I hope you don't mind me jumping in here. I joined the forum last week and posted a question in this section, but it seems like you would have thoughtful responses for me given your experiences. I don't want to hijack this thread, though, so if you'd rather check out the "Is is worth trying again?" thread, that's mine.

One question that came up for me when I was reading through this thread was whether either of your (Merlin & Dean) shunts are the anti-syphoning type? When I called the hydro association the woman I spoke with asked me if that had been the case with the one that the NS implanted and removed. I don't know if mine was, and I don't know if it would have made a difference. All I really know is that the NS dropped me like a hot potato and that my symptoms are getting worse and worse; my latest fall injury was a dislocated collar bone at the SC joint. Between the falls and my cognitive decline (my wife helps me with stuff like this, btw), I'm feeling increasingly vulnerable and scared.