Is lumber puncture effective for idiopathic intracranial hypertension and papilledema?

Hi Doctor.. I have been diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and papilledema. I have been advised to get lumber puncture and few other procedures done before starting the actual treatment, perhaps a surgery is needed is what i'm told. I was wondering if the condition can be treated without any invasive procedures.could you please let me know what's the best course of treatment? Also, would Ayurvedic or Homeopathic can be considered for this? I have undergone a heart surgery as a child and i'm really worried about another surgery or lumber puncture procedures. Any suggestions much appreciated.

Brief Answer:
Medications would help. 

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for posting your query.

I have noted your symptoms and diagnosis.

Presence of papilledema with normal MRI and venogram of brain is highly suggestive of IIH (idiopathic intracranial hypertension i. e. raised intracranial pressure).

Lumbar puncture is done to quantify the cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) pressure and exclude infection in the CSF.

Treatment may be started without lumbar puncture also, however, it is useful to know the CSF pressure before we start the treatment.

Initial treatment of IIH is with medications such as diamox (acetazolamide) and steroids (prednisolone).

Only when the medications do not cause improvement, a shunt surgery is done to lower the CSF pressure.

I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you have any follow up queries or if you require any additional information.

Wishing you good health,

Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist
Apollo Hospitals, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX 
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