Quote:
Originally Posted by breen0810
Alright so a little back story. I was born with hydro and had a vp shunt placed at 5 days old. I am now 24yrs old. I had my very first revision done 6 years ago this october. When my shunt failed the last time it started in July of that year with a bad headache for a week. I went to my dr n they said it all looked normal no change what so ever. Finally headaches went away then in Oct of the same year I started having issues peeing (tmi sry) I immediately went to er. I was also pregnant so they refused to do a ct and sent me home. Well 3 days later i was in a coma and being rushed into surgery from a failed shunt.
Fast forward: In June I was in the hospital with a very bad headache and vomiting. My CT once again looked fine. I stayed over night in the hospital then sent home. Well here we are almost Oct. and my headache and vomiting is back full force. I can barely function it hurts so bad. I got up this am after being up all night with it and took some excedrin migraine. I've been resting and its not going anywhere. I have had some issues peeing here n there the last cpl months and also some swelling issues in my fingers and feet.
I was told by dr a way to tell if shunt is failing is to push on the pump and if it is still mooshy than everything is fine. We also have had some weather change to cooler weather in the last 2 days. I always just get so nervous since the last malfunction I had almost killed me and my son. I do not have insurance so my dr won't see me if I go in has to at the er. I dunno what to do I don't want to rush to the er and it be nothing. Anybody know if this could be a malfunction issue?
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As an almost 40 (but not yet =P) year old advanced practice nurse with a shunt since I was 6 months old, I will tell you there are ALOT of doctors who are clueless about shunts and hydrocephalus. My neurosurgeon (who is one of the 5 doctors I trust enough to treat me) told me at my last appointment that a shunt is anagolous to a garbage disposal, sometimes they get clogged for a few days then something happens to unclog it and it works fine. He also told me that he believed that I am a human barometer but there is no way for science to confirm that right now. We are not that sophisticted. I don't have time to go into my medical history (but I have put it in other posts if you want to look it up) but I've had alot of both positive and negative experiences with the healthcare systeem
The point I'm trying to make is that you know your body so if something isn't right then get it checked out. If the healthcare provider tells you not to worry, please ask them for more specifics about why you shouldn't be worried because this is a deviation from what is normal and really listen to what they have to say. If it doesn't make sense or they blow you off, ask to speak to someone else. If you are worried about money, ask to see a social worker who should be able to connect you with resources to help.
Good luck