Stent instead of shunt

yes i had 2 fitted in April 2016 because 2 off my arteries were collapsed due to the p from my excess spinal fluid. 3 years down the line still suffering bad headaches so now back to my 6 weekly lumbar punctures and Waiting a shunt being fitted

Did neuro not explain why the stent instead of shunt? I see from what the Australian's are doing that they have had good results with stenting and started long before John Hopkins, but they only use it when there is a blockage of one, or both of the Transverse Sinus Veins, which control CSF flow at the base of your skull. It is not brain surgery, which is good news. Also, from the article I read, some patients needed more than one stent, but I suspect that it depends on how high your CSF pressure is. It is all good news for you though!

Amanda. Stenosis means "hardening", so the chances are good you have a lot of bad, or LDL cholesterol. If you have it there, then the chances are good you have stenosis elsewhere, which is not good, so whatever age you are now, you need to address the problem.

Do you know, because then there are natural products (no Statin drugs), like "Red Rice Yeast Extract", you can use and dietary changes you can make.

If your cholesterol is 5.4 you would take 2 per day. If it is 7 it would be 3 a day and over 8 it would be 4 per day. However you need to take co-enzyme Q10 plus Omega 3 supplements with it.

You want to have a daily diet high in beans, peas, lentils, oats and barley, garlic, carrots, potatoes, avocado, extra-virgin olive oil, 4TBs per day (unheated, so over salad or steamed veg)

Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruit. Add walnuts/almonds daily - about 50 g 3 x per day. A good quality cocoa 2 x per day. Dark chocolate - over 74%. Fatty fish, such as Salmon and Mackerel, or a Krill oil supplement.

Look at supplements such as "Nitric Oxide" and "Phytosterols". There are certain simple arm exercises I found on You Tube when I looked up "nitric oxide". Once you start moving your arms up and down, it improves your blood flow, production of nitric oxide and circulation, but nitric oxide also cleans up the walls of your arteries.

If you are not on Diamox/Acetozolomide, you can even start taking a daily Aspirin.

Ask your neuro about putting you on Dixarit, also called "Clonidine", as it opens up the arteries of the brain. It also lowers your blood pressure, but if you stayed on it for a 2 week trial period and kept an eye on your blood pressure, it would be ok.

That is all I can suggest right now, but doctor's can only give you chemical solutions, for what is usually a result of bad, or poor diet and toxicity (inflammation). Correcting poor nutrition, eating correctly and exercising is the foundation to change things around.

Try something like YOGA if you can find poses that do not give you headaches. Stretching is essential. Steer clear of fried food, yellow oils and spreads. There is nothing healthy about them. Grill, steam, boil your food instead. Make your own fresh fruit and veg juices instead of chemically laden soft drinks. Joghurt smoothies, or learn to make drinks like Kombucha.

Yes, it means you have to make lifestyle changes, but that means there are things you can actually do, which cannot actually hurt you. Let me know how it goes!

I have 4 stents.

I had the first one 13 years ago and didn't have my second for 11 years after that.

I normally can leave hospital the day after ( apart from once) and take antiplatelet medication for 12 weeks. They are fitted when under a general anaesthetic and can cause a short lived headache when you come round which is controlled with painkillers.The stents are in both my transverse sinuses and my pressure is not caused by high cholesterol or a bad diet! I have a normal BMI.

I am classed as having borderline IIH and am extremely lucky to have a hospital who are willing to help me and treat me like they do. I don't know what I would do if they weren't there for me!

I have IIH my weight has nothing to do with it . I have lost about 33 lbs and it did nothing to help. due to my pressure being high the bone in my sigmoid sinus and sphenoid sinus has corroded away and that is what caused my csf leak. The bones in my head will continue to corrode until the pressure is under control.