I had CK at Stanford in March 2014 and I feel basically the same postop as I did preop. The only new symptom I developed was slight vertigo. My AN was 19mm (1.9 cm) and was cystic and I drove to and from all my sessions (40 miles one way) without any problems. When I am stationary, I feel perfectly normal but when I walk, I have disequilibrium (balance issues). On a scale of 1 to 10, it is about a 3 (10 being the worse). After CK I would say my balance got a hair worse, maybe a 4, but it varies from day to day. My new found dizziness is also around a 2 or 3. I hope this information helps but be aware that we are all unique individuals and I feel fortunate that my CK experience impacted me minimally. My right hearing was about 75% gone prior to CK and has not worsen but then, it has only been 7 months postop. My tinnitus, however, did get worse (louder) but like my balance, it is not constant and varies from day to day. With regards to driving, if I turn my head quickly, I experience mild dizziness; when I have to turn my head to look backwards as when going in reverse, I experience slight dizziness. When I ride my bicycle, I feel perfectly normal since I am actually stationary on my bike seat.
At 7 months post CK, I am glad I NEVER even considered surgery as an option. I know I would not have had so few after effects compared to surgery. To me, the quality of life was at the top of my list and after reading about all the problems surgical patients had to suffer through, I knew that was not for me. My CK recovery period was zero. The best advice anyone can give you is, regardless of what treatment you choose, make sure your doctor has a lot of experience and does many cases per year. You find this out by asking your physician directly and he/she should have no hesitation in answering.
