I would say everyone's opinion may differ slightly but getting a shunt worked wonders for me as far as relieving the pressure I was having with my ha's. Many surgeries come through with no compications, as mine as thus far, but my balance is off a little and I am still having ha's everyday but they are not the same. My NS was going to adjust my pressure setting on my shunt to help stop my ha's but he wants to make sure nothing else is wrong since by balance is off. Even with the balance problems, I would definitely do the surgery again. I can deal with the ha's I have now and my shunt can be adjusted to accommodate those even. Before, my eyes would swell and feel like they would literally "popo-out" it was so bad, and lights hurt. None of the medicine worked for me, but I am just still taking 1000mg of Diamox for now and feel MUCH better.

If you have long hair, let them know to be conservative as possible when removing around the surgical site and they will usually accommodate you. I have a wonderful NS and his staff is the best (minus a glich in the wording of my diagnosis, that is being taken care of).

Ask lots of questions about the procedure, how long they expect your hospital stay to be, restrictions, etc... and everything will go fine. Afterwards they move you to NeuroICU so that you can be closely monitored and they try not to bother you too much.

Wishing you the best on your visit.

Hope

I do not know a lot about shunts but many others do. I cannot tell you what the neurosurgeon is going to say to you that day but whatever it is make sure you are comfortable with what he is suggesting. I always say it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion either if you feel you need it.
You are on a lot of Diamox girl! That has to be one of the highest dosages I have seen!
Take care,
Mandy

Only suggestion I make is get a programable shunt if you can so that it can be easily adjusted if needed rather then having to go back in and change out the valve. Just speaking from experience. Good luck. I love my shunt.
Josiah

Ask your neurosurgeon lots of questions. What is his/her opinion of VP vs LP shunt... what kind of shunt do they prefer to use... how many shunt surgeries have they done... what kinds of complications might occur... what will they do if you have complications... etc etc etc. Ask ask ask! I am very glad I did the VP shunt. The headaches have reduced so much and the meds were not working. I really trusted my NS.

With me, they wanted 6 consecutive high pressure LP's before they gave me a shunt.
I was also on acetazolomide which I was allergic too but I think may be the only drug used in the UK, or at least in my hospital.
When I saw the NS he booked my surgery for 6 weeks time but.we had been discussing a lumbar-peritoneal shunt for a few months.

I am from the UK so treatment may vary depending on which country you're from

When I was first dx'd , I had the same opening pressure as you.. and went through a 1 1/2 yrs of pain.. with no reif. I even had a seizure my preussre was so high! ..

It came down to the talk about haivng a shunt and going to a NS as well.. but I opted to continue meds and try weight loss and dieting.. and diamox.. as I just wasnt ready for this ..

However.. I preapred myself with some questions for the NS.. in the event I would have to have it done.

1. How do they know these headaches are IIH, and can be solved with a shunt.. and are not being caused by something else?

2. Do they do any kind of Diagnostic testing ( LP, MRI of the BRAIN) to confrim that this is what is causing these headahces?

3. What is the expected healing time?

4. Which type of shunt has better results -- VP or LP

5. How soon can I expect to get pain relief?

6. Will a shunt eliminate my headaches all together?

Best of luck!! I hope that whatever you choose, gives you some relief!! .. My thoughts are with you-- Laura

Hi April! So let me start off saying I am very proud of you for being able to accept the idea of potentially having a shunt placed, it's not easy being young and knowing that these shunts are not going to last you a life time. I am 17 years old and am planing to have surgery next week, programable LP shunt.
First I would like to say bring someone with you to the appt. It is amazing what another pair of ears and thoughts can do. if you are not comfortable with this surgeon feel free to go get a second opinion, that is what I did and so thankful I did. Most likely he or she will decide within the first or second visit (usually the first though) what shunt would work best. My neurologist was a pain in my rear end and I begged her to refer me to a neurosurgeon which she thankfully did even though she said he would not do surgery on me (he actually was all for it,haha) so I am pretty sure the surgeon is going to want to do surgery.
Now for the questions... These are ones that I asked the surgeon, you can revise or ship any you don't like or won't use :)
Would you do an LP shunt or VP shunt and why? What percentage of your shunt surgeries are for pseudo tumor ? What is the average life of a shunt, programable and non programable? How successful have your shunt surgeries been forvyour patients? How long is the actual surgery? How long is a full recovery time and partial recovery time? How long is the hospital stay? How common or uncommon are malfunctions with the shunts? Do you repair all malfunctions or problems associated with the shunt? What are signs and or symptoms of shunt malfunctions and how urgent is it to take care of the malfunction? What type of valve would you use and why? If the shunt is successful should I be pain free or just have lessened headaches? What valves are most flexible (assuming they do not want to do programable)? How quickly after surgery will I feel headache relief? How long will it take to adjust to having a shunt? Have you successfully removed a shunt, are you willing to remove one if necessary? Are their any restrictions with a shunt? How soon can a take a shower after surgery?(this question you might not be able to know until you read discharge papers).
Hope some of these helped you a little...
I LOVE my surgeon he is the best, hope your appt. Goes really well keep us all posted :)
Mallory

Haha I meant skip not ship, oh brain....oh Ptc....haha :)

Thanks all, somedays I am so sure that a shunt is in my future and somedays I second guess that. Is it wierd that my good and bad days are like 50/50? I mean there are days that my head doest seem to bother me or is it that I am so use to it that I dont notice it as much? uggh who knows.....but the fact that I am on 3,000mg of diamox and still have paps (that havent really changed) concerns me.

april the 50/50 thing is perfectly normal, you just have to take all of this one step at a time..its a lot to process. See how the appt. goes, maybe it will help some of the things that are bothering you- give you new insight. Best of luck :)