Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennsmom
HI, my name is Barbara and I am the mother of a 5 year old with Hydrocephalus. She was diagnosed at 5 months, and a VP shunt was placed. We had no problems whatsoever until this past June. The tubing in her chest started to bother her, the area became all red and painful, the pain and redness started to move up her neck. She was put in the hospital, shunt removed, tried third ventrical (?), you know what I mean. Didn't work so she had a new shunt put in. That was 3 months ago. All of a sudden she is getting headaches almost daily, they come on fast and then she sleeps. Any idea what this is? She has no fever and nothing else hurts. The headaches are throwing me because it's not all the time and it's not every day. Is it malfunctioning? I'm going to call her doctor and take her in for a CT Scan tomorrow, but my mind is all over the place. The last time we were in the hospital we were there for 2 weeks because it was infected. If it's malfunctioning do you still have to stay in the hospital that long to replace it? Help, I'm losing my mind. I work, I have 2 other children and I'm just so confused. We have all been sick recently with bad colds, she's loaded with phlem but not in her head, more in her chest. I read yesterday that a lot of people get headaches when they are sick, would they be like this?
I look forward to any insight anyone can give me.
Thanks Barbara
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Hi:
I have had a VA shunt for 50 years. The infection that you speak of was meningitis and it takes 14 days of IV drugs to clear it from the system and the shunt is often replaced as the result of the infection. Shunt replacement surgery is serious surgery and most will stay a few days to insure that the new shunt is functioning properly. The headaches and the sleeping you talk about could be symptoms of a malfunction. The ct will tell whether the shunt is over draining or under draining. It has happened to me in the past. Sometimes it will clear up on its own and go away. The best thing to do is get the ct and see if they can determine the nature of the problem and go from there. I wish you and your family well and hope all works out for you.