Why I've Had a Headache for 2 Months

A lil background, I've had a constant headache for about 2 months now. About a month ago, I got a little black floating speck in my right eye. I've also gotten the first 3 migraines of my life during this time. I've tried everything to think of what could be causing it: watching what I eat, how I sit at work, getting my spine and neck realigned.. everything. And nothing had been helping!! So, finally I got talked (rather scared) into going to the doctor. I had an appointment Friday morning with a physician's assistant, and we talked about what could be triggering these headaches. In order to rule out some major issues, she sent me to the ophthamologist and to get an MRI. At 3:30, I went to the ophthamologist and everything was perfect; the floaters were normal.

At 4:30 I went to get an MRI. They got me all ran through and when they pulled me out the MRI tech told me that the radiologist wanted to insert some dye into me to get some contrast on something. So, I immediately freaked out because needles are one of my biggest fears. But thank you nice MRI lady. I managed to survive. They ran me through the machine again, and then I waited while my PA and my new doctor, Dr. Orton, went to talk to the radiologist. The dreaded waiting...

My PA and Dr. Orton came out to talk to me. Turns out I have a 4 cm by 2.5 cm mass on my thalamus in my brain. This is what has been causing the headaches and the visual disturbance. At first I started freaking out and almost crying. They decided to admit me to the hospital for the night so I wouldn't be alone in my apartment and so they could run some labs and give me some drugs. But I quickly discovered that being a smartass and joking around with the doctors and nurses was a good coping mechanism for a worrywart like me.

This is what I know:

1) Before getting an MRI, don't be a smartass to your mother and jokingly tell her that you're getting an MRI just to make sure you don't have a brain tumor something. It will come back to bite you!

2) Being a smartass and joking around with the doctors/nurses is a very good coping mechanism. I'm a crazy worrier by nature, so if I wasn't being a smartass, they'd have me a in straight jacket.

3) Take advangtage of being in the hospital. Gotta love the apple juice and orange sherbert. I also love how you can raise the head end of the bed, makes it perfect for watching TV. That is all I did Friday night!

3) Decadron is some glorious stuff. I woke up Friday morning feeling better than I have in two months. It's an anti-inflammatory to get the swelling down around the mass. Only downside is that it has steroids in it and they're giving me hot flashes and jacked my pulse up to 92 bmp.

4) I got blood drawn and I didn't die. I did, however, put the blankets over my head so that I couldn't see. They came in and drew blood about 5 am, and I warned the girl it would not go well. Thankfully, she was very good and there was not digging around. Took like 3 minutes tops, thank God! And I think the Lorazepam was helping me not freak out.

5) I got to the see the MRI and I've actually got a CD with the images because I need to bring them to the neurosurgeon. The mass is smooth, which I'm told is generally the case in malignant masses. It is about 1 inch by 2 inches in my thalamus. I"m just thankful it's not on my cerebrum or anything.

6) I'm going to the neurosurgeon on Monday at 9am. My friend Lisa is driving me down to Fort Collins, so I won't be alone. And then we'll find out from there. He may end up referring me on to somewhere else, possibly Mayo. Which would be ideal, IF I need to have surgery. I'm hoping the Decadron can reduce the mass enough, and then maybe some other medication can take care of it. Anything's possible right now.

That's all I know for now. Any questions feel free to ask!