3 weeks Post-Op.. In-patient

Last night we started the klonopin which I must admit I was more than leery about starting and I actually think other than maybe 1 time waking up for sleep meds I slept through the night - im not positive but  I think I did which is a positive step.  When Dr.Bragg came in this morning my nurse Amanda was here (one of  a couple of my favorites) and so she, Dr.Bragg and I all talked. Dr.Bragg is adding a day time dose of klonopin but prn (so I can take as needed vs scheduled) and 1/2 the dose I took last night. Amanda and I asked Dr.Bragg what she thought as far as getting discharged ie a timeline and she said if this went well she thought maybe a couple days.....

It has definitely been a long 3+ weeks in-patient but with starting the new med last night and if I can adjust to the morning affects and that goes away I think it will work really well to calm spine nerve issues secondary to where the proximal (1st part) of the catheter lays. The H/A's are well under control minus occassional short ones; and we have room even to adjust downward when we get the spine nerves healed and less irritable.  in respect to the H'As the 2nd shunt was a brilliant idea I think personally and we have room w/it  and even if it did cont to irritate the nerves despite medications to calm the nerves/nerve signals Dr.Bragg had said yesterday we could potentially pull down the catheter a bit if the irritation kept up although she also said there isnt a great place to position it as there just isnt alot of CSF anywhere in that part of my spine (is in thoracic area now) and placing it to far down in my lumbar spine we risk the catheter backing out of the CSF space as it did last year.  The rest will come and my nrsgn said if I do well with this new med maybe get discharged in next couple days!! I think the weirdest symptoms I am having for which I truly keep forgetting to ask her is a almost like light numbness in my fingers and feet even as I am using them like now. Still for now atleast I am chosing to celebrate that the headaches are better than before the surgery 3 weeks ago. I realize we traded one issue for another but we are making progress and I am confident, I have to be.

I'll update when or if there is more to share.

5/19
Sorry for lack of updates; the past few days have been pretty exhausting and today except for my parents being here I have slept alot although not completely sure why so tired. One thing is atleast other than an couple hour  short period this morning it hasnt been due to headaches I dont think. That is a positive meaning we still are just dealing with the mid-back catheter/nerve irritation. The one thing that has been newly sore and still I know the cause is my R shoulder (the side the shunt is on) and that is a same discomfort I used to get when I had the 1st LP shunt but in this case has been going on for the past 1 1/2 days although not sure why.

Really the only thing new is that we did completely take away baclofen as even at the 1/2 dose thurs night I had the blacking out episodes although in that case it  was more I kept finding myself sitting on the side of the bed and finally woke up dazed for good after smacking my lip (and I think the side of my eye which has been somewhat sore) on the corner of the bedside table. It literally was weird and down right strange and glad I finally woke up. My neurosurgeon had no problem stopping the med fri morning and wanted to wait till today (sat) to start a new med in which she is going to start one my Pain Mngmt dr also recommended and will do so tonight at bed as it is a 1x a day med. I am hoping it works. I had emailed her about the friend of mine with similar experirence as mine w baclofen and a same class med and in the email apologized (bc I do feel bad even though she has been a really great dr and never acts like im 'in her hair') for taking so much of her time and today when talking to me and my nurse Amanda, Dr.Bragg said I shouldnt apologize for her help over all this time and she never minds. I guess what else is she really going to say but in truth thankfully she is a good dr that is willing to talk to other drs of mine and doctos she knows in her circles and although I more than anything do not want to be here atleast she takes her time and is really trying to break the cycle of pain and get the spine/cathether area on a path to healing in order to prevent it from becoming a permanent problem.