[Isak]

I am the mother of a son who recently underwent the surgery that inserted a shunt from his brain to his abdomen. My son linked this site to me but I am uncertain whether or not he has registered.

His surgery was less than a month ago. The doctors have stated in response to my question that he will 'recover his brain function fully' to the state it was in prior to the surgery. Yet he is having some dizziness, some feeling of pressure though I do not know if that is constant it is at least from time to time. In addition he is experiencing blurred vision occasionally. He is having great difficulty sleeping. He cannot get comfortable. If he turns in his sleep to rest on the side of his head with the valve he wakes up with pain. If he sleeps on one side the gravity makes the shunt pull too much and causes discomfort. If he sleeps on the side of the shunt it does likewise. He has ordered a wedge pillow and I think some others to support him and make him comfortable while sleeping semi upright. Tonight will be the first time to try that. But he ends up sleeping very little at night and a lot during the day. He says he is irritable and is feeling depressed.

I am assuming all this is somewhat normal given the type of surgery and the short space of time that has passed since it. But .. I cannot help but worry anyway. He goes in a couple of weeks to see his doctor for the first time since the surgery. Does what he is experiencing now warrant sooner contact with the doctor or his nurse?

I am glad to find your site and hope I can both get answers and support.
Thanks
Isak

[Isak]

Originally Posted by Isak

I am the mother of a son who recently underwent the surgery that inserted a shunt from his brain to his abdomen. My son linked this site to me but I am uncertain whether or not he has registered.

His surgery was less than a month ago. The doctors have stated in response to my question that he will 'recover his brain function fully' to the state it was in prior to the surgery. Yet he is having some dizziness, some feeling of pressure though I do not know if that is constant it is at least from time to time. In addition he is experiencing blurred vision occasionally. He is having great difficulty sleeping. He cannot get comfortable. If he turns in his sleep to rest on the side of his head with the valve he wakes up with pain. If he sleeps on one side the gravity makes the shunt pull too much and causes discomfort. If he sleeps on the side of the shunt it does likewise. He has ordered a wedge pillow and I think some others to support him and make him comfortable while sleeping semi upright. Tonight will be the first time to try that. But he ends up sleeping very little at night and a lot during the day. He says he is irritable and is feeling depressed.

I am assuming all this is somewhat normal given the type of surgery and the short space of time that has passed since it. But .. I cannot help but worry anyway. He goes in a couple of weeks to see his doctor for the first time since the surgery. Does what he is experiencing now warrant sooner contact with the doctor or his nurse?

I am glad to find your site and hope I can both get answers and support.
Thanks
Isak

Ok .. let me ask this then. Have other people experienced problems sleeping with this? If so, for how long and what suggestions do you have for dealing with it? Is sleep disruption a normal difficulty? If it occurs in conjunction with other problems like blurred vision and/or dizzy spells is it indicative of something else?

Also, is there any expectation that a shunt of this type can be put in and once the body/brain has recovered there are no further issues? Or is it likely that at some point some issue will arise?

Thanks
Isak

[pogo]

Originally Posted by Isak

Ok .. let me ask this then. Have other people experienced problems sleeping with this? If so, for how long and what suggestions do you have for dealing with it? Is sleep disruption a normal difficulty? If it occurs in conjunction with other problems like blurred vision and/or dizzy spells is it indicative of something else?

Also, is there any expectation that a shunt of this type can be put in and once the body/brain has recovered there are no further issues? Or is it likely that at some point some issue will arise?

Thanks
Isak

No shunt lasts forever, learn the signs/symptoms of failure (outrght failures are usually easy to see but there can also be intermittent failure or failure without obvious signs). Make sure your son has regular checkups with a surgeon. After surgery there is an increased chance of infection for some period, learn the infection signs/symptoms to look for. I don't know about how older kids and adults adjust, my child was shunted under a year but she is slow to adjust fully to new shunt systems and changes in settings. Minor issues are the valve works but the setting is not right (too high/low) so it can result in over/under draining, e.g. if he's up a lot then problems but lying down helps, or lying down too long has problems and sitting up helps. It may take a while to figure out what is going on or it may just be an adjustment issue that takes a while. I'd see if changes to the sleeping environment help (different/neck pillows, etc) , some tylenol or ibuprofen at night could help some, etc... Consider calling the surgeon's office and ask what has helped their other patients with this issue. Note that some surgeons are not very helpful, seems like adult surgeons are less friendly to these followup issues unless they are very familiar with shunts. Pediatric surgeons should be very familiar with shunt issues.