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Well....shit.

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  • #1

    Well....shit.

    For those who are unaware, earlier this year I had to have a very minor surgery. There was a small-but-hurty cyst under my breast that ruptured and had to be taken care of. Rather than just seal the wound back up, the doctor left it open so it could finish draining. Over the next several months after, I saw the doctor once every other week to monitor the healing process. Then it became once a month. Then I stopped going because I kinda figured 'Eh, unless something goes horribly wrong, she doesn't need to keep seeing me'.

    Because it never fully closed up, my parents and I suspected that the real problem might be with my shunt. That it might be draining partly out to this hole instead of downward like it's supposed to. We were frantically assured by both my neurosurgeon and the doctor who did the cyst surgery that it was very unlikely, though.

    Fast forward to this week. At this point, the wound has kinda just...stopped. It's not getting worse, but it's not getting better. It's just there. Mocking me. So I had an appointment with the doctor who did the cyst surgery yesterday, and she's just as surprised as we are that this thing is still here. She didn't want to do anything without us talking to my neurosurgeon, but she's now starting to think that we've been right all along and that it is my shunt. So today I saw my neurosurgeon, and he agrees that it could be. However, those two want to talk and plan the next move. From here, it's looking like the problem is one of two things:

    1) My newer shunt possibly has a crack in it somewhere. I'm not showing any of the typical shunt malfunction symptoms, so it would be more around my abdomen than my head.

    2) My old shunt, which was put in when I was a baby and they never bothered to remove when they put the new one in, might be infected.

    Either way, there is only one way to fix the issue- Surgery. Did I see this coming? A mile away. Does it make me any less freaked out? No.

    ETA: For anyone who was wondering what a shunt is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_shunt
    "Things that fail to kill me make me level up." ~ NateWantsToBattle, Training Hard (Counting Stars parody)
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  • #2
    Hugs, firecat. No matter how often a person has surgery, it never gets any easier. Two of my boys have operations often enough that it's almost routine, but still, it's a big deal every time. I hope everything goes as well as possible.
    At the conclusion of an Irish wedding, the priest said "Everybody please hug the person who has made your life worth living. The bartender was nearly crushed to death.

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    • #3
      Ow! I'm so sorry Firecat. I hope they can fix you up quickly and with a minimum of pain. When do they want to do this?
      When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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      • #4
        Well fudge... How many of us now are in the "that's not supposed to happen but did" category? We are a odd bunch..

        Fast healing a and safe surgery.

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        • #5
          Thanks all. *clings*

          There's no set date for the surgery yet. First they need to know exactly what the problem is and which of my shunts is acting up. Then, from there, they can decide what to do and when to do it. My neurosurgeon's words, though, were that surgery is pretty much *the* only way to fix this. Which, again, I totally saw coming. However, actually hearing it said is just....I've been kinda crying on-and-off since we got in the car.
          "Things that fail to kill me make me level up." ~ NateWantsToBattle, Training Hard (Counting Stars parody)

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          • #6
            Do what Rob did - he had an exploded appendix that took the original operation, a second one to clean it out again, and a third one to improve drainage. He asked his surgeon to install a zipper

            He had a really neat surgeon, his hobby was embroidery - done with forceps and the cutest little suture needles.
            EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

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            • #7
              Quoth AccountingDrone View Post
              Do what Rob did - he had an exploded appendix that took the original operation, a second one to clean it out again, and a third one to improve drainage. He asked his surgeon to install a zipper

              He had a really neat surgeon, his hobby was embroidery - done with forceps and the cutest little suture needles.
              His surgeon sounds amazing.

              The worst part of all this right now is I'm starting to wonder if any of the various times I've been sick this past year were possibly shunt malfunction symptoms. @_@ I know I'm not doing myself any favors by 'What If'ing myself, but now that I've started, it's hard to make my brain stop going down that route.
              Last edited by firecat88; 12-13-2013, 05:19 AM.
              "Things that fail to kill me make me level up." ~ NateWantsToBattle, Training Hard (Counting Stars parody)

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              • #8
                I have to admit I'm a bit confused. Why did a neurosurgeon do a cyst removal on your breast? I was under the impression that neurosurgeons focused on brain surgery.

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                • #9
                  Quoth Barracuda View Post
                  I have to admit I'm a bit confused. Why did a neurosurgeon do a cyst removal on your breast? I was under the impression that neurosurgeons focused on brain surgery.
                  Sorry about that. Lemme explain, because, yeah, it does look a bit confusing the way I wrote it at first.

                  There are two doctors involved in all this- Dr. S (a general surgeon) and Dr. W (my neurosurgeon). The cyst was removed by Dr. S, who specializes in that sorta procedure. However, when she was doing the removal, she found what she described as a tunnel that led away from where the cyst was and toward my shunts. Basically, it intersects with where the tubes run down toward my abdomen. She didn't want to mess with that too much because shunts are well out of her league. Thus the consultation with Dr. W, because shunts are his thing.
                  Last edited by firecat88; 12-13-2013, 06:37 AM.
                  "Things that fail to kill me make me level up." ~ NateWantsToBattle, Training Hard (Counting Stars parody)

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                  • #10
                    Update: Shunt revision/replacement/who-the-frick-knows set for early January. @_@
                    "Things that fail to kill me make me level up." ~ NateWantsToBattle, Training Hard (Counting Stars parody)

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                    • #11
                      Sending positive, healing thoughts, firecat....

                      Mike
                      Meow.........

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                      • #12
                        Yups, people with medical complications can get ... complicated

                        My ultrasound to check to see if I have gallstones has now turned into:
                        a combination colonoscopy and arthroscopy [my regular doc is joking they plan on starting from each end and racing to the middle ], an endo consult, a gastro consult, a possible gastro operation, a urology consult and a fresh change in meds adding a couple I have never been on before so he wants me in his office on the 27th to take first doses of both to see if I have an allergic reaction to either of them.

                        I asked him how much to just transfer my brain into a new cloned body without the health problems....
                        EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

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                        • #13
                          When are they going to make us robot bodies we can just transfer our brains and hearts to? Medical problems stink.
                          Engaged to the amazing Marmalady. She is my Silver Dragon, shining as bright as the sun. I her Black Dragon (though good honestly), dark as night..fierce and strong.

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                          • #14
                            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We-BIY5OEp4

                            Do you want the giant chainsaw arms or not? Or a Barbeau-bot perhaps?
                            https://www.facebook.com/authorpatriciacorrell/

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                            • #15
                              From what you describe, I wonder if the cyst wasn't the result of infectious material draining away from the messed up shunt. If it was, it might almost be a good thing the cyst developed, because you might not know about the bad shunt until things got worse.

                              That's me, always trying to find the silver lining.

                              Hope your surgery goes well and you stay healthy between now and then!
                              Don't wanna; not gonna.

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