You know about headaches and seizures, but did you know that this common condition is one of the brain tumor symptoms you ought to watch out for?

Brain tumors manifest in symptoms for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the brain is a very compact organ, and there is little to no space to accommodate the growth of other tissue inside the brain. Secondly, depending on exactly where they are growing inside the brain, these tumors push against and impose pressure on certain parts, and cause varying symptoms.

• Perhaps, the most common early warning symptom of brain tumors is a headache. Headaches may be severe to start off with, or may have a tendency to worsen early in the morning or after any activity.
• The second most commonly reported symptom of brain tumors is seizures or fits. Also known as convulsion, motor seizures are characterized by sudden involuntary movements of the muscles in a person’s body. Depending on the area that the tumor is pushing against, you may experience different types of seizures. The most common ones are myoclonic and tonic-clonic or Grand Mal seizures.
• Less common brain tumor symptoms include changes in sensory perceptions without being unconscious, personality/memory changes, nausea and vomiting and fatigue.

Most of these brain tumor symptoms have been spoken about much, and there is plenty of awareness regarding these. However, there are rare brain tumor symptoms that you probably do not even know about. One of these rare brain tumor symptoms is a common condition that is known to affect millions of people across the globe.

Secret Brain Tumor Symptoms

A 54-year-old woman found herself enjoying daily activities lesser than usual. She ended up spending more and more time simply lying down in bed, unable to get up and just live her life. Facing memory problems, she also found herself becoming more and more irritable and self-critical. Her doctors found no abnormalities in her lab tests, and concluded that she was suffering from a mental and psychological condition – depression. Even though she was put on a course of antidepressants, her condition failed to improve. Further tests were done, and it was found that her depression was actually one of her brain tumor symptoms. Multiple tumors, especially from her left frontal lobe, were removed via surgery, and this process put paid to her depression and saved her life.

BMJ case reports suggests that something a psychiatric illness like depression may be the only outward sign, and one of the earliest visible brain tumor symptoms.

The woman in question was eventually diagnosed with Meningiomatosis which indicates the presence of several meningiomas or tumors in her brain. A 2004 study found that more than 21 percent in the sample group of patients first sought help owing to psychiatric brain tumor symptoms such as depression, anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia, and anxiety, without even knowing that they were brain tumor symptoms.

It is important to understand that conditions like depression and anxiety are much more common than brain tumors. This means that your depression may indeed be just depression, and not one of the brain tumor symptoms. However, there are a few ways that you may be able to differentiate between run-of-the-mill depression and brain tumor symptoms. Doctors recommend that if you are above the age of 50 years, have never suffered depression symptoms in the past, and are not responding to antidepressants, it might be a good idea to get scanned for brain tumors.

Brain tumor symptoms such as vision loss, depression, behavioral and cognitive changes, as well as endocrine system dysfunction are associated with the type, size as well as the location of the brain tumor. For example, tumors in the frontal lobe are more likely to cause depression as one of the brain tumor symptoms, whereas tumors in the temporal lobe may result in you hearing voices in your head.

Brain tumors are treated via procedures such as radiation, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or a combination of these treatments. Alleviating brain tumor symptoms is an integral part of your brain tumor treatment and care plan. Ensure that you speak to your physician about possible side effects of treatment options, as you may end up with a new set of brain tumor symptoms or a change in current symptoms based on the treatment methods used to treat your condition.