panic attacks and brain tumor

[jason76]

I have been having panic attacks fo about 6 months.  I recently (1 1/2 months ago) had a brain tumor removed and am wondering if it is possible the location of the tumor may have triggered the attacks.  I have not had an attack since the surgery but still have constant fear and anxiety that I will have another.

[cnote]

May I ask, how did you know you had a brain tumor?

[jason76]

I went to the doctor for frequent headaches about 3 years ago and they did a ct scan and found a tumor.  Funny thing is they said it wasn't the cause of the headaches.

[cnote]

Well, I'm no Doctor Jason, but anything is possible. My though is that bsessive worry can cause panic attacks very easily. Do you get panic attacks just thinking and fearing about having another panic attack? Or do you just get them from time to time?

[gniknus]

I have had a brain tumor successfully removed over a year ago and I now suffer just like all of the above, from the same symptoms of hypohondriasis, headaches and enxiety, due to the fear of a recurrence.
I'm afraid to say that very little is actually known by doctors themselves about the nature and the causes of brain tumors, and the symptoms themselves vary on a case to case basis, usually being very subtle and difficult to identify.
This is why doctors have been unable to convince me it will not recur even though the statistics and prognosis on my particular low grade, benign type of tumor are very favorable and indicate I should have nothing to worry about.
The ordeal of achieving a correct diagnosis, (I was misdiagnosed several times with conditions varying from panic attacks to schizofrenia - btw this is not uncommon for brain tumor patients) and the terrifying, possesing ( I would go so far as to compare with the descriptions of religious possesion) and debilitating experience of the symptoms themselves (that do actually ressemble those of mental illnesses such as bipolar dissorder and paranoia), serve I suppose as a sufficient excuse for my enxiety and panic, though not so much for my persistent headaches and hypohondriac tendencies.
I can assure you that if you actually DID have a brain tumor, other than enxiety, you would be experiencing frequent hallucinations, in some cases smelling, seeing or feeling things that don't exist, occasional nausea and mainly and in most cases to my knowledge, a feeling of constant underlying body fatigue and irresistable lethargic sleepiness, ressembling narcolepsy. A kind of feeling of beckoning sleep, body strain, increasing irritability, as well as an increasingly frustrating feeling of cognitive decline or difficulty functioning in daily tasks.
I would not suggest neglecting to have an MRI scan to disperse the fear of a brain tumor, as although brain tumors are rare they are in any case virtually impossible to diagnose without MRI or CT scans.
Hope this helps with descriminating between hypohondriasis and actual brain tumor cases.