I’ve been pain free for two whole days this week. Which means…

X Ray image of my shunt 2014 to present.

No elevated csf pressure in my forehead.

No pain from the shunt valve and/or distal catheter in my abdomen and neck.

No nausea associated with the shunt adjusting itself.

No right eye pain (strabismus surgery eye)

No dizziness when moving my head or sensitive scalp.

I also haven’t heard my shunt beep since 2016.

So for now, I don’t feel my shunt at all. Something I haven’t experienced in a while. I took this for granted prior to my shunt being moved in 2009.

Before then, I only knew the shunt was in my brain when it stopped working….

In the 2000s I had one revision in 2009.

In the 2010s I had shunt revision surgery in 2011 and two in 2014.

Having chronic pain makes me grumpy/irritable/depressed and there have been times when I wished I could remove my shunt myself. Obviously, this can’t be done…My nervous system cannot survive without one…

It’s a great feeling to not be in pain and not want to wage war against my medical device.

Here’s hoping for less pain and no shunt revisions in the next decade.