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Papilledema
6 years ago
The older I get, the more it seems like this stupid meat suit wants to fall apart on me. x_x
Okay, so the GOOD news is that the Radial Tunnel I've struggled with most of the year is much improved. I still have to be careful, but my hand/wrist/arm aren't burning and tingling all the time.
The BAD news is that I have a problem with my eyes, and we don't know the root cause yet. Papilledema is a fancy name for swelling around the optic nerves because there's too much fluid where there shouldn't be, which is messing with my vision. As of right now, it's not severe, and we don't know yet if it's permanent, but it's progressive, which means it'll get worse unless the root cause is found and dealt with. My eye doctor has me taking a diuretic to try and lower the fluid pressure overall. Thus far my right eye's gotten a little better, but the left is still getting worse.
Now she wants me to make an appointment with a neurologist, who will likely want to do an MRI and possibly a spinal tap. There's a possibility that my HRT is the cause. That would be the "easy" answer, if only because that's a medication where my dosage can be adjusted. It could also be an infection or a brain lesion or a brain tumor, or 'idiopathic', which means "we dunno". I'm... not super pleased about any of those possibilities. My head hurts and I'm tired, and the diuretic makes my extremities go pins and needles because it sucks out all my potassium. Not really looking forward to more rounds of testing either.
In any case, just wanted to give an update that I'm not dead. Struggling with new and "fun" health issues, but still kicking.
Okay, so the GOOD news is that the Radial Tunnel I've struggled with most of the year is much improved. I still have to be careful, but my hand/wrist/arm aren't burning and tingling all the time.
The BAD news is that I have a problem with my eyes, and we don't know the root cause yet. Papilledema is a fancy name for swelling around the optic nerves because there's too much fluid where there shouldn't be, which is messing with my vision. As of right now, it's not severe, and we don't know yet if it's permanent, but it's progressive, which means it'll get worse unless the root cause is found and dealt with. My eye doctor has me taking a diuretic to try and lower the fluid pressure overall. Thus far my right eye's gotten a little better, but the left is still getting worse.
Now she wants me to make an appointment with a neurologist, who will likely want to do an MRI and possibly a spinal tap. There's a possibility that my HRT is the cause. That would be the "easy" answer, if only because that's a medication where my dosage can be adjusted. It could also be an infection or a brain lesion or a brain tumor, or 'idiopathic', which means "we dunno". I'm... not super pleased about any of those possibilities. My head hurts and I'm tired, and the diuretic makes my extremities go pins and needles because it sucks out all my potassium. Not really looking forward to more rounds of testing either.
In any case, just wanted to give an update that I'm not dead. Struggling with new and "fun" health issues, but still kicking.
Be strong, good luck with the diagnosis and treatment...
On other news, I am very sorry I fell off of the radar... how can i get back in touch with you?