Part One: The Beginning
Part Two: It Gets Complicated
Part Three: Turning Point
At my doctor's urging, my husband and I rushed off to an ophthalmologist after I experienced temporary blindness. I was a nervous wreck as we dropped the kids off with my mom and headed to the appointment.
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long for some information. The doctor dilated my eyes and used his lens and light to look into the back of my eyes. He pulled away and explained that my optic nerves were swollen, a condition called papilledema.
Papilledema can be caused by a few various conditions, some serious and some not so serious. The doctor said that since papilledema could indicate a medical emergency he needed to take pictures of the backs of my eyes and then I would need to head to the hospital to have an MRI done that night.
The pictures were easy enough if you don't mind blinding lights and holding your eyes open for long stretches of time. My mind was whirling at this point with thoughts of brain tumors and other unknown problems.
I was terrified of the MRI but it ended up being a pretty easy test, I actually slept through part of it! We waited for awhile afterward hoping to hear some results. But, in the end we were sent home without any answers. I was to return to the ophthalmologist the next morning to hear my results from him.
To say it was a long night would be an understatement. There was plenty of worry and not enough sleep but I also felt a bit of relief knowing how close I finally was to some real answers. Good or bad, a diagnosis would only bring a sense of relief after so many months of unexplained misery.
The pictures were easy enough if you don't mind blinding lights and holding your eyes open for long stretches of time. My mind was whirling at this point with thoughts of brain tumors and other unknown problems.
I was terrified of the MRI but it ended up being a pretty easy test, I actually slept through part of it! We waited for awhile afterward hoping to hear some results. But, in the end we were sent home without any answers. I was to return to the ophthalmologist the next morning to hear my results from him.
To say it was a long night would be an understatement. There was plenty of worry and not enough sleep but I also felt a bit of relief knowing how close I finally was to some real answers. Good or bad, a diagnosis would only bring a sense of relief after so many months of unexplained misery.
The doctor's first words to me that day were "Good morning. Your MRI showed no signs of a tumor". What a relief! It was then that I first heard the names Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension and Pseudotumor. With sever optic nerve swelling and a clear MRI, it was almost certain that my problem was Intracranial Hypertension.
From there I was referred to a Neuro-Ophthalmologist at University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City. That appointment wouldn't come for another 2 weeks but until then I had an answer and some hope for healing in my future.
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