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Original poster

To want a head scan for headaches and dizziness

84 replies

DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 18:38

Hi everyone. I’ve had constant pressure headaches and dizziness for 2 weeks now. They started quite strong and now they’ve died down but I still have residual dizziness, nausea, eye pain, headache and brain fog.

It’s not severe now but it is lingering and I’ve tried ruling out other issues. Had my eyes examined at Specsavers and they said my prescription is pretty much the same and they couldn’t see any other problems. Had my ears looked at a pharmacy and they couldn’t see anything that would cause my symptoms. They gave me Sudafed and migraine tablets for the nausea. I don’t feel able to drive now.

I‘m hesitating to go to the GP because I feel I’m always there. Beginning of this year I was seen for fatigue and was prescribed iron tablets which have helped. Then recently I was seen as I thought about starting antidepressants (haven’t yet but I likely will). Now I’m calling about this … I feel like they’re going to give me a label of hypochondriac or Münchausen syndrome lol. But I do feel off and it’s worrying me a little, I’ve tried to rule everything else out, as well as take medications, get more rest/sleep, light exercise, drink water etc.

I want a CT or MRI to rule out that there’s something seriously wrong. I don’t want to be brushed off but I don’t feel serious enough to request a scan. I keep gaslighting myself and telling myself to wait and see if it’ll go away but it’s been 2 weeks. To be honest I had them before that but they weren’t constant. Sorry to waffle, outside perspectives welcome.

OP posts:
Original poster
DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 21:40

@GooseClues Could be ... I've been told during ultrasounds that my ovaries look polycystic but it's never been reflected with my regular periods or in bloodwork. I have a copper IUD now, no hormones.

OP posts:
GooseClues · 20/05/2024 21:34

Had the same symptoms including depressive thoughts but with blurred vision on top. Turned out to be hormone related. Have you changed your contraception recently?
Technically you’re supposed to get side effects from hormonal contraceptives quickly and I’d taken mine for 6 months with no issues so GP dismissed it as a cause. However, turns out I had undiagnosed PCOS which flared up and changed how my body interacted with the meds.

FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain · 20/05/2024 21:30

Do you get hayfever?

Common symptoms include:

•	pain around the sides of your head and your forehead
•	headache
•	feeling tired

Allergic conjunctivitis

Less common but not rare symptoms:

  • dizziness

May is when grass pollen kicks up a gear so the timing would fit.

midlifepisces · 20/05/2024 21:18

DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 19:49

@midlifepisces I had blood tests at the beginning of the year that showed mild anaemia so they prescribed me iron tablets which I take daily now. They gave me a lot of energy back but now I feel in a slump again. Seems more likely that it is anxiety and mood related at this point :/

Iron tablets are notoriously poorly absorbed and are also very irritating to the stomach. Try to get an infusion if possible.

Pain at the temples is not really the kind of headache associated with brain tumours. I found acceptance and commitment therapy very helpful in managing my anxiety.

CleverCats · 20/05/2024 21:16

OP my layman’s none medical professional view is that symmetrical pains (eg temples) are vanishingly likely to be cancer related

Kitkat1523 · 20/05/2024 21:07

Book an mri…will cost you about £1.5k….you won’t get a scan on the nhs with those symptoms

Original poster
DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 21:04

@SavetheNHS Yes I had a vision test and also the test where you look at the hot air balloon picture, one where they imaged my retina, and one where it looks like they were testing my peripheral vision ... all seemed fine to them. Thanks for that reassurance.

OP posts:
Somuchgoo · 20/05/2024 21:03

notanotherrokabag · 20/05/2024 18:52

Brain tumours pretty much never present with a headache. Neither does high blood pressure by the way, @IroningThrone

Go to their GP for their opinion.
Not with a fixed thought about what test you want.

Edited
Show quote history

That's not true at all.

And the only reason I'm on this thread is to beg you please to make sure your are familiar with the NICE guidance on red flags for kids with headaches, and also the guidance for professionals by Headsmart.

A GP was dismissive of my toddlers headaches (yes she could verbalise that they were headaches that young). 48 hours later she was undergoing an emergency craniotomy to remove a large tumour which was starting to press against her brain stem.

Thank goodness we didn't listen to that GP.
Most of the other BT kids we met also presented with headaches.

Please, please make sure you are familiar with the red flags (all of which relate to headaches).

OP - go to your GP, though I wouldn't hold out much hioe for a scan given us still quite a 'new' headache and seems to be getting slowly better.

The likelihood of it being a tumour is tiny.

Original poster
DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 21:01

@AnnaMagnani can totally see myself falling into this

OP posts:
Laurama91 · 20/05/2024 21:00

I would go to gp. I was having headaches 2 years ago. Changed my pill as they seemed to be around time of period.also had blood tests. They started again recently and I got told to get my eyes tested again. Drink more water. Try antihistamines incase it's allergy.

I would start writing down when you are getting headaches, what they are like etc. Would give gp a starting point

Coconutter24 · 20/05/2024 20:59

DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 19:49

@midlifepisces I had blood tests at the beginning of the year that showed mild anaemia so they prescribed me iron tablets which I take daily now. They gave me a lot of energy back but now I feel in a slump again. Seems more likely that it is anxiety and mood related at this point :/

Could you need a higher dose of iron? If you’ve already been told you are anaemic could there be a chance it’s related to that?
Have you had vitamin d checked? I used to get brain fog, headaches, weakness before taking vitamin d

Original poster
DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 20:59

@Cofaki That sounds a bit silly on their part surely !? First thing I would be pressing for would be some sort of scan if their GP had those concerns. I do hope it all turned out well

OP posts:
Naliny · 20/05/2024 20:58

Ask to be referred to a vestibular/balance specialist. Might be vestibular migraines.

Original poster
DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 20:57

@Sandysandwich thank you for that perspective. I don't want to look like a worry wort

OP posts:
Original poster
DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 20:56

@LostSocksBrigade I think they did a preliminary check in my last blood work up which didn't show anything. But I've wondered that too as I have other physical symptoms that line up with hyperthyroidism

OP posts:
Original poster
DontYouStartMadam · 20/05/2024 20:55

@CourtneyB123 Could very well be vitamin D deficient. Thank you for the lovely message

OP posts:
Notsandwiches · 20/05/2024 20:43

Look at POTS. Low blood pressure causes these symptoms in my daughter.

SavetheNHS · 20/05/2024 20:41

OP, you've had some great advice here but you may still be concerned about a brain tumour. As pp have said, of it was a tumour the symptoms would get worse, not better.
Also, your optician didn't find any problems when they looked inside your eyes. Brain tumours increase the pressure in your skull and the one place this extra pressure is visible is the back of the eye. It causes papilloedema (swollen optic discs) and the optician would have looked for this and if they had seen in they would have referred you into the hospital. They didn't, so that is a very good sign.

grinandslothit · 20/05/2024 20:36

Could be not drinking enough water.
Pinched nerve in neck

AnnaMagnani · 20/05/2024 20:33

Come to think of it, I have had a brain scan from when I had concussion.

It was normal but the way it was reported suggested an abnormality so I got even more anxious.

This is a known problem of medical investigations, instead of a normal result being reassuring you keep finding little bits and pieces which are probably totally insignificant, but then you have further tests just to be sure and wind up more anxious than when you started.

Ialwaystry · 20/05/2024 20:32

Don't let them just fob u off with anxiety meds my GP did this and then after a few years they did blood tests I found out I had Diabetes and high blood pressure . I also have fibro.

onedaywhenwearewiser · 20/05/2024 20:31

Bloods to rule out vitamin or iron deficiency, both of which can cause headaches.
Low b12 can cause dizziness.

Ialwaystry · 20/05/2024 20:29

IroningThrone · 20/05/2024 19:00

Then why did my GP tell me it did?

Show quote history

Mine also did and the meds made it worse

Cofaki · 20/05/2024 20:27

Even when my daughter was admitted to hospital via A&E after being sent in urgently by her GP with a suspected brain tumour they didn't do a brain scan although they did keep her in for 4 days and observed her.

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