cyst

[smitty]

Hi,
I am new here, my mom is 69 yr old with hydrocephalus, she was shunted again in 2004. In the past since 1984, 2 of her other surgeons said that she had a cyst in her brain or a "pseudo tumor", but never did anything with it. For the past year I have noticed more problems with her memory and was questioning a shunt malfunction, but she had a knee replacement in May, broke her hip in July and had surgery, surgery didn't heal well so had to have a total hip in Dec., since Dec she hasn't been the same, she wants to sleep all of the time, memory loss, confusion. So I got her Dr. to get a CT scan of her head and they said it was unchanged, but I took her to the NS anyway because something is wrong, anyway he said that the fluid is unable to drain because theres a cyst there and he wants to remove the cyst and give her a third ventriculostomy and just turn off her existing shunt. He said her ventricles are huge. I am hoping and praying that this will help her, she just isn't her self. Has anyone had these symptoms/ surgery? Any info would be appreciated. The Dr. didn't say it was a colloid cyst but from the area he showed me and what I've been reading it seems to be very possible since hers is in the 3rd vent and he showed me an area by the foramen of munro.

Smitty

[dave]

Well Smitty, as you may know if you've been reading posts on this site, I am about a week and a half post-op and doing well. I didn't have the same symptoms as your mom. Mine were intense headaches and black-outs. But if there's one thing I've learned on this site, it's that no one has the same symptoms...only similar ones. None of us are doctors (that I know of), but if you, who has known your mom your whole life, say she's not the same then keep pushing to be heard. As I said in one of my other posts, I was lucky enough to have a pair of Dr.s who gave less weight to the fact that I had a history of migrains and more to the fact I said these headaches felt different from the migrains.

Now I won't tell you she should or shouldn't have the surgery, but I will tell you I am so glad I did. This is the first time I can remember, since maybe high school, that I can honestly say I don't have a headache (except for the incision, but that's different). Surgery was without a doubt, the best option for ME. I noticed on your profile you are from Michigan. I know the University in Ann Arbor has a great NS dept. Also, I don't know what part of Michigan, but if you are close enough, The Medical College of Ohio in Toledo also has a great rep (I am from Toledo, that's how I know the area). I am a firm believer in the idea no one knows you (or your loved ones) better than you. And it comes across to me as pretty arrogant for a Dr. to tell us we don't know what we are talking about, just because we didn't go to school for an extra 12 years. We know what feels "normal" to us, and when that gets out of whack, some Dr.s dismiss us because we don't know all the medical terms for what's wrong. Find a doctor who is good at translating from layman to physician and back again.

Be sure to keep everyone here posted. There are a lot of good people here who take a vested intrest in how everyone else is doing. Good luck with your mom and god's speed. Our prayers are with you and your family.

dave
ps don't take the tag line personaly, I am just a HUGE Buckeyes fan.

[smitty]

Dave,
Well hello neighbor! Toledo is about 45 minutes from me. I live in Grosse Ile, it's a tiny little place. Thank you for sharing your story. Mom is the worst she's ever been, the hydrocephalus is so bad, she is there but with a blank expression, sometimes she talks but mostly she's quiet. I insisted that she have a CAT scan because after her hip surgery she really went downhill and was told it was unchanged from the previous one, but I couldn't accept that so I took her to her NS at Harper Hospital in Detroit and he immediately knew that she wasn't the same, and that's when he told us about the cyst and how bad the hydro had gotten. So we are definitely going to have the surgery, there really is no option, my mom is normally outgoing, but has short term memory loss, and a happy person, and hopefully we can get her back. The weird thing with her is that she hardly ever complains of headaches, thats good but it seems to be a very frequent complaint of many. Thanks again for the well wishes, Tuesday is the big day so I'll keep everyone posted.

Smitty

[dave]

Where is that in the "mitten"? I used to go hunting and fishing around Sears when I was in High School. That's dead center in the palm. I also used to love going up to the Monroe power plant on the bay and play my guitar all night next to a camp fire on the shore...let's say that facilitated many "close encounters" of the female kind. :D Good times, good times!

Dave

[smitty]

Dave,
Grosse Ile is near the bottom of the mitten on the east side, it's actually an island, we have to cross a bridge to get off and on, it's about 20 minutes north of Monroe off of I-75.
Smitty

[dave]

Absolutely, howdy neighbor! I used to run all over that area when I was younger. Through the course of events over time, I ended up in Lincoln, Nebraska. Fotunate for me, as I would later learn. The hospital where I had my cyst removed is a regional magnate for brain tumors and neuro disorders. Lucky me! God does truely work in mysterious ways.:cool:

dave

[smitty]

Hi,
Nebraska is one place I've never been to. That is great for you that you ended up in a hospital with a good Neuro speciality. I am sure hoping this surgery will help my mom, she lost her balance and fell on Sunday and her arm was hurting but x ray said it wasn't broken, then 2 days later she can hardly walk because she has so much back pain, and I took her to her orthoped. surgeon to get it checked, and she has a fracture in her lower spine, thank god it wasn't her hip, but it is still very painful. Tuesday just can't get here soon enough!
Smitty