I have idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. A lot of people have no idea what that is.
According to wikipedia: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), sometimes called by the older names benign intracranial hypertension (BIH) or pseudotumor cerebri (PTC), is a neurological disorder that is characterized by increased intracranial pressure (pressure around the brain) in the absence of a tumor or other diseases.
What does that mean for me? It means frequent headaches and regular migraines. It means episodically blurred or distorted vision. It means random dizzy spells. It means a pretty much constant ringing in my ears. There is no cure.
There are a few avenues of treatment, though. The first being a drug called acetazolamide. This is typically used for glaucoma. It's very expensive, being $500+ if you don't have insurance. It has it's own fun side effects, as well. The fingers and toes get tingly, like they're falling asleep only worse and it alters your sense of taste. Some people opt to have regular spinal taps to drain off the extra fluid which in turn reduces the pressure. One spinal tap was enough for me, thank you. A last there is surgery to put a stint inside of your head in order to drain the fluid constantly. I'm personally headed towards the surgery eventually, I believe.
I just thought I'd throw this out there, because people ask me frequently. This is one of those illnesses that you look fine on the outside, so when you tell people you are sick, they don't always believe it. But there it is.
*~*Tabby Marie*~*
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