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.

@AnnaMagnani can totally see myself falling into this

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.

@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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

@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.

I'm familiar with headache red flags and there are none in the OP, and she isn't a toddler. A toddler complaining of a headache is exceptionally unusual and I would refer same day to paeds. Hope your daughter is OK.

@FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain no hayfever, I never really get runny nose or sneezing except when I'm sick. Maybe I'll ask GP to have a look in my ears/throat just to double check

Your GP is a highly trained professional. You could tell them your symptoms, which are ones they will deal with regularly, and trust them to know what to do......

Dizziness is a really common thing, a larger proportion of doctors appointments are due to it than you'd think! It also covers everything from a spaced out feeling to being off balance through to the world spinning and not being able to sit/stand. And equally there's a massive range of causes including lots of none serious ones. I'd say go to your GP if you're worried, as well as bloods and listening to your symptoms (which also helps pinpoint cause), they can do a few basic tests (like finger to nose to finger) which helps them tell whether there's a brain issue or not. You'll only get referred for a scan if there's some concerns but from my experience as someone with dizziness unless you have some big red flags you'll be waiting months / over a year anyway. And hopefully you'll be feeling a lot better long before then.

Thank you.

She's ok. It's low grade and we are muddling through ok after a tricky couple of years.

She had a headache for a few weeks, 2 GPs fobbed her off. Then a thunderclap headache (hand to head, screamed, fell to floor with pain, holding head and sobbing, then back to being fine), and still told it was fine, it was probably her ears, and even if it was her head, he'd do nothing about it.

Thankfully GP4 referred us up.

So hearing a GP say you don't get headaches with tumours makes me worry about the other poor kids with a less persistent mother! So I'm glad you'd refer up for a small child. That gives me some peace.

Yes. Or you could pay hundreds of pounds for a scan that is unlikely to give you the answers you want, may show incidental findings that are meaningless and make you more anxious, and in the case of a CT scan, also expose you to a load of unnecessary radiation.

I got a head MRI after going to see my GP about episodes of light headedness. And nothing more.

Another parent of a child with a brain tumour coming on to this thread to highlight that we were told time and time and time again by a GP that there were no red flags suggesting a brain tumour. Utterly incorrect and my dc is frankly only alive now because we went against that advice and attended A&E where we were listened to by a pediatrician. My dc had severe headaches. Over 50% of people diagnosed with a brain tumour report headaches to their GP.

I wish we were the only ones who had experienced this but the same GP practice had failed to spot the red flags a few months before of a child who also has a brain tumour (diagnosed thanks to a private MRI scan).

I'm not saying this to suggest in any way OP that you have a brain tumour. If you're concerned, have a look at the Brain Tumour charity website as there's a lot of info there. There are multiple reasons for headaches. I wanted to post my dc's experience in case anyone else reading this thread saw the confident post from the GP saying that headaches aren't a red flag and perhaps felt that their worries were not well founded. And to the GP I say, I wish I could unsee the devastation caused by late diagnosis to my dc and the many many others I meet in the oncology wards whose parents tell of depressingly similar stories of not being believed by a GP.

@saraclara wait so you got an MRI just because you were lightheaded ? Were you referred or did you go privately ? And was everything okay ?

@banabak so sorry to hear you were fobbed off and are now dealing with the consequences of late diagnosis. Thank goodness you listened to your intuition. I hope things improve for your family

Yep. My GP said he was going to go 'belt and braces' and referred me for an MRI and a 24 hour ECG.

Both came out fine, and the lightheaded episodes stopped of their own accord.

@saraclara wow that reassurance must have been really nice ! Glad it all worked out

To be honest it was frustrating in the end! I was planning to go to visit the family in Australia, but as I'd been referred for tests with no diagnosis, it was impossible for me to get travel insurance!
The MRI appointment came through in time, but the ECG waiting list was over a year! So for the first time in my life I went private, otherwise my trip would have had to be cancelled. As it was I already had to go later than ideal.

So though I was grateful for a thorough GP, I was also incredibly frustrated!

They explained why they didn't do one. Basically their observations reassured them she didnt have a tumor and there was no need for a scan. I did ask why but it made sense when they explained.

Hey. I remember you from other brain tumour related posts, and how supportive you are. Thank you for that.

It's so infuriating though isn't it!!
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt compelled to post. I don't tend to use the word 'triggered' frequently, but reading that GP so confidently dismissing headaches as being a BT symptom made me feel sick.

Thank goodness we were persistent mums.
Being fobbed off by GPs seems to be a depressing universal experience when it comes to kids and brain tumours.

Again, OP, the overwhelming likelihood is that your headaches aren't anything serious. Please don't let my comments worry you.

Just try an anti-histamine unless you're on other meds or have other health issues that don't mix.

I don't get a runny nose or sneezing either but I do have hayfever every year from Feb onwards. I get pressure behind my eyes and in my sinus across my cheekbones, brain fog, tiredness, sore eyes and a tickly cough.