Brain tumour woman told: It’s menopause

A WOMAN who had surgery for a brain tumour had her symptoms originally misdiagnosed as the menopause, she has claimed.

Karen Griffiths, 60, started suffering from one-sided pulsatile tinnitus, when a heartbeat is heard in the ear, in 2018.

She also began to experience headaches in the morning, feeling uncoordinated, struggling with speech and losing her train of thought.

Ms Griffiths, who was 55 at the time, visited her GP, part of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, for three years complaining of the symptoms but was told they were most likely because of the menopause and was sent home.

But when the “beat” in her ear became so loud that it would wake her up at night, she was referred to an ear, nose and throat consultant, who sent her for an MRI.

The scan revealed that Ms Griffiths had a benign tumour on the brain that was pressing on a major vein, the superior sagittal sinus.

The insurance coach from Eastbourne, East Sussex, said that she was originally told “not to worry” when the tinnitus worsened.

She said: “I was suffering with symptoms for over three years and it gradually got worse.

“Alongside that I was going through menopause and it is very well known that it can create headaches, brain fog and difficulty concentrating.

“One of the key things that got missed was that I was having headaches in the morning when I woke up.”

She added: “My symptoms were disregarded for a long time, despite things getting steadily worse. I ended up feeling like a time-waster. Looking back, it was quite dangerous.”

In April 2021, her tinnitus became so loud that she returned to her GP and a locum sent her for a scan at Eastbourne District General Hospital.

“The consultation I had was more in-depth. I could tell he was really listening to what I was saying,” she added.

“I could see his face clouding over when I was explaining that the onesided pulsatile tinnitus was so loud it would wake me up.”

Four days later, Ms Griffiths was informed that she had a lump on the brain and went on to have surgery at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.

The surgery went well but resulted in a partial resection – part of the tumour has to be left in place, because of its location. She said: “I am still having nightly seizures which is as a result of the location of the tumour, and following the surgery.”

‘One of the key things that was missed was that I was having headaches in the morning when I woke up’