HOW ON EARTH HAVE i MANAGED TO CONVINCE MYSELF i HAVE DOUBLE VISION??!!

[jinglebells]

Hey, I seem to roll from one crisis to another at the moment and you guy's always offer great advice so here I am again.

I will cut a long story short, over the past year I have convinced myself that I have had numerous different cancers (breast, throat, lung, ovarian, bone .......ect) diabetes, thyroid problem and most recently ms. I have developed all the syptoms you would expect from each disease.

At the moment I am convinced I have a brain tumor. A few weeks ago I developed a constant headache, went to docs, got checked out, diagnosed tension type headaches( I had them a few years ago for several months) perscribed amytriptylin. I explained my fears of a brain tumor, He asked if i felt sick, I do all the time! Ask if I had double vision, I said no just strange vision in one eye that I had seen him a month ago about. He told me not to panic and come back in the new year.......

The following two days the nausea got much worse as did the strange vision in my left eye. Last night I found myself obsessing about the vision, looking in the mirror, poking, covering one eye, looking at different objects and seeing if they has definate lines.... I decided they didn't and guess what............. today it is even worse, I really do have slight double vision and my left eye feels so strange all the time, hard to describe, almost shadowy.

So to sum it up I have wierd sensation double vision, headaches, short term memory issues, dizziness and I want to sleep every chance I get. Oh and obsesive thoughts of brain tumors and DEATH!!!

I hate HA and really need some reassurance that this is what I am having???:weep:

[Cell block H fan]

Cant really reassure you, but try to think back to how real it felt to you, when you thought you had all those cancers before!? You know you cant have had all of them. And you're still here? And didn't have all of them? x

[NeverRelaxed]

hmmm, I developed a visual disturbance at the beginning of last month...It was sort of like a visual snow..Static like patters and patches at the centre of my vision and in both eyes..It was particulary bad at night..Id see "firework displays" of light and flashes etc..I still notice it now..Only if I look for it though or if I concentrate..Its one of those weird, benign phenomenas that cant hurt you in any way shape or form :) I think your obessesing is making it seem one hundered times worse...Go for a walk..Play a game...DISTRACTION! I cant stress how importatn it is to distract! I thought I had MS or a brain tumour when I had my visual disturbance..I know how scary it is! Doc said if I had a brain tumour I would have had at least one red flag symptom ( Seizure, Blackout, Loss of motor function etc )...If its bothering you loads then tell your doc to refer you for an MRI or something..or schedule an eye exam...I had both and my brain and eyes are perfectly fine.

Hope this clears up for you soon.

[jinglebells]

Thankyou for the quick respose. I do try and reason with myelf and it works for a few minutes and I am back obsessing, it's a horrible cycle! As for the scan, I have thought about asking for one but my fear is as soon as it's confirmed it's not a brain tumor I will focus on another disease and be demanding tests for that. When I am thinking straight, which seems to be less often than eva before, I know these symptoms are probably anxiety.....

But when I am panicking, like now, I am certain there is more to it than anxiety, it's sooo scary:-(

I have also had the fireworks a few times ......very wierd!

[NeverRelaxed]

I have had a history of migraines with the visual aura so I think it could be related to that..I dont get a headache at all with it though...Stress/Anxiety can cause this visual thing too I think...Visual snow is barely recognised as an ailment but I think its more common than youd imagine..Dont worry, you are fine :)

[choliver]

stress can cause all manor of visual problems i know because i have had most of them i went to the opticians last week convinced that my vision had massively gotten worse since my last visit a mere 6 months ago. turns out there was no change and the only thing that my worries can be out down to is my Ha. the trouble is like most of us i am reassured for a while but then think what if they are wrong.i have found that once i am more calm my symptoms go and that is the trick try to take your mind off of things and you wont notice your problems half as much.its easier said than done i know. good luck choliver.