Whatever you do, don't give up. Please.

It's natural that you're so worried. The important thing I would think is what to do next. Sometimes the less we know the more we worry.

None of us here can say that your current symptoms (esp the more recent problems with vision) are not related to this benign pineal cyst nor can we say they are. They very well could be but the fact that you've had the concussions makes that confusing.

So, you've probably read all the information regarding these benign pineal cysts but that's not helping ease your concerns so really the next thing would be to either get urgent appointment with your Neurologist or if you're not happy with going back to them, are you able to get another opinion from a different Neurologist?

You seriously need to hear the facts about YOUR pineal cyst in relation to your symptoms and then go from there. I understand your overwhelm at the moment, but once again you need to take steps to gain knowledge about this so that you can move forward without so much worry.

Hang on there Danny. You deserve a break. I'm sorry this is happening to you.

Danny,

Ditto Lara's comments.

You said "I guess I will have to learn how to cope with this newest addition to my condition. I'm very scared of catastrophic complications including possible cancer or further brain damage from the cyst growing. "

This image did not change your condition. The long term outcomes from diagnosed pyneal cysts shows very small likelihood of complications. The likelihood of cancer is below any statistical probability. Only 3 to 8% increase in size at all.

Did you notice the high percentage of autopsies that show pyneal cysts ? They are very common. High resolution MRI's show pyneal cysts in over 20% of the population. Less than 1 out of 640,000 need surgical intervention.

I am 60 years old. By autopsy stats, I have a 60% likelihood of having prostate cancer. But, my likelihood of it impacting my life is very low. Only 1 in 7 will ever be diagnosed with it. Only 2 out of 10,000 men will die from it.

My MRI/MRA had a number of abnormalities that have similarities to aneurisms. If I lived my life in fear that they may be a risk, I'd bee crippled in fear.

I honestly do not think anything a neuro says will change your anxiety levels. They can give you the statistics I provided but I doubt they will take the time to look for such stats. The most they may suggest is doing another MRI in a year and see if anything has changes.

Oh yeah, Most cysts either remain stable (75%) or shrink (16%). Some rupture and disappear.

So, I think you made an astute observation. You need to learn to cope with your condition, whether it is just PCS (I think it is) or maybe an unlikely chance of a symptomatic pyneal cyst. Neither will kill you or radically change you life.

My best to you.

I've calmed down a bit but I'm sure this will be a new added struggle for me to wrap my head around. (No pun intended) Both of you have helped calm me down; I sincerely thank you.

My main concern is due to the size of the cyst. As Lara alluded to, most symptomatic pineal cysts are larger than 5mm in diameter and 9mm is right on that target. I believe the gland itself is only 7mm. This is worrisome to me.

Mark, I'm sure that most of your statistics are relative to smaller pineal cysts. Also, I have read that more women than men have these cysts, something like 3:1. So the fact that it is large, possibly causing my symptoms and that I'm a male make this a rare situation with respect to pineal cysts.

I plan to move forward by seeking a second opinion from a neuro opthamalogist and then go from there. I suppose speaking to qualified neurosurgeons wouldn't be a bad idea. I need to find out the specifics of where it is located, if there is any obstruction of CSF, etc. I agree that finding out more will help but it will take time. In the meantime, it's possible that I have a tumor growing in the center of my brain.

I really don't have a good neurologist so I will need to a find a new one of those to look at it as well. I have a whole list of other grievances with my neuro. I need to find one I can trust and have a good relationship with. This would ease my anxiety a lot.

This is one of the many abstracts I found in PubMed yesterday when I was looking up info regarding size of cyst and possibility of symptoms. You already have many of the symptoms noted now as part of post concussion syndrome is the dilemma so you would understandably be concerned.

As I've said earlier, I wonder if 2 concussions can actually affect the cyst and cause symptoms or not, whether that be hormonal changes or actual pressure or damage. I've not had time to hunt down more about that but I will if I can.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20055263
Acta Clin Croat. 2009 Sep;48(3):355-8.
Pineal gland cysts--an overview.
Bosnjak J1, Budisić M, Azman D, Strineka M, Crnjaković M, Demarin V.

Hi Danny,

I can understand your anxiety and frustration.
I can feel your sense of overwhelm.

I am so glad Mark and Lara know how to help!

I hope you will find you are fine.

My heart goes out to you.
I hope you can get a reprieve from anxiety and can rest peacefully.

Warmly,
DejaVu

Danny,

You need to slow down a bit. When a study says 'most symptomatic cysts are larger than 5 or 7 mms,' that does not mean that all cysts larger than 5 mms or 7mms are symptomatic. There is a lot of research and information that can be confusing.

I should have posted a link to an article I read earlier but it had so much information that it could be overwhelming. That is not good for anxiety. But, here it is :http://www.ajnr.org/content/28/9/1706.full

So I visited with the NeuroOpthamologist up at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center today. He took a look at the MRI and assured me that the cyst is not pressing on the visual areas of my brain, or against any other brain structure for that matter. He said it was floating in the ventricle.

The plan is to have another MRI in 6 months and see if there are any changes. He also told me that he suspected that I was born with the cyst and it is unrelated to the concussions and symptoms. When I asked how could tell that it was benign, he gave me sufficient answers stating it appeared as a sac of fluid and not a mass of cells, and that a tumor usually has characteristics that were not seen in my MRI.

The doctor also took a look at the visual areas of my brain on the MRI and said that everything looked good.

I guess for now I will just assume that it is a variant that was an incidental finding and continue to focus on my post concussion therapies. I will be anxious as the time for the next MRI approaches, however. It will always be in the back of mind, or should I say center of my mind. A little neuro humor there.

A little neuro humour is always good.

Sounds as if your visit with the Neuro-Opthamalogist was reassuring. Yay.

So I had an MRI two days ago and the cyst has grown from 9mm to 1.1cm in under 6 months. That's a 20 percent increase in size. I'm very concerned and think this might be the source of some of my problems. The hope was that it would be unchanged and I could check one thing off my list of worries. I broke down crying when I got the news.

Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed that no one offered some support here but I do understand that there's not much to say. Very scary situation .

For now, I'm gonna consult with a neurosurgeon and see what he/she has to say about my imaging.