My 18 yr old son just lost his vision - he also has a sinus infection - has had CT, MRV, and MRi's done and nothing irregular has been found except the sinus infection. Opthamaligist says the optic nerves are swollen hence no vision. They did a spinal tap to relieve some pressure and have him on antibiotics for the infection, steriods and diuretic for the swelling. They say if this doesn't work - then I have to make the decision as to whether or not to have a shunt installed. He's never been sick a day in his life and now this - is this the only treatment for this?
I was diagnosised with inner cranial hypertension almost 2 years ago. I too was loosing my vision at 41. I recieved nearly the same treatments. My test results were also negative. I had a shunt placed in my lower back. The shunt is needed to save your son's vision. In brief, continued swelling of the optic nerve will damage it upon repair. Our bodies produce too much spinal fluid for an unknown reason. The fluid has no where, per se, to go other than up. The fluid needs to be drained in order to prevent pressure to the optic nerves and cause awful headaches. The surgery sounds worse than it was. He may have to stay on the diuretic for a period of time after the placement of the shunt. There are different kinds of shunts, but they all have basically the same function. I could go on and on about this, but in short, he needs it to keep his vision not just this time, but in the future. He will do fine.