shunt/abd pain

[halfbrain]

I had brain surgery on June 19th,2008 and had a shunt placement.  I have had horrible right sided upper and lower abdominal pain.  Mostly upper though.  All my doctors want to shine me on and send me to someone else.  I know in my "gut' that it has something to do with the shunt.  They want to blame it on the rip-roaring bladder infection I had in the hospital, the fact that I am the "3 F's" (female,fat and fifty) and I REALLY wish they would address the fact that it is something new in my body, I never had this pain before and it really hurts!   I read the other accounts and I am so sorry that there are others experiencing this problem...but maybe the makers of this medical product along with the physicians will listen up and hear us.  Thats all I can do.  Best of luck to all of you.


This discussion is related to Abdominal pain after vp shunt.

[jgfrank]

Did either of you ever get resolution to your pain issues? I have been having pain similar to yours for almost two years now (its been about 2 years since my VP shunt surgery). And I feel like its gas pain but not really gas but knives too! It has gotten better over the course of two years, but not completely. Also, when they put my shunt in they must have been too lazy to do it laproscopically, so made a two inch incision next to my naval, causing me what I think are abdominal adhesions that send pain up to my shoulder.
I wish you all the best of luck and hope that in the interim all your pain issues have been resolved!

[jadiee_x]

hi there, was just reaading your post and was just about to suggest the possibility of your tube rubbing against or hitting nerves in your abdomen!! then read on and see you resolved it yourself!! lol

i think i have the same problem at the moment, i had surgery 2 weeks ago and since THAT very night i have had sharp shooting stabbing pains in my abdomen and all over that area, although its not constant the pain hits me quite a few times everyday.

did you also get pains feeling like it was gas, but wasnt! like a knife trying to come out of you? sorry dont mean to sound crude...im dreading having to say that to my neurosurgeon when i next see him, gonna be so embarassing but i cant describe it without being the slightest bit crude. lol.

[halfbrain]

Thanks for your comments.  I just got home from a 3 day stay at a hospital where my Neuro and a Surgeon shortened the tubes that were rubbing against my bowels and they also remove my appendix that looked alittle funky.  So all in all, I got my moneys worth this trip to the ER.  I don't like to use it, but I am sure glad I went.  I have not used any pain medications since.  Thank you for the info on gallstones, but I knew about that and the fatty food issue.  Since I don't eat like that, I know, hard to believe, but veggies, yogurt and fruit are the diet of choice, I really didn't think it was the old gallbladder.  I just had to trust the gut to tell me to head for the ER, because as you wrote...it is not easy to find a doctor who will listen and evaluate the symptoms.  
Thanks again.
Now if you have any input to my 48y.o. sister's stage 4 brain tumor, I would be greatful.  

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

I'm sorry to learn that you are in this much pain.  From what you have described there can be several possibilities.  I agree with you that this may be related to the shunt, especially at the point where the shunt enters the abdominal cavity.  Though the placement is strategically planned to cause minimal symptoms, a shunt is still a foreign body and this very fact may indeed cause some form of tissue reaction and indeed, pain.  I'm not sure if there is a 100% way to address this problem, but make sure you are receiving adequate pain medications.

Another possibility is that of gallbladder stones.  The pain associated with this is intermittent, and would sometimes get aggravated by fatty food intake.  An ultrasound study of the liver and hepatobiliary tree would be sufficient to rule this out.

I hope you can find a doctor who will listen, and possibly have these possibilities evaluated.  Regards and God bless.