Dr Joshua-
I am a 27 year old male with a huge concern. I am worried about a brain tumor. Now, I rarely get headaches and I don’t think I have gotten a migraine in my life that I could remember. No vomitting or anything like that. Vision is ok as well.dizziness though one day like equalibrium was off. Heres where im concerned. The other nite while watching a movie I rested my hand on my head to support my head. When I did this it felt very sensitive, almost like a headache when I touched my skull. The location of pain is tords the back of the head,above the ear. So when I noticed that, I kept testing it out the next day. the other side of skull is completly fine with no pain at all. Im worried sick, I just left the hospitol with a kidney stone a couple of weeks back and really dont want to go back to the Dr. Is my symptom a characteristic of a tumor?
Meds im on- I am taking effexor xr 75 mgs and .5 mg of klonopin daily.
Job- I do not work in a chemical enviorment or live by power lines. i work in an office.
Ps- this may sound weird, but for years when i had a cold, which i do it seems always, I would use vapo rub in my nose and now i just looked at the directions and it states dont put in nostrils. arhhhhh i didnt think for years. also it has me concerned cause it contain an inactive ingredient called “spirits of turpentine” im freaking out DR. please help.
Dr.Sinuhe Answers:
Thanks for your question. A brain tumor does not have a characteristic symptom - symptoms depend on the location and size of a tumor. There are, for example, some typical “overall” - syndromes, such as epilepsy or symptoms from increased intracranial pressure, as described briefly in a previous answer: Child headache and vomiting. Specific symptoms depend on the fact if a tumor compresses a delicate brain area, such as speech center of your brain. Sometimes a tumor can cause a lump or feelings on the surface of the skull. Please see previous answers to a similar question:
Lump on Forehead and Headache
and
Memory Loss, Dizziness, Numbness and Headache
Since brain tumors are rare whereas symptoms such as headache are common, almost any symptom more often than not - after all - is not a sign of a brain tumor. Your symptom surely is not a classical symptom of a brain tumor and therefore I would not worry too much. However, without being able to do a physical examination, I’m in no position to say anything certain about your case and therefore you need to understand I’m speaking in general terms here. Therefore, although my guess is you are just fine, I suggest you make an appointment with your doctor who can rule out any dangerous course of your symptom - if it still persists.
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