[09eric09]

Hi, my name is Eric, I was diagnosed with PTC in 2009 after taking an acne drug called accutane. It went away on it's own, but now, 4 years later I seem to be getting a lot of pressure in my head again, to the point that I can't do much of anything. I've received an MRI and CT scan to rule other things out, and they came back fine.

Since I never treated it back in 2009, and it went away on it's own, is it possible that PTC could have returned? Would my next step be a spinal tap to confirm/treat? Am I stuck with this my whole life? Thanks.

[Dr. Smith]

Hi Eric, Welcome to NT.

I hadn't heard of this condition -- a.k.a. Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) -- before, but upon doing a little research I find that it's more common in women, can recur, and recurrences are often/usually related to changes in weight.

idiopathic intracranial hypertension

idiopathic intracranial hypertension causes

recurrent idiopathic intracranial hypertension

idiopathic intracranial hypertension prognosis

Prognosis

It is not known what percentage of people with IIH will remit spontaneously, and what percentage will develop chronic disease.

IIH does not normally affect life expectancy. The major complications from IIH arise from untreated or treatment-resistant papilledema. In various case series, the long-term risk of ones vision being significantly affected by IIH is reported to lie anywhere between 10 and 25%
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiopat...sion#Prognosis

The condition does show up in the archives (Search facility) under both terms (pseudotumor cerebri, idiopathic intracranial hypertension) and in several forums, so you might check there under each term for other threads & members who have or know of it.

Doc