My Battle Part 1

I don't remember when it started. It came on so slow, that I didn't notice it at first. I can't recall a specific day when I thought to myself "Hmm...I have a headache. I should go lay down." It didn't happen that way. And there is no explanation as to why it happened to me at all, either.

Hydrocephalus is typically a problem that happens to newborns. It's not something that shows up in an ultrasound, and no one knows about it until the baby is born, and usually with an abnormally large head. But of course an operation is performed within a few days and the baby grows normally (and they grow out of their head size) the rest of their life.

If you somehow get hydrocephalus when you are already fully grown, your head may enlarge and it will be like that for the rest of your life. But in an older child or an adult, it typically doesn't get that far since they are receptive to the pain. Therefore it can be stopped much sooner than a child in the womb. There is no explanation for why this problem happens to some people. And if you can imagine, not having a reason can be extremely frustrating. It was to me. I wanted to prevent it. But when there is no clear cause, there can be no prevention.

Ok, now you will clearly start to see the medical nerd coming out in me. =) Call me crazy, call me a nerd, I don't care. But all this stuff is so intriguing to me.

So you're probably wondering now, what exactly is hydrocephalus? First you have to understand a bit about the brain. As you can see, inside your brain three main ventricles and the cerebral aqueduct that drains into the fourth.

The two main lateral ventricles drain into the third. And the third ventricle drains into the cerebral aqueduct where it then goes into the fourth ventricle and down through your spinal chord. Cerebral spinal fluid is created somewhere along the way and is filtered through the ventricle system. That fluid is the same that your brain floats on. It is constantly being created and drained.

Hydrocephalus occurs when there is a blockage in one of the ventricles, and it is typically the third ventricle. It can be caused by an overgrowth of cells, a tumor, anything. And what happens is that the two lateral ventricles (as well as the third) start to expand because the cerebral spinal fluid either isn't draining at all, or is draining very little. This causes inter-cranial pressure. And if you can imagine, it is extremely painful.

It is also hard to diagnose without an MRI. Since we live in the age of migraines and Excedrin, no one even thinks about a headache as being a major problem. That is why many people like myself have to suffer for months or years before the doctor will even consider it to be a real problem. And by then, it may be too far along and the head of the patient may have already enlarged some.

If you want to get a more clear and concise view of what hydrocephalus is, watch this video. This girl explains it better than anyone else on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_tHOedD-YU

I shall continue with my own story in part 2.