MRI tomorrow, hope everything is fine (brain tumor)

[hsaadh]

The closer I get to my MRI date the harder it is for me.
For this past week I've been through all the emotional stages of accepting an impending death.
It's really messing with my head right now, only a few more hours to go and I really can't think about anything else (besides my MRI).

Symptoms: Thursday the 31/1 :feeling tired and sleepy all day, took some caffeine pills to get me through class,  woke on friday (1/2) at 4 am with ''the worst headache ever'' couldn't think or do anything for about 2 minutes, took some ibuprofen , headache went away but still feeling this ever present pressure on top of my head that manifests in different ways:
1-sometimes it's on top of my head, like tingling/pressure
2-sometimes it's on my right temple/side of my head like someone is pressing his thumb on my head.

Been to the doctor the same day because I googled and was almost sure I had a tumor/aneurysm/stroke , doctor did a physical and gave me some blood work to do as a follow up of some previous test and sent me home, said I was fine and to come see him if it started again. (the pressure never went, the headaches never reoccured).

Then the worst weekend of my life happened, basically didn't move from my bed, just googling away, over these 2 day period I haven't left a single website abotu brain tumor I didn't visit.
On Monday I got the blood works done, results are all fine except for a slight hypercalcemia for which I'm going to see my endo on friday.
I CONVINCED my doctor to get me an MRI which he eventually agreed to (scheduled tomorrow).

The past week has been very on and off but I'm very depressed, convinced I'm going to die, I neglected class work, I probably gained 5 pounds from all the overeating because of stress but what's worst is that the head pressure is STILL ever persistant.

So basically right now asking for advice/googling symptoms is useless considering I've got an MRI in less than 24 hours but I'm scared of what the possible results will be.
My googling shows that my headache show the symptom of a bt one: is constant and dull, gets worst on one side from time to time, gets worst with bowel movements and exercise.

I'm really scared of a positive diagnosis tomorrow and it's making my head ache ever more

Can anyone help?

PS forgot to add: I took some codeine the day before yesterday to help me go to sleep which landed my in the ER due to an allergic reaction, really didn't help alleviate my fears of getting a positive diagnosis back or my health anxiety in general.

[vardnas]

Can anyone help?

Yes. Stop googling. As you've seen, it doesn't bring about any sense of lasting peace and in fact just drives your anxiety up further. Googling, continual doctor's visits, reassurance seeking—none of these things, in the long run, are going to help you. You've already been to one doctor who said it was nothing. What makes you think going to another one will provide any more relief? Even after your MRI, your health fears will persist UNTIL you get to the root of your underlying factors, those things that are driving your anxiety. Work those out, and you'll start to feel better.

Any you taking any steps to treat your anxiety at all?

[hsaadh]

Can anyone help?

Yes. Stop googling. As you've seen, it doesn't bring about any sense of lasting peace and in fact just drives your anxiety up further. Googling, continual doctor's visits, reassurance seeking—none of these things, in the long run, are going to help you. You've already been to one doctor who said it was nothing. What makes you think going to another one will provide any more relief? Even after your MRI, your health fears will persist UNTIL you get to the root of your underlying factors, those things that are driving your anxiety. Work those out, and you'll start to feel better.

Any you taking any steps to treat your anxiety at all?

Right now I've decided that after my MRI I'm quitting cold turkey.
I'm still going to go to my endo's appointment on friday because the hypercalcemia was confirmed with 2 different blood tests but unless I get major major symptoms I'm not visiting a doctor again.

[Tupac]

A painful headache that causes pain all round your head accompanied by loss of sight, mobility, speech, vomiting, seizures, is something to be worried about. Did you ever have a headache wake you up everyday for at least two to three weeks with vomiting in the morning? There are no pain receptors in your brain so that pain you feel on the top of your head is not from a tumor, because if it was a tumour that was big enough to cause pain by bleeding profusely and thus causing all that extra blood or the tumor itself  to press up against certain things within your head you would have pain all round your head and one or all the other symptoms of brain tumor. If this was a tumor big enough to cause pain you would have other symptoms.

[ejmommy]

I completely understand how you feel. I got my doctor to run an MRI for me back in October because my fears of MS were practically taking over my life. Everything came back fine. If your doctor didn't seem concerned, and you had to talk him into an MRI, I'm sure everything is fine.

I hope you are able to put this behind you after your MRI like you say. I know for me the relief was short lived and I've had to find other ways to work on my anxiety. I still struggle with it.  It seems like that's the pattern for us anxious people. We feel better then its questioning the doctor, questioning the tests, maybe something has changed, etc and it all starts again. Don't let yourself go there!

Good luck tomorrow

[Maisie77]

Lots of deep breathing and positive self talk. Good luck tomorrow, I'm sure all is well.

[mollyfin]

Were you tested for hyperparathyroid?  I ask because that causes hypercalcemia is usually caused by that (in almost all cases it's caused by a genetics, or a BENIGN tumor or enlargement of the gland...cancer is exceedingly rare).  And it's usually asymptomatic and just caught by a random blood test, though you can feel sick with it. 

Head pressure is usually sinus pain or muscle tension.  If you have a sinus infection, it'll show on the MRI.  Worrying about a tumor will probably cause a lot of head pain! 

Good luck with your test. 

[rr2005]

You MUST stop googling! It's the worst thing you can do. You mentioned you took cafffeine pills. Too much caffeine can cause what are called "rebound" headaches afterwards. Also, I've known 2 people with brain tumors and neither one had the symptoms you describe. Hang in there and good luck!

[hsaadh]

So I did the MRi this morning and got the results straight away: no tumor symptom, no anomalies beside some muccus build up which should be noted. Nothing that would explain the headaches which leads me to believe it's my chronic sinusitis or the first headache was caffeine withdrawal and the subsequent ones anxiety.

Anyway, major health scare has been eliminated, cost me 400$ in fees and 10 days of my life...

[annoyingwife21]

That is really good news. I hope you get to feeling better.

[Maisie77]

Great news!

[mollyfin]

Awesome news.  Hopefully you can use this as a turning point in your anxiety.   

[sassparella]

Great news. Now you can relax :)

[hsaadh]

Great news. Now you can relax :)

Thanks everyone I feel so much better, the headache and pressure is still there but I don't care anymore, will solve it with my GP eventually.