Pseudotumor Cerebri Support Group
Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) is a neurological disorder that is characterized by increased intracranial pressure, in the absence of a tumor or other diseases affecting the brain or its lining. Diagnosis requires brain scans and lumbar puncture. Characteristic symptoms are headache, transient visual obscurations or transient visual loss in one or both eyes usually lasting...
I've only had ptc for a year and I don't know how much longer I can deal with having this it isn't getting better im going to be having another brain surgery woohoo within 3 months of my last one my life is so not where I thought It would be I'm behind in school I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel here i feel that a Nervous breakdown is Bound to happen I'm Literally a Shell of who I use to be
So I guess my question is how do you deal with the stress of this every day without going insane because Obviously my method isn't working
So I guess my question is how do you deal with the stress of this every day without going insane because Obviously my method isn't working
There are clinics now that deal with dealing with chronic illness and the pain and stress that go along with it. I've been meaning to try one. I don't know if my insurance will cover it.
In the meantime, know that you are loved and supported. Including (especially) by all of us in here.
All of us struggle with "normalcy" after our dx. I wouldn't call it denial, but more just wanting to hang on to the life we had before we got sick. We want to keep pushing and see how much of that normalcy we can hang on to, because the alternative is having to accept that we have limitations in what we can do.
It sounds like you, too, have really tried with all you've got not to let IIH change your life. With all you are going through, though, I humbly suggest that you might be pushing yourself too hard and making yourself feel worse instead of better. Perhaps now is the time for you to really reflect on where you are physically, and think about picking a couple things you can eliminate from your stress plate -- at least for a little while until you are done with surgery and you're feeling some relief.
This is a delicate balance. You don't want to eliminate things you do that make you feel good about yourself. For example, if school is the one thing that really makes you feel hopeful, don't give it up. Find something else that isn't the same kind of priority to you and let it go for a while. Perhaps adding a half hour of silent meditation time to your daily schedule would help you decompress.
You absolutely MUST take stress seriously. It is a killer -- even when you're young and otherwise strong and healthy. Do you have some quiet hobbies/activities you enjoy doing that you might step up in place of a couple activities that you know are causing you stress? I give this advice from experience: make the choices for yourself while you can. If you go on trying to pretend you can handle absolutely everything, you're setting yourself up to crash and burn... and having been there, I would NEVER wish that on you. Choose what is meaningful to you and create a balance of your own design while the choices are entirely yours.