Sinus Infection

It all started around the end of July.  I thought I was just getting really bad headaches.  I was popping Tylenol  Excedrin, and Ibuprofen like crazy.  Finally after a few days I decided it wasn't a headache and I would just wait it out. My left eye went all of the way blurry so I finally headed to the doctor mid-august.  He thought it was a sinus infection so he gave me a anti-biotic and sent me on my way.  I took that for a week........nothing changed.  My grandma had a extra z-pac so I took that.  I thought I felt a little pressure leave but I didn't know if it was really working or my mind was playing tricks on me.  I waited the 10 days and decided to make a eye doctor appointment.  I went in to the doctor on a Monday.  He did the check-up, told me what he thought was wrong with my left eye.  All I heard was tumor and MS.  I stayed pretty calm on the outside.  (I usually do stay pretty calm when the bad news is about me.  I do the freaking out for everyone else when it has nothing to do with me.)  He told me that he thought I could have either a tumor in the brain which was putting alot of pressure on my eyes and elevating my nerves behind my eyes.  Or that I could have Optic Neuritis which is one of the leading signs linked to MS.  Like I said all I heard was tumor and MS.  I asked him what is next he said he would order me a MRI and most likely be sending me down to the U.

So the Doctors office called a little while later and made the MRI appt. for the next afternoon.  I really wasn't feeling too scared or bad.

Anyways so Tuesday we headed to the hospital to do the MRI.  We didn't tell anyone yet because we didn't want to scare anyone because I really felt that it sounded worse than it was going to be.  I did the test and when it was done the guy who did it asked me when I was going to see my Dr. again.  I said I don't know he never really said anything.  He told me I had better get a hold of him by Thursday if I hadn't heard from him.  Well that freaked me out.  I thought ok maybe it is worse than I thought.  So I called my Dr.'s office on the way home.  (Trying to be pushy without being too pushy)  I told them I just got the MRI and now I didn't know what they would want me to do.  They said that the Dr. would call me tomorrow.  I was thinking 'seriously!  I have to wait another day!'  He did call that evening though.  He said I had Pseudotumor Cerebri.  Which means fake tumor in the brain.  Basically my body thinks it's a tumor because it acts like a tumor and I have extra fluid in my brain which creates pressure that needs to be drained.  It is not a tumor.  I also won't be getting MS.  Bouya!!!  There were no signs.

So we headed down to the U to get more tests.  The appointment, we were told would be.......3-5 hours!  I think we were there 4.5 hours.  The only waiting we really did was probably 1/2 hour.  The verdict.........Optic Neuritis. (Optic neuritis is inflammation of the optic nerve. It may cause sudden, reduced vision in the affected eye.)  The cause, well there are ALOT of causes for Optic Neuritis.  The most common one is a virus.  Some other causes can be, vitamin deficiency, infections, multiple sclerosis and if one of those were the cause you most likely won't get better on your own.  I for one have not had any of these lately and the Dr. told me to try and think back to the first of July.  So I don't really know what caused this but it normally doesn't come back so I should be in the clear.  I only have one test left.  It's a blood test to determine if my spine swells along with my nerves.  The chances of that happening is slim.  If by chance it did swell.........well, that's not so good.  I've had a good feeling about this all along and I'm feeling good about the blood test.  There's more important things to worry about now.  :)