hi ladies, i'm going to post this in the "exp. with doctors" forum too, this is so insane! (i PM'd this to Claraissa first)



oh man, wait till I tell you what just happened ! OK, about 3hrs. ago, my dr.'s office called me and it was the nurse, and she said to me, that since I had called last week and wanted to talk to my dr. that she was calling me back, and was going to get him, that I should hold on! I thought, ok. WEll, a few minutes later he comes to the phone.
He says to me that he's calling me bec. I had left word that I wanted to talk to him. HERE WE GO: he then begins to tell me that i will be fine with the idodine dye and I should n't worry, I say to him, wait, I'm afraid i might be allergic to it, he then begins this "montra" of "Laura, are you allergic to iodine?", I say, "i don't even know, because I'm NOT a SHELLFISH eater, so I wouldn't know, and I wouldn't want to find out there!", I think that sounds very normal and reasonable! OK, he then continues on the same way "Laura, are you alergic to iodine?", I say again, with astonishment, "I don't know, how could I know, I've never been injected with iodine in teh first place, I've only had iodine in the form of table salt, is that what you mean?",,,again, "Laura, this is a yes or no question, calm down, are you allergice to iodine?" HOLY COW! I say AGAIN "I DON'T KNOW...how would I know,,,,do you mean table salt?", ok again "Laura, calm down, you need to listen to me (holy cow, I WAS listening, and he kept saying the same line over and over again!) ,calm down (very condescending! like I was a hysterical woman or child, and yes, I was becoming slightly aggitated, but not crazy!), listen to me Laura, have you ever had a reaction to ANYTHING in your life?" WHAT? So I said, "well, I think so, I can't rem. right now with you on teh phone here, but I think I have, diff. medications etc.....", I was trying my best here! He then says that I'll be fine! WITHOUT KNOWING IF I'M ALLERGIC OR NOT? OK, so, I come right out and ask him why he is so adamant on the dye, is it bec. he thinks I have a brain tumor, or a sinus tumor? OK, he then sort of pauses, and says "well, yes, that's a POSSIBILITY"...OK, I nearly fall over....but I keep going....I need answers! So, I stand there, in my kitchen with my husband, and all this felt very surreal! So, I pressed him, and said "wait a minute, just the other night, in yiour office, when we talked about the me getting a CT scan, you told me plainly to my face that you didn't think I had a brain tumor, and you acted like this CT scan would just sort of be a "formality", a POSITIVE, jsut to be SURE - so is that what you still mean? I mean, you did say to me, that you didn't believe I had a brain tumor?!!! OK, again he says "Laura, I can't tell without the CT scan, (and he sounds so serious, UGH) " then he brings up something about cancer as if to say cancer in the brain, so I say to him, but I've just had two blood tests, and they came back NO CANCER! AGAin, he says to me "Laura, that's just your BODY, your BODY has no cancer in it,,,,but the brain is different"! By now, I'm shaking!

Now, he's really beginnng to get aggitated, and tells me he has to go bec. he has other patients! So, I kept pushing it anyway, nicely, (even though I felt like punching him in his arrogant talking down to me, face!) Now, I knwo about the "blood brain barrier", yes, but after all, what the heck is he saying, that your blood that travels through your entire body, doesn't go into your brain? or that perhaps, once in the brain, it changes? WHAT? so that you might not have cancer in your BODY, but you may have it in your BRAIN?!!! this seems incredible! Then he says something about the fact that it could be slow growing cancer.....at which point I stopped him again, and said, "wiat a miniute, just please tell me, that's all I'm asking, I trust yiou, do you think,,,,is that what you're saying? that you really do think I have some sort of cancer in the brain, or brain tumor in my brain or sinuses?" AGAIN, NO DIRECT ANSWER! So, I brought up the fact that the other night in his office, he ALSO SAID when he looked in my ears and eyes, that a brain tumor (bec. I had brought it up and asked him if my symptoms of temple pressure and squeezing, and some head pain on the left side on and off....were a brain tumor)) was a "possibility" BUT NOT A PROBABILITY, you DO know the difference Laura, right?" like I was some kind of kid, who may not realize the diff. between POSSIBILITY and PROBABILTIY? WHAT?!!! In other words, what he was saying to me that night, was that there is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY of something, there is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY of a brain tumor.....BUT, the PROBABILITY that I had one, was pretty small.....now, that was the first visit, last monday a week ago today. That was the visit, that he "diagnosed" me with Giant Cell arteritis, and even TOLD ME I HAD IT, AND GAVE ME A PRES. FOR PREDNISONE, and in a very serious manner, looked right in my husbands and my faces, and said to us, " I want her to have that blood test TOMORROW, and then I want to see her here the NEXT DAY!!!" and he was SERIOUS, so I've seen how he reacts when he REALLY does think it's serious, plus, he told me "I believe in being upfront with my patients", so, if I judge him by the way he acted last week, when he thought I had the Giant Cell arteritis, how not only serious he was, but how URGENT he was.....and I compare it to how he talked to me TONIGHT? well, yes, he DID sound "serious", but NOT LIKE THAT OTHER NIGHT when he SERIOUSLY thoguht I had the Giant Cell thingy, see? He basically finally told me tonight, on the phone, that, he was going to cancel the CT scan, and that IF i wanted to still go through with it, to call him.....now, Claraissa, if he REALLY REALLY believed I had a brain tumor, or cancer, wouldn't he have come right out and said that, I mean, that's serious! Time is of the essence! Yes, he sort of alluded to the fact that he thought there was a POSSIBILTY of a brain tumor, but, the very fact that he was telling me he'd cancel the CT scan, and that I should call him IF i wanted to go through with it, sounds to me, like he can't REALLY TRULY HONESTly believe I have one, right? That makes sense, also, the nurse had told me on Friday night, the FIRST time she called me to tell me about the CT set up for Apr.13th, that he also wanted to see me back in there, A WEEK after the scan....now, yes, I k now it can take up to a week for the radiologist to read it , and get it back to the dr. but, if the radiologist saw something not good, he'd call the dr. IMMEDIATLEY, like the next day! I know this. so, for my dr. to tell the nurse, that after I take the CT scan, to schedulle me for an appt. with him again, A WHOLE WEEK LATER, then he must not really think that the radiologist is going to find anything, bec. otherwise, he'd have told her, that I was getting the scan on April 13th, and to set me back up for an appt. the next day or the day after, because he'd be already SUSPECTING the radiologist to call wiht the bad news, see? But instead, he wanted to see me A WEEK LATER, so I get the impression from that alone, that he must not REALLY believe there is abrain tumor there, do you see what I mean?

I love how he said to me the other night, "No, I don't think you have a brain tumor" and then smiled, and then said "I believe in being very upfront with my patients"....oh yeah, except for tonight! No matter what I said he wouldn't give me a definate answer, when I asked him if he thought it was a brain tumor.....no definates, instead a very serious sounding voice, and very vague answers about it being a possibility...well, where's the upfront with your patients NOW? what happned to that idea? I mean, he wanted ME to answer YES OR NO, to the idodine question, when I couldn't......but HE wasn't willing to give ME a yes or no...on the question of whether or not he PERSONALLY thinks I have one! NO, this s*cks, and it scared the crap out of me! So, as it stands, they're going to cancel, and if I want to, I can call him, and we can do it later. Claraissa, I can't believe he'd do that, if he REALLY DID THINK there was a brain tumor or brain cancer going on, do you??????? But , he sounded so serious, and the very fact that he answermed me with "YES, it's a POSSIBILITY" made me feel weak! it almost sounded, like he was almsot saying "yes" to my quest. about if he thought I had it or not.....but as if he didn't want to say it, he didn't want to scare me more ((which personally, I don't think he cares about, or he would have said to me that he still doesn't think it's a brain tumor, but lets' jsut do the CT scan just to be sure)), even if he had said THAT, I would have felt better, because he'd be telling me HIS OWN opinion, "off the books" so to speak...at LEAST that would have helped me, I might or might not have still gone along with the CT scan, but heavens, I certainly wojldn't be feeling like I do now......now, I feel like there's this black cloud of death, of doom, over me! This is absolutley horrible!


I immediatley called my best friend, and we talked about it....she's good, she's been a hypochondriac all her life..lol..so she's been to so many many many dr.'s over the years, and she's a great source of health knowledge and how dr.'s "act",,,,,see, I haven't been to to many dr.'s in my lifetime, I don't like them, I don't trust them.....but being that she was so worried all the time about every litttle tiny thing, she'd always be running to one specialist after the other. So, she's a great person to talk to about dr.'s......she immediatley said to me, "get away from him, he's an alarmist,,,,I'm telling you Laura, dr.'s are like this, they alarm the crap out of you, welcome to the world of dr.'s! he's just covering his a**, he wants that test so he can put it in your file and close that chapter, just bec. he said there was a POSSIBILITY, doesn't mean a damn thing, t here's a POSSIBILITY that I have a brain tumor tooo....and that women on POWER SURGE have brain tumors too.....and didn't he tell you the other night, that it was a POSSIBILTY, not a PROBABILITY,..? and the other night Laura, he let his "guard" down, and talked to you just person to person, not dr. to patient.....and told ou in his own PERSONAL opinion, you don't have brain tumor? didn't he tell you that?" and I said yes......she said, "from everything you've told me he's a prick..and that the symptoms you've told me, the temple pressing, the temple squeezing, the pressure over your left eyebrow, and up on the left side of your forehead, and head....this sounds like the sinuses, and NOT a sinus TUMOR...." she said sh'es known two people over the years, that have had brain tumors, and they are usually in bad pain in their heads, and that it progressivley gets worse, it doesn't just coem and go.....bec. I had said, it only made sense to ME that if a tumor had grown to the point of where, it's now pressing on my temple or whatever, I don't think there'd be days that you didn't get that pressure, and then days that you do, right? If it's already at the point of that size, to cause pressure, wouldn't the pressure remain constant? make sense? it does to her and I. I know we're not dr.s' here, but that sounds like common sense.

I think what scares me is that I've had this now for 6 weeks....in the beginning it was worse, the temple pressure was intense, not horrible or holding my head bad....but fairly "there", and the squeezing was there too, most of the teime....then, it went to the top of my head, on the left, and my forehead and over left eyebrow, and briddge of nose.
With the temple press. and squeezing still remaining through all fo that, but eventually began to decrease, so that there'd be days, that I woldn't really have any pressure or squeezing, or some days maybe a little.....then there were other days that were bad. OK, now what does that sound like to you? It's just that I've had this for six weeks, and I wonder if that's a normal peri thing, to have it that long??????? NOw, if someone said to me "oh yes, tha'ts totally normal for peri, yes, you can go on like that for MONTHS".....well, then I'd think that's what it was, and the hell with him, he doesn't give peri or hormones much credulity anyway, I could tell. Most dr.'s dont.



Allso...my 28 yr. old son showed up here the other day and asked me for Advil for the pressure and pain he had on the LEFT temple, and that TMJ joint outside his left ear! He had to take 4! Yesterday, he ahd it again, but not as bad, and it seemed to have moved to the right as well. How could we both have this, unless it's an allergy? Also, there are times I feel it trying to start up on MY right temple too. THIS MORNING I WOKE UP WITH THREE "PIMPLES', RATHER LARGE ONES, ON THE HEEL OF MY LEFT HAND PALM....they are a little sensitive. They are in sort of a half moon shape. Also, I've noticed about my head these days, AFTER WED., WHICH WAS THE DAY HE TOLD ME HE WANTED TO DO A CT SCAN, BUT THAT HE DIDN'T THINK I HAD A BRAIN TUMOR (also, I had that eye exam that day) ...my head, since then, has been "weirder", my left eye feels more pressure behind it (not bad), my left ear was hot the other day, and sometimes I feel sort of like I"m going to get an earache in the left ear, but I don't.
I dont know what to make of any of this!!!!!!! I'm loosing my mind...and yes, I know, I am becoming very very anxious, but can you blame me? This is all a little to hard to just "ignore". My mind cannot think of anythng else. I have looked up every time of brain tumor, read everything about them all, and what symptoms they'd have, and I don't seem to fit into any of them, other than where they say "headaches", and yet, that's a peri thing, not to take it lightly, but I don't have the other symptoms, plus, I don't have headaches all the time, and it said that the headaches usually get worse as time goes on well, with me, the temple press. and squeezing has gotten better not worse, and the pressure up on the top of my head on the left, has been better for weeks now, with on adn off "twanges" up there, sometimes I'll have to take Benedryl for this. Somtimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.
But now, every little thing I feel, ever time something is going to be weird in my head, I'm going to think BRAIN TUMOR ,adn thanks to him! Becasue, honestly, before I saw him, yes I kind of wondered if that was it, and i was looking it up, but when I saw the sympoms list, I realized that wasn't it ..... but after seeing HIM sit there in his white dr. coat, with his arms crossed looking seriuos, and all that nonsense on the ph. last night.....geez! The funny thing is, on Wed. night when I saw him, and he suggested a cT scan, he was only "sort of" serious, and then when he left the room, and I grabbed his hand and SERIOUSLY asked him, if he thought I had a brain tumor, and he laughed and smiled and said "NO, Idon't think you have a brain tumor", since then I have been a little better, but when he called last night, wow! A friend of mine said to me "welcome to the world of dr.'s" and she laughed, yeah, because they do that, they want all tests just to be sure, even if they THEMSELVES dont' really think you have anything.

ok, well, now that I'm a basket case, and the temple pressure is now starting up, (see, I can usually get up with no temple pain or pressure, but once I'm up for a while it can start, esp. now since of the anxiety of writing this!!!) ...I'm taking xanax right now! I know, a lot of people will tell me to take the test just for my piece of mind, ok, but remember my heart arythmia, and that weird sort of ischemic thing that has happ.d in my brain every few February's , I don't want to set that off, and that can happen...but he doesn't want to hear it! That's not right. This is the only dr. I have right now, I can't get another.

one more thing girls, he was so darn convinced that hormones don't do any of this! I had to tell him that from what I've read not only on THIS site, but others, that yes, hormones CAN INDEED MIMIC OTHER THINGS, like head or brain problems...whether it be a supposed "tumor", or "cancer", or a neurlological disorder, or whatever....from what I've learned, peri, and the changing hormones can do UNBELIEVEBALE THINGS, SCARING THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF US, MIMICING ALL SORTS OF DISEASES AND DISORDERS, once they start changing! UGH! if he'd only given me the time of day, if he'd only have even met me half way, and half heartedly agreed that hormones can do this, or at least give the SYMPTOMS of a "brain tumor", or whatever.......but, he would't budge, nope, he shook his head, smiled, as if to say he thought I was just another upset female, who THINKS she knows what she's talking about!
Ladies, tell me I'm not nuts! I need all the support and strength I can get right now! Hormones CAN mimic things, I've read that here. And besides, what exactly did he base this "diagnosis" on anyway......just the fact that my left temple had pressure? or that the top of my head on the left side had pressure ON AND OFF? I mean, he looked in my ears, my eyes, and mouth, and then told me i didn't have a sinus infection. But that's how he jumped the gun the first time and told me i had giant cell arteritis too.....just simply by me telling him about the press. and squeezing, .... for Pete sake, even the eye dr. told me he thought I had nothing to worry about.


hey, let me ask you guys this.....if you had a "brain tumor", or a sinus one.....ok, and the eye dr. does an absolutley complete eye exam......can he see it? Now, i asked him this, and he said that obviously he can't see the "tumor", but that yes, he would be able to see certain things that would indicate one ..... right, that's what I thought too.

also, I'm due to get my period in about a week or less....I wonder if that's also causing some crazy things........months ago, I started noticing that about a week before my period, I would start to feel "weird", and have some smaller, but definate strange sympotms......THEN, it became TWO weeks before my period that all starts now. I can't helpe it, even my own husband says that this is all hormonal, andthat the reason it 's mainly on the LEFT side of my head (which now feels like it's sort of stinging a little) is that that side of my body is taking the hit worse! do you think that 's a possibility? Personally, he wants to go over there and punch him in the face, bec. he saw the very life drain out of me last night with the dr. on the phone, and because he wouldn't anser my questions!, esp. after he already told me the other night, he DIDN'T think i had a brain tumor, oh, and that he believes in being upfront with his patients! well, then I can only assume, if he really did think i had one...he would have told me.

Hi,
I just wanted to reassure that this "temple pressure" may be an anxiety related headache. I was wondering so like are you going to get the cat scan? Sorry, you are having such a hard time and getting upset. I wish you well. peace out.

Hi MyDarling,

I am sorry you are going through all this but I had head pressure, blurred vision, ear ache, tinnitus on and off for almost 3 years now; with bioidentical hormones it was less frequent and I am thankful that the head pressure is not painful but I have also experienced the pulsing temple pain but only would last only for a few minutes. I still get the head pressure but not as bad these days.

I am 49 now but when the head pressure stuff and other noticeable symptoms started at 46, at this time I had every test done CT brain scan, abdominal CT, blood work, holter monitor for heart, etc...
there were some abnormalities in my blood work which I repeated several times and then it was normal again.

I requested all the above test from my doctor for peace of mind, I figured if I had something serious, I want to find it early and fight it, although, I suspected it was hormonal. Doctors can make mistakes and the CT scan is just another tool for them so they can make a diagnosis.

Plumeria

Just try to get yourself to a point that you can have the dye and get the scan done. That will be the deciding factor in whether or not there is a tumor.

When my optic nerve swelled up and I couldn't see out of my right eye (optic neuritis) the pain was excruciating. Just movement of the eye in the socket almost took my breath away. At that point, I honestly thought I had a brain tumor that had begun pressing on the eye... once the opthomologist looked at my eye, he knew it was optic neuritis. Then, I had evoked potential tests as well as MRIs for clarification.

I'm only bringing this up because while it wasn't a great diagnosis...it could have been a lot worse.

Try to reassure yourself that you need tests done to rule in or rule out something. Then, do them.

If you have any faith in your doctor, stay with him. If you go see someone else, it will delay your tests and make you even more anxious about the possibilities. Have you had a reaction to salt with iodine? If not, great! Try to trust your doctor that if you do have a reaction to the dye...he will be there to counteract it. Make hm tell you what he'd do if you did have a reaction- if that'll make you feel any safer.

Bottom line, don't rehash what he said days ago vs. how his voice sounded vs. anything else. He wants to rule out a possibility of a brain tumor. The best way to do that is by a scan with and without dye. He took an oath and has your best interest at heart. You must get to the point that while you should question things (doctors are human too) you have to release a little hold and allow him to do what is necessary.

I hope they can get you scheduled for your scan very soon and can read your results very soon. Because, I'm afraid you're going to give yourself a stroke over the anxiety and worry!

Take care,
Georgia

Darling

forgive me for this, but my visions a little blurry today, and I had a hard time reading your first post. But may I say a couple of things that might help

First, the cancer thing... Your doctor did blood tests? I think this is reasonably new. Different cancers, and there are squillions of difference cancers, shed? pass off? discrete chains of protiens that are unique to them, and these chains are in the blood. I think this testing looks at specific forms of cancer and identifies them by way of the protiens as opposed to say, doing a white cell count or looking at platelets.

Scientists are stilll trying to figure out the sequences for some of these chains so some forms of cancer are undetectable, or, in the case of the brain, if the chains of protiens are too large to pass through the cellmembrane and then through the membrane of the veins, they would go entirely undetected, and the doctor would have to opt for a scan.

As to iodine, if you can handle table salt, you can probably handle the test. I think that was all he was saying. I have never been allergy tested for stuff before the fact myself, although I'm routinely asked about allergies.

I hope that helps to ease your mind. It's a little overwhelming to have all this stuff fired at you out of the blue, and with so few answers.

I believe they would have an antidote to most things... thats probably why he told you not to worry... I think you probably needed to ask him if he could handle the possibility of an allergic reaction ..

How can you expect him to make a positive diagnosis without diagnostic tests?


Cancer begins in a localised area....and then spreads to other regions of the body ...commonly known as Metastasis..

Six months ago I had frequent migraines and visual disturbances...I knew there was a possibility that I may have something else going on like ..for example...a brain tumour .... there was absolutely no way my doctor could tell me anything until he ruled it out with the appropriate diagnostic test...ie... a CT scan...


No, he would not because he doesn't know himself...

what would happen if he told you that you had a brain tumour and the test proved negative? OR that he told you that you dont have a brain tumour but the CT scan proved that you did? Would you not sue him? He can't possibly diagnose you without the tests!

In all fairness I believe he is trying to reassure you as much as he possibly can...and there is always a possibilty that you may have a brain tumour ... there is always a possibility of anyone having a brain tumour if the symptoms dictate....and I feel he is being very upfront with you..


Strange symptoms come and go in Peri but if a symptom is causing anxiety then it is best checked out ...go and have the CT scan.

Symptoms of Perimenopasue can mimic other illnesses and thats why it is always best to get yourself checked by your doctor so that you can rule other things out... Go to the page where Dearest lists the 35 symptoms of Perimenopause...she clearly states it here.


Perimenopause magnifies everything so I can understand how anxious you feel.


Try not to research brain tumours on the internet ... I think I remember someone advising you about this a few days ago?

A friend of mine said to me "welcome to the world of dr.'s" and she laughed, yeah, because they do that, they want all tests just to be sure, even if they THEMSELVES dont' really think you have anything.
And I think that is a very sensible course of action..

This is the only dr. I have right now, I can't get another.

I would seriously stay with him...he seems to be doing all he can for you.

I would go with the CT scan just to put your mind at rest.... and my mind at rest too LOL

Take care

Gez~

Ditto to everything said in the previous answers to your posts. Stop trying to give yourself a stroke from anxiety, and get the tests done. That is the ONLY way to find out what is going on, if anything. If you work against your doctors, it will do nothing more than frustrate you AND the medical team(s). From what I've gathered from reading your posts, you WANT to figure out what is causing all of your discomfort. Let them do their work and find out. Have the tests.

Hi mydarling,

I agree with what the others have said. If you want to have peace of mind, it will be important for you to get yourself to the point where you can have the CT scan. You doctor is doing his best to reassure you, but without the proper diagnostic tests, he can not properly diagnose you nor put your mind at ease. Your doctor has been doing everything he can to address your concerns about the CT scan and any possible results from the CT scan. Until you actually have the test done, you will continue to feel anxious and stressed, and that will really start to wear you down. That level of anxiety is not only physically draining, but emotionally draining.

Take care.

Alley

hi ladies,

listen, thank you to all of you! There is something I want you to understand here, I'm certainly NOT expecting him to be able to diagnose me without knowing, that would be nuts....if you got that impression, then taht wasn't what I meant. ...what I was trying to say was that, the other night, in his office, he was MORE THAN WILLING to look directly at myself and my husband, and very plainly said "No, I don't think you have a brain tumor" and laughed. OK, so all I was trying to get at was that, why did he say that then, why was he willing to "commit" himself then, and state very openly that i DON'T have one?......then, a few days goes by, he calls me back, and we go through that entirely weird conversation, where NOW, all of a sudden, he was almost like a diff. guy! I've never had a conversation like that, it was RIDICULOUS! I know you all think that most likely I WAS THE ONE loosing it on the ph. with him so he had to talk like that....NOPE, I was strangley calm, I did become "anxious", (but not hysterical, or nuts!) and felt ticked off that he wasn't answering me! I do believe I deserve an answer! Not that he could outrightly tell me "Oh laura, I'm 100% sure you don't have one.....I'm ABSOLUTLEY POSITIVE"...of course not, I only wanted to know why he had "changed his tune" so to speak, why the other night, he was very willing to tell me I don't have one.......and THEN last night, presto chango! This was all because he became aggravated, tense, INTOLERANT of the fact that I wanted some answers, (just his "opinion", not a sure thing!), I wanted to be reassured I wouldn't have some kind of allergic reaction, and that I coudln't believe there was no test ahead of time (you know...PREVENTATIVE MED.!), things like that......well, it was an absolutley idiotic conversation, because HE(not me) was asking the same thing over and over....if I' don't know if I'm allergic to iodine, how can I know? how can I give him a yes or no? and yet, that's all he kept saying! It was totally ridiculous. Then, he had the nerve to become INTOLERANT of ME.....and the funny thing was ,,,,i kept saying, I'd like to do this, but not with the dye, I know you can do that, I know there's even an x-ray for just the sinuses alone! WEll, as far as he was concerned, it was HIS WAY OR THE HIGHWAY.....that's not a good dr.....if you can't even have a "normal" conversation with your dr., if he can't even address the things you're asking him (and again, I'm not asking him to tell me he's POSITIVE I don't have one!), if you can't even sit there and "bat" things back and forth, so both YOU and he feel comfortable with the decision.........forget it.....that's not right! He wanted me to just do this, and blindly trust him.....that's not me....that to me, is stupid. I've lived long enough, and seen enough (to say the very least about the fact that both myself and my husband WORKED IN A HOSPITAL when we still lived in NY, which is where we are from) to know, you can't do that, you can't just trust blindly, without some kind of NORMAL CONVERSATION with him.....he wasn't even respecting me.

This is not me being dificult, this is me asking very normal questions, this is me trying to tell him I dont know if I'm allergic to iodine, this is me just telling him,,,just being honest with him, about the fact that , that scares me, but that I'm more than willing to do it without the dye, or could we even just meet for about 10 minutes, and just "talk" so I feel reassured ... NOPE, he wouldn't do it....now, you know ladies, that's not fair, or nice! I'm not expecting the world here, I asked for a small amt. of his time, I AM his patient for pete sake.....I know, I'm not the only patient he has....no, but I ams still important, and he didn't treat me like that, and if you're treated unimportantly by ANYONE, then that particular relationship has a problem. And the relationship between a dr. and his patient is EXTREMLEY important, that communication is of great importance, that could mean your life! If he's not willing to sit there FOR A FEW MINUTES, and reassure you, then he's wrong. He is that type of guy, who feels that HE'S THE DR. and you're just the average "joe" (see, I don't agree with that, nor do I give in to that condesending attitude), so WHAT DO YOU KNOW?....well, I may not know as much as he does, but I kknow enough to know, that I want to be treated with respect, in such an important relationship! No, he WASN'T doing his best to talk to me, he wasnt'. My husb. and my second oldest son were standing there listening, and they couldn't believe what they were hearing either. It was ridiculous. I tried my best to be "nice", but I"m no "sheep" that just gets herded into some kind of "test" or whatever, without proper knowledge of the entire procedure, what DOES happen, and what COULD happen, tha's only intelligentt. OH yes, you can be fully assured, that the "professionals" (now remember girls, I've worked with these "professionals" before in the hosp.) are standing by, to run in there and inject me with liquid BENEDRYL in teh IV, if I go into some kind of "reaction", oh, how reassuring! They have to be kidding us! the unfortunate thing his, they're not. Whatever happened to finding out BEFORE the reaction hits, that the person is or is NOT allergic to it....that to me, is assinine! My own father in law went into a full coronary thrombosis because of that very reason. No, I'm just not the type to blindly trust people, or jsut "take what I can get" , no, nobody should! If I felt he was even being "nice" to me, hey, that would've even been helpful...but he was being his usual condesending INTOLERANT self, since I didn't want to do it HIS way, then we'll jsut call it off.....so i said, fine! If I should decide to do it, I'll call him back. But, I'm making my own trip to the hosp. and talking to some "technicians" myself about this, I need to take charge of my own body!

ok everyone........thank you once again for your replies!!!!! I always need the encouragement..lol....Sincerely, MyDarling

I have to say, in all honesty, I agree with the others. I think your doctor is doing his level best to assuage your fears, whilst addressing the concerns in a timely fashion

He would want to test for the things he thinks are most likely to be the cause asap. Sometimes, they'll order a whack of bloodwork simply to ascertain what your status is in other ways. A doctor starts with your testimony as to your symptoms, but he will have a wide body of knowledge, and there will be symptoms that indicate a manifold of disorders. Looking at the most likely candidate for cause, plus looking a broad indicators (bloodwork) will add to your testimony, and give him something to work with.

Say your vision is wonky. It could be you need a new prescription for glasses. It could be a detached retina. It could be a problem with the cornea. It could be diabetes... and so on. If you're overweight, you're at risk for diabetes, so he tests for that, but he also ships you off to a good opthomologist to rule out mechanical problems. If it turns out to be neither, then he'll look for more eosteric causes.

As others have said, without empirical data, he cannot for dead cert say you've a brain tumour. He said, no I don't think you do. He's giving you his best opinion, based on the evidence at hand, but not on empirical evidence. Sending you for this scan will give him the evidence he needs to back up his opinion. And he might think that sending you for the scan will do you some good by putting your mind at peace, if he thinks you're sure you've got one while he's fairly sure you don't.

Try to get some rest, and don't worry about the iodine. Unless you know you're allergic, you probably aren't, because everyone gets tons of salt in their diet, especially if you eat food that comes out of a box. Try and relax. Get the tests.

Laura,

I'd skip the test. You are where I was 3 years ago when I KNEW I was dying of something! I'm still here and feeling much more stable and can actually rationalize things now! The symptoms you have described are not those of a brain tumor! As long as you continue going to your doc and complaining about it, they must do the test to rule things out. He doesn't want to do the test without contrast b/c it won't show them all they need to see if they are going to do it. Simply put, it would be a waste of time and money. If the test is done, it needs to be with contrast. Brain tumors aren't "off and on"...they are "on" and continually progress with more and more symptoms.

It's very simple...either have the test or don't. If you choose not to have it, that's your decision, but you can't keep going around and around with your doc b/c there is nothing more he can do without the test results. I can see you've done tons of reading, which can often cause more anxiety than having the silly test done in the first place. Your Doc cannot look at you and tell if you have anything going on in your brain. You know that!

So...ask youself what it is that you want your Dr. to do for you?

Then, decide if you are going to have the test done or not. I'm not being mean but you are wanting your doctor to assure you of something without the proper testing. He just cannot do that.

Side note...with me, one test led to another and in my mind, one set of symptoms made me have one disease and then another and on and on it went for 3 solid months. I ran up over $60,000 in medical tests only to find out I was physically healthy. I cried daily in my husbands arms and finally told him that I would do whatever he thought was best for me since I couldn't rationalize anymore(and I'm an RN!). He said that I should take the antidepressants for a couple months and see if it helped. (which my doc thought I needed after the first couple of tests!) It did and 3 mos. later I was able to go off of them...in the meantime, I realized that most of my "pain and pressure" was plain ol anxiety!

So....if you don't think it could be that, have the test already. Right now in your mind, you are either going to die of a brain tumor or iodine poisoning. My guess is you won't die of either!

Hope you can get some peace about this soon!

Regarding the allergy question, I have to agree with the doc that it really is a yes or no question. He's really asking if you have had a genuine allergic reaction to iodine in the past. If you can't answer a definitive "yes" to that question, then the answer is "no". I wouldn't say the same thing about a rare substance or a special drug, but iodine isn't rare. And people who have had allergic reactions to it wouldn't hesitate to say "yes !".

If it makes you feel any better, I started developing temple headaches and odd pains a couple of years ago. I think it's just aging. I'm 46. Arteries age along with the rest of your body. I'm trying to learn to relax, the increased blood pressure from getting upset or anxious can't help.

Gez...Bravo !!!
Excellant response.
Clearly stated ~ Easy to read

Bravo!!

hi ladies.....you had to have been there, you had to have heard what I heard, that's all I can say. It was an assinine conversation.
I've NEVER had anyone say to me over and over and over .like a "montra" literally, if I was allergic to idodine...it was stupid...becaue if you don't knw, you don't know! Which is what I kept saying! I finally had to ask him if he meant table salt, because I didn't know what else to say, and he didnt give ME a yes or a no (like he wanted ME to do!), he actually didn't - so when I asked him that (because I WAS trying to answer the question) he didn't say yes or no, he just said it again, "Laura, are you allergic to iodine" ..lol....the more I think back to that ridiculous conversation, the more I know FOR SURE, I'll not be dealing with him ever again! He's full of s***! All he did was succeed in scaring the daylights out of me, and only thanks to my husband and good friends, and my faith in God, am I able to laugh at him now!

I've had more intelligent conversations with my cats, and I can't stand them! LOL!!!


thanks ladies! Sincerely, MyDarling

Seriously? You can not stand your cats?
=^..^=

Glad you're feeling better! It's a relief! Now, I'm sure your temple pressure will go away. Sometime all it takes is to convince yourself that you're ok. Then symptoms disappear! Have a great day! Mary

Hi..............

I found your posts hard to follow............you were questioning if whether an Eye dr. can detect any tumors. Alot can be observed through an eye examination.

I know 2 people from having their eye examination & dr. said you get directly to the hospital. One gal did have a tumor & the other was told she had severe high blood pressure. In both cases, it was an eye examination that detected these.

I must report the gal with the tumor had surgery & is doing very well. We must put life in prospective....... lets not assume we have thing or make yourselves sick with worry?

Oh, yes...........cats, dog, all our pets provide unconditional love! Takes your mind off.......... things we can not control

Shannon

I am new to this board, but I felt compelled to reply to your post. I would have the test........and here is why. The test is going to come back normal and it is going to be like a huge ton of bricks just left your shoulders. You will be freaking out for the rest of your life (in the back of your mind) about the possibility of a brain tumor being there. Have the test to calm your fears and find peace. Please remember, worry is like a rocking chair.......you rock and rock....but you never get anywhere !!!!! I will keep you in my prayers.....
Janet

Hi ladies.............

Dot, no i can't stand my cats! I'm not a cat person, the cats really belong to my sons, that's why..lol

secondly, as far as the eye exam, yes, of course an eye dr. can see things indicitive of a tumor , yes, and that's exactly why I included what he said! He said, he didn't see ANYTHING indicitive of a tumor at all, and said my eyes (and everything behind it..lol) was fine, I was just slightly nearsighted, and didn't even need glasses (bec. I asked). The other dr. wasn't really basing his conclusion on anything solid or factual, he was "guessing", well, that's nice, but I found out lots more ON MY OWN, than he knew, apparently, and unfortunatley. That's exactly WHY i saw the eye dr, to put that fear to rest, and I had an extensive conversation with him about it as well, and he assured me, HE WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE SOMETHING if there was a tumor, he said "You don't have anythng to worry about" .... there you have it.

thank you Mary, and Janet........I AM feeling better!

sincerely, MyDarling