8mm pineal cyst

[jessmo17]

I have recently been having severe headaches, dizziness, shakiness and temporary loss of vision in the corner of my right eye. I had an MRI done and the findings were normal. They incidentally found a 8mm Pineal Cyst. I had a follow up appt. and the doctor told me he didn't really know what a Pineal Cyst was and referred me to a neurologist. I have an appt. next Tuesday. I started to research Pineal Cysts and I didn't like what I found. So far, I have found that most people that have them suffer from headaches, dizziness, sleeplessness, fatigue and temporary vision problems. But when talking to the doctor, they were told that the cyst had nothing to do with their problems. I find it kind of odd that everyone that has these cysts have the same symptoms. I wanted to know what kind of questions I should ask the neurologist because I felt like I was walked on at the doctors office. I would also like to know if 8mm is big or small in the scheme of things? And if I should ask for a second opinion after I see this neurologist? Any info would be helpful, thanks.

[ycompanys]

Neurologists may be very quick to tell you that you are fine with a pineal cyst and that it is not causing your symptoms.  But beware:  1) Doctors in general don't really undestand what the pineal gland does; and 2) Some don't seem to understand the difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic pineal glands and tell their patients not to worry about pineal cysts.

Some things to keep in mind, according to the medical literature:

1) The most common symptom is headaches, followed by vision problems and dizziness, and in some cases insomnia, nausea and cognitive deficits, particularly if cognitive deficits are involved.  
2) Pineal cysts can be symptomatic if they are larger than 0.5 cm.  Problems occur when the cysts cause compression in the brain, or when they are associated with apoplexy or hydrocephalus.
3) Radiologists cannot easily distinguish between cysts and benign tumors, often leading to misdiagnosis.  NOTE:  A benign tumor is not metastatic, not malignant.  
4) If you are in the 18-34 age group, your cyst can grow, so you should get MRIs every 3-6 months.  If your doctor does not want to, get a new doctor.

The most important thing is to get a doctor who takes your pineal cyst seriously.  It is a rare disorder, and few doctors understand it well.  So you will need to be persistent.

[zeeandpaul]

I was told last week from my MRI that i have a pineal gland cyst measuring 11mm x 6mm. I too am worried about it. I have dizziness, fatigue, numbness, muscle spasms, and nerve pain. My neurologist told me that most pineal gland cysts are not harmful and that millions of people are walking around the earth with them, however I tend to go with the assumption that it is not supposed to be in my head and being a nurse, am not content with the answers he gave me. I also have 4 hyperintensties in the white matter of my brain in the frontal lobe and 1 in the copus collosum. that does not sound good to me. So my neurologist is referring me to a Mutiple Schlerosis doctor who will do a lumbar puncture to rule out MS. My doctor also told me that the hyperintensities would be in the middle of the brain if it were MS, but if you type up signs and symptoms for MS, I have all but one of them. So ask your doc to check for MS.

Good luck and let me know how it goes. I know one person said 3mm is close to the optic nerve, and i agree. I have double vision and do not drive anymore either.

zeeandpaul

[ampris]

I also have a 8mm pineal cyst found through MRI after having strange symptoms. These immaginary symptoms everyone says we have are very troubling. I have small headaches, dizziness to the point I no longer drive or cook, sleeplessness, numbness in left arm and hand, and left foot on and off, and memory loss as well as slowness of thinking.
I have an appointment tomorrow with a neurosurgeon and I am hoping that they don't tell what so many other people seems to hear, that it's not because of the cyst or that I'm not having the symptoms.
I wish you luck, if they tell me that I'll start looking for another doctor the same day.
My MRI was without contrast and I have one with contrast just before the appointment so maybe it will show them more. I also had a spot with fluid in the cells and a spot with hyperintense T2 that was noted in my first MRI. Did you have anything like this?
I wish you luck and please keep  us updated, I am very interested to see what they tell you and I'll do the same.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  The average size of the normal pineal gland is about 7-7.4 mm in length, just to give you a reference regarding the size of your pineal cyst.  Pineal cysts can cause headaches, and all the other symptoms you've enumerated, but these are uncommon occurrences.  Most people with pineal cysts do not have symptoms at all.  Symptomatic pineal cysts are usually due to either increased cerebrospinal fluid production or bleeding into the cyst, causing it to progressively enlarge.  What your neurologist can probably do is to repeat the MRI after some time just to see if there's any further enlargement. Since pineal cysts rarely cause symptoms, the neurologist may also evaluate you to see if there are other causes of the headache and dizziness you're presently experiencing.