Afraid I may have a brain tumor-headaches

[blutz22]

Hi everyone, so off the bat I just want to say I'm seeing a doctor on Monday.  However...

I have had chronic headaches in my temples for over 4-5 months now.  They occur almost daily around 3-4 oclock everyday.  They aren't so much painful as I know they are there.  Usually I don't use advil/aleve but if I take a nap they usually go away if not they go on their own within 3 hours.  But I am concerned I may have something going on beyond this.  I keep teling myself they are tension headaches because I am prone to stress/anxiety and this year my parents have been going through a divorce plus I am in college.  They don't hurt when I cough or shake my head (i mean shaking your head vigorously gets irritating) I am not sensitive to light and I don't have numbness or weakness/double vision.  It's just a noticeable ache in my temples..and I will even say if I massage my temples I notice bulges on both sides (my veins?)

There are no history or brain cancer issues in my family only that my mother passed away from Stage IV breast cancer.

I also occasionally get lightheaded.  Not dizzy or anything but I just feel lightheaded.  And occasionally I feel spaced out...I can't describe the feeling..but it's just a weird funk.  I also somethings get minor MINOR twitches in my fingers or eyelids.  I also have never had history of headaches prior to these 4-5 months.  I also know I get sinus infections commonly.  

My question is do these sound like symptoms of a brain tumor?  I eat fairly healthy and I am at a good weight.  Or is it likely from stress/ I know I don't drink as much water as I need to.  Could it also be from being tense in my body all the time (into the stress category)


I'm worried.  But I understand that it is what it is.  What do y'all think?

[rumpled]

Oops meant to address that last one to Blutz!

[rumpled]

As well, my cousin has/had a cancerous tumor and never got a headache so... headache is a general symptom and can be linked to a lot of things from migraines to BP (like countrygirl said!) to hormones to anxiety to sinus to caffeine withdrawal to allergies to... in other words your PCP has to rule out the common causes and then get on to the rare stuff like brain tumors.

I hope you have an intelligent PCP that will determine if one of the commoner causes is at fault. Only then if many or most of those are ruled out would I seek out a really good doc like CG suggested.

[countrygirl2436]

Hi  i was reading your message it sounds to me like its your blood pressure goin to your brain my friend gets headaches like that but hers are off the chart bad......   ive had two brain surgeries  and the headaches i was gettin when they found my tumors were really bad  the shot down the back of my neck..    u may also be in the early stages  it really doesnt sound to me like tumors  how ever id really get a cat scan or mri done  with contrast ... the contrast shows where the blood flow is   so  u should recommend that  ... also id get a real good docter and if it does happen to be  tumors ...   hope and pray that its not...  I go to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore MD  i have one of the best nerosurgeons in the world     its worth the time and effort to seek him out  ... if  you do find out  that u have tumors  .. i have reocurring  meningiomas   they grow on the surface of my brain   i have another one   so im waiting till july for my next mri  and see where to go from there...