Tag Archives: CSF

Hello my faithful friends. Here I am, breaking into The Eye Doc Blog yet again. I may need to consider having one devoted solely to this subject, don’t you think? Meanwhile, I wanted to reach out to you, first to thank you for your amazing stories of courage as we all help each other put the pieces of the proverbial puzzle together. It was also time to give you another update and a wonderful source of information. Thanks, Babe (that is Dr. Rich to you all. ahem) for posting this.

I’d like to address our Ehlers-Danlos friends (known and unknown), those suffering from POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and those dealing with Multiple Sclerosis (even if the diagnosis is not certain). Research is on the cutting edge of science in these areas and because ‘I have donated my body to science while still using it’ (gotta love a pioneer, right?), I’ve jumped at the chance to have the veins in my neck and head tested for blockages or narrowed areas (stenoses) and poor flow. This condition is known as CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal vascular insufficiency) and I was recently tested for it (BINGO!) and treated.

I don’t show my veins to just anyone, but for you, dear friends, I’ll give you a peek (hopefully you have a strong stomach). On your left, the large “garden hose” is my internal jugular vein (too large because the valve at the base was lousy), and on your right are my “Ramen noodles”. Somewhere in that mess is a tiny internal jugular vein, and most of the other noodles are “collaterals” – an attempt by my body to drain fluid from my brain my making its own route out of there! I had that jugular vein ballooned, and the bad valve ballooned. Another vein Continue reading →