Last night as I went to bed I suddenly heard this sound like water running, in my right ear only (my shunt runs right behind my ear on the right). It lasted only a couple of minutes. I have tinnitus already, quite a bit worse the last few months but it completely drowned that out. Then there are the horrendous headaches and recurring equilibrium problem, which was my only indication that I had a brain tumor. I am wondering if my shunt is malfunctioning.

The question is…do I still need a shunt? Because they removed enough of my tumor that it no longer blocks my third ventricle. They did however tell me that I might be dependent on the shunt. My yearly MRIs show the size of the tumor and I assume they show whether I have hydrocephalus but I don’t know how you check the functioning of a shunt (I missed my MRI last year). So as I was lying there listening to that, my thought was what if that bugger sucks me poor old brain dry? 😛

Some of the problems that can cause a shunt malfunction are:

• Infection
• Blockage
• Calcification or breakage of the catheters
• Separation (catheters may disconnect from the valve and reservoir unit)
• Valve is broken or stuck
• Wrong pressure valve (usually found in a fixed shunt)
• Catheter needs lengthening
• Over-drainage or under-drainage

See? there it is right on the list; over drainage! I wonder what that does to your brain? I’m not gung-ho on the idea of anymore surgeries in this lifetime or having my shunt removed only to find out I need it. I hate that thing though, I feel it when I lay in bed at night because I’m a skinny wench and my bed is hard. Oh and the lifetime of a shunt is 8-10 years. Mine was installed in 1999. Maybe I need a valve job 😛