Dizziness, headache and nausea

I am a 49 yr. old female with pseudotumor cerebri.  I was diagnosed in 2002 and had ONSF on both eyes and it did not lower my pressures enough so I had bilateral VP shunts put in.  I have had to have zero revisions.  About 8 weeks ago I started with what I thought was a severe migraine, headaches are very common for me even though I am shunted.  I waited a couple of weeks and saw my GP who placed me on a 3 day IV of steroids for what he said was status migrainous.  After the steroid therapy, I continued to have the severe headache and also developed dizziness, light-headedness and a general blah feeling.  I ended up being hospitalized for tests on my VP shunt.  I am from a small town and my GP had different neuro's from our area come see me.  Nobody would take me as a patient because they "knew nothing about pseudotumor cerebri".  I failed to mention the neuro that put my shunt in is no longer here so I was left without a neuro.  I later found out that a neuro-surgeon does not like to take a patient with a shunt that was put in by another doc.  I had a MRI done which was normal - but so was my MRI I had when diagnosed with pseudo.  I was discharged from the hospital because there was nobody that would treat me.  Therefore, I went home in the same condition I went in with.  My question is could a Medtronic Programmable VP Shunt have a malfunction and still show your setting to be what it is supposed to be on?  My GP is trying to get me in to a nationally recognized hospital's neuro department in our state capital.  In the meantime (6-8 wks), if he agrees to take me, I still am suffering with this severe dizziness and headache.  I have ringing in my ears.  My eyes are crusted over when I wake up in the mornings, almost feel like scabs it is so bad.  I have EXTREME dry mouth and have had mouth sores on my tongue from this, I suppose.  I have tremors in both thumbs and foregingers and on some days cannot even sign my own name due to the tremors.  Tremors are not constant, they come and go.  When I had a flat abdominal x-ray done several mos. back, the nurse practiontioner came in and asked me if I knew that my shunt tubing was in my bladder?  I told her I didn't know that.  Is it suppose to be in my bladder?  I have to get up 3-4 times a night to use the restroom.  I don't know if any of this is directly related to something or if I'm suffering from multiple problems.  My main concern is a malfunction of the VP shunt.  I have noticed that my vision has been worse in the last couple of mos.  Also, I am having double vision again regardless to the fact that I have prisms in my glasses to correct double vision.  I am afraid that something bad is going to happen (such as vision loss) if they don't hurry and get me in for exam by neuro.  But, my GP doesn't seem too much alarmed.  I just remember the rush to get me to all docs necessary and to get my surgeries done when I was originally dx'd.  I was told then that I was lucky to have saved my vision.  Please let me know if this could be a shunt malfunction even though my setting appears to be normal on my shunt.  I also have a pineal cyst.  I had 2 PE's the year I was shunted, 2002.  I just would like to have a day that I feel well and those are very few and far between.  Please Help.

[beckysoton87]

Hi there,

Phone your neuro secretery, thas what ive been doing since xmas to be seen.
Usually, your VP shunt stands for Ventriculo-Peritoneal therefore it shound be in your peritoneal cavity which is your abdomin (abdomen), not you bladder as that is your pelvic region.

Im always feeling ill and i have constant headaches and abdo pain since having this shunt put in and my neuro doc doesn't seem to want to know me. My first one caused meningitis.

But, phone you neurologists secretary, if they dont do anything, phone the complaints departments at your hospital, they should sort you out.