BENIGN INTERCRANIAL HYPERTENSION.

March 1, 2005

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 2:22 pm

Post subject: " BENIGN INTERCRANIAL HYPERTENSION " .

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I was sitting at home after work talking to my husband and father in-

law when all of a sudden out of the clear blue I got this headache

that felt like someone was banging my head against a brick wall, it

lasted about 5 minutes and slightly went away. I felt very nauseous

and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. I went upstairs and went

into the bathroom because I felt like I was going to vomit, I did

non stop and the next thing I knew I was in bed. I lost

consciousness and I did not remember anything.

My husband found me passed out on the bathroom floor and had to put

me in the shower and then to bed because I did not want to go to the

hospital, I never was in the hospital and was not going.

I actually thought I had a really bad migraine but little did I know

my AVM had just burst.

A few days went on until I figured I'll go see my family Dr. maybe I

just have a flu since all I did was sleep and I had a very bad stiff

neck. I went to my Dr. who diagnosed me with viral meningitis. I

thought ok great what the hell is this. He told me if my symptoms

got any worse to go tho the ER, yeah ok. I went home and back to bed

until 2 days later I was getting worse still sleeping. I had not

eaten in 5 days still vomiting and my husband made me go to the ER.

We got there and they did a head CT scan right away and the Dr. came

and explained to us that there was bleeding in the right frontal

lobe of my brain.

I thought to myself " this cannot be happening, I have never been

really sick, he must have the wrong person, no way. " Well, I was

wrong...he had the right person.

The local hospital then transported me by ambulance to another

hospital about 20 minutes away that dealt more with this. I saw a

neurosurgeon there who right away told me he was going to send me to

Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. I thought to

myself " this is not good... " I was then transported to New York

which is about an hour and a half away. I was so scared because I

still really was not understanding what was happening to me.

They bring me to Neuro ICU and I have all these doctors around me

asking me questions people sticking things in my arms, my

hands...what a mess. My parents flew in from Florida that's when I

knew something was bad, they came right away.

I had CT scans, MRI's and an angiogram which showed I was born with

this AVM.

I never even heard of this but when they tell you bleeding in your

brain of course you only think the worst.

All the doctors kept telling me was that where mine was is the best

place to have it and it was the size of a ping-pong ball and that I

was going to have to have brain surgery. I have never even had

stitches before now I have to have brain surgery.

I was in the hospital for a few days they could not do the surgery

right away because of the swelling and they had to wait for the

excess blood to dissolve into my body so now I have to wait and god

knows how long this will be.

Well, in the mist of all this I was in and out of the hospital about

12 times.

I have a bad reaction to Dilantin then Tegretol then I had to have a

shunt put in my spinal sack

because they found I had to 2 blind spots in my eyes and I was

diagnosed with

" BENIGN INTERCRANIAL HYPERTENSION " .

I have too much spinal fluid and it build up behind my eye.

I also have a papillary edema so now I have to see an eye doctor a

neuro-ophthalmologist.

Well the shunt was doing it's job but there were some days I

couldn't even walk, it was hurting my legs and hips.

My neurosurgeon decides that when I have the craniotomy done he will

just take the shunt out while I'm under.

Finally, on November 21 I had my embolization done and it went well.

On November 22 I had the craniotomy which also went well. I went

home 3 days later and I felt great I just had a black eye and a

little bit of a shaved head but I felt so good...

I was home a day and had to go back into the hospital because where

the incision is on my back where they took the shunt out was

leaking spinal fluid.

They had to put a spinal drain in and the doctor was hoping it was

just excess from the shunt removal.

I was on my back for 4 days and I was stuck in the hospital for

Thanksgiving. I was not a happy camper. Anyway they pulled the drain

out and just had to cross our fingers it would not leak.

http://www.westga.edu/~wmaples/ricci_nicole.html

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JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

March 2, 2005

Thank you for this, JoAnn.

So there is nothing for it but surgery??

My friend is having spinal taps and taking someting called Diomoxin. She says

there are some pretty bad side effects.

Thakns for any info!!

JoAnn Guest <angelprincessjo wrote: