Aiza’s spinal CSF leak was misdiagnosed for five years. Under the guidance of her doctor, she began trying every possible migraine medication, but nothing worked—because Aiza did not have a migraine headache. What she had was spontaneous intracranial hypotension due...
Alex played in a softball league with other fathers from his children’s school. After one particularly strenuous game, he began to feel a nagging ache in the back of his head. By the next morning, it had intensified into a knife-like pain, a terrible headache unlike...
Mandii and her aunt Heidi had to fight to get her dad, Rex, the care he needed to get better. Rex following his treatment While headache is the most common symptom resulting from intracranial hypotension (or low pressure in the head) due to a spinal cerebrospinal...
NEW! Listen to this story Developing a low-pressure headache after receiving epidural anesthesia in childbirth is not uncommon: New mothers are often warned about the possibility that an anesthetist’s needle can slip just a hair too far, piercing the dura, allowing...
Like many patients with a spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, Patty was diagnosed with many things—and underwent some needless procedures—before finally receiving the correct diagnosis and treatment. https://youtu.be/bhOwJKCFPfk Patty has always been incredibly...
A lucky coincidence helped connect Katrina to an expert who could correctly diagnose and treat her spinal CSF leak. Katrina with her husband Katrina had just returned to Pasadena after a month-long trip to Australia with her boyfriend. She was 29, an interior designer...
Martha considers herself fortunate to have received a relatively speedy diagnosis and treatment—but it wasn’t an easy process. https://youtu.be/O5aZao0ptMw Martha was on her way home from her son’s hockey tournament when she first noticed the headache. As a former...
Artwork by Ashley Fromm When Ashley was a 20-year-old college student, she developed a headache behind her left eye. At first, she didn’t think much of it: it was a headache, it would pass. Except it didn’t. For four years, Ashley struggled to cope with her pain, and...
[Content warning: Suicide] Karen’s story continues, thanks to Bob’s extraordinary efforts to raise awareness in her memory.
It took years before Allie was able to find a proper diagnosis. But eventually she was able to get treatment for her spinal CSF leak. Allie McDaniels, before and after her surgery Allie McDaniels just got braces. That might not seem like a huge achievement for a...
Zac Gordon is not your average spinal CSF leak patient. As a quirky stuntman, he charmed Howard Stern on “America’s Got Talent.” As a gym instructor, he teaches kids “ninja” parkour skills. Just 4 months after spinal surgery, he is back to doing flips again. Zac with...
Diane thought her spinal CSF leak had been thoroughly treated. But when her symptoms returned, it would take nearly eight years and surgery to fully address the underlying cause: a CSF-venous fistula. It was summer 2008 when Diane, on vacation with her family, bent...