Fear of brain tumor

[Mcarva]

Hello,

I've been having on and off pain in the back of my head for over 3 weeks. It is on the right side and sometimes I feel discomfort behind the right eye. The pain is not very sharp or throbbing, but it is there off and on. Sometimes it goes away for almost a whole day, then it returns.

I thought it might be related to sinus but I don't know if you can feel sinus issues in the back of your head.

My neck and upper back muscles are a mess and very tight. Always have been but are much worse now that I am working from home on my computer. With COVID, I don't go to the gym anymore so I am not working out nearly as much as I have been and I have also gained weight.

I am terrified I have a brain tumor. I perform checks daily (I know a lot of things that doctors look for as I have been to many neurologists in my day). I don't have any weakness, dizziness, loss of balance, loss of vision, taste or smell. Face isn't drooping, I am coordinated, etc. The pain doesn't interfere with my daily routines. I haven't taken any pain killers but I sometimes take a decongestant just in case it is sinus related. I just can't imagine what this pain could be coming from other than the dreaded tumor. And I don't know why it is lasting so long.

I have an E-Visit with my PCP on Thursday. Hopefully she can either reassure me or let me know what to do so this pain can go away.

Very scared right now.

 

[gummyrozzo]

honestly am willing to bet money its a tension headache from sitting at the computer. ive had tension headaches from the same neck muscle issues and they are KILLER. can last for ages, too! i would recommend some daily neck stretches, maybe invest in a couple of little weights to work those back muscles too, if you dont want to go to the gym. trust me, if my hours spent at the chiropractor have taught me anything, its that if somethings up w your back, your head gets SLAMMED. its a good sign that you have no other issues, too. hope you can be at ease soon :}

 

[Mcarva]

Another thing that scares me is that it seems to be more noticeable in the morning, often when I am still in bed. Get that nagging off and on pain. I read that brain tumor headaches are worse in the morning and night.

Yesterday, it only hurt a little in the morning and then went away for the whole day without any meds. This morning it started around 6:00 and has been there pretty much all morning. I took a decongestant and it eased up a bit around 11:00. Now it's back, off and on.

Thank you for your reply, I appreciate your reassurance. Fingers crossed.

 

[Tadh163]

I had this exact thing for months. I had a ct scan on my sinuses which came back fine and also and MRI on my brain which was fine. My dr said he still thought it was sinus related so i bought a saline spray and also a medicated spray and i used that for about a week and i havent had it for a while. I also had alot of head pressure. And pain when i coughed laughed or strained in any way.

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[Mcarva]

I had this exact thing for months. I had a ct scan on my sinuses which came back fine and also and MRI on my brain which was fine. My dr said he still thought it was sinus related so i bought a saline spray and also a medicated spray and i used that for about a week and i havent had it for a while. I also had alot of head pressure. And pain when i coughed laughed or strained in any way.

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Hi, that's funny that you say that because I thought it might be sinuses too but it seemed strange the pain was at the back of the head. Is that where your pain was? I describe my pain like twinges. I also suffer from post nasal drip and some nights it is so bad I have to get up and have a cup of hot water. My cats sleep in the bed with us and sometimes I make so much noise clearing my throat they get up and go downstairs lol. I use a humidifier and now have an air purifier but it doesn't help. My right nostril is usually blocked at night so I also bought Vicks. It's just so annoying.

 

[Tadh163]

I had pain all sorts of places. But the pain in the back of the head can also be nerve related. My sister had stabbing pains in the back of her head from a nerve and they eventually just went away. I don't think its anything serious

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[BenAnxiety]

I'm not a doctor, but my brother has been a cancer researcher for the last 10 years and has seen cancer at every stage, I've had many talks with him about cancer as I've had the exact same thing you're experiencing and the one thing he always tells me is that cancer pain does not come and go, cancer does not take a break, it only gets worse and that's what I always tell myself when I get any pain.

 

[Trunchbee]

Hello,

I've been having on and off pain in the back of my head for over 3 weeks. It is on the right side and sometimes I feel discomfort behind the right eye. The pain is not very sharp or throbbing, but it is there off and on. Sometimes it goes away for almost a whole day, then it returns.

I thought it might be related to sinus but I don't know if you can feel sinus issues in the back of your head.

My neck and upper back muscles are a mess and very tight. Always have been but are much worse now that I am working from home on my computer. With COVID, I don't go to the gym anymore so I am not working out nearly as much as I have been and I have also gained weight.

I am terrified I have a brain tumor. I perform checks daily (I know a lot of things that doctors look for as I have been to many neurologists in my day). I don't have any weakness, dizziness, loss of balance, loss of vision, taste or smell. Face isn't drooping, I am coordinated, etc. The pain doesn't interfere with my daily routines. I haven't taken any pain killers but I sometimes take a decongestant just in case it is sinus related. I just can't imagine what this pain could be coming from other than the dreaded tumor. And I don't know why it is lasting so long.

I have an E-Visit with my PCP on Thursday. Hopefully she can either reassure me or let me know what to do so this pain can go away.

Very scared right now.

Word for word I am literally going through the same thing as you. My doctor says it’s stress and that it could be tension. I have lost sleep over this for weeks because I’m not convinced that this is just tension. Please update us when you find out!

 

[Bobnnat]

Brain tumors don’t behave that way at all. Pain is not a symptom until very late, by which time there are very serious and blatantly obvious other symptoms. Head pain in BT is felt when the tumor is large enough to press on the skull, as the brain itself has no pain receptors. I’m sure you’ve read about how people can literally have the brain physically stimulated during surgery, with the patient awake and responsive.

 

[Mcarva]

Brain tumors don’t behave that way at all. Pain is not a symptom until very late, by which time there are very serious and blatantly obvious other symptoms. Head pain in BT is felt when the tumor is large enough to press on the skull, as the brain itself has no pain receptors. I’m sure you’ve read about how people can literally have the brain physically stimulated during surgery, with the patient awake and responsive.

Hi, I kind of felt that way too but you know how it goes. With health anxiety one always thinks the worse and Googling is not helping at all. I should know better as I've been down this road with health anxiety the majority of my life (and I'm 62). I really appreciate the information.

 

[Bobnnat]

Hi, I kind of felt that way too but you know how it goes. With health anxiety one always thinks the worse and Googling is not helping at all. I should know better as I've been down this road with health anxiety the majority of my life (and I'm 62). I really appreciate the information.

I sure do, Mcarva! And I’m in your age range with many years of HA. The only good thing is that I’ve learned a lot given the number and variety of episodes I’ve had over the years.

 

[mollyfin]

I started getting headaches again after a neck injury and now get tension headaches way more often. SO freaking annoying. Willing to bet that's what you have, especially since we're living in a bad time for those of us with HA.

 

[JayJay123]

A bit late responding, but I had a similar situation about 6 or 7 years ago. I was having weird, mild headaches in the back of my head for a few weeks. I went to the doctor, and he said it almost definitely wasn’t a tumor and was most likely sinus or tension headaches. He still ordered a MRI for me, for peace of mind. Got the MRI and a couple days later, they told me everything looked good and normal. Prior to getting the MRI and results from it, I was a wreck at certain times.

 

[FlipperK]

I get a tightness/pain behind my right ear and it will radiate to the back of my head. I had a CT scan and a CT angiogram and all came back okay. I didn’t get the CT scans because of it, but I asked my neuro on a follow up to those scans about my pain and he said it’s muscular. Nothing the scans.

I still get it from time to time. Sometimes it’s all day, once in a while, or not at all.