Small left frontal lobe meningioma: Drs say aren’t causing my issues?

My meningioma was incidentally found during an MRI for constant migraine headaches and sinus pressure. When the neurosurgeon studied the MRI, he said the meningioma wasn’t responsible for my problems. I met with a head and neck pain specialist for TMJ, changed a lot of my habits and rarely have a headache. Now, I have to deal with the meningioma. I don’t have any symptoms related to that but it’s so close to the optic nerve that it has to be treated. It has helped me to untangle my symptoms and deal with each on individually. Daily exercise, healthy food, and regular sleep have helped immensely.

I, too, have a small 9mm x 8mm meningioma “touching” my optic nerve. This was an incidental finding when I had an MRI earlier this year for tinnitus. Saw a neurosurgeon then a neuroopthamologist twice. She said it is touching but not compressing and my visual field tests are excellent, and I am not symptomatic. She does not recommend surgery just surveillance at this time. She said I could have had this since I was a teen. I’ll have another MRI in November as well as a second opinion at University California Irvine. In reading Mayo Connect so many meningiomas are at the optic nerve, the person is 72 yrs., usually female, and found incidentally. Me, too. I also have 2 other very small ones. Apparently when there are multiple it is thought there is a genetic load. I’ll post after my next MRI, and appointments with the first neuroopthamologist and the second opinion at UCI. KKJ

My meningioma was also on the optic nerve but mine was causing symptoms, which is how we found it. I started getting dark clouds in my peripheral vision but they would come and go. Then a couple weeks later, I saw a blinding bright light like the feeling you get when you walk out of a dark movie theater and into the sun. I went to the ophthalmologist and he immediately noticed a lot of swelling around my optic nerve. He said the level of swelling was not normal and he ordered me to get an emergency MRI. He saved my life bc I was diagnosed with a grade III anaplastic meningioma larger than a baseball. After a full resection and 6 weeks of radiation, the vision problems went away so thankfully there was no lasting damage. My radiologist oncologist did fight my insurance company for Proton Beam Radiation to protect my optic nerve from exiting radiation beams. Unfortunately I do get occasional ringing in the ears still but I believe that’s from the radiation.

@theuglycword : Very helpful information. Thank you for posting. And such a positive outcome - should give encouragement to those facing a craniotomy.

I understand why you might think it’s the cause. I’ve had chronic severe insomnia, sleep apnea with many centrals, and exhaustion for years. I’m scheduled for a frontal craniotomy soon for an anterior clinoid meningioma encasing my right optic nerve and heading to the left, I’m hoping somehow its removal will help my other issues. If it’s next to the hypothalamus and pituitary gland maybe it affects it. However if your surgeon says not then I suppose he would know something about it. Idk. I hope you find relief!

@theuglycword Do sad your radonc had to fight the insurance company but this does not surprise me. I was an RN Case Manager for UHC for 11 years. Common issue for me to intervene in this type of thing. And the poor patients were absolutely beside themselves with stress.