It's me again. I forgot to mention in my
previous post that i've been reading a lot
about ct scans on the internet and most
people say that they are useless in
detecting brain tumors. If that's true
then why do drs. Still use them? Am I
maybe reading old stuff about the 4, 6 and
8 slice scanners? Like I said, the one
they used on me is brand new, 16 slice,
which produces almost a thousand images.
How can something that detailed miss a
tumor? I just don't get that at all.
Melanie
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Jamesab
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Jul 2005 Posts: 101 Location: UK
Posted: 03-02-06 05:06am
That is not true - ct scans will detect
brain tumours... These things are serious
and are not easily missed by doctors or
scans. A brain tumour is a mass that puts
pressure on the surrounding tissue...
That is what a ct scan is... A scan of
brain tissue. Doctors also usually
perform neurlogical examinations where the
brains functions are tested. This
together with a ct scan will very rarely
miss a brain tumour.
James
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Mellie310
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 03-02-06 13:30pm
Hi james!!!
Thank you for your reply. You don't know
how much better you've made me feel.
There's something wrong with me, anxiety,
whatever, that I just can't seem to shake
this fear. I do have a very severe sinus
infection that's even making my ear hurt.
I am hoping a lot of my worrying is
anxiety, stress and depression. I had
the scan over a month ago and so far have
not developed any new symptoms. I don't
know whether or not I mentioned it in my
previous post, but I did have a complete
neurological workup. Now your reply has
made me feel so much better. Thank you
and god bless you. God works through
other people you know.
In his love,
melanie
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scrdat20
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 90
Posted: 03-02-06 14:14pm
Hi melanie:
i just have a question for you. Are you
really worried about having a brain
tumor?...Almost to the point that you
really think that you have one? That is
what I am going through now for some
reason... Like you, I just feel like
there is something wrong with me. I have
been having pretty bad headaches every day
for about a month now and I have never had
headaches before. I am a 20 year old
female in great health otherwise. I
think I have been suffering from anxiety
for a couple of months now. I did have
an mri just this monday and I am anxiously
waiting for the results. I don't really
have any other symptoms of a neurological
problem other than that, but for some
reason I am terrified I have a brain
tumor. I was just wandering if you are
experiencing this too. Thanks so much.
:)
~mandi
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Mellie310
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 03-02-06 18:16pm
Hi mandi,
yes, i'm obsessed with it. I've been
dealing with way too much stress. This
all started out in my neck, and shoulders
extending down into mid back. After
about a week of that, it went up into the
back of my head. Across it. Not pain
really, just kind of a tight feeling, I
didn't even take aspirin for it. I did
have a bad sinus infection w/ a bad sinus
headache, and that was found on the ct
scan. Said that the sinus cavity was
completely full of infection. My ear
even hurts. People with anxiety
disorders always think they have brain
tumors if they have persistent headaches.
I don't know why we do it, but we do.
I've had so many people tell me to believe
in that machine and that radiologist, who
they claim is very, very good and the
machine is a brand new 16 slice scanner, I
even went to the hospital and got the
report. No other neurological symptoms
except some slight nausea. But I have a
very bad stomach anyway, so that could be
caused by many things. But nobody can
convince me that I don't have a tumor.
And i'm sick of feeling like this.
Living in constant terror, dwelling on it,
which only exacerbates everything, makes
it worse. I've noticed that when I watch
a movie, or am laughing with my husband or
a friend, etc. That I have no headache at
all, except for the sinus one. And it
didn't help me a bit to get on the
internet and do all those searches that I
did, and finding out that ct scans were
worthless in detecting brain tumors. I
can't imagine that if they are, then why
do neurologists and doctors still use them
on the brain looking for tumors. So yes,
i'm terrified, even though the scan said
there were no masses nor evidence of one.
Let me know how your mri comes out.
I'll bet you're just fine. Anxiety is
one big cause of headache, if not the
biggest. That and stomach disorders.
It's easy for me to tell you that I think
you're okay, but during the past 4 years,
due to way too much stress, i've become
ms. Doom and gloom, so I think everybody
else that has recurring headaches are
fine, but i'm not. And i've also heard
that primary brain tumors are very rare,
can't remember what the percentage is, but
i've convinced myself that i'm in the
percentage that gets them. Oh my,
whatever will convince me that I don't?
Good luck and let me know, okay? How
long do you have to wait? The city i'm
in, if you get a ct scan or an mri, you
find out that very day. I would not like
being kept in limbo.
All the best,
melanie
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scrdat20
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 90
Posted: 03-02-06 18:38pm
Hi melanie:
it makes me feel so much better that there
is someone else out there like me. I
have actually calmed down a bit over the
last week or so. That internet is
terrible isn't it! I can't believe how
much worse it has made my anxiety!!
Actually, I blame most of my anxiety on
it. I have really tried to make myself
not look stuff up, it has helped a lot.
Just when I am sitting here at work on my
computer and I have the internet so
readily at hand that I just couldn't help
it. Before I knew I had anxiety I would
sit here and look up some wierd things I
was having, all the while making my
anxiety worse. I would read some article
about a brain tumor,etc. And get all
worked up. I'm like you, as long as my
mind is off of it I am fine. When I was
most worried about having a tumor, I was
getting terrible headaches every day...
Now that I am a little more relaxed and
not so stressed... Waalahhh.. No more
headaches. I just found myself worrying
so much about whether I was going to have
a seizure ( a bad sign of a brain tumor)
anxiety is a wierd thing..... But now
that I have figured out that I suffer from
it.... I have been successful at
improving. I think I just need this mri
to stop sorrying....I hope I believe the
results. I bet you will be fine too...
Just know that you are not alone... Try
your absolute hardest to trust the
doctors... I am going to try too... I
have found that if I have something to
keep me busy it is way better. Spend
lots of quality fun time with your
husband... That is number one favorite
thing. I just had to tell myself that I
am not going to look back on my life in 50
years and see all that time and energy I
spent worrying wasted. It is going to
take me alittle while to get through
this.... But I am trying very hard.
Good luck to you as well... Keep me
posted. It helps so much for me to be
able to talk to someone like you!! :)
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Mellie310
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 03-03-06 01:13am
Mandi, you sound so much like me I wonder
if we aren't twins separated at birth
:wink: i've been sitting around waiting
on the seizure too. It's been over a
month since I had the scan, and I haven't
had any new symptoms and my Dr. Told me
when I had it, that if I was still
convinced that I had a tumor, to wait a
month, and get another one done. You
told me that you did a lot of searching on
the internet, just like I do. There are
stories about brain tumor survivors that
will scare you to death. I even found
one website that listed these survivors
symptoms. Just everyday stuff like,
earache, frequent urination, tingling in
the pinky finger, stuff that people get
all the time and amounts to nothing. I
just finally chalked it up to they aren't
telling their whole story. I don't do
searches about brain tumors anymore. And
today was a good day, and i'm beginning to
wonder whether or not the weird feeling in
the back of my head has anything to do
with this massive sinus infection. Both
of my ears ache, I can't breathe through
my nose, not at all. If somebody
kidnapped me and taped my mouth, i'd
suffocate, literally because I can't
breathe through my nose!!!!!! The pain
is not severe, (well, in the sinus area it
has been), and still......I worry. Have
you ever had a panic attack? Maybe you
have an anxiety disorder and don't know
it. I wish I knew more about you, maybe
I could help you more, be more reassuring.
Do not be surprised if you doubt the
mri, i'm having all kinds of doubts about
the cat scan. Last night, a friend of
mine was trying to reassure me, and she is
a breast cancer survivor, so when they
check her to make sure her cancer hasn't
returned anywhere in her body, they run a
cat scan on her. She told me that they
found a small cyst in the scan and sent
her on for an mri. But the cat scan
found it, just wasn't sure what it was.
And she said it wasn't very big either.
The cyst was in her sinus area, she had
surgery and they removed it, so she's a
big believer in them. If you want, i'll
give you my e-mail address, and maybe we
can help each other. I'm really
interested in knowing whether or not you
have any anxiety disorders or not, if you
do, I can help you as i've dealt with that
for years now. My e-mail address is olson.
Melanie@cox.Net feel free to e-mail
me anytime. I'll keep you in my prayers.
We could probably talk better e-mailing
each other anyway. Let me know about
your mri and in the meantime, if you need
to talk, or you get scared, let me know,
i'm here for you.
In his love,
melanie
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Mellie310
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 03-03-06 01:17am
Mandi, I don't know why, but when I type
on this forum, capital letters will be
lower case and lower case will be upper
case. My address is olson.
Melanie@cox.Net, all lower case.
Just thought i'd let you know in case you
ever need or want to use it.
