A Little About My Cyst

Hi everyone as pretty much everyone knows I don't blog between Friday and Monday much, although yesterday I managed to read around 30 odd blog posts and of course comment on those blogs I am one if I visit you I comment even if the comment is only saying that I was there.

Anyway yesterday I went over to the Dr's surgery and asked if I could have a copy of the CT Scan report and yeah no problem Sonia the receptionist printed it out for me no problem. So now I can tell all what type of cyst I have.

The report says there is a questionable a arachnoid cyst within the posterior fossa adjacent to the sigmoid sinus. So of course when I read that I turned to Dr Google to see what that meant I could find out.

What I found out was this: Arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid-filled sacs that are located between the brain or spinal cord and the arachnoid membrane, one of the three membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord

Arachnoid cysts that are not congenital, but develop later in life, are called secondary arachnoid cysts. This would be what I have as I had a brain scan way back in the 90's and it wasn't there then.

Non-congenital arachnoid cysts in both children and adults can have several causes. These include trauma or injury to the head, meningitis, and tumors. They may also occur as a reaction to brain surgery. Arachnoid cysts are most common in children.

They don't usually have symptoms and most people don't realise they have one until they say have a scan for a different reason, such as me mine was see if there was a cause for the terrible headaches I am getting each and every day.

If the cyst grows large enough or starts pressing on nerves and sensitive areas in the brain the sufferer may get some symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, seizures, problems with balance and walking, problems with seeing and hearing feeling lethargic as well as other neurological problems.

An arachnoid cyst with no symptoms or other complications may not be treated. A doctor will monitor the cyst over time to watch for growth or changes in the cyst. Which is why I have to have another CT Scan in 12 months time.

If the cyst is symptomatic, removal is common although cysts in the brain may not be taken out with surgery because of the risks.

Instead one of two procedures will be used. The first involves a small incision near the cyst and insertion of an endoscope with a small camera on the end. The endoscope is used to gently open the cyst, allowing the fluid to drain. The fluid will mix in with the cerebrospinal fluid and redistribute through the body. This procedure is called Fenestration. The other procedure includes putting a small tube or catheter into the cyst allowing the fluid to drain to another part of the body like the belly.

The cyst needs to be monitored but generally the affected person should be able to enjoy a normal life with the cyst, however, if the cyst isn't monitored and starts to bleed or grow rapidly there could be permanent neurological damage, so it needs to be checked regularly to make sure those things are not happening.