Hi, I’m new here but I’ve lurked over the years. I’m nineteen and have had hydrocephalus and a VP shunt since I was 4 days old. My shunt has been revised twice, once at 4 and once at 8. I was discharged from my neurologist team when I turned 18 and they told me that since my shunt had been working for eleven years, without need for further revision, it is unlikely to need replacing.

I had a bad experience when my shunt was revised when I was eight, as my ventricles didn’t present as swollen on the CT scan and the neurology team basically refused to revise the shunt. It took half a year of severe headaches seizures and vomiting for the neuro team to finally operate; on coming around afterwards they said that if I was left a day later, I would have died. Which is a great thing to tell an eight year old, huh?

But from this experience I get extremely anxious when I have headaches now, I have no neuro team to consult, and my mother is also an anxious woman who would want me in hospital at a sneeze - I have no one to calm me down in situations like this... so please help

I’ve been having headaches for the past few days, they seem ‘different’ to shunt headaches somehow as they’re quite mild but still there. On the occasions they are a bit more severe they are eased by painkillers but don’t totally fade. If they do fade, they come back a few hours later; I go to sleep and wake up with a headache. It’s been ongoing for about three days now.
I haven’t vomited, I don’t feel weak and my vision is fine. I live in the U.K. and it has been extremely humid and muggy meaning I have mild hay fever and I’m kinda stuffy.

So. Given that you have read that essay... it is unlikely that the shunt is failing, right? It’s definitely just hayfever, and I should stop worrying? I’m torn, sometimes I’m like, ‘it’s definitely not my shunt’ and then I’m like ‘what if it is!’ - someone tell me I’m being an anxious mess and put me out of my misery