ANA Discussion Forum
AN Community => AN Community => Topic started by: TaraT on March 25, 2009, 03:44:50 pm
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Hi Everyone,
My name is Teressa and I am Tara's sister. She asked me to post a message to let everyone know how her surgery went on Tuesday. She was in surgery for about 11 hours or so and spent the night in the ICU. She was moved to a regular room this afternoon (Wednesday) and is doing very well. I was able to see her for 1/2 hour Tuesday night. She had a plastic protection-type covering on her ear then and was experiencing dizziness when she opened her eyes. I saw her for 1/2 hour Wednesday morning and she said she had a good night in the ICU. She is still experiencing the dizziness when she opens her eyes. Other than the dizziness, she is doing extremely well. The doctor's say everything went as planned and there were no surprises. She is expected to remain in the hospital for about 4 or 5 more days. Has anyone else had an experience with the dizziness? Thanks for your support and concern - it means a lot to Tara!
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Hi, Teressa ~
Thanks for the update on Tara. I'm pleased to learn how well she's doing! When the surgeon says: "there were no surprises", that's always good news. :)
Immediate post-operative dizziness is not uncommon and will likely pass and/or diminish. Tell your sister we're happy for her, appreciate your report and look forward to seeing her first message as a 'postie'. Then, tell her to rest. :)
Jim
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Thanks for the update Teressa! I'm with Jim, no surprise is good news! Hopefully the dizziness will pass soon, I don't know anything about it yet but I will soon... Best wishes on your recovery, Tara!
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Hi Tara & Teressa,
So glad to hear that things went well! I will be thinking of you both & praying for an uneventful recovery.
The dizziness could be caused by the balance nerve being either cut or receiving "stimulus" during the surgery. If so, the effects will recede as the days go on and Tara begins to walk and do her exercises.
The best to you both, :-*
Kathy
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Teressa and Tara,
As already mentioned, the dizziness is normal and expected. It sounds like the surgery went perfectly, and now the healing can begin. The nurses will be dragging you out of bed to walk soon. This is to prevent clots from forming as well as beginning the process for the brain to get used to using only one balance nerve.
Keep us updated and don't hesitate to ask questions. It's one thing to read here and "feel" like you know what is coming, it's quite another to actually experience it :).
Ernie
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Teressa and Tara,
Sounds like the doctors were happy with the outcome. That is a good thing! I think pretty much everyone has the dizzyness afterwards, it's just a matter of time for it to subside. Please give Tara our best wishes for a speedy recovery. You are both in our thoughts and prayers.
Scarlett & Richie
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Hi Teressa,
Like everyone else I had the dizziness too... still do a little bit, but only 2 weeks post op here. The first 2-3 days were the worst, I couldn't really focus on people's faces very much because they kind of had 4 faces swirling about! It got a lot lot better after about 3 days. At first I couldn't look up for long because that made me dizzier so I would sort of talk to people but look at the bed rather than at them which is a bit strange - but it got a lot better. She'll be much much better in a few days, you'll be amazed at how fast she gets better after the first few days.
Best wishes
JB
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Good, good, no surprises is good. Thanks for the update. :)
Steve
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Terresa -- Thank you so much for Tara's update. Sometimes we follow pre-surgery patients right up to the day and never hear anything after. We truly appreciate you who let us know what's going on. As far as the dizzy -- a year and a half later I still have the dreaded wonky-head. But it gets better day by day. From an old Pittsburgher, wish Tara the best.
David
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I had the same 2 Dr's and the same procedure that your sister had. The dizziness lasted about a week.
Mitch
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Hi Everyone,
This is Tara's sister Teressa again. I saw Tara today and she asked me to let you all know she is doing well. The dizziness has actually gone away and she was walking short distances by herself and without the use of a walker. She is experiencing paralysis of her face on the tumor side. She can't feel her tongue which is making it difficult for her to eat and drink. She's happy the dizziness is gone, but now she is extremely nauseous. She vomited all night last night and once today. She also said the pain (pressure) in her head is terrible. She is being given vicodin, but when it nears wearing off, she says it's almost unbearable. The neurosurgeon stopped in to see her and said that, if she's up and walking today, she's ahead of schedule. We're thankful for the good news, now just hoping the nausea goes away soon.
I printed out all of your responses and took them to the hospital and read them to her today. She is very thankful for you help, concern, and prayers. Thank you everyone!
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Teressa~
Glad that she seems to be ahead of schedule, but sorry that she is so nauseous - that too will pass, but it pretty much stinks while it is hanging around!
Sorry too about the facial paralysis, but that too should go away with time!
Tara~
Go slow and listen to your body!
K
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Hi Teressa,
I merged your post into the first topic. You can just reply in this topic to add an update. That helps keep the updates in one place.
I seem to be getting quoted a lot on this lately, but here is a chance for me to say it: the first three days don't count. You can't really determine how her recovery is going until a little later. Tara will get through these bouts of dizziness and nausea and pain and be much better in a few days. You'll see.
Thanks for doing the updates, too. Tell Tara to hang in there.
Steve
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Hi Teressa,
Sorry to hear that Tara is having a rocky road, however the fact that she is up and wallking alittle is great!
Last Thursday when I went in to see my wife Scarlett, the next day after her AN surgery, it was hard to see her mostly out of it, and unable to eat because of the nausea. The next day it was like someone flipped a switch. She was eating and walking to the bathroom on her own.
I know it's tough to see your sister going through this, but hang in there she will improve.
Thank you very much for keeping us informed, your doing great. Be strong and please make sure to take care of yourself also. :)
Continued best wishes and prayers for Tara's continued recovery,
Rich & Scarlett (SML)
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Hi Teressa, Tara,
11 hrs. is a long time to be under anethesia, and with me it took days to get out of my system so I could eat again. Too much sodium in the cafeteria offerings, but they do have low sodium on request. Fresh cut up fruit cups were the best, ginger ale, and lentil soup were great too (these my husband got from the local store. I new I wasn't in a nuero ward when the cafeteria sent spagetti my first day in a real room - it kept sliding off the fork, and I lost my already disappointed appetite when I felt as though it was my brains on the plate before me - seemed like a cruel joke!) Glad to hear she's up; hope the pain improves!
Best, Jules
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I had the same 2 Dr's and the same procedure that your sister had. The first week I ate only soup, scrambled eggs, jello and fruit juices. I also could not feel my tongue. Funny story - the day I was released from the hospital, they gave me scrambled eggs for breakfast, because I could not feel my tongue on the AN side, the scrambled eggs stayed on that side for about 4 hours then finally move to a part of my mouth I could feel. Everything will be fine, just give it time.
Mitch
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Nausea is the worst, but hopefully, it will subside before too long...it should. If she's up and walking already, that is good news and should help moves things along for her.
Give her our best and thanks for the updates!
Cindy
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Hi again,
I hope Tara's nausea has subsided by the time you see this post. Throwing up after surgery is worse than the surgery, bless her. We are all thinking of and praying for Tara and for you, too. Your presence means so much to Tara; we know from our own experience how much support means.
We will be waiting for an update,
Kathy
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Tara and Theresa,
I'm so sorry about the nausea - I hope that's better soon. I had the AN side facial paralysis as well (well, still do, but I've improved a lot 8 weeks post op). That does make it difficult to eat and drink. They gave me some mushed up food. Just to think of that now (plus the vanilla health shake I drank) makes me nauseous now!
I'm glad she's ahead of schedule on the 'getting up and about' part. That makes a difference in just feeling a bit more normal.
It'll get better soon!
Keri
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I AM HOME -- FINALLY HOME! Got home yesterday -- Monday evening. Long hospital stay. I don't feel very well. Going to take some of my pain pills and get on later. Thanks for all the support and well wishes.
Tara
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That's great Tara, hopefully you'll go from strength to strength now you're home... it really makes a huge difference - hospital sucks!
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Tara~
So glad you are home! Listen to your body and REST when you need to - which will be a LOT here at first! At least you will be in your own bed! ;)
K
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Welcome home Tara, I bet you are so relieved! Get lots of rest!
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Welcome home Tara!
It's normal to not feel well right now. You will see rapid improvement over the next few days. Stay strong and get some rest.
Ernie
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Tara,
Welcome back, postie. :)
Sleep for a week, and take care.
Steve
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Dear Tara,
So glad to hear you are at home again. We hope to hear soon that you are feeling better. Though that may come in small increments at first, you will get stronger and better as time goes on. Do do your exercises, etc., exactly as your physicians and/or p.t. have instructed. And be kind to yourself; don't try to do too much. Take some advantages; let people help you, wait on you, etc.!!! :D
Kathy
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glad you're home. take it easy!
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Hi Tara,
Glad to hear your home ;D ;D
Time to rest, and take your meds on time (Scarlett learned that lesson the hard way).
Welcome home,
Rich & Scarlett
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Hi everyone! I feel a little better today and thought I would get on and give an update. I have been soooooo sick. As you know from my sister, it was an 11 hour surgery. They got the whole tumor and the facial nerve is totally intact and worked when they stimulated it. After I woke up, my right eye closed slowly but lost its tone and does not close. I also have right-sided paralysis of my face and a numb tongue. The doctors are fully confident that everything will come back with time.
I cannot say enough about the doctors and hospital. Fantastic and caring. Fellow Pittsburgers -- David and Mitch, they are the best aren't they? I had Dr. Chen and Dr. Aziz but then Dr. Chen was off for a few days after the surgery and Dr. Hillman took care of me. Mitch -- so funny about the scrambled eggs. I had oatmeal in my mouth the whole day! The nurses were great too. I had one guy nurse named James and whenever I called him I would say I didn't feel good and he came running. So nice.
I was in the ICU overnight and then moved to the ICU stepdown unit for the rest of my stay. I got a private room -- yeah. Thank goodness because any noise gets to me. My husband got to stay in my room for my whole stay. I had severe headaches and pressure in my head shortly after surgery. I was supposed to go home on Saturday, but I am like I don't feel good, my head hurts so bad. On Sunday morning, they did a CAT scan and found water on my brain and later in the evening did a spinal tap and found that I have aseptic meningitis. With steroids it is slowly getting better. They sent me home on Moday and I called back in on Wednesday still with severe pressure and headaches and they upped the steroids. Feeling a little better every day. I don't get much sleep. Up every 2 to 3 hours. I must have been good this morning because I slept in and my son is like isn't there school today?
I am having problems with my TMJ too. I can only open my mouth slightly and my jaw is stuck back. I will probably get PT for it. I go next Thursday to get the stitches out and to see the neurologist.
I know this is going to be a long, hard road, but I am so happy to be alive.
You guys are so great. So full of knowledge and support. My sister just loves this site. She said it is award-winning.
Oh, I wanted to ask about the noise. I feel like I am in a manufacturing plant. It is soooo loud. My ear did ring before surgery but now it is crazy. Any other loud noise to my good ear hurts. Any ideas on what could help?
Well, have a great day everybody. Time to lay down. Take care! You are awesome!
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Hi Tara,
You sound upbeat in spite of the difficulties. I had the same experience you're having with the facial paralysis. They didn't think they damaged my facial nerve, it responded to low level stimulation during surgery but yet when I woke up - no movement. The doctors said "this will get better." I was a bit surprised. Anyway, it has gotten better (9 weeks post op) but my eye is still an issue , but my smile is getting back. There's a wealth of info here on how to deal with eye issues, thankfully.
I hope your infection clears up soon and the noises get more bearable. I've found they seem to change in noise, frequency, tone, just about everything post op. I'm still hearing things differently. I'm waiting things to settle down a bit before i check into something like a BAHA.
I wish you well. Thanks for updating.
Keri
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Tara
I also had the strange noises. I heard rushing water and my heart beating on the AN side. Went away in about a month, still hear strange noises when I am startled. Rest and do your PT exercises. I was on the same schedule, operation on Tuesday - stitches out the following Thursday and a visit with both Dr. Chen and Dr. Aziz. I still had double vision when I went to my Thursday appointment – then about 4 days later late in the evening all of a sudden the double vision went away forever. I went back to teaching after 6 weeks. Everything will be fine, just give it time.
Mitch
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Tara:
So sorry I missed this topic before. It's good to see you have a positive outlook. It will help the healing process.
After my surgery I had trouble sleeping straight through the night, too. Initially, I would wake up every few hours. During the day I would try so hard to take naps, but I couldn't. Even now, 10 months post-op, I find it difficult to take an afternoon siesta. It's only been in the last couple of months that I've been able to sleep straight through the night. I hope it doesn't take you this long to establish a regular sleep schedule.
So sorry about the facial paralysis, but glad it's not permanent.
The road to recovery is a long one, but but it does get better.
Syl
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Hi Tara,
It’s so good to see you posting. I am very sorry you have had such a hard time with the complications from the surgery, but your positive attitude will surly get you through.
Rest, rest, rest as much as you can. Take your meds on time (no fun trying to play catch up with the pain) and be patient with yourself and your recovery.
We are sending you all our prayers for a quick and complete recovery.
Scarlett & Richie