Hey girl, im sorry this is happening, call the opth and talk to the nurse ask if they can help you get cine mri and ct scheduled asap. Have that ready for the next opinion, some here have had good luck with stenting. I would want to know if there in anything wrong with the arteries, veins, and any collapsing, enlargments. Its time to take a more in deoth look, i would even speak to them about mrv and decide what is the best method to see whats actually going on in your brain while the blood is pumping from a laying to sitting or standing psition. I cant answer you onn a shunt as i dont have one.

Very rough week you have had. Big hug....

I was told by the neurosurgeon I saw that a shunt would probably help with my IH headaches and would help safeguard my eyesight. However, since I had a secondary pain syndrome (migraines) it could very well make my migraines worse. So pain-wise, it could help or hurt.

I really agree about the second opinion. I'd get that before any surgery, anyway.

Well, shunts are a complicated matter, but it certainly could help your IIH headaches, and I do believe you are have migraines mixed in there too, I was the exact same way. But, I never had migraines before IIH, so it would seem reasonable that if the pressure is lifted the brain will eventually heal and the migraines can be controlled. My case, like many, was/is complicated. I have IIH with no paps and narrowed veins. I had a lumbar shunt placed last June. I immediately felt better. Woke up with no headache. 6 weeks later I started getting headaches and swollen abdomen and the tubing had pulled out of my abdomen. Surgery to replace the tubing in August. Again, felt great afterward. By October I had everyday headaches again. My pressure was 17 and surgeon felt the shunt was working. In December I had a stent put in the mostly collapsed right transverse sinus, vein. I felt a huge release of pressure right after surgery. A week later I was hit with a massive migraine. I actually felt a sort of spasm of pain run through the right side of my head. My right pupil was dilated. I was hospitalized for a week. Stent was in place and blood was flowing, but my headache never really let up. In December I had also been put on Topomax. While I can now recognize that I had a few migraines while I had IIH, it was now constant. Topomax was increased over the next few months and really I was probably getting worse so I stopped taking Topomax and started getting better pretty quickly. I think my neurologist was right in telling me the surgery itself can trigger a migraine cycle that can be tough to break. I also think Topomax did more harm than good and set me back, and I think my brain just needed time to heal. I am still experiencing some pressure and headache but it has been much lighter for the last month. I am seeing a chiropractor who specializes in head and neck alignment, and a cranial sacral therapist, and a holistic medicine doctor. I am hoping to continue to improve, or not get worse, through these methods.
I am having some signs that I am having pressure on the left side now, pulsate tinnitus that comes and goes, and pressure in my temple. I may have to get another MRV at some point to see if my left side vein narrowing has gotten worse.
There are some people who have had shunt surgery and then gone on to live normal lives and pretty much forget about it, at least for 10-20 years. Soi don't agree with your doctor that a shunt won't fix the headaches. It may take a little longer and some experimenting if you are now having complicated migraines. But continuing to suffer is not a very good option either. I'm sorry you are having such a rough time. I would ask your opthamalogist if he can order the MRI and MRV and look for a new neurosurgeon. Maybe your doctor can help you find someone.
Hugs
Amy