Starlings

Today I have barometric pressure headaches. Earlier this week like on Tuesday thru Friday my shunt was adjusting itself and I had nausea, eye and pain on the shunt valve and distal catheter at the top of my head.

The starlings outside my window are really loud and are a bit of a distraction from the throbbing in my head.

I've also rediscovered various movie soundtracks which have helped lighten my mood.  You can never go wrong with Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure or The Power Rangers Movie and Van Halen.

Waves of communication

Grocery store robot moving in store

Last week and parts of this week, the pain medication I usually use for my chronic head, neck and abdominal pain didn't work.  I did my usual activities of volunteering last only to return home and try to forget the pain.

At times this didn't work very well, although I managed. I was grumpy, yet I managed.

I colored and sketched a plastic pumpkin. It was out of proportion.

Now it has googly eyes

This morning, I had pain issues again in my head and I took curamin for the pain. So far, it's been working the entire day.

Not sure what was happening over the last week.

Maybe it was the weather transition of Summer to Fall...

As I may have mentioned in a previous post about the Stop and Shop robot....

When I am in the grocery store, I run away from the robot which is suppose to alert the management about spills and maybe shoplifting?

It's too bad my programmable shunt valve ( and it's super advanced technology, sarcasm ) doesn't allow me to communicate with this robot electromagnetic waves or something.

And then the doctor said...

My neurologist said my shunt is working. I had concerns about it misbehaving for three weeks and had inquired about having CT and or a shunt series done. She had told me this wasn't needed unless it was absolutely necessary. Unless my shunt is obstructed and I'm incapacitated and vomiting on the floor, then a CT scan and shunt series is needed for obvious reasons. Otherwise, I wasn't getting one.

I had an epiphany while visiting my neurologist.

I realized the reason (besides the one mentioned above) scans aren't necessary right now is because these doctors know my shunt is working and it's on the correct side of my brain. I've come to this conclusion because with my former neurosurgeon (we'll call Dr. X) who I fired and animated in one of my films...Prior to my injuries in 2014, I was having a MRI every six months.

I'm surprised I didn't glow pink from all of the scans...

Dr. X, I believe was ordering the tests because he knew my shunt was in the wrong way and why he was monitoring it so closely. Now that my shunt's been returned to the correct location, there's no need to be 'zapped' so frequently. The medical professionals around me know what happened to me in 2014 and why. They also realize my medical device is working as it should be.

My neurologist did note during my appointment there is weakness on one side of my body. Something she hadn't seen since I started seeing her in 2015.  For the next six months, I'll have physical therapy until I see her again in October.

She was happy to hear my shunt and head pain had stopped for the first time in three weeks. I'm also convinced these doctors know programmable shunt valves are temperamental and react to just about everything between the weather, stress, other magnets and various amounts of csf fluid.

The shunt and scalp pain has been minimal this week. Not sure yet when the top left corner of my scalp throbbing will go away yet. Sometimes it's there and sometimes it isn't....so we'll see.

My medical device can be as temperamental as it wants as long as it means I don't have to have surgery again.