Jessie Mae Lambert, 28, was told the hallucinations she was experiencing were anxiety-related. She later found this was not the case and that she would require surgery
18:20, 14 Oct 2025Updated 19:10, 14 Oct 2025
Jessie Mae Lambart was told her hallucinations were anxiety-related before discovering she would need surgery (Image: Jessie Mae Lambart / SWNS)
A woman has been left shocked by the true cause of her hallucinations, after doctors told her she was suffering from anxiety.
Jessie Mae Lambert, from Derby, was told that the hallucinations she was experiencing from October 2023 were the result of anxiety and she was placed on anxiety medication to improve her mental health.
“I was having weird episodes. I just had the feeling of fear, and I was hallucinating,” Jessie recalls. “I went to the doctors, and they thought it was mental health, so they put me on anxiety medication.”
But after finding that medication was not improving her condition, with the 28-year-old continuing to experience up to seven hallucinations a day, Jessie began wondering if there may be something else causing her illness.
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It wasn’t until her mum, Trish Lambert, 56, saw Jessie having a seizure on December 21, 2023, that she was then put forward for a MRI and EEG scan and was found to have a mass on her brain.
She was later transferred from Royal Derby Hospital to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, for brain debulking surgery, where they removed 40 per cent of the tumour.
“They took 40 per cent of the tumour out, and sent that off for a biopsy to determine what the mass on my brain was,” Jessie says. “All I remember was waiting for those results.
“I saw a woman on TikTok who had the same seizures as me, who was then diagnosed with a brain tumour. I sent it to my mum and she said not to think the worst.”
Finally, in April 2024, Jessie was diagnosed with a grade two astrocytoma and epilepsy. She then underwent six weeks of radiotherapy – Monday through to Friday.
Jessie Mae Lambart, 28, who was put her forward for an MRI and EEG scan after experiencing hallucinations and seizures(Image: Jessie Mae Lambart / SWNS)
Reflecting on the surgery, Jessie said: “It took me so long to be diagnosed; it was horrendous to see my family like that. I remember crying for three days straight.
“It was mentally draining more than anything. Having the mask fitted, being strapped in was very depressing.
“My memory, attention and grammar have been massively impacted for me. It has led me to struggle with my old job and get further employment.”
Now Jessie undergoes MRI scans every three months, with her last scan thankfully showing the tumour is shrinking. While Jessie said the tumour impacted her previous job, she is now training to be a nail technician.
Reflecting on the diagnosis, she said: “I feel like I have had wasted years because it took up a lot of my energy, and I was obviously distraught at the news.
“My advice to people is try make the most of your life, have your time to cry and heal but don’t let the diagnosis take over your life.”
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