Hello All,
It has been some time since I have posted, as I was in the W & W phase of this journey, but the doctor feels that since there has been "significant" growth in the last year that it is time to "do something".
In June I will be having surgery at Univ of Penn in Philadelphia. Dr. Douglas Bigelow is my ENT and Dr. John Y.K. Lee is my Neurosurgeon. For now, it looks like we will do retrosigmoid because I still have some hearing in my AN ear.
For me, symptoms began 5 to 6 years ago with sudden, unexplained vertigo - once with a trip to the ER it was so bad. The vertigo seemed to stop after about a year, then there were balance problems sometimes, dizziness at others, and some hearing loss which I attributed to age. The thing that sent me to have the first MRI, where the AN was found, was an episode of Transient Global Amnesia in May 2014. This was a very strange occurrence, and it has nothing to do with the AN. No amnesia since that one time, but a heart issue did crop up a year ago: PVCs that were asymptomatic, occurring 31% of the time. Again, very strange, but leave it to me to have yet ANOTHER rare, benign physical occurrence!
For now, I am feeling good and positive about the surgery. Ask me in late May though and I am sure the nerves will be kicking in!
This forum has been a blessing! Many questions have been answered for me - everything from Gamma Knife vs. microsurgery, to input on different doctors and hospitals, to advice for caregivers. The support in this community is overwhelming. Thanks to everyone who posts their experiences here!
Christina
