This is Spinal Tap

What started as a routine eye exam to change the prescription in my glasses has now turned into a MRI and spinal tap. As many of you don’t know, I’ve recently been diagnosed with what they call papilledema, which is “optic disc swelling that is caused by increased intracranial pressure” (according to Wikipedia). I was completely freaked out when my optometrist threw out the words MRI and spinal tap. I’ve been freaked out for the past week because I didn’t know what the MRI was going to show. I was worried that maybe there was something more wrong with me like a tumor. So today was d-day and I experienced my first MRI. For an hour and a half I listened to extremely loud and obnoxious “techno” music. The MRI machine makes extremely loud noises and the noises and combinations resemble those of techno music. Let me tell you, it got old real quick. To pass the time, I played the game with myself of trying to figure out the patterns or what would come next. Having to lie still for an hour and a half is daunting. I could not wait until I was done just to be able to sit up! Luckily, my MRI was normal (no tumors yay!) and it showed that my optic nerve was swollen so then the next step is a spinal tap. I wasn’t planning on having my first epidural at 20 but I guess you roll with the punches.

I just want to say thank you to everyone for being so supportive! I believe Leemaw and Loco worried enough for me so they helped me stay calm! I absolutely love you all and thanks for being such a rock! I’m not real sure how they treat an increase in spinal fluid pressure but I guess we’ll wait and see! I just can’t wait to be able to read for hours and not have my eyes go blurry. What I’ve learned from all of this is you should never disregard changes in anything because they could be signs. If I didn’t ask Halfsie why my eyes would go blurry for periods of time or told my doctor about my focusing problem I never would have been diagnosed so the moral of the story is to always speak up and get things checked out even if they don’t seem like a big deal!

Stay healthy!

XO Katie