Do I have a Brain Tumor?

I am an athletic 15 year old male. I have been experiencing not that painful jabbing pains that last for 2-3 seconds in the same spot, which is above my left ear. I get this 10 -20 times about day for about 1or 2 days, then i wont have it for 3 weeks or or 4, but then i get them again. Also i have been getting deja vu once or twice a week. Also i have had some short term memory problems like i forget what is just recently did, but then 10 seconds later i remember it. My mom had a cyst on her neck. I have checked on the internet and i have some symptoms like the temporal lobe brain tumor. I am wondering if i have a a brain tumor. I am very very scared. could please tell me if i should be worried or not. Could you please gve me some feedback and some previous experiences. Thankyou.

[stutterheart1]

Hi Moe,
According to your symptoms, you don't have any symptoms of a brain tumor. I can assure you that you have no better chance of having a brain tumor than anyone else walking down the street. I get sharp jabbing pains all the time in my head. I get deja vu all the time, way more than I should. Deja vu is caused by input signals hitting your hard drive before they are interpretted by your filter and compartmentalized. This makes it feel like you've done that before: cool new studies at Hopkins on this. As far as memory loss, you probably just have girls on your mind. Memory loss is not usually a come and go thing: tests for memory impairment are usually to have someone read you 3 items like "clock, foot, cent" and then have you repeat it back to them after they have asked you a dissimilar question. The impairment is due to lack of function in the hypocampus, an area contained in the temporal lobe. If you had a brain tumor in your temporal lobe that was making you symptomatic, you would have impaired vision, slurred speach etc. None of these symptoms you describe have anything to do with brain tumors.
I thought that I had a brain tumor when my left side started trembling for weeks on end. I couldn't even hold a glass. After the MRI I had to wait 2 weeks and grew very anxious and they got much worse. I came to find out that they were just caused by extreme stress and too much coffee. Point being, your mind can become hypersensative to goings on in your body.
If you have a brain tumor, it's because you have the same 1:100,000 chace as everyone else and it's not related to these symptoms. Go see a doctor if you black out, have blurred vision or have siezures.
I'm not a doctor but I have many friends who are and like to think I know quite a bit about the illnesses I thought I had.

[moe53]

You are the best, i can't thankyou enough. I feel so much better. You're the best u should be a doctor.

[moe53]

Also i shake my head alot, have i maybe damaged my brain a bit

[stutterheart1]

You shake your head a lot? I don't get it. You have to do a lot more than that. I've bounced my head off of a half dozen trees, uprights, snow-machines and fists and it hasn't affected me too much. Take a multivitamin. I think potassium and ... am blanking here, perhaps I did get brain damage... a few other nutrients help lube up your neurons. Can't hurt.

[moe53]

thanks

[moe53]

I am a bit depressed and scared, and i feel a bit woozy today. i feel like i can't concentrate, i can't focus well i just feel a bit weird and i feel like going to sleep even though i had a goodnight sleep. This may be due to stress and depression. Could you tell me what i am going through and what i should do. Maybe i will feel better tomorrow. What should i do if i dont?

[moe53]

Also i didn't experience this yesterday it just started today.

[stutterheart]

Hi Moe,
I have a feeling that you have some sort of anxiety issue. I thought it was a bit unusual for you to have the symptoms you explained and jump to the conclusion that you have a serious medical issue. It is a hallmark sign of anxiety disorder for this to happen: the imaginied illness is a marker for the stress you are experiencing.
You should think about seeing a psychiatrist. If you cannot afford one, there are several programs for minors to leverage. It is important that you understand that, while you undboubtedly have some crazy stuff going on at this age, the root of your problem is very likely beyond that. Many people don't understand that there is depression and anxiety related to events (like your girlfriend breaking up with you or just not getting along with people) and then depression related to physiolgoical deficits (like not enough seratonin in your brain or an overactive adrenal gland). Your school psychologist may not understand this. They might try to treat you for the 'what's wrong in your life' kind of stuff but not acknowledge the possibility of real psychological underpinnings of your condition. A psychiatrist, that is, a psychologist that also went to medical school and is more interested in the mechanics of your brain than what is going wrong in your life, may be able to perscribe medication.
I have learned that I have a real anxiety disorder. You'd not pick up on it if you knew me...I'm about as normal a person as you'd see. But as I started my career on wall street and got used to working 100 hour weeks under enormous stress, I started to get horrible panic attacks and severe anxiety that would last days on end. Long story short, I found that I'm just not all that good at dealing with stress and have a natural tendency toward worrying too much and getting too anxious. Looking back, even before my symptoms got too accute, I can remember always being like this to a lesser degree. It got so bad that I thought I'd have to quit my job and go to the countryside to recover in a nut house. I thought psychiatrists were a quack (my dad is one, by the way but that's a different issue) but finally gave in. I was happy to learn that they don't want to hear too much about your feelings....that comes later if at all, but are more interested in getting your chemicals in order. I have taken a medicine that prevents saratonin (Paxil is a slective saratonin reuptake inhibitor) from being soaked up instead of soaking into your brain. This is a longer-term sort of solution and it works pretty well. But it also makes me feel sort of too calm and I definitely need my 'fire' on the job so I elect not to take medicine constantly. Instead, I take what is called a benzodiazapine which is basically a chill pill. You feel better instantly. The problem is that it is a very strong drug and is very easy to be abused. Although it is more accepted in Manhattan and doctors will redily perscribe it here, most doctors will not give these to you outside of the ER for a severe panic attack. But I only take them about once a month when I really get in a mental jam. And just knowing I have it as a parachute really takes a lot of stress off (nothing worse than not knowing how to get out of a situation that you feel cornered in). I guess I've sort of progressed beyond the constant medication and have now learned to go take a walk if I feel anxiety coming on or go listen to 10 minutes of music...but it takes a long time to start learning how to deal with it.
I'm not sure if I'm off base or not with your condition but I hope that laying out my experience gives you a few ideas for a starting point. A regular pysician can also talk to you about anxiety.
Best of luck and keep me informed.
-A

[moe53]

i love u, u have  helped me sooo much thanku

[moe53]

Some of the symptoms have subsided, but i am still feeling  some symptoms. how long do u think these will take to get better? i am going to school tomorrow and i have a feeling that, that will distract me.

[moe53]

Could I maybe have a brainstem tumor, a little bit of the woozyness i was feeling has the symptoms of a brainstem tumor. I know this could be from anxiety i am starting to feel like pressure on the side of my head, like a band is around it. Do i maybe have a brainstem tumor because it occurs mostly in people under 20. Or is  most of what i am feeling to anxiety. Thanks

[moe53]

I forgot to mention, i also drool a lot, this may be due to my braces and retainer, but usually when i am staring at somthing or not paying attention i drool

[RNRita]

I don't mean to butt in as you got some good advice, but this is a heart rhythm forum and you might meet people who have more of your symptoms on a neuro forum...or possibly migraines. I experience wooziness a LOT for 2 years and believe it is from MAV.  Try a headache forum.  I did.

[moe53]

Thanks, i will.