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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Had Hydrocephalus At Birth, VP Shunt Fitted, Headaches, Nausea, Nystagmus, Tiredness, Weakness. Suggestion?

My son who is now 15 had a hydrocephalus at birth and has a vp shunt fitted. In the past few weeks he has been experiencing sever headache with nausea but never is actually sick they normally last a couple of hours then disappear. He now has a nystagmus which was not there 3 weeks ago and is getting more prominent over time, his left eye also rolls out and he goes cross eyed all things he never suffered from before. He is constantly tired and is struggling to get through a day at school without needing a sleep. He has suddenly started to get numbness and tingling in his arms and hands out of the blue, this lasts a few hours and is very painful especially around the wrists and hands. His grip is a lot weaker now than it used to be. When he talks just after the numbness appears his speech is slurred but this clears up within a few minutes.

He had a ct scan last week which ruled out a shunt break or damage. I was just wondering what other things cause these symptoms as I was pretty sure it would be his shunt malfunctioning.
Mon, 17 Jun 2013
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Neurologist 's  Response
Hi,

There are two possibilities based on the symptoms ,shunt malfunctioning ,next is seizure phenomenon (episodic headache, nausea, slurred speech).Since CT scan brain reveals normal functioning of shunt ,then seizures is more likely cause for such episodic symptoms

Consult neurologist for clinical examination and require antiepileptics



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Had Hydrocephalus At Birth, VP Shunt Fitted, Headaches, Nausea, Nystagmus, Tiredness, Weakness. Suggestion?

Hi, There are two possibilities based on the symptoms ,shunt malfunctioning ,next is seizure phenomenon (episodic headache, nausea, slurred speech).Since CT scan brain reveals normal functioning of shunt ,then seizures is more likely cause for such episodic symptoms Consult neurologist for clinical examination and require antiepileptics