New Site User - Don Winslow with Radiosurgery question

[ppearl214]

hi all.... this was in the "WTT List" thread in AN Issues and may have been lost in the shuffle, so I'm moving this post here in hopes others help me welcome Don and provide some answers to his questions.  Boppie, thank you for your keen eye! 
Phyl

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Don Winslow
Newbie

Posts: 1


    Re: ANA WTT (Willing-to-Talk) List available to newbies
« Reply #16 on: August 20, 2007, 04:46:49 PM »     

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    Hello all.  I am an oldie (age 77) who has not corresponded in several years but I have a question.  I had radio surgery on my 9 mm AN several years ago and learned to live with minor dizzines.  But during the past moinths, I have experienced what I call "a head full of wet sawdust" whose symptoms are dullness, difficulty in reasoning, depression, need to sleep, etc.  No pain.   
     The symptoms are similar to those of Meniere's disease but that was ruled out by my doctors at Mayo-Jacksonville. They told me several years ago that they couldn't help me with the symptoms.  Do others have these symptoms?  If so, how do they deal with them? 

      Thanks, Don Winslow

[GM]

Don,

..."dullness, difficulty in reasoning, depression, need to sleep, etc.  No pain."

Actually it sound like is that you may be experiencing post treatment depression (similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).  People react differently to their AN diagnosis and treatment.  Have you thought of going to counseling?

GM

[leapyrtwins]

Don,

as GM suggested, maybe you are dealing with depression.  I had retrosigmoid surgery on 5/31/07 and some days I have all the symptoms you are describing - other days I feel like I could conquer the world.  I find that sometimes it just depends on what else I am dealing with on a specific day - misbehaving children, car needing repairs, plumbing issues requiring a plumber, etc.  All I can say is hang in there, and if the "bad days" start to outnumer the good, maybe you should look into treatments for depression.

Best of luck,

Jan

[linnilue]

Well, I think that maybe another opinion at Gainesville (which is close to Jacksonville) would be a good idea.  But I feel differently than the others here.  Maybe the doctors could give you a bit of medication that is normaly used in these situations temporarily such as ativan or valium.  They do help if your symptoms have to do with the AN and also trying them might also rule out that the AN is not the problem and they should look further for a different diagnosis as others have suggested.  Good Luck.

[ceeceek]

I also agree, you should get checked again......although the symptoms could stem from a variety of things it really could be physical and not psychological....have your blood work done etc. Better safe than sorry and if everything comes back normal then perhaps they will then conclude to depression.....but take no chances...
See if we can get Lorenzo to chime in here. I know he suffers from similar experience.
Ceecee

[pearchica]

Gosh Don, I'm sorry you are experiencing this.  I'm going to weigh into the mix a really bizarre theory..so take this with a grain of salt (or saw dust in your case). I suspect that other's are right in that you might have depression.  However, do you also suffer from sinus congestion and/or allergies?  The reason I ask is that I had a fullness and clogged sinuses- only to be diagnosed with the AN. (Ironically, I still have congestion, but am going to try the Stanford Sinus center to get it cleared up as my local ENT suggest either surgery for a deviated septum or a life time supply of Musinex D).  I do know that if your sinuses aren't clear, they can lead to grogginess, ect...

However, my girlfriend thought she had a bad case of sinuses- turns out she really was depressed- specifically Bi polar 2 ( a recent form of depression that has only been identified in the last 6 years) . 

Either way you should really pursue this and get it diagnosed.  Please keep us updated on your progress. Take care of yourself- Annie