Pseudotumor Cerebri - An update on my MRI results (long)

I flew out of Boston Wednesday morning, but by the time I got home to Little Rock, my doctor was closed for the rest of the day. I had called during my layover in Chicago and scheduled an appointment for 8 am Thursday. My head hurt so much at that point that the pain in my core and intestines was an afterthought. The change in air pressure on the two flights was absolutely brutal. A couple of times I decided I was going to have to call someone to pick me up from the airport because I didn't think I could drive. By the time I landed, the pain had subsided enough that I felt it was safe to operate a vehicle, so I went home.

A couple of hours later, I was sitting in my closet, because it's the darkest room in my house, sitting because it hurt more to lay down, and in absolute agony. Just as I was thinking that it's ridiculous to sit there and suffer, my mom called. She could tell by my voice the pain had increased way beyond what it was when I got home earlier. She came and took me to the ER. The pain was really all over the place. For a while it was a 2, then it would jump to an 8, then hover at 4-5 for a while, then a 9, then back to a 2. The ER doc got a copy of my MRI results and talked to my doctor. ER doc said he thought it was Pseudotumor Cerebri, which is basically when your brain acts like you have a tumor, but you don't.

The ER decided to alleviate symptoms and send me home, which was really all I wanted them to do, since I had an appointment with my doc the next day. I didn't even bring up the pain in my core muscles and intestines because it felt really irrelevant in light of the pain in my head. The nurse gave me a shot of Dilaudid, and even though I could feel it throughout the rest of my body, it didn't even make a dent in my headache. After roughly an hour, she gave me a shot of Toradal. That worked. My mom took me home and I slept through the night. First night I'd slept since Sunday.

Yesterday I went to see my GP, who is awesome and I love him. Once again, didn't bring up the stomach stuff. It felt quite a bit better and I was much more concerned about my brain. He read me my MRI results, which made me feel better. No tumor, not even a suspicion of an aneurysm or brain bleed. Just too much cerebrospinal fluid and some brain and optic malformations from the pressure. GP didn't say Pseudotumor Cerebri, but every question he asked and test he ordered and drug he gave me were right in line with that diagnosis (I googled again.) I think he wants to have all results back before he tells me that's what it is, but really, all signs point to yes.

He gave me an anti-inflammatory pain med and a diuretic that is also a glaucoma med to reduce the extra CSF in my brain. He also faxed the MRI results to my opthalmologist because she's been telling me for the last 2 years that I have some swelling around my optic nerve that she didn't think was serious but she's keeping an eye on it. I see her again in January.

This morning I woke up without a headache. Not even a little bit of pressure in the background. Can't remember the last time that happened. I feel a little pressure coming back now, but I can live with that. My doctor will continue testing and investigating, but it's not urgent, so we can work it around my schedule. I can still work, and I'm flying back to Boston on Monday!