Brain Tumour Worry and Anxiety! Help wanted
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hello all,
After a good little while being health anxiety free I'm in a bad health anxiety spiral at the moment. I'm hoping by putting this down I'll get others who are in the same boat and people can say nothing is seriously wrong with me!
I‘m a 31 year old male, slightly overweight but generally ok (I hop
On 29th Feb 2029 I was sick (throwing up) on a Saturday evening - through the nose and mouth. This was after a day drinking and eating fatty food. The next day I was fine until late afternoon when I started to get a tension/pressure headache across my temples. I didn't worry too much and thought it would go by the next day. I've had this type of headache before, brain tumour worries before (about 6 years ago) and I got through it. Next day I woke up and it hadn't gone. It was a dull band type feeling, mainly on my temples and front of face around nose and eye sockets.
This hasn't gone at all over these past 4 weeks - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A nose feels a little stuffy but I've had a sinus infection before and it doesn't feel 100% like that. Last few days I've started to worry about my vision - blury/unfocused eyes when looking at something for a period of time, especially at a TV or PC, and it clears when a blink. I also have a slight sensitivity to bright light like the sun and eyes feel sore.
I have also started to get a strange feeling in the right side of my face and body - not numb but like a weird tingle type feeling, mainly between my ear and jaw (cheek area). My ears have started to have the odd sharp pain. Headaches have been consistent with the odd pain or blocked feeling. I can exercise as normal, I don't have any balance etc issues or speech. The headache does seem to be worse in the morning (more pressure) when I wake up buy ok when laying down. I do feel more pressure, especially above the nose and around it when bending over. I've also had some muscle twitching which I've had before with MND/ALS fears.
I've been (obviously) googling a lot, trying to get any answer that I'm ok. Due to the lockdown I'm unable to see a GP or get my vision tested (though I did have it tested about a month ago and nothing major came up - they took photo of eye and did pressure test a well).
Is this anything to be seriously concerned about? My main worry is Brain tumour which makes me very anxious so anything that helps put my mind to rest on that front (why it isn’t) would be great. I keep trying to think I wouldn’t get all of these symptoms so quickly and at the same time.
Anyone in the same boat or has had this type of thing before that can give me some advice/support that will help? Thanks as always forum! You've really helped me in the past.
0 likes, 2 replies
masha17 ldharv
Posted
I'm sorry that you're in pain.
I understand why you would think that there is a possibility that you may have a brain tumor. The symptoms you mention correspond to what could be caused by an increased intracranial pressure.
BUT
They also correspond to a wide variety of other issues, one of which you are already familiar with - sinusitis. They come in all shapes and sizes and just because you had it and know certain symptoms and the progress of illness, it doesn't mean that this time it won't present itself differently. I have problems with sinuses and they present themselves differently.
Have you checked regularly your blood pressure? Headaches can come both from the low and the high blood pressure, including the so called "yo-yo" pressure, where it goes up and down and back to normal and is notoriously difficult to diagnose and monitor.
When my blood pressure is low (due to Hashimoto's caused hypothyroidism when I need to up my dose of hormone replacement therapy) I have headaches for days and they do not react to any normal OTC pain relievers. I also have from time to time tension headaches, when my blood pressure is high. Both of them are accompanied by nausea, sometimes even vomiting, sometimes even by movement sickness, problems with eye sight., I remember pain and nausea getting stronger by simple eye movements, sensitivity to light.. you name it.
I have also experienced headaches caused by neck problems. And they too can last for days and react poorly to pain medication (paracetamol, ibuprofen). They are really nasty and the problem is that there is no neck pain that would help me identify them sooner. There's a position that can trigger this type of headaches along with nausea and vomiting - in yoga it's fish pose and in everyday life it's lying down on the dentists' chair when your head is really low.
And, don't forget teeth problems. If you haven't experienced the headaches they can cause, you are lucky. They too do not react to normal pain meds and can involve nerves and last for days.
Also, there's food (or chemicals) intolerance issue.
When we moved to EU, we started eating a lot more processed food, simply because it was cheaper. Bread, where we come from was less processed, whereas here they actually ADD gluten to keep it "fresh" longer. We ate a lot of pasta... and at some point developed gluten intolerance. My husband had zero problems with hi GI tract, but had awful headaches. Now, we can eat wheat, BUT in moderation and not in highly processed foods.
I also get headaches from sulfurous foods like ognions, broccoli...
So... If i were you I'd clean up my diet, start doing exercises (yoga, pilates...), breathing exercises as well. Losing weight will certainly help your overall well-being and cleaning up your diet will help your body detox.
Hang in there and I hipe that you'll be able to see your doctor soon.
hypercat ldharv
Posted
Hi you thought you had a brain tumour before and it wasn't, so that should reassure you a bit. Brains tumours are thankfully rare and 2 of the symptoms are very severe headaches which don't go, and getting words muddled up a lot.