Really scared I have a brain tumour

Posted , 5 users are following.

I'm currently 19 and for the last 4 years I have been experiencing really painful headaches that often reside in my right temple but it spreads everywhere, particularly the back of my eyes. Parts of my head are sometimes really painful to touch. The headache sometimes gets worse when I bend down. My jaw often freezes up too and I find it hard to speak, almost like a mini stroke. My legs and arms often feel dead too, both sides but mainly my left.Sometimes I have moments of dejavu but i've had this for longer than the headaches so I don't know it it's relevant.  Recent symptons include chest pains and pins and needles whenever I sit down for a prolonged period of time. I went to A and E  in 2011 when I was 15 and was referred to a neurologist. I was given an EEG and an MRI scan and was given the all clear. I also went for another (2 hour long) MRI scan for a voluntary medical study but don't know the results. I presume they would have said something but I'm not sure. These headaches are intermittent and come and go. 

They came again 3 months ago but have really increased in severity, with these new symptons manifesting. I went to A and E and they gave me an eye test twice and said nothing was wrong. They diagnosed me with a "hemiphlegic migraine" which runs on my mom's side. I asked for an MRI but they said no as I had had two in the past years which was enough and it was very unlikely a tumour had appeared since.

But on Tuesday (22nd December) I went to see my GP for an initial appointment since I had moved area. I told them about my headaches and she recieved a letter from A and E. She gave me the eye test and the all clear.But told me to come back when they reopen on the 4th to see how i was getting on. She insisted that I didn't need an MRI but yesterday on Christmas eve of all days I got a call saying that she had arranged one for me but a non urgent one. I have it this monday and I am nervous beyond belief which really isn't helping my headaches. I am so anxious that when the MRI results come back that they'll say I have a tumour. I have nightmares often about this and every day I always see a reference about a brain tumour, on the tv, news, internet, etc which for me only confirms that I have one and will die. I've always grown a lot more paranoid and I think people are staring at me because I must have a massive lump or something. 

Is it a tumour or just anxiety?

Thanks in advance

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • Posted

    Anxiety is playing a lot here. The more anxious you,are the worse the headaches.

    Have they done a peak flow test?

    Are you asthmatic?

    Is there any event that could have set off,any anxiety?

    Have you any idea,who,authorized the 2hr MRI Scans?

    Contact them and,request,a copy of their findings.

    It's tour body, your health

    If it was a tumour they are bound by law,to tell.you.. And they,are obliged to medicate you, so try not to worry until you get the latest MRI Scan

    You could have,a,trapped nerve in your back or damaged discs.

    Hope this helps,xx

    • Posted

      Hmm not sure. They took my tempature and gave me something to breathe into.

      I'm not asthmatic.

      I moved home and started university in september

      It was for a continent wide study about teenagers called IMAGEN. They told me that they couldn't give me a copy because it's completely annomyous. But i wonder if anything came up the person overseeing would say something.

      I'm scared I do have one.

       

  • Posted

    I was concerned about having a tumour, until I had a stroke. I was having dizzy spells, headaches and kept falling over etc...  My stroke consultant asked me what I was  worried about. When I told him I thought I had a tumour he showed me the MRI and explained, in detail, what it showed. Or,more to the point, what it didn't show. The MRI would enable the doctors to spot any abnormality very easily. The stroke had clear evidence of damage.

    If you have a tumour they will spot it, with just one MRI. 

    Best wishes 

    Pauline

    • Posted

      I had an EEG and an MRI in 2011 and I had a recent MRI last October 2014 and all apparently were normal.But since September the headaches have come back with greater intensity, and with sharper other symptoms sad

      I fear the worsr

  • Posted

    Right, I don't mean to scare you, but there is a possibility you could have epilepsy. You can have something called a Simple Partial seizure. The reason I think this is because I have epilepsy, and one of my auras is Deja Vu. Sometimes after a seizure I get tired/dizzy and get a painful headache.

    Don't worry too much about it though, it's very treatable. Try and get an appointment with a neurologist and explain the episodes, Deja vu and headaches. I've had MRIs and EEGs that have come up clear and still have been diagnosed, because I still have seizures. The tests don't always show seizure activity.

    • Posted

      Would that also explain the really painful headaches and the pins and needles>

      I have an MRI this monday which is what I really dread. I really fear the worst

  • Posted

    What makes me even more anxious is that on Tuesday my GP told me that my symptoms were likely not "sinister", she cited how my weaknesses on both side of the body discounted it, the previous examinations and me passing the eye test, hence I did not need an MRI. Yet she still booked a scan for me. I fear she's lying to me sad
  • Posted

    I'm also scared because I keep on hearing about brain tumours in the news, media, television and see posters about cancer everywhere. I feel it's a sign
  • Posted

    Since monday, actually like 10 minutes before my scan i started to develop a really bad neck ache on my left side and it reached my right side too eventually.

    One thing that really scared me was how after the scan the technician asked if" everything was alright darling?" It's as if she knows something was wrong with my scan, if there was would she have to tell me? I get my results on monday but if it's really bad they'll tell me sooner so I'm working on the presumption no news is good news but i couldn;t bear the pain so i went to A and E they gave me an eye test and pain killers and tried to reassure me that it most likely wasn't a tumour and that I should wait until I get the results.

    I've noticed I get more headaches in the morning too which usually wasn't the case.

    I'm so scared it is fatal! What should i do? Please

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