Can someone answer me this please!

[aidendean]

I'm extremely worried I have a brain tumor as my symptoms are all of a brain tumor ( numbness weakness down one side of body extreme headaches on the other side) and I seem to e getting worse every single day, I've been books in for a MRI of brain and neck but not until the 17th of January, and I'm scared that if I do have a brain tumor that it will kill me by then :(

Can anyone tell me if a brain tumor instantly kills or would I know if I was going to die from it?

[alankay]

No it wouldn't kill you instantly if you had one but don't jump the gun. You may very well not have a tumor at all. Did your doc check your eyes to see if your optic nerve looks OK which would suggest no tumor likely? Alankay.

[Cara1989]

I'm pretty sure u would know but hun anxiety can mimic anything if it can mimic a heart attack or a stroke it can mimic anything I know what ur feeling is very real but its most likely not a brain tumor like 99% if the doctors really thought u had a brain tumor they wouldn't wait I think when u get the test it will ease ur mind tho

[aidendean]

I know that its very unlikely that I do have a brain tumor as I'm only 18, something like 1 in 1250000 but its just these symptoms getting worse and worse, I have seen several doctors and a physician and they've checked my eyes and there is no pressure on the optic nerve but I do also have some visual disturbances :/ It just upsets me that I'm upsetting my family especially over Christmas :(

[1Goofy1]

Panic and anxiety just as Cara1989 said can mimic anything your mind will allow it to mimic. It runs in my family and my cousin was convinced for the longest time that she had a brain tumor due to the dizziness and other symptoms. I was in the other direction. I was and still am on occasion terrified of a heart attack or lung cancer. I get dizzy and off balance at times and short of breath.
Last week I had a one hour massage (first one in a while) and I felt like the world was lifted off my shoulders when I got done. I did how ever feel like someone had beaten me with a rubber hose all over the back and shoulders for a few days due to all of the knots I had built up. My anxiety causes me to tense up a lot and that creates knots in my muscles. LOL
I try to go at least once a month, you should try it.
I also have taken up hobbies in the evening like crocheting, beading, sudoku puzzles anything to keep my mind active and focused so it doesn't wander to all the symptoms I think I feel, no matter how ridiculous is it, it is very real to those of us with this disorder.
Find a friend or family member that has the same anxiety disorder or someone who really understands and compare symptoms, it really helps. My cousin and I get together and talk about it and find that sometimes we end up laughing so hard at how we think. Not that it isn't real feeling to us, it is, but we have found a glass of wine and a good belly laugh about some of the strange things we do or the lengths we go to to avoid something are in a way sort of funny.
It helps to know that you are not alone and we all do and think a lot of the same things.
My therapist told me many, many people who suffer anxiety have the worry of a brain tumor or heart attack or some form of cancer.
Hope something in my rambling might help you calm down. Try to put it out of your head and enjoy the Holiday!
Merry Christmas!

[aidendean]

Thank you very much for your advice, distraction used to be the key and it would take my mind of it completely and the physical symptoms pretty much were nonexistent but now it doesn't do anything for me, these symptoms are now constant and never go away, and I'm finding it hard to walk on my right leg (the side which is effected) and I'm just worried that things are just going to get worse and worse :/ but in your honest opinion to you think this is actually anxiety?? And a merry Christmas to you too!

[1Goofy1]

The only way to know for sure it to see your Dr., it could be a side effect of the anxiety if you have a pinched nerve or knotted muscle. I have had a lot of my numbness and even chest pains go away with massage and chiropractic treatments. I am so tense all the time I end up knotted up and get pinched nerves. But if you are even having trouble walking I would get it checked out, if for nothing else, peace of mind.
I have had symptoms I thought were there go away just by trusting my Dr. I get it in my head sometimes that I have certain symptoms and then I really think I do until my Dr. tells me otherwise. I have had that a lot less since I got out of the habit of googling symptoms. That is the worst thing a person with anxiety can do.
I have been doing the anxiety dance for about 10 years know and I find that at 46 my hormones are starting to have a play in it too. Who can tell a hot flash from an anxiety attack or brain fog from peri menopausal symptoms or bout of panic. LOL
Spoil yourself once in a while, it helps.

[aidendean]

Thank you for your reply :), what sort of damage and what symptoms does a trapped nerve have?

[1Goofy1]

I wouldn't call it damage but it can be quite uncomfortable and even painful, cause numbness and tingling.

[aidendean]

Can it cause it on whole of one side of my body though?

[1Goofy1]

I am not sure. I suppose anything is possible but I would for sure ask a professional Dr. Then you can put your mind at ease also. I know the with anxiety the more I concentrate on something and fear it, the worse it can seam to get. Sometimes I will have a pain or numbness that just taking a klonopin will ease. I have found I an so anxious and stressed that I sit really stiff much of the time without realizing it and get sore knotted muscles.
Even today, I don't know if my headache and sore jaws are sinus or form clenching my teeth in my sleep.
Try to get comfortable and enjoy your family and friends for Christmas. You would be surprised what a good family get together and laughter can do for us.

[aidendean]

I've been to numerous doctors at a and e and recently saw a neurologist/physician and he said he couldn't find anything wrong but has still booked me in for an MRI on the 17th of January, I'm just worried that IF I did have something for serious like a brain tumor or spinal tumor it will have done serious damage by that time! :/

[Audrey00]

The same thing happens to me , i have had a cat scan and an mri done ! They rules out migraines :(

[aidendean]

What did they say it was?

[Audrey00]

They told me i was having a classical migraine and they go hand in hand when people have anxiety ! I only had a bad one so far i went to the er because i could barely see ! The doc told me his wife gets them them so bad she goes blind ! It was kinda scary but it gave me so reasurance

[aidendean]

Atleast you know it's nothing serious, did you get the numbness/weakness/pain only down one side and was it constant?

[Audrey00]

Only when i have the migraine :( its scary but its prob only a migraine , i would talk to your doc and get a mri done :)

[aidendean]

I've got the MRI booked for the 17th but it just seems so far away and I'm getting worse each day :(

[1Goofy1]

It will be here before you know it. My Dr. told me this and it does help.
"Yesterday is over, tomorrow is not here yet, all we have is now. Just enjoy it. What we do today will start to set up tomorrow so just breath in the moment and try to enjoy." He also told me to quit worrying about dying all the time and live like I was dying. That I should be enjoying family and friends and hobbies instead of sulking because what if it was my last day and I wasted it.
That made sense to me I guess.

[aidendean]

But I had the numbness weakness down one side of the body before I started getting headaches :/ I'm just really worried and its always no matter what I do, in the back of my mind :(

[aidendean]

Oh I see, what makes a difference between a migraine and a headache? Because I have this throbbing shooting pain mainly on the left of my head and its constant for days on end :/

[mw0929]

Oh I see, what makes a difference between a migraine and a headache? Because I have this throbbing shooting pain mainly on the left of my head and its constant for days on end :/


A migraine is usually diagnosed if you have one or more of these symptoms: Moderate to severe pain (often described as pounding, throbbing pain) that can affect the whole head, or can shift from one side of the head to the other, Sensitivity to light, noise or odors, blurred vision, Nausea or vomiting, upset stomach, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, Sensations of being very warm or cold, paleness, Fatigue, Dizziness, Fever (rare), Bright flashing dots or lights, blind spots, wavy or jagged lines (aura)

[aidendean]

Thank you for that :), so nothing to do with weakness down one side of body?

[1Goofy1]

This might no make sense to any of you but it helps me immensely. I feel more in control if I am actively trying to do something for my health. I was having lots of stomach problems and still have chest pains daily because of the anxiety. I gave up coffee because of the caffine and through myself into teas and yoga. Tea has amazing health benefits and is fun to learn all the different kinds and the benefits of each one. I now have a cupboard full and after some time I do feel some of the benefits. I do not get sick as often, stomach is much better, chamomile calms me before bed and who knew tea is great to aid in weight loss, cholesterol, blood pressure, heart health, kidney, liver, you name it.
Any way it helped me weather it be physically or just mentally I don't care either way, it helped. :)

[mw0929]

This might no make sense to any of you but it helps me immensely. I feel more in control if I am actively trying to do something for my health. I was having lots of stomach problems and still have chest pains daily because of the anxiety. I gave up coffee because of the caffine and through myself into teas and yoga. Tea has amazing health benefits and is fun to learn all the different kinds and the benefits of each one. I now have a cupboard full and after some time I do feel some of the benefits. I do not get sick as often, stomach is much better, chamomile calms me before bed and who knew tea is great to aid in weight loss, cholesterol, blood pressure, heart health, kidney, liver, you name it.
Any way it helped me weather it be physically or just mentally I don't care either way, it helped. :)

I drink chamomile at night and it does help me relax a little. Thought about replacing my prilosec with ginger tea. I absolutely love yoga. After a session, it's the only thing that can fully relax me. I just wish that feeling would last.