Two years ago, I started having HORRIBLE headaches. I had one so bad that my vision went completely black for about 30 seconds and then came back in. I went to my doctor, and my blood pressure was 180/100. Until this point, it had always been about 120/70. I have a history of cholesteatomas in my ears, so they immediately sent me for an MRI, thinking I might have had a brain infection.
The MRI showed some brain scarring that is abnormal for my age. (I was 22 then.) Sent to a neurologist, who then ordered a Lumbar Puncture. A tumor was ruled out. They suspected Multiple Sclerosis, but couldn’t find enough evidence to support it. I can’t remember the exact wording, but they found some type of protein that was much higher than normal. I’ll go find out and add it in an edit. They said that whatever it was wasn’t a common find with MS, but more common in B Cell Brain Tumors or brain infection, though neither were discovered. Because my spinal pressure reading was a lot higher than it should have been, they diagnosed me as having Intercranial hypertension (also known as pseudotumor cerebi.) My neurologist was convinced still that it was MS, and wanted to start me on injections – but I didn’t think enough evidence supported it.
They put me on a brain diuretic to relieve the spinal fluid pressure in my brain. The horrible daily headaches went away. My blood pressure remained elevated – ranging each day between 150 – 190 for my top number, but rarely going below that. Several medication attempts wouldn’t lower my BP, and they just assumed (since I’m overweight), that I’d developed hypertension. Though my headaches became better, I still suffered with migraines on a weekly basis. They put me on pain medicine for relief as I didn’t get any help from things like imitrix.
Over the last year, my headaches have greatly slowed down. I’ve been off the brain diuretic for awhile, because of side effects, and haven’t redeveloped the pseudotumor symptoms. And I notice now that my blood pressure has returned to normal without medication. It’s staying around 110-120/60-70 … and has for about 3 months. So though my neurologist still thinks I should be labeled with "hypertension", I believe the BP was related to an undiscovered neurological disorder. I also think the intercranial hypertension was a symptom of something rather than the problem itself, as other neurological problems existed after that was corrected.
Does anyone have a clue what this may sound like? I know this is a lot of information… but I’m curious. Whatever it was, it went away on its own after 2 years. If I had MS, it would worsen, not disappear. And other than a questionable LP (well, 2) that didn’t quite match with the diagnosis and some dymelianation in the brain, nothing else relates back to the possible multiple sclerosis diagnosis.