Heard of Dural adhesions causing post crani headaches?

[bridgie]

Thanks Capt and Soundy. Here's a weird one. for two years after surgeries the whole side of my head felt like this blob of jello was attached. When I'd walk about, it felt like this portion of my scalp did not move in sinc with the rest of me. It was odd. Now and then I'll get a similar sensation. My NS said he's not heard that before.

[Soundy]

if you can raise your eyebrows and make your scalp move try it ... along my scar the scalp doesn't move while
top of my scalp and left side does... I used to could wiggle my ears but now can't ...I moved them by tightening
the back of my scalp and now it doesn't tighten... I think my scalp is on too tight 

something else funny happened maybe 6-8 month out ...I may have posted it here...can't remember exactly when
and too lazy to go look in my journal I scribble in to find exactly when... but anyway...

I was having alot of burning pain at crown of my head ...I was rubbing it and putting heat on it ...this went on
for several weeks and then one day while rubbing my noggin it made a popping sound , followed by super burning
pain , then eased up... but it left a dimple (doctor called it a divot) where the pain was radiating from ... when I
went in for a check I showed it to him and doctor said the scalp was just to tight right there and pulled loose and was
nothing to worry about


my thoughts are that if it could be too tight in one spot what's to say it isn't too tight in others and causing
some of the headache pain... I thought your scalp just kinda sat on your head without tight attachments...anymore
I know little about how my head is suppose to be held together ...

[Omaschwannoma]

Soundy,

Sounds like your scalp skin has built up scar tissue.  You can soften this up with cross-fiber frictioning all along your incision.  I understand this won't help with headaches, but will help with more pliable skin.

I started this just after I received the "nod" from surgeon to resume my "normal?" life and also would run my fingers up and down either side of the scar.  This helps to keep scar tissue from forming.  I did this with the fat scar, it's soft but still looks crummy, I wonder who practiced on me here as I went to Univeristy Hospital and instead of sutures they used glue.  No matter it's hidden anyway. 

[Soundy]

I have a personal masseuse ... my husband  ... he massages my head and it does loosen it
up ... he can put me to sleep rubbing... does do a number on my hair ... but have to stay clear
of the scar except top and bottom end ...most of it is kinda numb and tingly but the corner is
painfull... some days I can't pull my hair back and barely can run a brush through it... he also does
my neck... the right side from shoulder to side of head is tight... he rubs it or I heat it with a rice
pack before doing stretches ...

he offered to give me a shot of the lidocaine he has for vet use in the scalp  ... although
tempting I didn't take him up on it 

[bridgie]

  ::)Gotta laugh at ourselves. Where my bone flap was or the area where the skull bone was removed--well the edges used to have these rice krispie bumps that would crackle if I touched them. I have this area in front of my ear where I'd get drainage from the infection. (Four months post op I'd take a shower and puss would start to perculate out!) Its a very sensitive spot, can trigger an electrical type shock if i touch it. I hate to touch the "soft spot" where there is no bone. It always feels bruisy and feels like a headache is coming on awhile after I touch it. Mostly it feels like I've been kicked in the side of the head all the time. Its not just a migraine type headace like Dr Young talks about--its our stabs and jabs and other weird senstations. There's a whole mini factory of little people in there having a carnival at our expense. Sometimes they get out of hand.     

[bridgie]

I finally spoke with my NS. Its taken 4 months! He's not diabled anymore! I'm sorry he was sick but the truth is, this extra time has allowed me to gain information, become informed so I could ask better questions. I'd likely been dismissed as I have in the past if I hadn't been prepared to the extent I am now. I owe my friends on this site for  answering my questions or simply commiserating.   

Here's the low down:
Nothing acute in the head. The enhancement is likely scar tissue. At first he did not think it was due to dura being attached to scar tissue. Not had this happen in his 30 years of experience, but then he did say this kind of problem can arise in the back of the head when its an occipital approach. Then he thought again that it could actually be related to the temporalis mucsle becoming attached to the dura. He ask if I get head pain when I move my mouth etc. I do get direct pain or did w/out Ms Contin on-board. Now that I'm on this medication I do not feel much plus you get memory problems! He can't test this with local numbing medication because it would also numb the brain and then of course I couldn't give him feedback. I'd just need to be confident I'm having pain from this area, he could open me up, move the re-position the temporalis and place a titanum plate where the bone flap used to be to pad the area sothis would not happen again. At the same time the ENT doctor can place a BAHA abutement.

Neck: my neck is in trouble and likely not helping. The same time period I go for testing and surgery of the head I get testing on my neck for nerve involvement w/degenerative disc disease, see if there are nerve roots involved. The worst thing is the spondylolisthesis which is also likely causing pain and adsding to the issue with my head. This means the vertegbra is out of alignment. At one level its actually moving forward 4mm when I flex forward which is actaully a lot and means I'm not stable. This problem is more common in the lower back then cervical spine. Its a bigger problem as well because the cervical spine contains the spinal cord and th lower back doesnt.

So the NS proposes the head surgeries, testing for the neck and sooner then later cervical spine surgery as well at one or more levels. I'd stay at a hotel for a period of time before and after these procedures as the facility is 400 miles away. His assistant called me back shortly after we talked and relayed their medical center does not have a contract w/my insurance company (in negotiations) so now I'm unable to do any of the above! Breaks my heart after working so hard to get possible answers with one obstacle after another. I do not see myself taking MS Contin for the rest of my life, which is why I set out to defy the odds with this situation and get answers.

[Omaschwannoma]

Bridgie,

Don't despair here as it sounds as though you do have some good answers to your problems and how they would solve them, but now you can get second opinion with reputable surgeons.  I know you will have to revisit the "searching, trusting" emotions once again in finding another doctor, but perhaps in the end you will see it is better. 

P.S.  An FYI here, but I'm pretty sure the spinal cord does go through the lumbar/lower back spreading out into smaller nerves in the sacral area to supply organs in the abdomen and legs. 

[bridgie]

Its odd but true:

Spinal Cord
The spinal cord is part of the central nervous system of the human body. It is a vital pathway that conducts electrical signals from the brain to the rest of the body through individual nerve fibers. The spinal cord is a very delicate structure that is derived from the ectodermal neural groove, which eventually closes to form a tube during fetal development. From this neural tube, the entire central nervous system, our brain and spinal cord, eventually develops. Up to the third month of fetal life, the spinal cord is about the same length as the canal. After the third month of development, the growth of the canal outpaces that of the cord. In an adult the lower end of the spinal cord usually ends at approximately the first lumbar vertebra, where it divides into many individual nerve roots (L1).
from Back.com

Yes, I see this whole issue as a puzzle, etc. I may wait on the facility (while also visting other doctors) , see if they sign the contract w/my carrier.

[Omaschwannoma]

Thanks for educating me, once more, I appreciate the correction on spinal canal and cord.