I've read so many scarey things and it just seem so relevant to me...headaches bad in the morning, tingling, headache that last a long time I just can't see that this would all be anxiety. I haven't felt right for 6 months now and all these new unexplained symptoms just keep getting worse.
Beckybecks
27-09-17, 17:19
First problem: you say you've read so many scary things. Stop reading because you're just fueling the anxiety.
Second problem: you say you just can't see how this would all be anxiety. When you accept that it is indeed anxiety, your symptoms will disappear. I know it's hard to believe, but our mind controls our body, it's very powerful and I've learnt over the years just how many symptoms it can cause or magnify.
Third problem: you're focusing on this symptom and have been for a long time now. Because of what you've read, your mind makes the pain seem worse and it prolongs the headaches.
Many of us with anxiety disorder have cancelled holidays because we were terrified of suffering from our symptoms while we were in an unfamiliar place.
From my experiences ( and I have cancelled trips and regretted it) when I got up the courage to go, I was so pleased I did. My anxieties left and I relaxed. So please do go on your honeymoon.
What you really need to address is your anxiety so maybe look into some CBT, I see it's being offered for free from someone posting on this forum: http://cbt4panic.org/contact/
Do some relaxation for your headaches. Ban yourself from googling. Try some natural remedies like Rescue and aromatherapy oils. Ask your husband to massage your head. Have a nice long bubble bath. Avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugar for a while. There's lots you can do. Go for some walks, that usually helps me. But above all try to get your focus off the headaches and onto something else.
I know it's hard. This morning I had the Daddy of all headaches. (Niggling fears started earring away at me). That's how I found your post. I started answering other people's posts and an hour later my headache was almost gone.
I really hope you feel better soon. Try not to worry, because headaches do come with stress but they do go away. I know because I've been through what you're going through now, last year. And many other people on this forum have too.
Thank you for your reply again.
Things are just getting worse unfortunately the pain is becoming worse, I really think I need go to the hospital now but I'm am so scared to for what will happen, I feel as soon as I go that's gonna be it and it's going to confirm I'm going to die in a few months. I can't go away like this the pain is so bad sometimes, it will go for an hour and come back 10x worse not even pain killers are working now. I'm completely heartbroken. It's woken me up all last night being dull pressure in my forehead and all today has been a sharp pain constant in the right side of my head.
Beckybecks
29-09-17, 13:30
I'm so sorry you're feeling so bad. Remember that you have had tests and seen a doctor so I don't think it can be anything as serious as what you suspect. Which is making you so anxious and in turn intensifying your headaches.
Remember they are trained professionals and would have done more if they suspected anything wrong.
My brother, who has the same anxiety disorder as me, suffers badly with migraines. He anticipates them and really suffers with the pain. At times he has gone to hospital at night expecting the worst. They've given him painkillers by injection and sent him home. Now he has medication to control it.
Maybe go and see your doctor again. You shouldn't have to suffer like this. He can give you something to provide some relief. Be honest with hm and tell him about your anxiety. He can only treat you if he knows everything .
Let us know. And I hope you're better soon. X
Dave_Lister
29-09-17, 19:46
Well I havnt been in here for a few weeks as my headache stopped for a week!! I thought I was over it then bam for the last week it has come back! I'm so down. The dizziness has now gone thank god, but I'm having really bad tingling in my lower right leg and sometimes right arm :(
Iv had this before which lead me to an MS fear but it stopped for a while but now it's returned with this headache. The headache isn't a pounding but more of dull, sometimes sharp pain in different parts of my head. I don't know how much longer I can go on like this it's really impacting on my life, it's waking me up in the night and it's really bad in the morning. Along with the tingling in my leg I'm pretty much convinced I'm not gonna be around for much longer. I'm 28 with a 6 year old this is horrible Iv felt this way for 6 months now with the headaches being around for 2 months
Well the fact that the pain went away and then came back would lead me to believe that it is something other than a brain tumour. A tumour would not go away and come back, and because there was no cranial pressure seen in your eye exam that would be great news too.
Maybe you have some muscle strains in your neck?
Iv seem my go twice they know all about my anxiety, I feel like this is the issue and that's what they put everything down to. As I passed all their physical test also they just shrug it all off but yet I still have to deal with the pain. I've read so much about headaches and what they could be and I don't fit it any bracket. I haven't googled brain tumour directly as I know il prob fit most!
I've upset everyone around me and now no one wants to talk to me as they think it's just me being irrational again but I'm really really scared. I'm so angry with myself also cuz I think I need to get a grip and be scanned as this point to end this for everyone but I'm so fearful.
These are not like any headache I know of, They arent one sided, not throbbing, it's just a strong constant pain some times dull in random areas of my head....they seem to ease off during the evening but still lightly felt with maybe a random shooting pain now and then but I know tonight il get woken up again only to start the cycle again tomorrow. I'm so fed up. I've forgotten who I am and now have just become this issue.
Dave_Lister
29-09-17, 20:19
Are you able to get a scan done?
This would be the best thing I think you can do at this point.
I would take some solace that if your docs are not too concerned then it probably isn't something serious.
I'm not sure the doctors are just saying tension headaches as my eye tests were fine and also the examinations balance, strength, blood pressure are fine. Maybe if I went and demanded they would refer but I get so scared about it as if it's going to confirm the worst. It like I'm just stuck in this big pain/anxiety circle every day.
Hi everyone,
Iv posted on her a few times before about my on-going issues which I still have to this day and just wanted some advice.
Il start off by saying I have suffered for over a year now with health anxiety which I really struggle with but my symptoms have now been present for so long and persistent I’m really struggling to see how nothing serious isn’t going on!
My story starts 10 months ago after coming through a bad spell of anxiety I started to get on and off tingling in my right foot/leg no loss of power but really odd and sometimes feel funny to walk on. As time went in this also started happening in my right arm/hand. At this point I went to see my doctor had a basic Nureo exam but all fine. I can get this feeling 24/7 for weeks and then it will go and return with no pattern.
6 months later and in work one day I had a headache took painkillers and thought nothing on it.....that headache is still with me to this day 24/7 in various degrees, so I’ve had head pain everyday for 6 months!!! it’s not so much of a head ache than a constant pain in my head sometimes pressure feeling, sometimes a sharp pain or a dull pain, this is in my forehead usually but also moves all over my head in no pattern (no throbbing) can be morning, night anytime but will always be there in some degree. After 4 months I finally have a CT scan and came back completely normal no abnormalities found! By this point Iv seen maybe 8 doctors and 4 eye test with all tests normal!
The doctor has no put me on amitriptyline which has seemed to be helping but I still get small amounts of pain through the day...Iv only been on these for 3 weeks (last week being an upped dose 25mg)
My doc seems to think I have chronic migraine/tension headache)
But I just can’t get it out of my head that I have a brain tumour and that after 10 months it’s just going to be too late and I’m basically living my last. This is effecting all aspects of my life and the past year has been the worst of my life! I’m 28 with a lovely life but I’m just lost and in pain all the time!
I have other symptoms like floaters and all over muscle twitches which seem to be worse since starting amitriptyline! I’m so scared!
Is the ct scan really enough or should I pay for a private MRI my doctors havnt really said much and said something would of been picked up in the ct scan but they don’t seem worried but I am absolutely beside myself. I just keep think a head pain for 6 months is just not normal there’s no way this could be nothing!
countrygirl
15-01-18, 17:47
My neighbours brain tumour was picked up on ct scan when they thought she had had a minor stroke. At that point they didnt know what it was but they knew there was something that needed investigating and this was deep in her brainstem so if they saw that then your clear scan is just that. Clear.
A brain CT would pick up a brain tumour. An MRI would give a clearer image and there are options for angiography to show blood vessels for things such as aneurysms.
You’re fine :-). Trust the dr.
---------- Post added at 20:00 ---------- Previous post was at 19:53 ----------
PM me if you wish. I have been through a very similar position where I had an MRI I didn’t medically need.
My advice, don’t waste your money on the MRI and the CTis definitely enough.
unsure_about_this
15-01-18, 21:18
Because I have a non cancerous lump, spot on my brain due to me having NF, I have a mri brain scan every 18-24 months last time it had got a bit smaller,
Thanks for the replies everyone and for reassuring words!
I’m finding everything really difficult at the moment it’s been so long with all these symptoms I was so sure that the ct scan would show something scarey! When it didn’t my mind keeps thinks well your still havnt all the symptoms nothing is really improving its just the amitriptyline is making it better to cope with, this leads me thinking that an mri would have to show something. Deep down I don’t want to put myself through it as it causes me so much stress, I was bed ridden the 2 weeks I had to wait for my ct scan results! But it’s really hard finding an alternative to get out of this with the symptoms still constantly happening....
Hi
This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads
It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.
Elen
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to come back and post to off load really, as I’m really upset tonight.
I still am getting all the symptoms I talked about on this thread so a year pretty much and 8 month head pain!
The amitriptyline I was prescribed kinda of worked for 2 months I was still getting head pain daily but I could still get on with life, this lead me to believe it was just masking this “tumour” I think I have! I am now off the meds as the side effects were too much for me to cope with. Since coming off then the head pain is back to its full extent it was before all day every day! In addition to this I’m now getting dizzy vertigo spells, bouts of nausea especially in the mornings, this along with I’m still getting tingling in my right leg and arm is obviously all pointing again to the “Tumor”
I went to my gp last week told her all of this and she basically said Iv had my ct scan and the amitriptyline did work some what so she wasn’t worried or wanting to go any further with testing, she saw the state I was in and in the end did offer me a MRI whilst saying “this is only for your reassurance”
I’m just really in a hole now, my family have completely turned thier back on me when ever I mention this and I don’t blame them, I can’t be easy to live with right now! I just can’t stop crying of thoughts of leaving my little girl without her mum.
Iv got it into my head that if the CT scan was to of missed something it would of been at the back or bottom of my brain, basically the bit the won’t operate on and that’s it for me, tied in with the fact that this has all been going on for a year I don’t see how it won’t be serious and it won’t be inoperable or too late to do anything about! I’m so scared of having an MRI and getting the results, I just know this is gonna be bad, the more time goes on the more symptoms I get of a tumor.
Sorry if I sound frantic and thanks for listening again, I just had to get some words out somewhere
I know where you are at. I know the fear and the frustration and the loneliness. When my HA started 30 years ago it started with headaches and dizziness. Every day, all day. For weeks and weeks I could not believe that it could be anything other than a tumour. I had eye tests, saw an neurologist and had a scan. When the scan came back normal my headaches went. In fact they stopped on the way home from the results. I could have written your post. Please believe us - this is stress and fear. Your headaches WILL go.
Hi susie, thank for ur fast reply :)
I really thought after the ct scan the headaches would go but they continued, that’s why I ended up on medication. I thought after the ct scan even if they were to continue I’d be passified with the fact that the pain wasn’t from a tumour, I was really good not to google but it was actually reading threads on here questioning thier reliability that got me in a spin again. I just don’t know what to do. I was actually hoping for a referral to a neurologist myself when I last seen my gp, but she just sent me for the MRI straight reluctantly...
But your headaches won't have gone because your mind was already doubting the outcome. It is only when you accept totally what you have been told that the symptoms go. Nothing you have said would point to your worst fears. Your symptoms have not become severely worse. you are not unable to speak or use limbs. You ARE ok. HA is worse than anything most of us fear
Mindprison
15-04-18, 21:29
The problem is that you've gotten yourself so worked up over a period of time you've got a constant stream of adrenaline kicking around your body.
Headaches are extremely common not just in anxiety but any mental disorder. They range from mild to severe but it doesn't change the fact that they are all stress related.
I myself suffer severe tension headaches as well as ocular migraines daily and have done for years, all because of anxiety.
The more you worry about it, the longer they will stay. You've got yourself convinced that it's a tumour but if it were I can assure you that you would have deteriorated by now.
It’s horrible. When I’m having a good day and the pain isn’t as bad I can really rationally think about it and think reasons why it’s all going to be ok, but when that pain hits on a day like today I get sucked right back under and my head just get flooded with thoughts of it being a tumour, dying, all the bad things Iv read. I try and get on as much as I can but the pain sometimes feels so heavy in my head it takes over I can’t think straight and it totally wipes my mind and body out! I feel like I’m on a big cycle of a pain I can manage through to waiting for a big headache but never pain free. I can’t see how something lasting this long anxiety or not can’t be serious, the dizziness which has been around for the past month or so is now just an added worry on top as it’s come out of no where!
But that's just it. I have been there so many times. Anything that lasts this long can't be stress' But it can. I know .I've been there. Trouble is, it is so easy to be objective but so very hard to see it when you are in a state of fear. I have my own HA going on at the moment. I too am saying the same things to myself as you. I can see that yours is stress and anxiety. I can see it so clearly but so difficult to apply it to myself. you would have other symptoms by nbow, much more severe and very different. You have eye tests, CT scan. They are not all wrong. My headaches went on for months. Woke up with them and went to bed with them. they were severe3 and they were stress. I promise you.
Beckybecks
16-04-18, 09:56
Hi there. I've been following your posts for some time now. I really do sympathise with you as I've been in the same situation so many times due to my HA.
Unfortunately many of us HA sufferers decide not to believe our doctors and instead opt for self-diagnosis causing months of unnecessary pain and anxiety. These doctors have been trained to pick up on symptoms that may be potential threats to our health. But we don't believe them.....
It's a matter of accepting that Yes, your brain is very powerful and IS capable of producing these symptoms.
And it's a matter of accepting the professionals' diagnosis and clear test results.
I've done a CBT course which helps me to reason with myself about my symptoms. These are things I ask and answer myself for reassurance: Is the pain there constantly or does it disappear at night when I'm asleep? Is it getting worse?
You must surely be able to reason with yourself about your headaches in this way. They haven't got worse have they? They aren't there constantly 24/7 are they? After all this time, if there was something seriously wrong, you would've got much worse, would've got more symptoms.
That is what was explained to me when I had constant headaches, buzzing in my head, vertigo and nausea and a mind that was convinced I had a brain tumour. The doctor said it would get much worse and not come and go. He gave me acupuncture. I thought it was for my headaches. Turns out it was for the anxiety which disappeared after a few sessions, along with all the other symptoms.
I completely understand what you're saying about how on good days you can reason with yourself and on bad ones all the fears come flooding back. I do the same with my IBS flare-ups. I've had them hundreds of times but each and every time I decide it MUST be something worse..... What I started to do when I had a good-ish day was to make some notes to remind myself. That way I knew it wasn't always as bad and if the symptoms come and go and disappear when I sleep then I know it can't be anything more than my mind.
How is it that I can suffer through months of doubled-over stomach ache and hours on the loo, days spent in high anxiety and fear, elimination diets, medication, no appetite, weight loss. Then I go to the doctor and after an examination I'm told: It's just IBS..... Just hours later all the symptoms have vanished and I can eat whatever I like without a hint of a pain. It's like magic! My mind believed the doctor and told my stomach to stop misbehaving.
Could you ask your doctor to refer you for some therapy. Maybe if a professional explained to you what is happening and you understood it would give you more control over your anxiety.
I hope you can get help because I know how exhausting and paralysing it can be going through this month after month.
Hi there. I've been following your posts for some time now. I really do sympathise with you as I've been in the same situation so many times due to my HA.
Unfortunately many of us HA sufferers decide not to believe our doctors and instead opt for self-diagnosis causing months of unnecessary pain and anxiety. These doctors have been trained to pick up on symptoms that may be potential threats to our health. But we don't believe them.....
It's a matter of accepting that Yes, your brain is very powerful and IS capable of producing these symptoms.
And it's a matter of accepting the professionals' diagnosis and clear test results.
I've done a CBT course which helps me to reason with myself about my symptoms. These are things I ask and answer myself for reassurance: Is the pain there constantly or does it disappear at night when I'm asleep? Is it getting worse?
You must surely be able to reason with yourself about your headaches in this way. They haven't got worse have they? They aren't there constantly 24/7 are they? After all this time, if there was something seriously wrong, you would've got much worse, would've got more symptoms.
That is what was explained to me when I had constant headaches, buzzing in my head, vertigo and nausea and a mind that was convinced I had a brain tumour. The doctor said it would get much worse and not come and go. He gave me acupuncture. I thought it was for my headaches. Turns out it was for the anxiety which disappeared after a few sessions, along with all the other symptoms.
I completely understand what you're saying about how on good days you can reason with yourself and on bad ones all the fears come flooding back. I do the same with my IBS flare-ups. I've had them hundreds of times but each and every time I decide it MUST be something worse..... What I started to do when I had a good-ish day was to make some notes to remind myself. That way I knew it wasn't always as bad and if the symptoms come and go and disappear when I sleep then I know it can't be anything more than my mind.
How is it that I can suffer through months of doubled-over stomach ache and hours on the loo, days spent in high anxiety and fear, elimination diets, medication, no appetite, weight loss. Then I go to the doctor and after an examination I'm told: It's just IBS..... Just hours later all the symptoms have vanished and I can eat whatever I like without a hint of a pain. It's like magic! My mind believed the doctor and told my stomach to stop misbehaving.
Could you ask your doctor to refer you for some therapy. Maybe if a professional explained to you what is happening and you understood it would give you more control over your anxiety.
I hope you can get help because I know how exhausting and paralysing it can be going through this month after month.
This is excellent advice and i was going to post something very similar.
I too have struggled with headaches and dizziness for a long time. Coming up for 2 years. I'm now able to rationalise that my headaches are not there all time, i just convince myself that they are when I'm at my lowest.
Its classic mental health issues.
Hi again Becky and thank you for taking your time to reply to me again :) x
This is the thing my headaches are there all the time to an extent, I get days where the pain will be manageable but still there say a 1-4/10 but then days where it will be really bad and 4-10/10 everyday Iv had something wrong with my head it changes through the day. At the moment I’m waking up through the night when ever I turn over as I get dizzy with a position change, I get this through the day also if I tilt my head back. Then all day long my head will go from pressure feelings, to shooting pains, or just a ache all day all over my head, when it’s at its worse it always settles in my forehead and that’s when I get a tight, stinging feeling that wipes my whole body out! The only thing that’s comes and goes is my tingling I get it most days in my leg and arm but that also will go up and down as the day goes on.
I do think to myself this hasn’t got worse but I also think we’ll it has, as it started out a year ago I just had this tingling issue, then came headaches, then came ringing in right ear, then came dizzyness and nausea.
I explained this to the gp and she just diagnosed them all as seperrate issues (trapped nerve, tension headaches, tinnitus) but my point is it’s seems a big coincidence that I was have so many different conditions when they all come under the BT umbrella you know? I don’t really know what would warrant them thinking it was sinister, because I’m not falling over or projectile vomiting? But in my mind I keep thinking surly with a tumor your not straight away doing those things? Also they are just set on the CT scan is normal everything’s fine, and my questions to this is why would people be referred to a MRI if the ct scan was 10000% correct!
I’m quite different to other with HA I absolutely hate the doctors, I hate tests and examinations I will to my utmost to avoid them if I can! This is also in my head that I keep thinking if this was to come as something serious it’s my fault for not pushing for an mri sooner and it would of been my stubbornness that maybe will stop me from being cured or helped!
I hate this merry go round, I hate this has taken over 8 months of my life but the longer this pain last I don’t see any way out! I’m desperate for another baby and when I got married last August I had all the plans to extend our family and now this whole thing has just put an absolute stop on everything! I won’t even book future nights out or trips as I just think we’ll i won’t be going when I get my results :(
Thanks again for replying everyone, it really helps :)
Beckybecks
16-04-18, 18:25
I dont know whats normal with HA but I too hate seeing the doctor, having tests or taking medication. I really do understand how you feel.
I dont think anybody on here will be able to dissuade you from believing you gave a BT. You wont believe the doctor so I dont think you'll believe us.
Will you be convinced if you go for further tests which produce clear results? Or will you still have doubts?
I think your options are either to get some professional counselling or go to another doctor and ask for further tests.
Whichever you decide, do it soon so you can get on with your life. At the moment I can imagine that your life is quite miserable and you're young, newly married and should be enjoying your life.
Let us know what you decide to do and how you progress. Who knows, your story may one day be a help to someone else going through similar symptoms.
sorry i completely forgot to add this into my last post....i have done a round on CBT last year this was when i had all this tingling etc that had started i found it helped a little mind wise but didnt really have an effect on my symptoms. Recently i have gone a different route and i see a therapist who is also an energy healer (im trying any route at this point) again i find it help calm my mind some but symptoms still on going.
the MRI has been refereed, i am waiting for a date at the moment, i do think if the MRI was to come back clear then yes i would believe it, im literally at breaking point with all this now so i will be over the moon if it does, but a year in no i cant see it being nothing serious and the waiting for the appointment, getting it done and then results waiting is just making matter 10000x worse :(
Thank you and I will, Iv had the most awfull two days it actually feels like my brain is being crushed, I havnt been able to get out of bed all day! I feel nauseous also all these I suppose to be red flags but still the dr is in no rush to do anything about. I still not heard from mri referral, I am thinking of going private now
So I had my MRI on Thursday....I ended up going private as I still hadn’t heard anything from the referral and the anxiety got the better of me. I’m glad I did as I went in an open scanner which allowed me to cope a lot better and my husband was allowed in the room with me so even though it wasn’t pleasant it’s was relaxed and bearable.
My anxiety since has been horrendous waiting for the results, I can’t stop thinking and analysing the women who took my scan, I know they aren’t allowed to say anything but I keep thinking she was looking more concerned after the scan! Also I was told over the phone when booking the appointment I was to get given a copy on disc which I would of had to wait for after scan but the lady who scanned me said “do you want a copy of this or shall I just send straight to the gp?” Which is making me think why? Why dosnt she want me to have a copy to take home (not that I didn’t want it anyway and I did decline) but after being told I would have to take it and then her saying this has made me nervous and that there’s something there she dosnt want me to see! Also after leaving the scan room she didn’t mention when I would have my results and just said to me and my husband ok il leave you two in peace now which also has made me think that a funny thing to say as if Iv just been given bad news or something?? And why hadn’t she said when the results would be ready?? As if thinking I’m probably going to get a phone call?
I had the scan thirs 11am I havnt heard anything yet and obviously it’s now the weekend. I was told when booking by the receptionist Monday it would probably be ready with gp. So I just don’t know what to think now, I’m literally beside myself with worry, one minute my gut is telling me I gotta really bad feeling about this and the next I’m not sure :(
It’s awful waiting for results, and I know that you play ever scenario over in your head. But you’re really really overthinking something innocuous.
My Dad once went for a chest scan & the radiographer sent him straight to a&e because he could immediately tell something was wrong.
The women who scan you have a duty of care, if they’d have been extremely worried they would have sent you to the hospital.
You can’t diagnose yourself from someone else’s mannerisms. We’re not all the same, we don’t all make the same noises or use the same phrases.
You need to really really concentrate on finding things to do this weekend to distract and relax. If you sit around being gloomy then you’re not helping yourself. Even if you feel poorly, don’t google, don’t lie there thinking. Put the telly on, phone a friend, cuddle your husband. Do something that makes you happy.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
All I know is that in the year since this started (5 months prior to the first post), you probably wouldn't be here if it were a brain tumor :shrug:
Positive thoughts
Thank you :)
I’m definitely going to try keep busy I was lucky I was back to work yesterday so was really busy but the weekend will be a struggle. But least I’m not jumping at my phone every time it buzzes like I was yesterday I suppose!
Yes a full year this has been going on now! I think I know deep down it may not be a cancer but it also scares me it being like a begin tumor that wouldn’t grow as fast but would be a in an inoperable place this is the conclusion my anxiety has come to as I had that clear CT scan my thinking is if CT scans do miss things deep in the back of the head and then that’s where the growth is I’m pretty much screwed! It’s all so scarey for me. I can’t grasp onto reality my anxiety warps all my judgements it’s horrible, I can’t get to grips with if I’m being completely irrational or I’m actually on to the truth!
Ok so a week today I had my mri completed....and I still havnt rang the GP for the results!!!! I just can’t bring myself to do it, I just keep plodding along in ignorance, my anxiety just takes over and thinks once I make that call it’s gonna he final and my whole world will be flipped upside down with bad news! I know how ridiculous I’m being but I just can’t it sends me into a massive panic!!
After my scan when the radiologist said did I want to wait for a copy of the disc and I declined l, they’ve now actually sent it to me by post which arrived on Tuesday! This has also sent me into a panic questions why after I declined they would send it to me, fuelling there’s something wrong! It’s also has me spiralling thinking does that mean the gp didn’t get my results untill Tuesday...as I’m going along thinking right I havnt been contacted yet it must be ok but now I’m thinking if they only got the results Tuesday maybe they havnt had a chance to look at them or ring me by now!
I had the scan private so I don’t know the protocol and how it all works with how the results are sent to the gp...I know the have to send them the radiologists report but I don’t know if this goes on the system like nhs or there posted or what and how long the gp would take to look at them!!
Sorry for the rambling my minds is going 100000 times over and over :(
You're torturing yourself! Just. Call. The. Doctor!
Positive thoughts
I know I really am! My anxiety just grips me I go to phone and I can’t talk, my heart beats like crazy and my legs go like jelly I hate this so much
Puddleglum
05-05-18, 19:38
I also was convinced I had a brain tumour. About 18 months ago I started getting severe headaches which would wake me in the early hours of the morning and would stay with me all day. My life was a misery of constant pain and dread of waking up to yet another headache. My doctor diagnosed them as stress headaches as I have suffered almost all my life with anxiety, IBS, panic attacks and other stress-related conditions. I tried relaxation tapes, different painkillers which hardly touched the headaches, and was unable to leave the house on some days when they were particularly bad. I was afraid to make appointments or arrange visits to or from friends in case I was having a particularly bad day. I stopped going out shopping and had to rely on on-line grocery deliveries. I had my teeth checked, my eyes checked and kept up with physiotherapy treatment for arthritis in the neck and shoulders. My doctor prescribed amitriptyline for chronic pain. I was unable to take anti-inflammatories because I had an ulcer about 30 years ago. I tried anti-inflammatory cream with my doctor's agreement. Nothing helped. On my last visit to my doctor, about three months ago, she took my blood pressure, which has been high but successfully controlled with medication for some years. She commented that the past couple of readings had been up a little, and prescribed me another tablet to add in - amlodipine. During the first week of taking these I noticed a decrease in the severity of headaches, and after a couple of weeks a minor miracle - they stopped ! I'm not sure whether it was higher blood pressure causing the headaches or headaches causing the higher blood pressure. Whatever, I am now free of them, and feel my life has been given back to me. I told my doctor about the miraculous transformation and she was at a loss to understand how the amlodipine had had this effect. Needless to say, she was delighted and said I had 'made her week'. I'm not headache-free, but they are now mild, infrequent and controllable with paracetamol.
Ok..New 17, well, I am 16yo currently in the same boat as you..Though my anxiety came up with a fall. You know whats the real issue, it's not tumour, it's not bleeding, not any other sinister thing. It is anxiety, severe anxiety. Now also, if i google anything i start developing symptoms to an extent that i convince myself that i m about to die. I know its worse, but believe me it can be overcome. And yes, do go for vacations and explore new destinations, it really helps..Thank you!!:)
Hi everyone,
I wanted to pop back on to tell you the result of my story as when I was using this site I always wanted to know the end and it was very rarely there and I used to come up with my own conclusions!
I had my mri results after weeks of avoiding it and it was..........CLEAR! Dr had marked it “no action needed”
So there you have it clear CT scan, clear MRI scan! Nearly a year of my life wasted over anxiety.
I just want to try to reach out to everyone to say as bad as you think it is in your head 9.5 times outa 10 it’s not! You may think it’s different for you, you have different symptoms or worse than anything you’ve read, but honestly I was that person, go to the doctor listen to them even have the test if u have to but then put it to bed and move on with your life! I have made mine hell these past 12 months and for what!!
Do I still have pain .... yes practically everyday
Do I still tingle .... yes often
Am I still dizzy ... sometimes
Do my ears still ring .... yes
So yes I’m am living proof that even though I have all the right symptoms for a brain tumour I do NOT Have one!
I still have the what if it was a mistake, what if the MRI wasn’t the right one etc and I’m accept that these thoughts will probably never leave but I am not letting them effect my life! I am going to look for now dealing with the pain in my head and issue with acupuncture and maybe physio as recommended by my gp! I think maybe the issue is my neck or nerves whatever but I didn’t have the brain tumour that was gonna end my life a couple of months ago!
Thank you to everyone that took time to chat to me it did help me and it’s nice to know this community is there! I am now gonna take some time to heal, get on a plan to reduce my headaches, and try for a baby that I have longed for the past year!
Best wishes to you all and I hope you find some peace in my story xx
Are you still on this forum? I really need to speak to someone who’s going through what I am. Your posts resonate.
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