Total charges billed to my insurance equaled $5285.00, which they reduced to the agreed pricing of $4200,00. My banked insurance funds took care of 1000 of it, leaving me to pay the balance of $3200. I'm not totally sure that the bill for the MRI has gone through yet, but I sure hope so, because I will be left to pay that whole bill also if it is still yet to come through. I've never had such lousy insurance in my life. I really need a new job with decent insurance.
On a more positive note, my double vision has now resolved and I'm just thankful it didn't take months like I was expecting. I still get a very mild headache in my forehead above my left eye almost daily, but I can deal with that better than the double-vision. If I didn't have to stare at a computer all darned day, I would probably be able to get rid of the last of the headaches also.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
What Now?
Thankfully, I am doing much better this week. After taking a diuretic on Saturday and Sunday, most of my symptoms slowly resolved. My head pain is only moderate when it comes and it is only around my left eye, and is relieved with Excedrin. The noises in my ears have completely resolved and everything in my house is back to sounding like it is running appropriately instead of running to my heartbeat. I can sleep without pain without any percocet.
My only residual symptoms are some slight nausea at times and diplopia (double-vision). I can see a few feet in front of my face just fine (so I have no trouble working) but anything I look at across the room goes into double vision after just a few seconds of looking at it. This makes driving extremely difficult. In fact, I haven't dared drive outside of the neighborhood all week.
Mom very kindly gave me a ride to the neurologist today, where I came home with no more answers than I went with.
He doesn't think I had what I thought I had, because he doesn't see any papilledema; however, he can see how I came to that conclusion, because I did have all the symptoms. I had every symptom, but he discounted them as being anything and hardly acknowledged anything I said about them.
He doesn't have a clue what to think about my headaches, because they should have been better with standing, worse with lying, and there should be no difference between sitting and standing. Mine was better with sitting, head splitting on standing and lying down. He just passed it off as a headache that I happened to have for over a week, with no relation to the residual double-vision that I am left with. I KNOW that was no tension headache. What I had was the worst pain I have had in my life that only morphine took away. I am not one to even think of going to a doctor for most pain, haven't been to one in 12 years, so things have to be pretty darn bad for me to go to Instacare or the emergency room.
I also know that I did not have double-vision before the headaches and didn't even notice it at all until the day I drove to the emergency room, when it was only if I looked left and has progressed since then to being all the time. It just seems pretty evident to me that whatever caused the headaches had to have caused the eye problem.
He also had no explanation as to why my symptoms started resolving as soon as I took diuretics, but discounted that as having anything to do with it, but I'm convinced that is what resolved the headaches and hearing issues, and besides I lost 8 pounds in two days!! (That's a lot of water buildup that came from somewhere, might as well have been some in my brain.)
Since all my symptoms have resolved except my diplopia, he mostly concentrated on that, and he thinks I have a cranial nerve 6 palsy from untreated hypertension. Trouble is, I have never had high blood pressure. When I went to Instacare it was 155/97 , which I assume was due to the severe pain I was under. In January when my company sent a person to my house to check my labs it was 126/78, and 124/88 the year before that, and has never been higher than 130 that I have ever been told. I don't think I could have had high enough blood pressure for long enough to have caused this and he couldn't really say so either based on my history, but had no other explanation.
He said it should resolve on its own, but he didn't know how long, and suggested maybe I go to an ophthalmologist, who looks at more eyes then he does....and then said, "I would like you to come back in 4 weeks." For What?????
I liked this doctor okay as a person. He was actually having a lot of fun looking at my eyes with his new ophthalmoscope that views in 3D, and since I was so good at focusing, he kept asking if he could look at my eyes again, and then would exclaim, "this is soooo cool!" It may have been cool, but since he didn't know why I had the problem or any plan to fix it, I certainly do not see any reason to go back.
I came home and googled 6th nerve palsy and learned that it can take up to 6 months to resolve and it just says to wear a patch on one eye when driving, which is what the doctor had also said. I have perfect vision with each eye independently.
I can't find anything about it to explain why I may have gotten it since none of the causes fit my situtation.
When this is all said and done, it will probably have cost me $3000 or more, and since no one has done anything for me, except me, it is all money spent for nothing. Unfortunately the $1000.00 I had built up in my insurance plan was wiped out pretty fast, and I won't have any more money in there until January, and then only $500.00. With a 6,000 dollar deductible, I will be paying for anything else I decide to do about this situation.
I really don't know if it is worth it to go to an ophthalmologist just to have him tell me to wait it out.
How does a person deal with double vision for 6 months? I guess, I may have to find out.
My only residual symptoms are some slight nausea at times and diplopia (double-vision). I can see a few feet in front of my face just fine (so I have no trouble working) but anything I look at across the room goes into double vision after just a few seconds of looking at it. This makes driving extremely difficult. In fact, I haven't dared drive outside of the neighborhood all week.
Mom very kindly gave me a ride to the neurologist today, where I came home with no more answers than I went with.
He doesn't think I had what I thought I had, because he doesn't see any papilledema; however, he can see how I came to that conclusion, because I did have all the symptoms. I had every symptom, but he discounted them as being anything and hardly acknowledged anything I said about them.
He doesn't have a clue what to think about my headaches, because they should have been better with standing, worse with lying, and there should be no difference between sitting and standing. Mine was better with sitting, head splitting on standing and lying down. He just passed it off as a headache that I happened to have for over a week, with no relation to the residual double-vision that I am left with. I KNOW that was no tension headache. What I had was the worst pain I have had in my life that only morphine took away. I am not one to even think of going to a doctor for most pain, haven't been to one in 12 years, so things have to be pretty darn bad for me to go to Instacare or the emergency room.
I also know that I did not have double-vision before the headaches and didn't even notice it at all until the day I drove to the emergency room, when it was only if I looked left and has progressed since then to being all the time. It just seems pretty evident to me that whatever caused the headaches had to have caused the eye problem.
He also had no explanation as to why my symptoms started resolving as soon as I took diuretics, but discounted that as having anything to do with it, but I'm convinced that is what resolved the headaches and hearing issues, and besides I lost 8 pounds in two days!! (That's a lot of water buildup that came from somewhere, might as well have been some in my brain.)
Since all my symptoms have resolved except my diplopia, he mostly concentrated on that, and he thinks I have a cranial nerve 6 palsy from untreated hypertension. Trouble is, I have never had high blood pressure. When I went to Instacare it was 155/97 , which I assume was due to the severe pain I was under. In January when my company sent a person to my house to check my labs it was 126/78, and 124/88 the year before that, and has never been higher than 130 that I have ever been told. I don't think I could have had high enough blood pressure for long enough to have caused this and he couldn't really say so either based on my history, but had no other explanation.
He said it should resolve on its own, but he didn't know how long, and suggested maybe I go to an ophthalmologist, who looks at more eyes then he does....and then said, "I would like you to come back in 4 weeks." For What?????
I liked this doctor okay as a person. He was actually having a lot of fun looking at my eyes with his new ophthalmoscope that views in 3D, and since I was so good at focusing, he kept asking if he could look at my eyes again, and then would exclaim, "this is soooo cool!" It may have been cool, but since he didn't know why I had the problem or any plan to fix it, I certainly do not see any reason to go back.
I came home and googled 6th nerve palsy and learned that it can take up to 6 months to resolve and it just says to wear a patch on one eye when driving, which is what the doctor had also said. I have perfect vision with each eye independently.
I can't find anything about it to explain why I may have gotten it since none of the causes fit my situtation.
When this is all said and done, it will probably have cost me $3000 or more, and since no one has done anything for me, except me, it is all money spent for nothing. Unfortunately the $1000.00 I had built up in my insurance plan was wiped out pretty fast, and I won't have any more money in there until January, and then only $500.00. With a 6,000 dollar deductible, I will be paying for anything else I decide to do about this situation.
I really don't know if it is worth it to go to an ophthalmologist just to have him tell me to wait it out.
How does a person deal with double vision for 6 months? I guess, I may have to find out.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Self Diagnosis-Pseudotumor cerebri (fake brain tumor)
Of course, I could be wrong, but I'm almost 100% certain I have figured out what is wrong with me. I learned a few things while I was in the ER that allowed me to focus a little differently on my symptoms and google accordingly. The MRI technician told me when my vision goes blurry or into double-vision to close each eye and see if it is one eye or the other. I discovered when I was pain free on morphine that I was still uncomfortable behind my left eye and down my neck. I had thought my pain was over my entire front of head, but when concentrating on it more, it actually centers around my left eye, but pulsates throughout my whole front head when it gets bad. I described the noise I was having in my ears to the doctor, where sounds such as wind, air conditioner, heater that are normally one solid blowing noise, were occuring in my head as pulsating noises that go with my heart beat, and he did not seem to really recognize that as anything.
The next day, I had to run an errand and discovered that my double-vision was only when using both eyes, and mostly when looking to the left. When looking out of either eye by itself, my vision was find.
I came home and googled "double-vision when looking to the side," and the first article that popped up described all my symptoms exactly.
Pseudotumor cerebri is an eye condition that can be confused with a brain tumor due to swelling of the optic nerve. Like a brain tumor, the fluid inside the skull that cushions the brain and flows around the spinal column develops elevated pressure. It is also referred to as Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension or Benign Intracranial Hypertension. It is more prevalent in women between the ages of 20 and 50. Symptoms of pseudotumor cerebri are usually an undiagnosed chronic headache, and in more severe cases there may be visual symptoms such as double vision. Also nausea and vomiting may occur. There is an unusual effect of pulsating sounds within the head that are synchronous with the heart rate referred to as Pulse-synchronous tinnitus.
A routine eye exam is where the initial diagnosis of mild cases of pseudotumor cerebri is often first made. The optic nerve that enters the back of the eye appears elevated in both eyes, a condition referred to as papilledema. Because the nerve is an extension of the brain and enclosed by the same tissues and fluid that cushion the brain, elevation in the pressure inside the brain also cause the nerve to swell. Since most cases occur in young to middle age overweight females, an elevated nerve with a history of chronic headaches and otherwise healthy is often indicative of pseudotumour cerebri. Other visual symptoms include double vision, brief periods of blurred vision or dim vision, and occasionally patient will have temporary episodes of blindness in one or both eyes. Changes in posture such as suddenly standing up or bending over may elicit symptoms, as may coughing or sneezing. (My pain goes from 1-2 over 10 when sitting to 10/10 if I stand, lie down, or cough.)
Double vision may occur when looking to the side. This is caused by a defect in abduction or the ability of an eye to turn out. due to a restriction in the capacity for one or both eyes to turn out. This presents a confusing picture when taken out of context because it is not due to damage to the abducens nerve (6th Cranial Nerve) that controls the eyes outward motion. In this case, the double vision is called a false localizing sign. Pain can occasionally be associated with eye movements.
Rarely, the pressure can become very high and cause severe problems with vision and alterations in levels of awareness. Most of the time truly is benign idiopathic intracranial hypertension and is managed by weight loss and occasionally medications. Sometimes discontinuation of certain medication may resolve the problems. The most severe cases may require a shunt to drain the increased fluid from the ventricles in the brain into the abdominal cavity.
It is so weird to run across something that describes yourself so perfectly. I looked up dozens of articles on Pseudotumor cerebri and it just kept confirming to me this is what I am dealing with. The first steps are to have a CT and MRI, which I did and were both normal, so any other brain pathology is ruled out. The next step for a diagnosis would be a lumbar puncture to check your cerebrospinal fluid pressure. First steps of treatment are to go on a diet, which I have been on for 6 weeks and have already lost 12 pounds. They sometimes use diurectics to help lower fluid levels, and then a lumbar puncture or even shunt to drain the fluid.
I was going to go get a natural diuretic to see if it would help before I got to a doctor. Richard was just taken off his diuretics so he brought me his. I took one yesterday afternoon and actually slept on either side pain free for 11 hours last night (besides getting up to pee every hour or 2). In the past, I could only lie with minimal pain on my back, but I can't sleep on my back. I did take one Percocet before bed, but even with Percocet I really couldn't sleep on my side without pain. I woke up this morning 3.5 pounds lighter (that is a LOT of water) and have felt 75% better so far today.
I have an appt. to establish with a new primary care physician on the 22nd, so I may have to see a neurologist before that, unless things dramatically improve this week. If i do get this diagnosed, I want to go back to Instacare and make sure the doctor, who snickered when I mentioned possible intracranial pressure to him, has a chance to eat his words along with his snicker.
The next day, I had to run an errand and discovered that my double-vision was only when using both eyes, and mostly when looking to the left. When looking out of either eye by itself, my vision was find.
I came home and googled "double-vision when looking to the side," and the first article that popped up described all my symptoms exactly.
Pseudotumor cerebri is an eye condition that can be confused with a brain tumor due to swelling of the optic nerve. Like a brain tumor, the fluid inside the skull that cushions the brain and flows around the spinal column develops elevated pressure. It is also referred to as Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension or Benign Intracranial Hypertension. It is more prevalent in women between the ages of 20 and 50. Symptoms of pseudotumor cerebri are usually an undiagnosed chronic headache, and in more severe cases there may be visual symptoms such as double vision. Also nausea and vomiting may occur. There is an unusual effect of pulsating sounds within the head that are synchronous with the heart rate referred to as Pulse-synchronous tinnitus.
A routine eye exam is where the initial diagnosis of mild cases of pseudotumor cerebri is often first made. The optic nerve that enters the back of the eye appears elevated in both eyes, a condition referred to as papilledema. Because the nerve is an extension of the brain and enclosed by the same tissues and fluid that cushion the brain, elevation in the pressure inside the brain also cause the nerve to swell. Since most cases occur in young to middle age overweight females, an elevated nerve with a history of chronic headaches and otherwise healthy is often indicative of pseudotumour cerebri. Other visual symptoms include double vision, brief periods of blurred vision or dim vision, and occasionally patient will have temporary episodes of blindness in one or both eyes. Changes in posture such as suddenly standing up or bending over may elicit symptoms, as may coughing or sneezing. (My pain goes from 1-2 over 10 when sitting to 10/10 if I stand, lie down, or cough.)
Double vision may occur when looking to the side. This is caused by a defect in abduction or the ability of an eye to turn out. due to a restriction in the capacity for one or both eyes to turn out. This presents a confusing picture when taken out of context because it is not due to damage to the abducens nerve (6th Cranial Nerve) that controls the eyes outward motion. In this case, the double vision is called a false localizing sign. Pain can occasionally be associated with eye movements.
Rarely, the pressure can become very high and cause severe problems with vision and alterations in levels of awareness. Most of the time truly is benign idiopathic intracranial hypertension and is managed by weight loss and occasionally medications. Sometimes discontinuation of certain medication may resolve the problems. The most severe cases may require a shunt to drain the increased fluid from the ventricles in the brain into the abdominal cavity.
It is so weird to run across something that describes yourself so perfectly. I looked up dozens of articles on Pseudotumor cerebri and it just kept confirming to me this is what I am dealing with. The first steps are to have a CT and MRI, which I did and were both normal, so any other brain pathology is ruled out. The next step for a diagnosis would be a lumbar puncture to check your cerebrospinal fluid pressure. First steps of treatment are to go on a diet, which I have been on for 6 weeks and have already lost 12 pounds. They sometimes use diurectics to help lower fluid levels, and then a lumbar puncture or even shunt to drain the fluid.
I was going to go get a natural diuretic to see if it would help before I got to a doctor. Richard was just taken off his diuretics so he brought me his. I took one yesterday afternoon and actually slept on either side pain free for 11 hours last night (besides getting up to pee every hour or 2). In the past, I could only lie with minimal pain on my back, but I can't sleep on my back. I did take one Percocet before bed, but even with Percocet I really couldn't sleep on my side without pain. I woke up this morning 3.5 pounds lighter (that is a LOT of water) and have felt 75% better so far today.
I have an appt. to establish with a new primary care physician on the 22nd, so I may have to see a neurologist before that, unless things dramatically improve this week. If i do get this diagnosed, I want to go back to Instacare and make sure the doctor, who snickered when I mentioned possible intracranial pressure to him, has a chance to eat his words along with his snicker.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Just got home from the ER.
I tried to get into see a doctor today, but no one wanted to see me. They said with pain that bad for so long, I needed to go straight to the ER. So I took myself to the ER. They hooked me up with an IV of Toradol and Zofran which did nothing. My pain actually increased while I was on Toradol. They took me for a CAT scan which turned out normal. They hooked me up to morphine and slowly I became pain-free and relaxed for the first time in a week. They don't normally do an MRI unless it is a for-sure emergency, but the doctor really felt it needed to be checked out further because the whole thing was rather baffling (10/10 pain, stiff neck, blurry and double-vision, and ringing ears, all for a week) so he got it approved to do an MRI. That also turned out normal (a relief for sure, but no explanation for what is going on). I got back to my room and was able to lie in complete comfort feeling like I was on cloud 9. I haven't felt so good in a long time. If the pain comes back the next step is a neurologist. I'm just glad I didn't have to do the neurologist before the MRI, because I don't know how long that whole process would take, and at least this way I know nothing needing immediate intervention is going on. Now I am going to go sleep pain-free for the first time in a long time.
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