Hello doctor,I have pseudotumor diagnosed before four years. I was taking Diamox and had a spinal tap. I stopped taking Diamox because I was pregnant before two years, and my symptoms went away along with the swelling. Last year my symptoms came back. I am not able to see an ophthalmologist until four more days. I am worried that I will go blind before I get to see my ophthalmologist. Will blindness happen all of a sudden?
Hello. Diamox is to control your eye pressure. It does not treat the actual disease it is to manage your ocular pressure that might have increased due to pseudotumor. Since it is a diagnosis of exclusion, you might have undergone a lot of investigations to exclude all other possibilities, including sarcoidosis and wegners. Treatment for pseudotumor or non-specific orbital inflammation is steroids. Some people need a short course of maintainable in the long term to control it without which it recurs. Some get resolved after some time it all depends on the type of pseudotumor you are having did you had an orbital biopsy (a piece of your lesion taken through an operation). Usually, we do a one if not it is orbital apex or sclerotic. For your record sclerosing variety is resistant to treatment. Unfortunately, I cannot say whether you can go blind or not suddenly because not impossible. Due to high pressure, vascular occlusion, optic nerve compressing or reduced blood supply to it and many other things can cause blindness. What I can say is if it is predotumer and if it is a recurrence (not something new) you need steroids and other treatment accordingly. Most importantly, you need close monitoring of your vision to exclude optic nerve damage, which is detrimental and require urgent action.