More Awesome Than You!

hi...

I've just read the results of a brain CT I had yesterday...  unfortunately I don't see my GP to find out more information until Monday afternoon - a very, very long 4 days away...

Feeling a little stressed because all is not normal, but I don't have any idea just how serious it could be...  gah!

Apologies if you already told me some background to this and I have forgotten - why did you have a CT scan?

I don't think I've told anyone the background...

just recently I've been getting severe headaches - that act a bit like tension headaches...  they ruled out problems with neck, eyes (apparently there are a few things that can go wrong with my eyes because of my weird arthritic condition), blood pressure, and medications...  next step was the brain scan...

it's all a bit scary really, I'm getting a little tired of being a medical mystery.

We're not even allowed access to results of tests until a doctor kindly decides to spare us some time - usually several months after the tests are done. :(

Yes, I can understand that you must be terrified - it's bound to seem like forever before you see your doctor!  You have my sincere best wishes for a happy outcome!

My best wishes too-good luck :)

Good luck to you. Here's hoping it's not a serious problem and can be fixed.

My thoughts are with you as well :(

just checking - have you been playing the sims too much?  ;)
seriously, all the best for Monday...

Eh, probably a tumor. Nothing serious. Get some more monitor radiation, you'll be fine. Don't use those damn newfangled LCD things, get a proper ion bombardment tube.

JM, what a macabric humor...:).

ness, sometimes the headackes can be a result of problems in the Spinal Column, which I believe all players are or will suffer from...:). A CT must be made, to see if the arteries and veins are not blocked in some place, and need to be openned.

I passed many times CT (head and body) - nothing to be afraid of...:). The conclusion was, that I suffer from my Spinal Column (people that sit a long time are more vulnerable). What do I do? I sit to play or to surf with  a "collar", to keep my neck straight...:).

I have arthritis too, in my neck, and sometimes the pain goes right up the back of my skull - only solution is to lie down and not use the computer for several hours!

Somebody called for a doctor? Oh, ah, hm. A human needs attention. Sorry, not my kind of patient! Move along now. Or bring your dog. Or cat.
Seriously now (no, don't bring your dog or cat or I might be tempted to remove its ovaries or testicles for my research!), hope everything turns out fine for you ness. Best of wishes from me too!

Heh...

Ness, take it easy, and all my best wishes.

thanks people...  I really appreciate all the thoughts and well-wishes here...

I've had a bit of a translation of all the medical jargon - it appears that there is a lump in my head!  small, probably due to my brain bleeding after I'm bumped my head...  will need to be checked out further to rule stuff out, and will need to be monitored, but I think I will actually get through to Monday without going insane...

of course, there is the vague possibility that it could be something more serious, and nobody can tell me the implications of it all just yet...  but I'm feeling a little more sane for now.
 

If you post the jargon here I can probably translate it  ;). I look at head CTs daily as my job :)

Hm, weird arthritic condition that causes eye problems....  Ankylosing Spondylitis?  That causes iritis/conjunctivitis.  You'd know if you had that eye problem... the instant someone turned on a light.

Hook

I think that 1 point you have in niceness is way overrated  :o

Good luck with you're appointment ness.

Good luck. Being a medical mystery is not fun. Been there, done that. Eventually got a diagnosis at the age of 26, 13 years after it started ;).

The waitingwaitingwaiting for the doctor's appointment is actually one of the worst bits. However horrible the diagnosis, at least once you have it you know what's wrong, and can find out what they're going to do about it, and look it up on the internet to get prognosis & so on. Whereas waiting to find out is just... icky, because they could turn round and say "oops, you have 2 weeks to live" or "actually there's nothing at all wrong, you must be making it all up" ::).

Be not afraid, Ness.  Think positively and expect the best.  Easier said than done, admittedly, but worrying about something you have no control over just adds to the stress. 

Positive thoughts for you!

All the best....

I agree, please Ness, don't get yourself tied up in knots. I know that's easy to say when you're not the one that is affected, but I really hope you will be able to relax, at least a little, and don't worry yourself sick over something that you have no control over.

My thoughts are with you. Hang in there Ness, whatever happens, I'll be rooting for you.

Ness - Hang in there and don't stress-out.  It will just lead to more headaches!  :)

Best wishes for a benign diagnosis.

You know, it may sound odd, but there actually being something on the scan might not be such a bad thing. At least you'll know what it is and how to treat it. I've had some very real medical problems in the past that I had a bajillion tests for that they never did find a damned thing. It made me feel nuts and didn't help the problems either. :P It pretty much went away over time but I was pretty much wishing they'd find something they could treat it and be done with it.

Anyhow, let us know how things went when you get the medicalese translated.

no...  my weird arthritic condition still has no name as yet - they call it serum-negative rheumatoid arthritis - which my specialist tells me is med-speak for we haven't got a clue, but agree that there is something real going on that causes joint pain and isn't all in your head!  It affects my whole body, and is mostly managed pretty well by medications, life was very miserable for a while when I was taken off them to determine whether they caused the headaches or not.

The iritis was one that was mentioned - and another one that started with a p, but I'd never heard the word before, just overheard the eye specialist telling my GP over the phone that there wasn't any of it, whatever it was.

Anyway, general consensus from the wonderful people (who have all been met through the sims community) is that it's most likely nothing serious, but does need to be checked thoroughly confirm that - I'm coping pretty well, and went to work today without issues - have been far more concerned with the interesting bruising caused by my vein collapsing when they injected the contrast dye!

And now...  I begin the weekend, with the interesting process of staying sane and not stressing out while I don't have work to keep me occupied.

In a way, it would actually be nice if this was the cause of the headaches - having been through fatigue problems, liver issues, arthritis pains - all mysterious conditions where the doctors can't even figure out exactly WHAT it is, let alone how to treat it - it would be nice to have it be something simple and obvious...  but after all that, I'm almost resigned to the fact that the headaches will be yet another mystery ailment, and when they are finally under control, something else will pop up.

thankyou all again for your care and concern - I'll certainly keep the updates coming!

Ness
(although, I've just been given the new nickname of pea-brain at work...  a whole new identity!)

See, I told you it was just a tumor.

Oh Ness - if you're planning on joining in on the joint community n'hood, you'll have to make a sim called pea-brain!

I'm tempted...  but I'm not much of a story writer.

Currently I'm on the edge of reporting season at school, so I'm not going to have a lot of time for the next few weeks, sadly...  just when I really don't need to be racing off to doctors appointments and chasing down specialists!

We're in the 2nd to last week of the 2nd semester, students are running round like crazed chooks and every crisis becomes our crisis!

I know what you mean about lack of time. In the next week I have to sit a Java exam on Wednesday, do the entire annual stats analysis for my boss before next Friday, so she can have them for a team meeting :/ and prepare a class on Project Management for 2nd year degree students for a job interview next Friday. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!! Not to mention that about 5 of 8 staff are swanning off the the other end of the country all next week for a frigging conference.

But I'm still on MATY.  8)

Pescado has a non-invasive treatment for head bumps, you should ask him to sort you out.

The waiting is very hard, I know.  I discovered several breast lumps when I was in my early 20's and had to undergo the ole' mammogram and just waiting for the results to come back was worse than the test itself.  Your mind is very powerful and can really bring you down.

My thoughts are with you, Ness, and we all hope to hear good news from you very soon.

Hmmm, that would be the "lop it off if it ain't doing any good" form of non-invasive procedure, perhaps? It's certainly the most effective cure-all I could ever think of. Why bother with research when this spankingly excellent solution has been sitting here before us all this time?  ;D

Keep well, ness. 

Well, Pescado's method would certainly solve the population explosion problem!  No doubt it will be standard medical practice once we reach "Standing Room Only"!

Keep smiling, Ness, it may all turn out far less serious than you fear.

I'm hoping...  7am here, appointment at 3:45pm...  and I've taken the day off work!

partly because I didn't want to face telling people why I couldn't stay for the usual staff meeting, partly because I woke up with a massive headache...  again...  partly because I'd be so stressed and nervous that I wouldn't be able to teach properly...

Oh well, really must organise work for the kids at school...  and then...  I don't know...  bum around the house in my pjs, take some painkillers and amuse myself with the sims all day...  sounds like a plan to me!

And a damn fine one if I might say so. There's nothing like a numb arse and wrist ache to start the day off well.  ;D

 

I really do think what you have is nothing. You might be suffering from Migraines though. My sister gets them as well as some of my coworkers and from what I've been told the pain is excruciating. It lasts for days and they must stay in a darken room until it goes away

So please stop worrying! .Relax and sleep in late you lucky dog.

*snort*

teachers don't get to sleep late when they take a day off...  We must slave away on the computer preparing work for our classes to complete in our absence!  And then hope that your classes are actually given a decent teacher who will insist they do it...  unlike the one that is usually given to one of my classes who tells them to just do a little bit of it, so they do around 2 questions and don't complete it for homework, and I have to repeat the lesson the next day anyway!  *grumble*

As for the biopsy - eep!  Way to freak a woman out in the morning!  A quick google reveals that I have only two of the symptooms, and I really am far too young for that to be a real possibility - like less than half the mean onset age!

Poor you. I have several teacher friends who are always up to their eye teeth in class prep/marking or some other crap. Can't you just procrastinate today until you've had the appointment?

Ness, as one who has had odd headaches and many brain scans for most of her life, I sure can empathize with you.  I hope you are well.  We'll be waiting to hear!

Chris

I teach maths...  so on a bad day, my instructions will consist of Page number, exercise, questions - examples and instructions are in the text!  So that's already been done - mainly just get kids to go and revise stuff we've been working on if it's that bad...

I'm finished with marking for the year, just need to get reports done...  I may do a little on it when the pain killers kick in (they are sitting in front of me with the rest of my breakfast, but I haven't taken them yet), but most of the stuff I need is at work so I can't do too much anyway.

They'll get over it if they are late!

Thanksm Chris...  will certainly update after the appointment, even if it's just to rant and rave that my GP is out of ideas and is sending me to another specialist.

I agree Ness you are much too young for that. I"m sorry I mentioned it you definately don't have that, but I do think it's probably migraines. being a teacher( my sister a teacher too) managing all those kids certainly can bring those on. Ask my sister, lol.

I can empathize with you too. Several years ago I started developing weird symtoms for which I had to under go several tests for including a brain scan, It turned out to be nothing serious and I'm fine now. Brain scans aren't too bad so don't worry. If you have to have a MRI make sure they give you a Valium first, that sure helped me, I slept through it.

well...

I've now seen the pictures of my brain... I do have one!

anyway... my GP has described this thing in my head as "unusual" - doesn't think it's causing the headaches as there are symptoms I would have if it were that I don't - so of course, now I'm going to start imagining them. The surrounding brain tissue doesn't act as though it's bothered by it at all (not a tumour!)... so we are looking at probably nothing, and going to see a neurologist.

But I would have been sent to the neurologist even if the CAT scan were clear...

Ness

That must be a big relief after a very long weekend. Not out of the woods yet but the undergrowth is thinning.  ;)

Very very glad to hear that the area is clean!!! That's the most important!

Don't be afraid of neurology - they will make you an EEG (Electro-Encephalo-Graphy) - it's electrodes all over your head, measuring the impulses. I have done it a couple of times, because I've got some "tick" in my right eye. All the checks were OK.

I have a theory, but no one of the doctors accept it: sitting a long time in front of the computer, and mainly playing games - cause headaches, and epileptic seizures; it's written in each manual of each game.
 
I know, that when one of the symptoms begin, I have to leave the computer, lie down, close eyes, and relax. After some time the "tick" goes off.

Neurology was one of my most hated subjects (it still is!). I still don't have a firm grasp and probably never will, as my research is veering me more and more away from clinical practice. Glad to hear the good news ness! Hope the neurologist will clear things regarding that "unusual" finding of the GP. But just to be on the safe side, repeat the exams with another doctor sometimes later.

I tend to agree with you, Gali - I have a similar problem.. I used to suffer from really bad migraines when I was young, and although I rarely get a full-blown one now, if I stay at the PC for too long I often get the visual disturbances that accompany them - like a censor blur dancing in my eyeball!  I have to lie down for a while and take painkillers or anti-migraine tablets if I have any, and it eventually goes away, but it may be something similar that you are suffering from, ness.   If so, uncomfortable, yes, dangerous, no.

I get really dizzy and nauseous when I spend too long in front of the computer, especially when tired. Arthritis in neck and shoulders means I really feel a long session, my job involves computing also.

I didn't write the above to whinge but to make a plug for good ergonomics. I've made a real effort in the last couple of years to make sure I have a good chair, the light is right, good airflow, the monitor at the right height for me and so on. I have a mouse like a gearstick at work - brilliant, the hand sits much more naturally that way. I've changed the size of the font, just the slightly larger system one, so I don't have to peer up close. It is really surprising the difference this can make to the computing experience.

I tutor & fix PCs in peoples' homes. I'm often surprised by the ghastly angles they have their monitors on, high up and caty-cornered for example. No room for mouse movement because they have this dinky little desk, or there's a sliding bit where their arms stick out like baby birds' wings when they use the mouse. Weird.

Anyway, doesn' hurt to reasses your setup from time to time.

Too much computer-playing is hard on the body - back, shoulders, eyes, brain - all those things that can get stressed and give you massive headaches.  I am a migraine-headache sufferer and have to be very careful about how long I spend on the computer.  My body will tell me when enough is enough cause I will start to get "that headache" and it won't go away with anything I take unless it's an anti-migraine pill.

Playing computer games will only cause epileptic seizures to those who are prone to it. Most people will never get a seizure no matter how much time they spend in front of their monitor. Usually it has to do with what's called photosensitive epilepsy, where a light flickering at a certain rate will cause a seizure for those rare people who have it. Those warnings on the video games are for these rare cases.

But sitting in front of the computer can certainly cause head aches, as any static work will do.

An EEG is not routinely used to examine head ache problems, at least not where I live, not even at a neurologist's appointment. Only if there is suspicion of epileptic seizures.

One of my co-workers cannot use a monitor at a low refresh rate, she says she can see the flickers, she gets migraines. If I set the monitor at 85htz or more, she is fine. I believe her because she's told me a couple of monitors were bad and sure enough, the refresh rates were too low. Most of the staff are still on CRT screens, the students get the LCDs.

Yes, I've had less eye disturbances since I got a new flat-screen.   (Not stopped altogether, though.)

I can't use CRTs any more. I can sit in front of one for up to half an hour before I feel sick & giddy. But I can sit in front of the laptop or the external LCD screen we've got for hours & hours & hours.

Some of it is to do with closeness to the eyes. I'm significantly more long-sighted than most people. I need to sit far back from a monitor to be able to focus properly. At the moment, I'm typing in 10 point Verdana on a screen that is 1.5m away from me, and because I'm tired, occasionally leaning backwards to get further away. I have the font on the computer set small enough that most of my short-sighted friends can't read it at the normal distance they sit at.

You know, I have to print this thread, and show my neurologist,  what all of you have written about the disturbances the computer screen makes. May be then he will agree to approve my theory...:).
I am not a doctor, I studied for nurse 2 years only, but I have some knowledge in diagnosis. Besides, every one "feels" the cause of the symptoms, if the phisical check shows OK results.
When the EEG check showed OK, the doctors went to the "stress" direction. I knew I was not stressed at all, and that couldn't be the cause. But the computer screen - it has to be researched by all the neurologists...:).

They know about the problems, which is why workplace regulations often include time limits spent using a VDU before the worker has to have a ten minute break.  Responsible employers ensure that these regulations are in place in their establishment, and that they are enforced.  They also send their employees for regular eye-tests unless the person concerned already wears glasses and has those checks anyway.  I know, because my sister worked with VDUs from when the first IBM accounting machines switched to computerised systems rather than mechanical.  So, if the employers know the risks, then doctors must have informed them of them in the first place.

ok, update time...  been to the neurologist today...

the verdict is that the blip on my CT scan was probably nothing, but I'm to have an MRI to be sure.

The headaches are probably just tension headaches and I'm to take antidepressants as a preventative measure...    :o  ???

That's good news :)

  That's very good news indeed.   

Triffic! Once you've had a MRI you'll be able to relax and put your fears aside.


Maybe a 2nd opinion on that one? There are heaps of things people can do about tension headaches without using anti-depressants, might pay to google & try a few. :)

ness, I don't know you but truly hope that everything works out for you.
About the antidepressants ...
My daughter had a brain tumor, she was prescribed mild antidepressants, which we questioned, and were told that something in this particular tablet helped with headache pain in a way that the normal/usual painkillers didn't.

Small doses of certain anti-depressants have been found to help with tension headache. It doesn't mean the doctor thinks you're "crazy" or that depression is causing your headaches. It's a standard medication used for chronic tension headache that can help you to lower your dose of pain medication that in the long run can be harmful to you. That's not the only treatment for headaches, of course, but it's a fully valid one.

I know it's a standard treatment...  it just surprised me...  thing is, I'm a stress-head from way back, and I don't actually feel all that stressed right now...  I guess I'm just annoyed that the doctor told me the name of the drug and that it would work to prevent the headaches from occurring, but told me nothing else about it - I would have had a lot more questions if he had!  I think I'm just used to my GP and rheumatologist - I've been seeing them for long enough for them to know that I need all the information, and I prefer it in medical-speak rather than dumbed down, and I'll ask if I'm unclear - doctors who just push something on you without full explanations of why and what it does annoy the crap out of me!  I took this stuff for the first time last night, and have woken up feeling so revoltingly groggy and out of it, I really don't think I'm going to enjoy this!  But...  I do have a sinus infection...  and I'm rambling...  so I'll shut up now!

  Yes, sinus infections can certainly give you "brain fog."    Nasty things they are.    Check the drug compendium for the side effects of the antidepressant you are on.     It may be that it is going to take a couple of days for your body to adjust to them.   I know there are a couple of new antidepressants on the market that don't have any side effects that they are aware of.    It's always possible to get them to switch it
if you are having problems.

If you determine that you are groggy from the new meds, perhaps your doc can lower the dosage.  I know for me I tend to have a very low tolerance for drugs and generally require a lower dosage of many things.  All you need to do is ask!

So glad your news was good.

ness, I wish good health for you and I hope everything works out.   :)