here is what I'm dealing with now. ok everyone has this big vein that runs down the top middle of your brain (from front to back) - then down at the back of your head (almost to your neck)-- it splits-- and then THOSE veins become your jugular veins (which are the main suppliers of blood to your body, etc.) OK -- well in my head-- where it "splits" -- there is an absence (its just not there) of a vein on the left and the right one is abnormal. (see picture for what it SHOULD look like) --- thus causing high spinal fluid pressure; random confusion, slurred speech & all of the HEAD PAIN other problems i've been having for the last 4 years. did i mention the head pain? lol
originally (like a week ago; before we were sure of this situation)-- the doctors told me that i would get a VP shunt (its a device that will go in the ventricles in the top of my brain, then a little tube will run from my brain down to my abdomen; and so basically i would end up peeing all the fluid out; rather than having spinal taps all the time)-- BUT NOW-- this vein thing is a really big deal. and i have to have some preliminary tests before they will know exactly what they will have to do to fix it.
my *guess* is that they would have to do some kind of "bypass surgery" -- like i've heard of them doing on people with heart problems-- but instead of doing it to the veins / arteries in my heart-- they would be doing it with the ones in my brain. but my doctor doesn't want to go into procedure options until i have this series of tests and we do an angiorgram(which is only a 1 night stay in the hospital for that test; so thats pretty good). depending on what they do about the vein - i still may or may not have to get the shunt. i know that the shunt operation requires a 6 day in hospital stay BEFORE surgery (they'll put a cathedar --tube thing-- in my spine and it will draw fluid out and measure the pressure; it will stay there for the 6 days) to test my fluid levels and figure out how the shunt should be set-- then after the operation-- i think its like another week. but at this point- i don't know if we are gonna end up doing that at all-- because now they are telling me the vein thing is the main priority.
Picture:
ok that vein that goes down the middle of your head is labeled BASILAR then it splits to the left and right - and it says --VERTEBRAL. where it says that (VERTEBRAL)-- i don't have that little piece. mine only goes the the right-- and my right side is abnormal. freaky, huh? we have no idea how or why its like that or if its a birth defect or what. weird.
ummm what else-- i'm trying to cover all the questions everyone has asked me. btw, if you have a question-- now is the time toask it--
