Pseudotumor cerebri

[Kittie1986]

When I was about 14 years old I was diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri. This decision came after a visit to the eye doctor. The eye doctor had said that my optic nerves were swollen twice the size of a normal person and they believed that I had some type of tumor like growth on the nerve. At the time of their test I had a bad headache that had lasted close to a week.  I was sent to a specialist in Saint Louis to have more extensive testing done. By the time the appointment arrived my headache was gone. After doing all of their tests the specialist said he couldn't see anything wrong and suggested I be taken to the neurologist. By the time that appointment came I had another headache that had lasted 2 weeks. The neurologist did Cts and MRIs and came to the conclusion that I had pseudotumor cerebri. He did several spinal taps that relieved a lot of the pain in my head, and actually stopped me from having headaches for about 2 months afterwards. I have not had a spinal tap done since then and my headaches have gotten progressively worse. I do not understand if the condition is causing my horrid headaches or if it is something else completely. I get a really bad pain that starts in the base of my skull(around the spinal column) and spreads until it has enveloped my entire skull. I have little to no feeling in my feet and lower extremities when this happens. The pain is like a migraine headache but worse. Does anyone know what this might possibly be caused by or have any suggestions as to what I should do?


This discussion is related to sharp pain in left base of skull.