I'm pretty sure I have a leak, saw the NS yesterday, he ordered an MRI but my insurance (which is really good insurance!) is being a HUGE pain in the neck and sending my "case" for clinical review...meaning they haven't approved me to get an MRI yet...hopefully I'll get the approval and have the MRI Monday.
I'm so mad about that, I don't know why they're being so ridiculous, maybe because they just paid 10-20grand in medical bills for me, but still, I'm still having issues and obviously need an MRI to determine why I have a huge lump in the back of my head.
The other thing is my sister's wedding is August 31st and I'm supposed to be a bridesmaid. Today I feel perfectly fine, yesterday I felt like I was knocking on death's door, it's crazy! If I end up feeling good most of the time and do need repair surgery - do you think I can put off having it done until after labor day?
I'm not sure what damage waiting another 2 weeks to have my csf leak repaired will do....any insight?
Like Becki said, if you are leaking CSF from the incision it is a medical emergency. There is the risk of meningitis and you don’t want that. If on the other hand there is no leakage from the incision then you have a decision to make in consultation with your NS. Only going by what we were told by the NS, he didn’t consider the pseudo a medical emergency if it stayed under the incision and did not want to reoperate at all! So I’m guessing if you are not dripping fluid out the incision and you feel good, you could probably wait until September to get the repair, if one is needed. I would listen to my NS on this one.
I had a CSF leak and Meningitis. If you don't have Meningitis it will close on it's own. You have to lay flat for a couple of weeks. It is very important to get it checked though ....Chemical Meningitis is no fun !!!
I had a csf leak. My ns admitted me into the hospital and did a spinal tap. Before the tap, i was feeling soooo bad. Felt better for a few days, went back to feeling bad, was readmitted to the hospital again for 2 more spinal taps. My ns did not want to do another surgery unless it was absolutely necessary. They also had me wear a compression bandage on my head. They told me to sleep sitting up at a 45* angle. I found that when i layed flat, that’s when th csf would start pooling. You definately need to contact your ns. If a repair is not needed, you have plenty of time to heal before the wedding.
Good luck!
I have a large pseudo and its healing by itself @ 10wks postop. NS advises to stay upright at all times, even sleeping. I agree, if you don't have infection or other complications and no leaking outside your incision then you should be able to wait until after the wedding. My NS said after 4mo if not healed then he will revisit it, he is a chiari expert.