_{Unilateral swollen disc due to increased intracranial pressure}

Hi!
So, I had my LP on tuesday....it was by far and away the worst yet. The Dr had to try FOUR times to get the right spot, it was agony! The pressure was high which I expected, but here's the puzzling thing. When the Doc looked in my eyes to check my discs only ONE of them was swollen. He seemed really confused by this as he said that he expected both discs to be swollen. He said it's a universal thing and that both should be affected.
Can anyone shed any light on this for me? The Doc said the fluid is distributed evenly so a pocket of fluid on the left side wouldn't explain why only the left disc was swollen.
Bear in mind this wasn't a neurologist, just a Doc from the medical day unit where I had the LP.

Puzzling!!

Kerry

Hi Kerry

He is right that it is usually bilateral disc swelling, but it can happen in only one, and I found you this article to back that up. Unilateral swollen disc due to increased intracranial pressure

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Heidi!

That's really kind of you. It's a shame Dr's don't read this stuff! The Doc kept telling me my pressure wouldn't be high as only one disc was swollen and I think if he'd have had the choice he might not have done the LP for that reason, but since it was my Neurologist who ordered the procedure he went ahead and did it and lo and behold.......high. Only 29 this time but that's on 500mg diamox twice daily and being drained down to 15 only at end of July, it's shot up in only 3 months!

Thanks again!
Kerry

It just proves that Doctors should do more reading about IIH, especially when they are seeing a patient with it. They can't rely on basic knowledge alone, nor even bother to educate themselves on it. It's not acceptable that we as patients are more aware, and have more knowledge than they do. Hopefully we can change this in the future.

Are they going to monitor you every 3 months to keep an eye on your pressure, with it rising in that time period?

You're right, it's not acceptable at all!
I'm seeing the NO on 10th of Dec so I'll ask him what the next step is. My concern is that it's gone up so quickly, I expected more time!

Kerry