Hi everyone. I've following this support group for a while now, and have read many older posts too. Pseudotumor cerebri is the diagnosis that best seems to fit my symptoms, though that has now been ruled out by a neuro ophthalmologist last week due to no paps and normal venous pulsations or pressure. I won't allow a LP due to a very bad experience with an epidural from childbirth years ago. The NO seems to believe that I am in the migraine camp, and occasional and infrequent visual disturbances and due to migraines as well. Within the last month, I have once experienced a 3D episode lasting less than a minute following a 2 mile walk. Another, while driving in fog, there appeared to be sparkles in my immediate vision (seemed just outside windshield) for less than a minute, which was interesting, but did not affect driving ability at all.

Anyway here a quick history:

-occasional migraines over last 30 years that became more frequent in recent years
-awoke one morning in June 2012 feeling like I really had to go pee, my head hurt especially bad, and I heard what sounded like a train in the distance from my left ear. When I went potty, noticed lots of bright red blood in urine. Visited the doc that day and was given antibiotics for UTI, but doc seemed unconcerned with the headache and train issue.
-several days later, went back to doc since UTI seemed to linger, got more antibiotic, and again brought up the headache and train sound - no concerned, but was told to schedule an apt. with my regular doc in the group (he is a busy fellow sometimes)
-saw regular doc, who did a test or two and referred me to an audiologist.
-audiologist said high frequency hearing loss in left ear along with pulsatile tinnitus
-unable to complete MRI due to horrible sensations in eyes
-two CT scans with contrast (looking at arteries too) normal
-referred to neurologist, first seen Nov. 2012, and one of the CT scans was after that
-neurologist said that if NO found normal results, I would be treated for migraines, complicated, complex or whatever he said

So, here it is:

I have a constant left sided headache (every second) that is what I call the base headache. I can get migraines on top of the base as well as migraines on right side occasionally. The left ear feels fullness and pressure and hit a stride of constant ringing rather than sounding like a train in the distance. I am sensitive to smells, sounds, and sometimes light. I must sleep propped up on several pillows (one under head of mattress too) as my head is much worse lying flat as is the tinnitus. I take nothing for pain since it doesn't work and can make it worse. I have been on a low-nitrate diet (vegetarian, so from veggies) since fall 2012, and that has helped a lot. I was juicing beets, carrots, apples, and oranges at the height on my pain (constant 8-10) when I realized upon hearing a BBC report that the nitrates in beet juice is what is responsible for lowering blood pressure. Okay, vegetarian, never much thought about nitrates in my foods, but upon realizing that I was juicing the motherlode, I certainly stopped, which brought headaches down to a livable level, which is mostly where I stay now, but they are still very intense and worse when the barometer drops or I have my piggybacked migraine. I also will never again take any med (i.e. macrobid) that is in the nitrate family.

Alas, my questions --- since I have greatly reduced nitrates in my diet (nitrates are vasodilators), I do not, mostly, have the heavy pulsations in my head during the day (especially after being up a while) though I do still suffer from pulsating head at night (lying down). Pain awakens me and can keep my awake (I get up and read). So, based on what the NO said about normal venous pressure ruling out PT, can venous pressure be higher after lying down, say at night, so that if measured after lying down several hours, especially in the midst of very bad headache (wasn't too bad at NO visit), could there be a different finding? Is there a chance of a false normal venous pressure reading at daytime that would show higher at night? And can one, as the NO said when I asked, have a migraine on top of a migraine? What is such a thing????

Also, for those interested in reducing nitrates to see if after a few weeks it helps, I have links...

Thanks all. I know this was quite lengthy.