Could this been a brain tumour?

[Emptyspacex]

So for the last few weeks I've been getting blurry vision. It comes and goes and usually clears when i blink a few times. I used to have headache few times a week now only once a week I'd say. I've had a recent mri within the last year due to a blood clot in my brain. Apart from the blood clot which is now clear everything else is fine. Had a ct scan for a thunderclap headache in December and that came back clear. I used to get a dull achey pain in back of neck near base of skull but that seems to have died down. Anyone have any ideas what this could be? I'm worried it is a brain tumour but because of the recentish scan maybe not..

It sounds to me like you have health anxiety.

You've had recent brain scans, it's unlikely a rumour would have grown since.

Palpitations, tingling, ringing ears, blurred vision, headaches, dizziness, 'brain fog' are all symptoms I've experienced with health anxiety. I know the worry, the mental torture, the panic, the crippling fear of serious illness very well and it took me years to accept that my physical symptoms were caused by anxiety and panic rather than a heart attack/stroke/cancer etc.

Was it the blood clot that triggered all of these things? Because for me it was s serious health issue (now resolved) that triggered the HA.

I am not saying don't get symptoms checked by a medical professional, but please be honest with your GO about how anxious you are and ask for some CBT to help you cope.

Go to hospital... you only have one brain.

You've got GAD, I think. All your tests have been normal, which is good.

CBT is very helpful for this.

Brain tumour symptoms vary hugely, but most people initially present with seizures. Headaches only occur due to pressure build up from a big tumour and you've had enough recent scans that there's not been time for one to grow to a sufficient size. Even the tiniest tumour of just 1mm would be picked up on MRI or CT, symptoms or no symptoms.

You do sound very anxious about health in general. Have you had any counselling for it?

Pins and needles, tinitus, heart palpitations, brain fog, blurry vision can all be caused by low iron/anaemia. Increasing your iron is one thing but if it's low you need to find out why.

I have exactly the symptoms you describe, I too thought it might be a brain tumour. I now know it is due to anxiety, in my case triggered my the menopause. I didn't even feel anxious, but it's a physical response. The blury vision is especially scary, thankfully less so now I know what it is and that nor al vision will return within a few hours/days.

Do you have high blood pressure? That can cause blurred vision.

You need to see an optician and your GP.
Highly unlikely to be a brain tumour with 2 recent brain scans being clear .

Thanks for the replies. I find it hard to understand how all these symptoms can be from anxiety? How can a mental health problem cause so many physical effects?

Blood pressure a bit on the high side at times but nothing too high.

The propranolol may be causing some of these symptoms but without it my heart is literally racing all day.

Maybe get thyroid levels checked, I took propranolol for a while but really I was over medicated for a thyroid problem, too much thyroxine so reducing dose helped.

I've had all blood tests done..
Thyroid, iron, vit d, b12. Only thing which came back slightly low was iron but doctor put that down to childbirth and heavy periods.

I have brain tumours and when I first found out I had the condition I had I had no symptoms. I still rarely get headaches. Had the largest Tumour removed but before I did they the put me on steroids (nasty things) and that caused hydrocephalus and I was really ill. I would go to an opticians and your gp and tell him your symptoms and requests another scan if you are worried (I wouldn’t go in saying you think you have a tumour) I would ask for a scan with contrast dye as it makes things clearer aswell.,

I had a brain tumour. My only symptoms were dizzy spells and poor balance. I wonder if having the blood clot has caused anxiety and hyper vigilance. I certainly worry about my health much more now than I did before the tumour. Hope you get to the bottom of it.

To those saying even a tiny tumour would have been picked up, mine (bigger than tiny) was missed for 5 months despite me regularly ending up at A&E being unable to see and in excruciating pain. They can be missed. I appreciate isn't common but it does happen.

@Emptyspacex, I thought the same way as you for so many years. I was absolutely sure that anxiety couldn't cause such strong, physical symptoms. I can't tell you how many times I ended up in the hospital because I felt so ill. It's only after years of therapy I've been able to understand that panic and anxiety is responsible.

When we are anxious, the adrenaline rushes through us and can cause all sorts of physical reactions. Please look at the NoMorePanic website who explain it much better than I can and then go see your GP and be honest about your anxieties. I'm not say don't get new symptoms checked because you always should, but when multiple tests and doctors say something is okay, they're generally correct

I hope you feel better soon and get the support you need, both medical and psychological.

I had a CT brain scan in A&E recently (no contrast) and doctors said that would only pick up a big brain tumour so they are sending me for brain MRI which have on Monday and said they may see a small brain tumour on there. Symptoms can be caused by anxiety/other conditions and I certainly wouldn't be having too many cts due to radiation. I would go to opticians in first instance and maybe neurology referral and see if they think mri is needed.

Hmm. Wondering about the quality of the doctors in your A&Es Penguins & Mummy. My brain tumour was spotted on a CT in A&E and then clarified by MRI despite it being 2mm long.

How can a mental health problem cause so many physical effects?
One aspect of anxiety is tensing up. You don't realise you are doing it, it's a defense mechanism against a unseen predator. This triggers adrenalin and that can impact on all parts of the body. It can also affect your blood pressure, with it suddenly dropping, again as a defense mechanism. I think it is the latter that causes it for me.

Medication can definitely trigger it too as indeed dropping blood pressure.

The blurred vision is probably a symptom of dry eye, which can be a side effect of beta-blockers. An optometrist will be able to see this if you go for a test.

I've no idea about the other symptoms.

The A&E doctor was senior and was there with a hospital neurologist and it was 2 doctors there and one neurologist who said the CT (no contrast) would miss some smaller brain tumours and would only give a very rough guide. They ordered me a brain MRI for Monday. They all work at one of the best NHS hospitals in UK and I have no doubts over their quality.

Either way @PenguinsRabbits it sounds like you are being taken care of properly. I hope the mri goes well.

Thanks Emptyspace If I find out anything helpful will let you know. I am not expecting them to find a tumour and they think its much more likely they won't than they will. But good to be checked thoroughly.

My tinnitus cleared up when I I got my iron levels sorted - using bought 'spatone' iron water, which is the only iron I have found not to upset my stomach. It's fairly low dose but more easily absorbed and was enough for me.
My blurry vision and pins and needles was sorted by B12 injections.

I was discovered to be borderline hypothyroid, doctor agreed to try me on a low dose and that helped my mood and fuzzy thinking

My B12 was always fine according to the GP, it was only when I started asking for my results to look up myself I found I was right at the bottom of the 'fine' range and wasn't actually fine at all.

Once all these were sorted, along with vitamin D3

My blurry vision stopped
My tinnitus stopped
I get less pins and needles
My joints hurt less
My palpitations stopped
I have more energy
I am less breathless
My mood is better
My anxiety is more controlled (I have a stressful situation ongoing at the moment. When I get stressed and anxious now, I know what is triggering it, whereas before it just happened out the blue and for no reason)
My balance is better.

Although I take B12, iron, D3 and my thyroid medication all the symptoms could be attributable to low B12 and I would suggest this is your first thing to get checked and ask for your results so you can check for yourself.

Unfortunately, unless it's a dietary problem, as you will have to persuade your GP to give you the injections.

Can I suggest that you take a look at this site www.b12deficiency.info/signs-and-symptoms/
tick off everything that applies and then take it to your GP