The Throbbing,the Throbbing, the Throbbing
I think I have a brain tumor.
I have no medical evidence to support this theory but I have two elements upon which I base it: firstly, I am melodramatic and my having a brain tumor would be very poetic, and secondly, I have earth-shattering headaches frequently.
I have had these headaches for years now. They come unexpectedly and last for long hours, sometimes a whole day, and are unaffected by painkillers. When they are at their most severe; they are paralyzing. One or both of my eyes hurt and I feel overwhelmingly nauseous and I simply cannot function. I can’t read, I can’t work, I can’t talk, I can’t do any activity other than being absorbed in pain.
My headaches happen twice a week on average, and they affect my life to a substantial degree. I’m often forced to leave work, abandon class, or abort outings because of them. Yet despite all this, I never seriously considered something was wrong.
The moment of epiphany came when I noticed that, Oh, nobody else seems to have this problem. Nobody around me has this many headaches or has them this severely. That realization was not pleasant.
Urged by my mother and friends, I went to a doctor a few months ago. She said the headaches were stress-related and that there was nothing to worry about. All she did was ask me a couple of questions and pronto! Her diagnosis was ready. Now I have reached the conclusion that she might have been clueless and so I plan to visit another doctor…one day.
I’m extremely laid back and unannoyed by this, dare I call it, illness. I’m not sure why I don’t seem to take it seriously enough when it could be very serious. I probably imagine that if, indeed, I prove to actually have a brain tumor then it would be a martyr-type condition and would perhaps be fruitful in a way. Maybe realizing I don’t have much time left would push me into this sublime artistic state that would, in turn, have me write my stories down already.
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November 27th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
<p><span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Trebuchet MS"">Whoa!, does all this mean the chopper is indeed going to happen too soon for you? Remember chopper..another life… blah blah yada yada?
<p></p></span></p>
<p><span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Trebuchet MS"">You get on top of this issue soon, the world is too boring a place without your drama! :P</span></p>
November 27th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
I’ll tell you about my headaches (later in an email or something) so you don’t feel so lonely in headache-dom. Sounds like someone needs a vacation. Come to visit us? :)
November 27th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Nothing serious I hope, get well soon :)
November 28th, 2007 at 12:35 am
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Multitude of things can cause you to have a headache; the only way to diagnose it is through a battery of testing, the most commonly known tests for headache are called </span><span lang="en" style="mso-ansi-language: EN">Electroencephalography or EEG, and </span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Computerized Axial Tomography or CAT scan. As for the therapy, <b>Acupuncture and Yoga are known to have been employed as palliatives with promising results</b></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
<p></p></span></p>
November 28th, 2007 at 2:05 am
Sounds to me like you suffer from migraine headaches. Unfortunately, there isn’t really a "cure" for them, as such. I get them too, though I’m susceptible to "cluster" migraines, which essentially means I tend to get a whole bunch right around the same time and then none for months or even years. Then they come back suddenly and with no warning to make my life miserable for awhile before magically vanishing again.<br /><br />Oftentimes, migraines are "triggered" by something. The next few times you get them, keep track of what you eat, what perfumes (if any) you wear, that sort of thing. You might be able to single it out and avoid the trigger. Could also be stress, which is tougher to avoid. <br /><br />Unfortunately, I’ve found that there’s little to do when I’ve got one save for wait it out — generally by attempting to go to sleep in a cool, dark place. <br />
November 28th, 2007 at 2:21 am
<p>A more conventional explanation is that you suffer from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migraine">migraines</a>.
</p>
November 29th, 2007 at 1:21 am
Sounds like migraine headaches to me. There are medications you can take at the first sign of a migraine that can prevent them from happening. You should see a neurologist. And…I don’t think it’s a brain tumor, as you have had them for years. If you had a brain tumor causing your headaches, you would be dead already.
November 29th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Hmm…all good points, everyone seems to agree they’re migraines and not a tumor. I confess I am bummed, I wanted some drama. Maybe next time.<br /><br />Oh and excellent point, Alcard0 -I would have been dead by now-, I never thought of it this way!
November 30th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">Hey,
I also think it’s migraine, you’re describing what I have every couple of
months.<br /><br />
When I had a migraine attack the first time (last summer), the doctor asked me
for a CT scan; he thought I had a tumor, but it turned out to be migraine.<br /><br />
What hurts me the most when I get migraine is light/sound sensitivity (I can’t
even watch TV), when you sleep while having migraine use a high
"double" pillow, it helps to keep less blood up there.<span style=""><o:p _moz-userdefined="" /></span></p>
Salamtek <br /><br />