First off, I apologize if I've posted this in the wrong place of I'm going about this all wrong. This is my first post here. I joined a few weeks ago and had some wonderfully warm welcomes and supports posted almost immediately to my profile, which truly brought a smile to my face - so thank all of you.
Anyways, Hello! I'm Jessica and I'm one month post-op. That almost sounds like I just stood up at an AA meeting to introduce myself! So, after what was likely the 3 roughest weeks of my life with multiple setbacks (that I won't currently bore you with as I am starting to improve these days and would rather focus on that part for the moment), I've been having a decent week, until..... This brings me to my question. I have a swelling at the back of my head that appeared almost overnight. It definitely feels like muscle tissue, so I don't think it's pus or CSF beneath the skin. The incision still looks great, no discharge or redness. My NS saw it at 2 weeks post-op and said everything looks great. I did have a very small mushy spot to the left of the incision right before my recheck appointment that I was going to go in early, but it spontaneously went away within less than 24 hours. My NS mentioned it could have been a pseudomeningocele. My concern is, can you get a pseudomeningocele beneath your neck muscles, so that the CSF it pushes them out? That seems like a good explanation for why it could feel muscular instead of like fluid? It's a symmetrical hump perfectly centered at the top of my incision that is about palm-sized. I do have dissovable sutures with glue, but thus far I've shown no adverse reaction to that, though I know that this can be delayed. I have felt a little better in the past few days and have been a bit more active. It's hard for me to wrap my head around muscle swelling from that to come on so fast, but I'm just a doggie doctor so I'm truly not sure!
That area is a little stiffer and more sore than yesterday and my range of motion for looking up seems worse now. Otherwise, I'm not experiencing positional headaches or extreme pain or any other symptoms. Does anyone have any experience with pseudomeningoceles? Is it something that tends to resolve itself or need to be drained surgically? Any thoughts on what else it could be? Obviously I will call my NS on Monday (if I can reach them - Grrrrr!) but right now I don't feel like I need to rush to the ER tomorrow. Of course I could be wrong. This is all so new to me and I want to get back to my normal life and work ASAP, so I don't want to delay something that truly needs urgent treatment. I also don't want to spend more money at the ER for panicking over something silly. If you couldn't tell I can be a bit indecisive when it comes to my own healthcare. I know no one can make the decision for me, but I would really appreciate any feedback or stories about similar experiences. If you made it through my novel, thank you (I tend to babble, especially right after I take my nightly oxycodone - and guess what time it is?). Any responses are very much appreciated! Thanks again guys :)
~Jessica