I'm sure there's some kidsplain explanation for why my children can't seem to be ready to go on a normal day, but when we can wait to leave, they are up, dressed, and watching The Magic School Bus before I have even showered. Today, I had my follow up appointment due to my swollen optic nerve. There's no brain tumor. There is, however, swelling. I have what is called intracranial hypertension. Basically, there's swelling in my brain, but it's mild. It's also treatable. I'll be on a medication and continuing on my lifestyle change journey.
I'll be adding Diamox to my morning and evening routine. It helps to relieve some of the pressure - and is also used for altitude sickness. It's quite safe, and the side effects of it are no worse than the current symptoms I am experiencing. My biggest challenge will be to remember to take the darn pills. My attention is pulled in twenty directions from the minute my children walk in the door to the minute I exit my daughter's room after she is asleep (or she's whining at me to stay just a little longer). But, I will figure out a way to get the doses I need as consistently as possible.
I am relieved that it's a mild case of intracranial hypertension - so mild that I had a choice of whether I wanted to have medication or not. I opted for the medication, because I am tired of seeing spots in my vision.
What's the most ironic about the spots is that I see them out of just my right eye. They are off to the left, consistently and it looks like the spots you see when you've stared at your phone screen too long. But they are always there! My right eye is my near-sighted eye and the eye that I had to patch when I was young because my left eye wasn't working. Now, my left eye is my stronger eye and very stable. In fact, I don't think it's changed in about 3 years.
I am hopeful for change in my right eye soon though. Hopefully, with a new commitment to being healthier and the addition of a medication when I return in 5 months for another visit, I will have corrected more of the intracranial hypertension.