Back from Hospital- VP Shunt Surgery
 

First of all I want to thank every single one of you, for reading my posts and for your thoughtful advices and support. It meant a lot to me.
The surgery was last tuesday and I was released the day after. I don't have the horrible headaches that I had prior the surgery. Other discomforts are showing up, like the strong pains in the lower abdomen, almost in the groint sometimes during the day, and the dizzyness.
I am very self concious of the whole procedure, and I looked at the CT scan and the X-rays and honestly it freaked me out a little. I saw that catheter inside my brain and well, it looks weird.
I wonder how is your life after the VP Shunt for every one of us. Do you work? Do you have any physical restrictions?
I assume the more the time passes, the more used to it I will get to it, but at this moment I am thinking too much about it and it doesn't help.
How normal our lives will be or have become in your cases with the VP Shunt inserted? By the way, all pain meds have been removed by my doctor, only Tylenol or Aleve is necessary.
Many Hugs to all of you that were step by step on the previous weeks to my surgery. Send me your thoughts and God Bless you all.
:grouphug:

Hey,
Im so glad you havent got the headaches you had prior the operation and i hope it stays that way!! :)
The irritation in the abdomen, may well be just due to the abdomen getting used to a foreign object being placed there, if it doesnt strat getting better in a few weeks, its worth mentioning it to you NS so he can check whether its caused any complications.

I was back in this week, with headaches...had an ICP bolt inserted and measured for 2 days, turned out i had low pressure where my shunt is working a bit too well. Im home now after a weeks stay, but back next week to have my shunt valve changed to a programmable so they can adjust it without removing it when its either under draining or over draining, so they will only have to change it if and when it blocks or breaks.

I had a lovely surprise in the hospital, the contestants from the xfactor came round, was great. Such lovely lads!! <3

I hope youre well and are back to perfect health in no time :)

How normal is normal?
 

I can give you some encouraging advice. I had VP shunt surgery in 1998. I returned to work 17 weeks later, actually just one day before 17 weeks, so under federal law, my radio station manager couldn't fire me. But one day after the 17 weeks, he laid me off and left me with no money at Christmas time. But I didn't give up. I went to work as a newspaper reporter on a contract basis at another former employer. Then, I agreed to work as a replacement worker in a strike out of town, but after a night in a hotel room there, the strike was settled. My reward was a full-time position with benefits. That job lasted another six years, before the newspaper switched my position to a job I couldn't do. So I went to the doctor, got a form signed that I couldn't work and now I'm on long-term disability, which gives me 60 per cent of my wages, plus all my benefits. The moral of the story is don't give up on working until you have to. My neurosurgeons have all told me, the more I keep my brain active, the longer it will last. Hope this helps...Jeff

Hi

My one of my familiy member (13yrs old boy) diagonosed with pilocytic astrocytoma(tumour in the optic pathway) in April 2013. VP shunt has been placed in May 2013. But as we are all very novice about this VP shunt and did nt hear anything about it before that. Can anyone let us know how long this VP shunt will survive without any problem whether any precaution we should take to make it more safe.

Please let us know all the pros and cons of vp shunt.I will be highly obliged if you share something about it.

Best reagrds

Hi. I had my vp shunt put in feb 19 2013 and va may 23 2013 due to the pain i was having in my abdomen so if your still having pain when you have a check up let the neurosurgeon know. The 1st shunt i was back to work in 8weeks the 2nd only 2weeks you will get used to it but it takes times. I hope everything is going good for you.

thanks
we are just worried how long will it last without creating any problem. The boy is gooing to school now and doing good .But we can't help ourselve to live with anxiety.....we heard that maximum lifetime for shunt is 2 yrs..is this correct ?

Smaj, I want to be clear that you don't think I told you that shunts only last two years, 'cause I did not say that. I did say 40 to 50 percent don't make it two years. No one knows how long any shunt will last. Since one can't know how long they last, one needs to know how to recognize when they aren't working. Then it gets fixed and life goes on.

My second shunt lasted from age 4 to age 18 and my third from age 18 to age 34. That one was only replaced because my peritoneal cavity got stubborn and refused to harbor any more cerebral spinal fluid so I had to have a VA shunt placed. That one only lasted 4 years but I did lose about 85 lbs which was a positive thing in some respects but did throw a lot of my shunt issues out of whack. So I don't think anyone really knows how long a shunt will last, what's important to monitor for changes and have them assessed while letting your child live their life. That's what my parents did for me. I've flown a plane and ran a half marathon. I have a master's degree and am considering a doctorate. I'm a total spaz when it comes to coordination so I'm not much of an athlete but I love to dance and I'm a fine actress (which helps when I have to play the role of serious professional talking to mucky mucks about politics and bureaucracy. On those days I wear my glasses to get in character). My mother recently commented that she is proud of how resilient I am because even when I get depressed and angry over another complication, I express it then use it to help me move on. I thank God that I had the parents I did who always pushed me to do my best yet helped me stay within my limits.

Many thanks to all of you for the sharing. All of your views and experience really gave me insight view of it. If we broke how can we give spirit to our child ? Thanks to all of you again. Now I understand that it will vary as every patient is different .Do u know is there any restriction that person should not do after he/she having shunt ?