Wednesday, May 27, 2020

The happy return

No shunt or head pain yesterday and today. Last Friday was the first pain free day I've had in a long time. And an added bonus, I'm not feeling any pain before the weather changes tomorrow, we're getting thunderstorms...

There's a chance I'll be volunteering again from a home. Soon, I'll be able to make greeting cards for seniors who get their meals delivered. 


Tuesday, May 19, 2020

copper and the eye

Less dizziness more shunt pain. My shunt has been adjusting itself the last three days. I know this because I've had the following symptoms: Throbbing shunt valve pain  along with nausea and pain from the distal catheter at the top of my brain and pain behind my right eye. I saw a commercial today for the copper belt.
Part of me wishes for second I could wrap this around my head to relieve my chronic pain. 

Yesterday, I watched a webinar from the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey. They were discussed mental wellness during the COVID 19 pandemic and how to cope. They talked about feelings of hopelessness, isolation, anxiety and panic attacks which people are experiencing now during the pandemic. They made comparisons to how these feelings are similar in many ways to recovering from brain injury. I hadn't realized this until the speaker started talking about how the act of putting on a mask and gloves to protect yourself when going out in public is similar to having to get prepped to go into the operating room.

I really enjoyed this webinar and I feel others will find it helpful as well. Their website posted the slides from the Covid19 in their webinar archives. These can be viewed below the webinar link.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

outside

Pain issues have been minimal the last week, which is a nice change for once. Recently, I had a video appointment with my neurologist and she suggested I try and put pain cream on parts of my head and  when I feel discomfort from my shunt or elevated csf pressure in my forehead. I'll try this and we'll see what happens.

Less pain, more dizziness for me this last week.  I experience this when move my head from side to side or when I am sitting, standing and everything else. Now that it's getting warmer and more humid outside my shunt ( which is magnetic) responds to the warmer temperatures. If I don't wear a hat outside when it's very hot and humid, it can cause different issues with my medical device like fainting and disorientation.

I can't volunteer because of the pandemic. Like everyone else, I'm home unless I make a trip for something essential like to the grocery store. My local Stop and Shop has a robot,  I think it's name is Bob or something... The robot has made me paranoid because of my shunt. I don't feel magnetic waves off of the robot like I do when I walk by a pest repeller on a wall.  I avoid the grocery store robot as much as possible. At one point, I thought it was following me in the produce section....

The pandemic has made me (along with millions of other people) anxious about going anywhere, outside. I can only wear a mask to cover my nose and mouth for short amount of time.

My local brain injury association has free webinars to help people cope with this pandemic.

Another great way to help all of us who need it now: