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  #1  
Old 09-22-2002, 06:57 PM
Grievar Grievar is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Agh?! Do I have a brain tumor?

A few times over the last year or two I've been having
these really disturbing headaches.

They generally start around 12 oclock. It starts out as just
a normal bad headache, muscle tension in the neck and
temples.

Then the muscle tension goes away. It's replaced by
surface pain all over the top of my head. Then there's a
sensation of being very cold, and I feel nauseous.

Eventually I throw up, which invariably makes the
headache better, but for the rest of the day there's this
pain on one side of my head whenever I lean forward
or jerk it around. I may just be paranoid but I think I feel
a bump near the pain area (there's a similar bump on the
other side, just the natural shape of my head, but I keep
thinking that it's smaller).

Is it just a migraine, is it from caffeine withdrawal? lack
of sleep? Or something worse??

Help!
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  #2  
Old 09-22-2002, 07:00 PM
Grievar Grievar is offline
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I note that in all four cases, I had gone a long time without sleeping,
and had something with caffeine (coffee, soda...).
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  #3  
Old 09-22-2002, 07:08 PM
Diceman Diceman is offline
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Are you kidding? Get your ass to a doctor and tell him about this!
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Reality is an illusion caused by lack of alcohol.
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  #4  
Old 09-22-2002, 08:05 PM
Celyn Celyn is offline
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Location: Scotland
Posts: 4,389
Get to doctor! I'm a bit nervous on the brain tumour suubject 'cos a friend recently had one - go and don't fall for anything like "go home, take aspirin, lie down" which is what my friend was told at first. ( He is very lucky to be alive and fully functional). When he *did* get to see the proper people, it was all hurry,, hurry hurry to treat him.

It really really would be best to have that checked ASAP - and I'm sorry if that sounds worrying to you - I am not a doctor at all - but just think of the relief if you have it checked and it is something minor
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  #5  
Old 09-22-2002, 09:58 PM
Lamia Lamia is offline
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Go to a doctor immediately. Ask about having an MRI or CT scan.
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  #6  
Old 09-22-2002, 10:00 PM
Caught@Work Caught@Work is offline
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Get thee to a doctor. Without hesitation.

While you're waiting for the Dr. consider I suffer the exact same scenario and have done for the last 30 something years. In my case it has been diagnosed as migraines (CT revealed nothing).

I feel your pain and the throwing up does indeed help ... a lot.
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  #7  
Old 09-22-2002, 10:13 PM
Yeah Yeah is offline
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Nothing in the description suggests a brain tumor and brain tumors are relatively rare, despite the fact that you know someone who has one. The numbers favor something banal, like a migraine.

Nevertheless, you need to see a physician who can reassure you if you don't have a brain tumor (you're likely to be a wreck if you go around thinking that you have a brain tumor), and can treat you for whatever you do have. You've been living with this annoyance for a year or so; there's no reason to put up with it any longer if its treatable and it probably is treatable.
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  #8  
Old 09-22-2002, 10:33 PM
Grievar Grievar is offline
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That's what I was thinking.

But the bad thing about being 15.5 years old is that you can't set
up your own doctor's appointments, much less actually get to the
doctor. My parents aren't as paranoid as I am :/
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  #9  
Old 09-22-2002, 10:35 PM
Bob Scene Bob Scene is offline
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If you think you have a brain tumor, I wouldn't ask Agh about it. Those cavemen don't know shit about neurosurgery, and their answer for everything is to bore a big hole in your skull. Ask a real modern doctor.
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  #10  
Old 09-23-2002, 02:05 AM
Rockford Rockford is offline
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Go to a real doctor. This thread is going to be closed anyway.
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  #11  
Old 09-23-2002, 06:15 AM
Caught@Work Caught@Work is offline
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If it makes you feel any better, typically you grow out of them as your hormone levels settle down.
Not always and they will still strike, but they tend to become less common.
This is only from experience and is not to be taken as medical advice, oh and I could be talking out my arse, but experience does count for something I hope.
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  #12  
Old 09-23-2002, 10:20 PM
Oly Oly is offline
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Sounds very, very migraine-like. Doesn't sound serious, but there's no reason you should suffer, neither the pain nor the stress of not knowing what's going on.

If you haven't already, let your parents know you're up-chucking due to the pain. That should be enough to clue them in that you're not faking.

If they're still not convinced, check out a general medical book from the library, or find a reputable website. You will definitely find your headaches well-described as migraine-like pain. Any good source will also forward a hearty rec to get it checked out by a doctor if it hasn't been already.

If that still doesn't convince mom and pop, you might think about making your own appt, maybe at school.

Good luck.
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  #13  
Old 09-24-2002, 12:11 AM
DarrenS DarrenS is offline
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Somewhat tangential - but I heard on the radio today that certain drugs for treating epilepsy show signs of treating migraines too.
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