[denvergti]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to ask a question about having hydrocephalus and possibly being in denial. Let me explain…

I am 40 years old, and have had hydro since birth. I had three shunt revisions through 1986, and was treated for a shunt infection in 1988. At that time, I thought I heard the doctors tell my parents that I no longer needed a shunt.

From 1988 to 2012, I was healthy and experienced no hydro-related symptoms. In March 2012, I began to have severe headaches. After being diagnosed with migraines and sinus-related headaches, I went to the ER. I was admitted to the hospital at that point, presumably for an abnormal CT scan (I don't have memory of the ER visit or being admitted). After a medical workup, I had surgery to replace my shunt tubing from my neck to my abdomen. I also spent a week in physical/occupational therapy to improve my walking/balance/memory.

This was all very much a shock to me, since I thought I was hydro-free. I couldn't understand how any of this had happened. Nothing made sense to me.

Two days ago, I was in the ER for severe back pain. The PA taking care of me ordered a head CT and shunt series to check the function of the shunt. Everything was good. The CT showed normal-sized ventricles, and the shunt was fine.

I had the thought that maybe I didn't need the shunt if the ventricles were of normal size (the rational part of my brain knows that isn't the case, but the emotional part of my brain says "is this really necessary?")

Has anyone else here experienced something similar?

Rob