Brain tumour fear

[virgo78]

I am new to this. Apologies for the length of this thread...
I have always been an anxious person with a stressful lifestyle. People would describe me as a born worrier. The past couple of years have presented me with more than a few worries and stresses; money problems, marriage difficulties and work worries.

Within recent months, I have become totally convinced I am going to be diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. I have been suffering from chronic dizziness and brain fog. It is not vertigo or a spinning sensation, but I feel off balance and lightheaded all the time. I feel as though I'm existing in a dream-like state as if whats happening around me isn't quite real. This has been going on for 5 months.

Sometimes the dizziness has been accompanied by severe sinus pressure, ear popping and a creeping sensation over my cheeks and chin. Recently i have been experiencing some nausea and when I turn my head quickly I can occasionally see floaters on my eyes. My neck feels very stiff and when I lie in bed at night my muscles seem to twitch constantly. I am terrified that these are tumour symptoms

I have been to my gp who feels that it is definitely anxiety as these symptoms first began in November a few days after I was informed of a cervical cancer scare when I was sent to hospital for a biopsy of my cervix. (At that point I became convinced that I would be diagnosed with cancer and die. Everything turned out fine). She has agreed to refer me for CT scan and MRI to rule out something sinister but going for this terrifies me even more. I can't face what I feel is the inevitable; a brain tumour diagnosis. I have had blood tests, co-ordination tests and been to A&E; they've all found nothing. Could this be anxiety-related?


I am finding it harder and harder to cope with everyday life. I am so afraid that I am going to die and leave my children alone. I struggle through work each day, bursting into tears the minute I get into my car at the end of the day. I cry all the time. I sometimes sit up all night in my kids' bedrooms watching them sleep and weeping because I think I don't have long left with them.

I don't know what to do anymore.

[tinycritter]

Hi virgo, it absolutely sounds like anxiety to me. I'm so sorry you're having such an awful time, I really feel for you. I had all of the symptoms you describe at one time, when I first began to suffer with anxiety and depression. Your doctor is organising the MRI etc to put your mind at ease - I know it's frightening but you will be OK. Please try to relax (I know it's difficult but you can do it), and trust your doc.

[tasia]

Hi there Virgo,
All of the symptoms you described I too have had them at some point, and I totally agree with tinycritter that its all anxiety related. The dream like feeling that you get too sounds like depersonalisation something that I too suffer with...Im glad you are seeing your doctor as this will put your mind at ease..having all these weird sensations are scary especially the depersonalisation but many people with anxiety problems suffer with these exact same problems....good luck and hope this helps you.

[rachel marie]

i have all the same as you every symtom and also been getting shooting pains always right top side of my head, my doc said it was anxiety but i dident believe her so i took myself to the hospital a&e beacuse the pains got worse and they gave me a brain ct scan straight away and it came back normal, i even accused the doc that he must not of checked it right but he said it was checked by not only him but one of the top doctors that deal with brain scans.
the pain comes and goes i have convinced myself it is not health anxiety. i want a mri scan but docters keep telling me its HA.
is ct scan just as good?

[crazyhayz]

omg. reading your post shocked me. its exactly what ive been through these last few weeks. i had the EXACT same symptoms. i went to A&E and demanded a CT Scan be booked in asap as i fed up of being told it was all anxiety. Had CT Scan 2 days late, and it proved there was NOTHING wrong with me. Ive also had 5 ECG's/Eyes looked at inside and behind in Eye casualty/Audiogram on my Ears (due to the popping, ringing, pressure i kept getting in them). EVERYTHING was fine. And i honestly swear to you, i had EVERY single symptom you wrote, plus more!!

Floaters in eyes, twitching, lightheadedness CONSTANTLY that never went, brain fog, numbness in face, and in fingers, sharp shooting pains in head, headaches, sickness, nausea, losing feeling in parts of my scalp, weak left arm, feeling like im in a dreamworld CONSTANTLY. Ive since foun d out this is called depersonalization/derealization, i had both bADLY. EVERYTHING i had, and still continue to have, is all STRESS AND ANXIETY. Please try not to worry. You'd know if you had a brain tumour. The main symptom for them is severe headaches and double vision. Your lucky your getting both a CT and a MRI too. But i know for a fact that you havent got a tumour. Coz every single thing you said, i have had. Im on 20mg oif Citalapram now and they r working slowly, get some meds and get your doc to refer you to your local Mental Health Team for some CBT. Mine starts next week, i cant wait. Good luck and let us know how scan goes xxxx

[madeuprolemodel]

Reading all of your responses have made me feel a little bit better about my situation..

i have been having a really bad couple of months convincing myself i have a brain tumour or something seriously wrong with me..
i went to the doctors there she preformed a few tests on my reactions and strength and checked my eyes and movement etc etc... she said everything was perfect and there was no symptoms of me having a brain tumour... at first i was happier than anything.. she said it was due to anxiety but as soon as i came out of the doctors..

my symptoms have been none stop i am still sceptical and think that she isnt trained to give me a proper assessment even tho my partner is telling me to not worry as if there was something wrong she would spot it straight away!


but still.... my head is all light and my neck is stick.. pain/pressure in certain parts of my head..dizzy and feel like im not really all with it...


i just feel like im going to die.

I really hope this doesn't last forever.

[crazyhayz]

u are not going to die. and it certainly wont last forever. yep i had the exact same thing,and even have cloudy vision and pain and pressure and burning in my head AS IM TYPING NOW, and i swear to you it IS ANXIETY. You wouldnt blv the amount of painful scary and constant PHYSICAL, bodily symptoms Anxiety gives you. Please dont worry.You really dont have a brain tumour. You would soooooo know if u did!! Your grip, eye co-ordination are all fine, which are two HUGE things that are affected if u had a brain tumour. Also having fits in another big one. And u havent had one of them have u? The fact that u are sat down concentrating and managing to type these messages should tell u something, and i have been there and i JUST LIKE YOU thought i had a brain tumour or brain heamorrage or was having a stroke etc etc etc. You are experiencing clear signs of health anxiety, which is what is causing all of your bodily symptoms... I know its hard to blv coz i even struggle to accept i havent got sumin wrong with my heart/brain (even though ive had 5 NORMAL ECG'S!! AND A PERFECT BRAIN SCAN) lol. so i completely understand hun.

Just remember, the MORE you worry, the more symptoms you will get. Its a horrible fact of anxiety.. Good luck x

[virgo78]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to post a reply to try to reassure me. I am definitely going to try to focus on the fact that my brain is still functioning normally, A & E didn't find anything wrong and I had a recent eye test which didn't show up anything untoward.
I am going to see my doctor and ask about CBT as I think this may help me. I feel very positive now but fear that this won't last. Does anyone else find that periods of reassurance are often short-lived? How can I convince myself that I don't have a brain tumour permanently?
Its so comforting to know that I am not alone in this. Thank you everyone.

[crazyhayz]

A CT scan will convince you you havent got a brain tumour. But, like me, you'll soon find something else 'wrong with you' and start worrying about that. Its all part of health anxiety unfortunately, and i suggest two things: CBT and Anxiety medication to help you get better. But deffo get that CT done, get your bloods done too. Doc will sort that out. Good luck x

[jodiehind]

I am suffering the same at the moment, i have sinus trouble anyway and now not sure what is anxiety and what is sinus trouble. Feel like a contant pressure behind my nose, off balance, dizziness, spaced out and just feel out of it! I start to worry, so far this week I have thought Brain Tumor, Sinus Cancer, Pituitory cancer! I feel like I am going mad! Have just started a new job which I love and some days I don't feel as though I can function properly. I wish I could switch off my constant questioning of every single sympton I feel on a daily basis.

At an ENT consultant at the end of April and I hope he does a CT scan! I just need to know!

:ohmy:

[virgo78]

I can't help but wonder though, I have been like this for 6 months!! Can symptoms of anxiety last that long? Also I have been in anxious situations before, not about my health, but never had such physical symptoms.

Could my cervical cancer scare have triggered some kind of physical HA response? If I had a brain tumour would blood test / eye test have flagged up something? If not, wouldn't I have neuro symptoms? AAAAGH! Apologies.

[NeverRelaxed]

I have the same worries at the moment, I had a MRI scan of my brain in December..Surely nothing major could have changed in such short time.

[Shanny]

OMG-you've defined me in a nut shell, I have the same thing going on, constant head pressure, dizziness, facial pain, headaches...and I think "Oh my Gosh is this a tumour?" I get my results of my CT Scan that they did on my sinuses and head....today, and I am sooooo scared, I hate this feeling of anxiety. The ENT said that he thought is was Sinusistis.....It's hard to be in a constant state of worry :(