MRI results (A kind of repeat)

[flatterycat]

I posted last week about my MRI results and explained how the consultant wants to do another one to get a better look. Basically I had the MRI for ear issue and instead they found that I have a swollen blood vessel deep in my neck below head. He told me it was not an anyerism because it was not in an artery. I asked him if they had seen any tumours and he said he couldnt see any. He said we need to wait for the 2nd MRI to get a diagnosis. Since then I have been googling (I know!) and can't really find anything. The things I do find don't worry me too much, but I have got myself into a state that I have a tumour still. He said he didn't see any and that the issue was the swollen vessel. He told me it didn't appear to be life threatening (which has sent me into major panic because he used the word 'appear' instead of just 'not'!) I read that the word tumour means swollen and so have now convinced myself that it is cancer related and that he really means they have seen a tumour. I am now waiting for my next appointment to come through. In the mean time I am focussing on all the words he used and really scaring myself. Can anyone help to bring back to some sort of normal thinking?
Sarah

[Katie6]

Hello, i have not been in your situation, but i would like to offer my advice. MRI's are so detailed and see such sensitive detail, if you had a tumour of some sort this WOULD have been seen on the MRI and the doctor would not withold this from you, try not to focus on they way the doctor worded his sentence, its the way doctors speak, and if i were you i would see this everything is fine. If everybody including healthy people had MRI scans done lots of people would show up with things that may appear abnormal, but are actually harmless. The fact that they are following it up means they are doing their job properly, it would be negligant for them to follow things up. If your doc was really concerned, they would have you back straight away x:hugs:

[AllInMyHead]

Hi there, try not to worry.

Firstly, although tumour might mean swollen, swollen DOES NOT mean tumour. That would be like saying lorry means vehicle so vehicle must mean lorry, which clearly isn't the case. Also he said he COULDN'T see any tumours. So there are no tumours.

When he said it 'didn't appear to be life threatening', that's just doctor speak. To a doctor, the opposite of 'appearing to be life threatening' is 'not appearing to be life threatening'. A normal person would say 'it's not life threatening'. If it was potentially life threatening, he would have had to have said something, and he would no doubt have had you in hospital there and then, and done the follow up MRI straight away.

x

[Hazel B]

I have had 2 MRIs recently. After the first one, I was told I had a lesion on my liver. I went loony-tunes trying to find out what that would mean and expected the worst. It contributed to anxiety that I had.

Thinking back, the medical people trying to help me all used careful words and never told me I might die of cancer or liver failure, it was me exaggerating it all in my head. You need to try very hard to be rational and see all the words you've been told add up to nothing life-threatening and undergo more of a thorough investigation into what may be there. Stay off Dr Google if you can as well, it always makes it worse.

Please know that if the docs thought you had anything life-threatening, you would be called into the hospital like a shot. The NHS can be slow to diagnose, but they do not mess about when they have a serious condition to deal with and do not make people wait for appointments when it's urgent.

Please take it from me that your anxiety is fooling your rational brain and panic has set in too much. You may not see this today but you will once you've had an all-clear.

[flatterycat]

Not sure if anyone can help me again. Since I ateted this post I have been anxiously waiting the appointment for the 2nd scan. It has been over 2 weeks now and when I spoke to consultant he told me I would probably get it fairly soon. Anyway I rang his secretary today and found out that he hasn't even out in the request for the 2nd scan. My anxiety has got bad again now and I am back to thinking so many terrible things.it seems that he may have forgotten to request it and now I am scared that whatever the problem is will be getting worse. His secretary said she would speak to him but that he is on holiday until next Tues. Any reassurance greatly received.
Sarah