Cant stop worrying and thinking the worst

[MissyB]

Upon having to visit the A&E Sunday for my recurring headaches, brain fog, eye problems and dizziness, the doctor said he'd write to the surgery suggesting my GP refer me for a CT scan of my head. I dont know what type I will need as the letter has yet to be sent from the A&E, but I'm just wondering, unless its marked urgent, how long is the waiting list? I'm in South Wales, so know all the board are different.

I have insurance, so if its months, I'll use that, so that's another question - what is the cost of a CT scan for the head with or without contrast privately?

I'm seeing my GP tomorrow about the matter, so will ask, but or now, I'm worried sick and just wanted to see if anyone could help.

I'm thinking the worst, that I'm losing my mind (I'm 36), so I'm watching every symptom, which is making my anxiety and health anxiety worse and I feel sick and cant stop crying, so just wanted to see what someone could say, and/or if anyone has had similar symptoms and concerns.

Thank you. 😊

[MissyB]

I just posted more specifically in another thread, but I wanted to say I'm so worried about my health - I've been googling and feel dreadful - been sick and had loose bowels for days. The main symptoms are months of headaches, dizziness, vision problems and brain fog, and I'm waiting for my GP to get a hospital referral for a CT head scan as I visited the A&E on Sunday and the doctor wasn't overly concerned, but said I needed to get these troubles investigated.

I'm thinking the worst, that I'm losing my mind, (I'm 36 so know I'm young, but there are cases in younger people) and watching every symptom is making me feel worse. But I'm also having hormone issues, such as mood swings, feeling hot at night when I'm always freezing cold and a change in periods - I have the Mirena coil, but my last period was different and suffered a lot - so I'm confused by it all.

Just wanted to vent and maybe get some support as I can't cope with worrying and waiting for the referral to reach my GP., want to know what's wrong, but I'm also scared.

I'm sorry if I'm babbling on, but my nerves are awful and I feel in a daze.

Thank you,

Rebecca

[Neverending_story]

Hi there

I had a brain CT 6 months ago on the NHS - my results were in the same day and my GP recorded it same day on my medical file :) - maybe I was just the lucky one

I initially went to my GP with recurring brain fog and pressure on my head including weird headaches and neck pain. He immediately sent me for a scan only because I am on blood thinners but also to make 100% sure its nothing sinister.

What are you worried about? I was worried it was a brain tumor to be fair but it turned out my brain was all normal!

You will be fine - go on the NHS, they are pretty good with brain scans etc.....for results :)

[Neverending_story]

I'm thinking the worst, that I'm losing my mind (I'm 36), so I'm watching every symptom, which is making my anxiety and health anxiety worse and I feel sick and cant stop crying, so just wanted to see what someone could say, and/or if anyone has had similar symptoms and concerns.

Thank you. 

Stress and crying gives you a headache and if you continue doing this your head will pain for a very long time, as I did the same

[MissyB]

Hi there

I had a brain CT 6 months ago on the NHS - my results were in the same day and my GP recorded it same day on my medical file :) - maybe I was just the lucky one

I initially went to my GP with recurring brain fog and pressure on my head including weird headaches and neck pain. He immediately sent me for a scan only because I am on blood thinners but also to make 100% sure its nothing sinister.

What are you worried about? I was worried it was a brain tumor to be fair but it turned out my brain was all normal!

You will be fine - go on the NHS, they are pretty good with brain scans etc.....for results :)

Thank you for your reply. 😊

How long did you wait on the NHS for your CT scan? I couldn't bare it if the wait for months.

I'm worried about my memory as I sometimes feel confused, but I do get very stressed as well, so I'm mainly worried I'm losing my memory and that they'll see diminished brain cells on the scan. 😣

[ShaunRyder]

Hey Rebecca,

Sorry you are feeling this way atm. If you have been sick and had loose stools it could be a bug, I've only just recovered from one myself and still not 100%. There is lots of nasty bugs going round atm.

The other symptoms you mentioned like brain fog, headache etc sound like classic anxiety symptoms which I always get during a flare up of my anxiety especially the feeling of 'losing my mind' and it sounds like the costant thinking about them is bringing them on and making them worse, the doctor not being concerned is what you should be concentrating on, if he was worried he would have a scan for you straight away.

I always do exercise now when my anxiety is bad, gym, run swim, yoga, another thing I do is cold showers, it seems to really relax me and takes me anxiety away!

[MissyB]

Hey Rebecca,

Sorry you are feeling this way atm. If you have been sick and had loose stools it could be a bug, I've only just recovered from one myself and still not 100%. There is lots of nasty bugs going round atm.

The other symptoms you mentioned like brain fog, headache etc sound like classic anxiety symptoms which I always get during a flare up of my anxiety especially the feeling of 'losing my mind' and it sounds like the costant thinking about them is bringing them on and making them worse, the doctor not being concerned is what you should be concentrating on, if he was worried he would have a scan for you straight away.

I always do exercise now when my anxiety is bad, gym, run swim, yoga, another thing I do is cold showers, it seems to really relax me and takes me anxiety away!

Hello and thank you for your reply. 😊

I always have loose stools with anxiety, that's why I know I need to calm down.

The fact I didn't have the referral straight away should calm me, but I'm watching all my symptoms and worrying they are getting worse as my eyes feel funny (booked an eye test for next Tuesday) and I trip over words when reading, and sometimes read them wrong, and now I dont want to read as I'm so worried my brain is declining.

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

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.

[Neverending_story]

Thank you for your reply. 

How long did you wait on the NHS for your CT scan? I couldn't bare it if the wait for months.

I'm worried about my memory as I sometimes feel confused, but I do get very stressed as well, so I'm mainly worried I'm losing my memory and that they'll see diminished brain cells on the scan. 

The referral came through within 2 weeks for me so as you can imagine I was freaking out slightly!
See diminished brain cells? How on earth will they be able to see that? Can they? Never knew they could!
You seem to be in a panicky state, this makes things so much worse, I have been there & sometimes still get there BUT you need to think rationally - what is worrying going to help? IF and I mean IF there is something there what will your worry change the result, worry is for nothing, I know we all human and worry but it changes nothing what so ever!
You need to maybe take some time out, get to the GP, speak with him, wait for the referral even though I definitely know its hard all the waiting BUT all you can do right now is just try take your mind off it :)
Always here if you want to talk also :)

[MissyB]

The referral came through within 2 weeks for me so as you can imagine I was freaking out slightly!
See diminished brain cells? How on earth will they be able to see that? Can they? Never knew they could!
You seem to be in a panicky state, this makes things so much worse, I have been there & sometimes still get there BUT you need to think rationally - what is worrying going to help? IF and I mean IF there is something there what will your worry change the result, worry is for nothing, I know we all human and worry but it changes nothing what so ever!
You need to maybe take some time out, get to the GP, speak with him, wait for the referral even though I definitely know its hard all the waiting BUT all you can do right now is just try take your mind off it :)
Always here if you want to talk also :)

Thank you for your reply. 2 weeks is fast, so I can imagine you were worried and I'm sorry.

I'm worried I have dementia and they'll see that on the scan, it's taking over me and it's all I can think about.

I phoned the hospital earlier and the lady in A&E said my GP would be able to see the hospital doctor's letter recommending a CT scan on the computer as they're all linked, so I can discuss it with her tomorrow, that in itself makes me upset and when you talk about your worries, its scary.

Worrying is pointless, I know, bit its so hard to snap out of it. I wake with a feeling of dread and been comfort eating to try to cher myself up.

Thank you for the offer, I may take you up on it. 😊

[Carys]

But I'm also having hormone issues, such as mood swings, feeling hot at night when I'm always freezing cold and a change in periods - I have the Mirena coil, but my last period was different and suffered a lot - so I'm confused by it all.


I hope your scan goes well, but wanted to add (and this is something I seem to go around a lot saying on this forum lol), the descriptions you make of night sweats, mood changes, erratic periods, headaches, dizziness, vision problems and brain fog can all be caused by extreme hormone imbalance. I'm no medic, but had all your symptoms when I was on some hormone therapy a few years ago and also now I'm in perimeno - blurry vision, dizziness, brain fog, ANXIETY (and more besides which I won't start listing lol). Has this been counted for and tested for ? If you have become dominant in either progesterone or oestrogen, due to the Mirena ? then I reckon its certainly possible you could be experiencing these symptoms. I think of course, as I'm no doctor, they need to rule things out and give you the full once-over - but perhaps this could be another consideration afterwards and sex hormones tested ? (The bad stomach would go with the anxiety as can the belief that you are unable to concentrate on reading and start 'tripping over words' - my point being that some could be physical some could be mental health, and they are hard to pick apart right now)

[MissyB]

I hope your scan goes well, but wanted to add (and this is something I seem to go around a lot saying on this forum lol), the descriptions you make of night sweats, mood changes, erratic periods, headaches, dizziness, vision problems and brain fog can all be caused by extreme hormone imbalance. I'm no medic, but had all your symptoms when I was on some hormone therapy a few years ago and also now I'm in perimeno - blurry vision, dizziness, brain fog, ANXIETY (and more besides which I won't start listing lol). Has this been counted for and tested for ? If you have become dominant in either progesterone or oestrogen, due to the Mirena ? then I reckon its certainly possible you could be experiencing these symptoms. I think of course, as I'm no doctor, they need to rule things out and give you the full once-over - but perhaps this could be another consideration afterwards and sex hormones tested ? (The bad stomach would go with the anxiety as can the belief that you are unable to concentrate on reading and start 'tripping over words' - my point being that some could be physical some could be mental health, and they are hard to pick apart right now)

I haven't had any hormone testing, and that's something I also want to discuss with my doctor. I've had the Mirena a year in February and the last few months have been full of feeling hot when I'm normally always cold, and just all over the place. I feel I have worries here, there and everywhere and dont know what to act on first. I'll speak to her and see what she thinks.

Thank you for your reply. 😊

[MissyB]

Hi there.

Just wanted to give a quick update. Saw my GP this afternoon and she was lovely, told her all my symptoms and the main thing I'm worried about, which is dementia and losing my memory, but she said it would be very rare at my age and isn't at the top of her list, but she's sending me for a head CT scan, as recommended, as there are enough symptoms . She's sending it urgently so it'll be in 5 weeks, but if I dont hear in a month, I need to phone the surgery. I'll phone the hospital next Thursday to make sure its gone through as I'm still anxious and will be until I know when I'm m having it. Do any of you know how long the referral (I'm in Wales) normally takes?

I do feel more at ease, but still worrying about my symptoms. Got an eye test booked for next Tuesday, and she told me to keep that as although she looked in my eyes, she's not an eye doctor.

I just want this scan now, and asked about taking it in my health insurance, but she said it'll cost a fortune and it's only 5 weeks, so that's not too bad, thought it would be 3 to 6 months. She said if the scan is ok, she'll do some memory tests to show me my brain is ok, so that made me feel a bit better.

Thanks to those who replied, it's nice to chat about your worries. 😊