Hi i have a Vp shunt in my Head and the last time it had to be replaced was in 2000
i Work as a self employed Gardener ,I am Right but since my last Operation i seem to favour my left hand i still use my right but i seem to be able to use my left a lot any one else had this happen,The Doctors and Specialists that i see say they have never
heard of this happening before
Did you loose sensitivity or a bit of movement in your hands that could of triggered this?
The brain is a odd thing, I used to get travel sick, on boats or in cars etc, my frazzled balance might make my head go light or the room spin, or cope badly on gravel but feeling nauseous from movement? Nope I have asked various medical bods who, can give no answer, the brain is a odd thing!
I have no experience of shunts but I hope I can reassure you.
Before my accident I was ambidextrous after it I had to learn lots of things again and I am still a bit ambidextrous but my left things aren't the same or I do them in a different way.
Take heart . Try things in lots of ways and do what feels the most natural.
Have fun playing with the options
Hi there. I also have a VP Shunt. I have had 4 revisions since my medical problems began and I have found that each one does make a subtle difference to how I see things, to my sight and to my posture/movement. Its very weird. But the brain is an amazing and strange thing and I can only assume that it connects certain physical and mental things. So any interference with one element has an effect elsewhere. This is only my opinion though and I haven't aired it to the specialists.
Hi lcd8,
I have a shunt too and it was installed in 96 due to a brain tumour that was blocking the flow of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF).
I have had complications with my ops over the years and in 2005 I was diagnosed with a cyst in my back. Pretty simple operation but I later had an emergency operation on my shunt as the surgeon "somehow" dislodged the shunt and I had a new one fitted. Since then I have had problems with my shunt. In 2006 my new shunt had practically fell apart and had another one fitted. In 08 the shunt blocked up and in 10 the shunt was blocked again but had an emergency op cos I had a haemorrhage after op and blood got into the shunt. So I had to the shunt completely flushed out.
Just wanted to share some of my story really :).
When you say you had revisions, is that another way of saying your shunt malfunctioned/blocked up?
I only ask cos I have never really heard of it being called 'revisions' by my docs or surgeons.
But it is very frustrating how I had such a decent shunt that lasted for almost ten years and was buggered up because of some stupid surgeon.
The surgeon knew full well that I have a brain injury and I had a shunt as we told him before the op!
Hi Matt. That's really rubbish. You would have thought that he/she would take extra special care, knowing that you had a Shunt. It would have saved everyone, not least you, an awful lot of hassle.
Sorry, yes I did mean that my Shunt had been replaced when it blocked. I have an AVM which blocks the escape route of CSF like your tumour. At 14 (1987) I nearly had a hemorrhage cos my GP had diagnosed the headaches as migraines and didn't even suggest having any further investigation. It was only after things got progressively worse that I got an appt for a CT scan. My first Shunt was very basic and got blocked 3 years later. 4 years on and another blockage. The next Shunts went 6 years each and my current one has done 10 years. No further problems yet, fingers crossed. You think they would have developed something better than a Shunt by now.
My AVM is unruptured so far but did cause a 'stroke mimic' last February.
Thanks again for your response
Lulu
When you said "That's rubbish" I thought at first you were saying that what I told you about my story was a load of rubbish haha.
I get it now, what I have been through is rubbish. And it sounds like what you have had to go through has been a lot of rubbish too. Not good stuff is it. Just when you would think it was all over you get roped back in.
The surgeon who did the dirty deed was a he and yes he should have taken extra care.
From my knowledge, I think the shunt tube is quite long as well, I mean if it were installed when I was an 11 year old then it must be long enough for when my body grows into an adult. This only makes me think that the surgeon must have been playing tug of war with the shunt or he twisted my body up like some diseased pretzel haha.
My tumour was discovered after frequent visits to my GP. Like you it started out with headaches that were posed off as migraines but more visits to the GP lead to further tests and I ended up having a CT scan which proved I had a tumour and went to Southampton for the surgeries.
The plan was to have the shunt installed then have the tumour removed and a third op to remove the shunt as I wouldn't need it anymore but alas, that is not how the plan panned out.
As I was saying before, I have been clear of operations on my head since 2010 now and I really do hope I do not have to have any more. One of the things that I think has helped me out a lot is my diet. During those years of head surgeries was also the same time where my diet was awful. A typical junk food diet full of sugar which is no good for you. Over the years I have slowly weaned myself from sugar and my diet now tries hard to get rid of as much sugar as I can. I eat more fruit and veg now and I feel so much better for it. I also use essential oils and I practise a little yoga and a little thai chi which I would have never done when I was younger.
I am more of a naturalist these days :).
GO NATURE! :).
Good for you! I have been thinking recently that meditation might help me. Internally I can get quite stressed about stuff and worry a lot. I don't really know where to start. And when I was younger I was quick to dismiss anything like mediation as mumbo jumbo. But as you get older you wonder if you should really give these things a go don't you?
I have seen some of your posts about essential oils and am also going to try using them also when I get round to getting some. Even if they don't help me what have I lost?
I'm so sorry that you nearly misread my post and thought I was saying you were rubbish. Not at all. I have the utmost respect for everyone on here and would never be that rude. I just hadn't realized it might come over like that. Apologies again.
Exactly. What have you lost. I hope the essential oils work for you. They may not work for everybody as we are all different but the first thing I was reading when I started getting into Essential Oils was how frankincense essential oil is very good for the brain. The brain needs oxygen to heal and frankincense sends oxygen to the brain.
I have been using them for a few years now but I still see myself as a befinner :). Read up on essential oils first to understand them better. I use frankince and lavender essential oil almost every night when I go to bed. The frankincense has definitely helped me with my fatigue and the lavender has definitely improved my sleep as well. I use a cold air diffuser for these but you can also inhale them right from the bottle.
Some essential oils can be used topically such as lavender or frankincense and others can irritate the skin so be warned.
I saw a glimpse of your initial reply and I didn't think you were calling me rubbish but I thought you were telling me that my story was rubbish as if you didn't believe it :).
It's ok though, I was not offended in anyway when I thought I saw that.
Hi dez,
I have a VentriculoPeritoneal shunt as well.
I don't think it is the shunt that is the reason for the ole switcharoo, right to left hand. It sounds to me like it is a problem within the brain. Like roger said"Brains are funny things". I was once told of a person who spoke perfect english and when they awoke from there surgery or coma or whatever they were speaking in a foreign language !
I sow perfectly left handed now. And some other tasks, not writing though. So tell The Specialists that there is more mixed up hand people out there....
I think you just use which ever hand is easiest or whichever you use out of habit. I'm left handed and my left side was injured so I had to relearn to write which I decided would be easier to keep using left hand. In very early recovery I did use my right hand as I was needing to write down what I wanted to say as I had a trach tube in my throat so couldn't speak. So to just get a simple few words out I used right hand. Once I was able to speak I went back to left hand as it felt like it would be quicker to write normal left handed. I have noticed though I do use my right hand more than before. When using my phone and drinking I use right hand. I can drink with both hands but tend to use right hand more don't know why. Using my phone I did use right hand when i was still getting use back in my left and now it's easier to still use right.
Does anyone else suffer or know why my leg won't stop aching....soo o uncomfortable
A lonely place 
Disabilities no better after 2 years 
Not seeing but not a vision problem...
Hand Pain
