To want a head scan for headaches and dizziness

[DontYouStartMadam]

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.

I had similar around ten years ago! Tried lots of medication for migraine, tried alternative therapies, change of diet etc and kept a headache diary to track them and spot patterns. After 3 years of tests and repeatedly going to the GP, I got an MRI and was relieved when it showed no problems.

Did more research and got my Mirena Coil removed! Eureka! Headaches disappeared! In very sensitive to hormones apparently.

@Charliebrow I haven't noticed myself clenching but it can be hard to spot, I wouldn't rule it out. The pain is localised around the temples and I often find myself massaging them

@Hellohah I'm glad you got your issues sorted out and they investigated you thoroughly, 4 months seems like a long time to suffer. I think at this point I would accept antidepressants if they offered them, or just request them myself.

@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 :/

Do you have a partner who can tell you if you grind your teeth at night?

Given your description I would guess teeth grinding and clenching.

Hey, didn't want to read and leave. I am similar age to you and just wanted to say I have also had exactly what you have had, in fact still get it. I also have had horrible anxiety over the years but I would get blood test to rule out low on anything else alongside your iron levels, as I've been having an array of physical issues turns out I'm really low on vit d. Something to consider? Also it seems like tension that could be playing a role that can cause horrific headaches and dizziness, you could see a osteopath? I know it feels frightening thinking about the possibility of something more serious but I'm sure you 99% don't have a brain tumour. If you've been to the gp had all relevant testing and nothing is flagged I'd be rest assured there's nothing malicious going on. All the best x

Did they check your thyroid? If not I'd get that checked as all those things can be related.
I had similar but for much longer and taking folic acid (recommended after nothing was shown on an MRI) somehow fixed it with the off reoccurance, which is also good for fatigue.

I know nothing about the headache stuff, but you can definitely be unwell enough to see a gp more than twice a year without anyone deciding you are a hypochondriac.
Especially since you needed medical care both of those times.

I'm a Biomedical Scientist (we diagnose stuff for the Doctors, from blood samples, swabs, biopsies, spinal fluid etc) and I can't agree more with this excellent post. A blood test would be far more useful than a head scan or MRI. And yes, if you've been advised that antidepressants might help then please please give them a chance and try them. Stress, depression and anxiety can be a major cause of headaches. Rule out the easy stuff first before you go in the deep end with requesting an MRI.

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.

Mine also did and the meds made it worse

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

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.

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.

Could be not drinking enough water.
Pinched nerve in neck

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.

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

Sometimes an optician can see a tumour and refer you. Maybe book an opticians.

My wife a private MRI done on her head for £200.

https://mriplus.co.uk/body-parts/brain-and-head?campaignid=18859802559&adgroupid=144993173404&creative=635008619963&network=g&device=m&matchtype=b&keyword=private%20brain%20mri&adpos=&utm_term=private%20brain%20mri&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=8312871601&hsa_cam=18859802559&hsa_grp=144993173404&hsa_ad=635008619963&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-627125071572&hsa_kw=private%20brain%20mri&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&kw=private%20brain%20mri&cpn=18859802559&utm_term=private%20brain%20mri&utm_campaign=Brain+MRI+Scan&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=8312871601&hsa_cam=18859802559&hsa_grp=144993173404&hsa_ad=635008619963&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-627125071572&hsa_kw=private%20brain%20mri&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6auyBhDzARIsALIo6v8KXK9DHSis_vnCz__AAeNbHfMOffStHBzK5Nyw5nr-oC0EDDPPPJYaAhUXEALw_wcB

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

@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

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

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

@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

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

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