Mid Fossa Surgery tomorrow....Out you go little alien!

[millie]

Glenda-I still have a full headed feeling and I have numbness at incision site; my facial droop and smile are better.  My eye requires drops and ointment at night.  I am better than I was(I was very disheartened after surgery-it was harder than I expected upon wake-up)and have been told to give it time and patience,   I am now SSD and am really missing my hearing; long conversations and lots of noise wear me out.  But it does get better and I am hoping it will continue to get better.
If you are worried about the  numbness  call or e-mail  your  doctor.    I recently had a strange minor changy thing happen with my left taste buds-but I see the doctor next week and am waiting.
Best wishes.
Mil

[Glenda]

Hi Mil,
Thanks for the reply, it sounds like you and I are about the same.  I also didn't expect it to be as hard as it was on waking.  Mine was one month yesterday and I know I have come a long way so I am trying to be very hopeful!  My eye seems to be closing ok but is still dry and use some drops but it was that way before surgery too so I can deal with that.  Right after surgery it was really bad and so swollen I couldn't open it so I see how far it has come.  The SSD is hard, I too really miss my hearing and the roaring keeps me from hearing well out of my left ear, I really hope that gets better.  I am in customer service and deal with listening to people every day at work and that part scares me about going back to work.  Noise also wears me out and my office is noisy as we sell cable service and a tv is constantly going all day as well as people talking.
I did a look up about the numbness and it seems it is probably coming from my back.  I had back surgery a few years ago and it does still bother me at times.  I am thinking that being in surgery for 9 hours and the way I was positioned is probably what it is but I will bring it up at my next appointment and see what the Dr thinks.
Best wishes to you also!
Glenda

[chance1212]

I'm also in the same boat. I go back to work next week! Although I was already SSD and had bad ringing prior to surgery on Nov. 13,  it's worse now. I am concerned that it will interfer with my job. Teaching requires hearing! My doctor requires a 6 month wait for BAHA and there's no guarantee it will work--schools are noisy places and I haven't heard of any device that is successful in noisy environments. I have a Transear that I need to get fine tuned and try it.When I go back, people are going to wonder why surgery didn't fix these things, so there will be a lot of explaining since they're used to surgery making people better.  I know what you mean about how certain situations wear you out--it seems to take so much energy just to figure out what the person is saying when there's other noise around.

[Glenda]

Hi Chance1212,
It's really scary to think about going back to work in all the noise.  Please let me know how it goes for you next week.  I will pray that everything works out for you.  I have spoken to a teacher here in town who is SSD with tinnitus since birth.  She recently got a Soundbite and said she loved it and it helped her tremendously in the classroom.  She is in a private school environment though and I think has a smaller classroom so not sure she has all the noise of a regular school.  She also has not been through the trauma of surgery.   In our case the surgery got rid of the potentially life threatening tumor but left us with some life altering changes.  I know there are many others on here who have came through this and are doing great so I'm hoping and praying that next year we can look back on this and be glad it is in the past and that we will have adjusted.  Take care and hoping next week goes well!  Let me know!
Glenda

[millie]

Glenda and Chance-My thoughts and prayers are with you as you go back to work.  I too worked as a teacher, and I appreciate the challenges you will face.

Glenda, thanks for reminding us that to prevent a possibly life threatening situation, we chose a life altering situation. It's something we had to act upon.  When I get sad at the time recovery takes, my husband  reminds me  I am 100% better than I was 8 weeks ago and he says  I must have been aware of surgical outcomes, but I don't think I was ready for what kind/ how long the  side effects might be. 

 As for the hearing, I know there is hope when we are healed enough.

  Are you folks driving or thinking of driving yet? 

Carry on...Mil

[Glenda]

Hi Mil,

My husband also reminds me of the progress I have made.  I am 4 1/2 weeks since surgery, I know I have come a long way and I am trying to be patient knowing it will get better.  I am not driving yet or thinking about it yet as the dizziness is still too bad.  I am ok if I sit or stand still but if I move so does the world ;-).  I  started therapy this week so hoping that within a couple of weeks I will be able to see a difference.  I hate being dependent on others.  I too thought I understood what it would be like but thinking you know and the reality of living it is harder but I know I am still healing so hoping it will get better.  I know that I will not get back hearing but I knew that, my tumor was against my cochlea so it is gone and I REALLY miss it but I am alive and the AN is gone and I will be alright!!  I thank God that it is not worse.  My son also had an AN a year ago and just had a MRI which showed the AN was indeed gone but they found another tumor in the center of his brain and I am TOTALLY  petrified for him.  He goes back to the Dr in Feb and hopefully we will know more but dealing with that fear and trying to recover myself is awful.  I keep praying that his will be gone when he goes back.  This one is not an AN so not knowing is so scary....I can't seem to relax and rest like I should because I am constantly praying for him and that may be affecting my progress as well.  I had not mentioned it on here before because I felt if I did not mention it maybe it would go away but if you read this I would appreciate any and all prayers for him!  Sorry to get off subject, I just needed to let it out.
Thanks!
Glenda

[CHD63]

Glenda .....

So sorry you are still feeling so unsteady and so very sorry to read about your son.  Reading your post about your son does give a clue as to why you may be slower in feeling better.  Any stress (especially major stress like you have with your son's diagnosis) can affect how your brain operates.

One small thing about driving ..... I waited a long time after my first surgery to try driving because of the imbalance you describe.  Finally my husband took me to a big empty parking lot and said "Here, try driving and see what happens."  I was stunned to find that when I was not moving (as in walking), it was not nearly as disorienting and I did quite well.  Still had to be very careful and use my mirrors and not move my head quickly.  By all means, do not drive until you feel safe, however.

Many thoughts and prayers for both you and your son ..... especially praying that his new tumor will spontaneously go away!!

Clarice

[millie]

Glenda-I am adding your son to my prayers every day.   We all have so much to handle.  We pray for strength and hope and health.

[Glenda]

Thank you Mil!! That means so much!! Thank God for people here who understand.  I pray for you and all my AN friends also.  You are so right, so many have so much to handle.... Hugs to you dear ((()))
Glenda