Migraines and Mermory Loss

[jbarnes85]

First I will start with the history. I am 28, male, white, 6'2, 275. Daily medicine is Omeprazole taken everyday for 3 years and Allegra everday for 2 years. Two years ago I started to have migraines. The first one I had was in the middle of work. It just came on out of nowhere and didn't last long but returned a few minutes later. Which began a cycle of what I thought was cluster headaches. I would get stabbing pains for about a minute or two then a few minutes of relief. This would last for about an hour. That went on for six months then they went away for about a month. Then they came back the same as before. This went on for a year and a half and then they got worse. I was waking up with a migraine and going to bed with one. They were non stop all day. About this time I started having short term memory loss. I couldn't remember were I would park my car. I would pull my phone out to call someone or look up something and by the time I got it out couldn't remeber what I was doing. These aren't the only things I would forget but the list would be too long. The memory problem kept getting worse. I also had a spike in weight gain, 40lbs in about two months. I also had a drastic drop in energy and started getting deppressed. I woke up one night with the worst migraine I have had and was shaking from the pain and went to the ER. They did blood work and did a CT scan and everything was normal. They refered me to a neurologist.

I met with the neurologist and explained to him everything that had happened and he did a few basic test in his office and after asking my wife if she thought I was faking because everything I described didn't fit one thing, he admitted me to the hospital. The first thing they did was blood work and that came back showing I had a servere vitamin B12 deficiency. Then they did an EEG which was normal. Then an MRI which showed increased intercranial pressure (don't know how high). So he did a lumbar puncture. Opening pressure was 320mm and after staightening out my legs it stayed the same 320mm. This concerned him and he ordered one last test an MRV which came back normal. CFS also came back normal. After the lumbar puncture I didn't see him again I had a student come back and tell me that the MRV and CSF was normal and to take the perscribed medicine and see my family doctor. then I was discharged.

So after a three day stay in the hospital this was his diagnosis.
Migraines are due to the CFS pressure being high.
CFS pressure was high because I am over weight (6'2 275lbs)
Memory loss is due to a vitamin B12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency was due to long term use of Omeprazole

To fix this he perscribed me
Acetazolamide twice a day
Nortriptyline once a day
Vitamin B12 once a day
Continue Omeprazole once a day
Continue Allegra once a day
And to follow up with my Primary care physician

I don't feel like I was given a good enough reason for the CFS pressure to be so high and the reason being is I may be 275 but have alot of muscle mass. Would you guys agree with that assessment or should I seek a second opinion?

[clasko]

Hi,

I had very similar issues. I was diagnosed with benign intracranial hypertension two years ago and underwent surgery for a vp shunt. I personally would seek a second opinion. I saw several neurologists in the beginning. Currently I am dealing with complications from the vp shunt but am thankful i sought several opinions regarding my symptoms.
Best of luck to you.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
After reading through your post, it sounds like you have benign intracranial hypertension or idiopathic intracranial hypertension. As the name suggests the cause of raised CSF pressure is not known. It may be associated with hypothyroidism, hypoparathyroidism, and adrenal insufficiency, and all these conditions can also cause weight gain. So blood tests should be done to rule out these causes. Please discuss with your treating doctor. Take care!

The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you. The advice may not be completely correct for you as the doctor cannot examine you and does not know your complete medical history. Hence this reply to your post should only be considered as a guiding line and you must consult your doctor at the earliest for your medical problem.