HydrocephalusIt’s personal and social affects

on the individual

• I suffer from a condition called hydrocephalus which means I have to have a what is called a ‘shunt’ inserted into my head to drain fluid from my brain.

• I have lived with this condition for many years and can personally speak from experience about how this condition has affected my life on a personal and social level.

• On a personal level, some of the difficulties I have are related to co-ordination, especially using my hands. I have difficulty holding things. I sometimes struggle with balance especially when I’m tired and stressed.

• I get headaches and become tired. I trip over my feet and can hurt myself. My memory is also affected. I have difficulty in taking in too much information. I forget things and sometimes miss-understand instructions.

• For instance, I can handle something one day and the next day can’t do it. As a consequence of these problems I am scared of doing new things in case they go wrong.

• On a social level, making friends and keeping up relationships is difficult. I panic if by myself for long periods of time. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable with eye contact within groups of people. My eyes wander and feel I get funny looks from people

• I can sometimes blow things out of proportion. I sometimes get panic attacks night when no one is around. I have to deal with this on my own. This happens when I’m worried about something or a situation I can’t resolve.

• The above problems result in me having support to do the shopping and budgeting with me as I get stressed and anxious about what I have to do to live a normal life. Even putting together a shopping list is a strain. Arranging holidays and going out is always a worry and I need support with this.

• I hope by writing this I can make other people aware of the problems of this condition.