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Suffering From On And Off Pain In Head On Left Side. History Of Anxiety, HBP. Chances Of Brain Tumour.

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Posted on Mon, 6 Aug 2012
Question: I have multiple symptoms and am very scared that these may be related to a brain tumor.
I have daily unilateral mild to moderate head pains on the left side that comes and goes. The pains occur in and around my eye, in the temple area (the temple area is not sore when touching it), in front and behind my ear and around different areas of my scalp. These pains only last a few seconds and are gone. These pains occasionally occur on the right side, but mostly on the left side. Sometimes it will hurt with movement of my head and neck. I also have tinnitus in both ears, but worse on the left side. My neck muscles are tight and it hurts in my shoulder area as well. I have not had the pain when waking up except the past two nights I have experienced pain in the left side of my head when laying on that side. I also have mild discomfort in my cheek and above my eyebrow on the same side. At times it will hurt if I press above my left eyebrow. I have been diagnosed with dry eye from my eye doctor, but my left eye has been tearing a lot lately. When I bend over sometimes it feels like my nose will stuff up and it will occasionally hurt between my eyebrows and down the side of my nose when bending over. I have chronic sinus problems and was treated for a sinus infection over a month ago. These symptoms started about 4-5 days after I finished the antibiotic for the sinus infection. I did not have the temple pain or the pain around my ear when I was treated for the original sinus infection; that has started since I finished the antibiotic. I have also been experiencing a mild tingly/prickly feeling in my hands and feet that comes and goes quickly. The head pain is aggravated and sometimes caused by stressfull situatuions, extreme hot outdoor temperatures, doing activities like housework, sewing, computer work. I will sometimes feel pain in my neck and head when turning my head. I dont have any nausea,vomiting, or difficulty walking or speaking. My appetite is good and I do not have any weight loss. I do wake up with nasal stuffiness. I do have blurry vision, but I am farsighted and wear corrective lenses for that problem. I just recently saw my eye doctor and my rheumatologist. The eye doctor checked for glaucoma, and he also checked the optic nerve and did a visual acquity test and said that all was normal. I see a rheumatologist for joint pain. I have osteoarthrits, but he has been checking me every 4-6 months for any signs of rheumatoid arthritis (deterioration or swelling of the joints). I mentioned the pain around my eye and temporal area and he did a sedrate to check for Temporal Arteritis. The sedrate was normal.

My history includes anxiety, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, herniated discs in my cervical neck region (diagnosed 8 years ago), dry eye, and blepharitis. I have experienced the tingly sensation before with the herniated discs.

I am very scared that these symptoms could be related to something very serious like a brain tumor. Please, any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Pratap Sanchetee (3 hours later)
Hi,
Thanks for writing in.
It is unlikely that you do have a brain tumour. There would be several other symptoms apart from the headache. Chronic headache in your case needs investigations particularly as relief from conventional pain killer is not adequate. As I guess blood profile, ESR, diabetes profile, and lipid profiles are normal. You may require MRI of brain after check up by your neurologist or headache specialist. If it turns out to be normal, then low dose anti-depressant drugs may also be considered. We could possibly be looking at a headache precipitated by tension or stress, then.
Let me know if I can provide any more information.
Regards
Pratap

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli
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Answered by
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Dr. Pratap Sanchetee

Neurologist

Practicing since :1970

Answered : 13 Questions

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Suffering From On And Off Pain In Head On Left Side. History Of Anxiety, HBP. Chances Of Brain Tumour.

Hi,
Thanks for writing in.
It is unlikely that you do have a brain tumour. There would be several other symptoms apart from the headache. Chronic headache in your case needs investigations particularly as relief from conventional pain killer is not adequate. As I guess blood profile, ESR, diabetes profile, and lipid profiles are normal. You may require MRI of brain after check up by your neurologist or headache specialist. If it turns out to be normal, then low dose anti-depressant drugs may also be considered. We could possibly be looking at a headache precipitated by tension or stress, then.
Let me know if I can provide any more information.
Regards
Pratap