RecurringThoughts
11-19-2013, 05:53 PM
...But I appreciate all of your help. You all are awesome.
Has anyone learned from their doctors whether the "brain tumor" headaches that supposedly coincide with or follow bending, sneezing, or coughing are severe and unmistakable? Or can they be super minor and almost imperceptible?
I have been feeling really weird for almost a month now since my last migraine headache, and I am paranoid about having a brain tumor. I have seen my doctor recently and described my symptoms to him: a migraine headache one night followed by a few days of waking up in the mornings with a headache, and then several more days with no morning headache, but occasional dull aches in my right hemisphere that come and go all day. I also mentioned being fatigued and having a hard time getting out of bed in the mornings. He asked me a bunch of questions, such as whether or not I get headaches when I bend over, whether my neck hurts when I twist it certain ways, or if I experience photophobia with my migraines, etc. I had a hard time keeping up with all of the questions, and I worry about whether or not I accurately represented my symptoms. I said that I don't get a headache when I bend over, but now I think that maybe sometimes I do feel a little something unusual in my noggin -- like a little change in pressure or a little dull ache here and there, but nothing extreme. Also, sometimes the right side of my head aches a little bit when I lay down, but I am not really sure if it is something of consequence, or just psychosomatic. I guess now I am constantly searching for something weird with my head. I assess whether or not my head hurts during or after bending, sneezing, and coughing and I wake up in the middle of the night worrying that I might have a headache.
Anyway, my doctor told me everything I described to him during my visit fits the diagnosis of migraine, but it is hard for me to accept that I would have lingering feelings of crappy-ness and headache two weeks after a migraine. I told him that I had a MRI without contrast done in August as part of a research study, and he said that he would like to see that to rule out brain-structure changes.
The thing is, I have already been told by the research director that my MRI turned out normal, and I am sure my doctor will come to the same conclusion when he sees my images. However, I also know that MRI without contrast can miss a lot of brain abnormalities that an MRI with contrast will pick-up. I really want to request another MRI with contrast, but I am pretty sure my doctor won't think it's necessary. I'm worried about not getting the treatment I need soon enough, if I do have a brain tumor, because I didn't correctly convey what I am feeling.
I have also noticed that typing seems clumsier to me, and that I have a really hard time following fast movement in video games (not that I play them often, but it is a weird change in cognitive ability). Are these real symptoms of something changing in my neurology, or just imagined issues? Am I blowing things out of proportion, or should I try and be more forward with my doctor about my continuing concerns about my brain? It's only been two weeks since I've started noticing these things, and today I don't have a headache at all, but I am super worried anyway :C.
Has anyone learned from their doctors whether the "brain tumor" headaches that supposedly coincide with or follow bending, sneezing, or coughing are severe and unmistakable? Or can they be super minor and almost imperceptible?
I have been feeling really weird for almost a month now since my last migraine headache, and I am paranoid about having a brain tumor. I have seen my doctor recently and described my symptoms to him: a migraine headache one night followed by a few days of waking up in the mornings with a headache, and then several more days with no morning headache, but occasional dull aches in my right hemisphere that come and go all day. I also mentioned being fatigued and having a hard time getting out of bed in the mornings. He asked me a bunch of questions, such as whether or not I get headaches when I bend over, whether my neck hurts when I twist it certain ways, or if I experience photophobia with my migraines, etc. I had a hard time keeping up with all of the questions, and I worry about whether or not I accurately represented my symptoms. I said that I don't get a headache when I bend over, but now I think that maybe sometimes I do feel a little something unusual in my noggin -- like a little change in pressure or a little dull ache here and there, but nothing extreme. Also, sometimes the right side of my head aches a little bit when I lay down, but I am not really sure if it is something of consequence, or just psychosomatic. I guess now I am constantly searching for something weird with my head. I assess whether or not my head hurts during or after bending, sneezing, and coughing and I wake up in the middle of the night worrying that I might have a headache.
Anyway, my doctor told me everything I described to him during my visit fits the diagnosis of migraine, but it is hard for me to accept that I would have lingering feelings of crappy-ness and headache two weeks after a migraine. I told him that I had a MRI without contrast done in August as part of a research study, and he said that he would like to see that to rule out brain-structure changes.
The thing is, I have already been told by the research director that my MRI turned out normal, and I am sure my doctor will come to the same conclusion when he sees my images. However, I also know that MRI without contrast can miss a lot of brain abnormalities that an MRI with contrast will pick-up. I really want to request another MRI with contrast, but I am pretty sure my doctor won't think it's necessary. I'm worried about not getting the treatment I need soon enough, if I do have a brain tumor, because I didn't correctly convey what I am feeling.
I have also noticed that typing seems clumsier to me, and that I have a really hard time following fast movement in video games (not that I play them often, but it is a weird change in cognitive ability). Are these real symptoms of something changing in my neurology, or just imagined issues? Am I blowing things out of proportion, or should I try and be more forward with my doctor about my continuing concerns about my brain? It's only been two weeks since I've started noticing these things, and today I don't have a headache at all, but I am super worried anyway :C.