15 mos post op is this as good as it gets?

[tichinose]

Should I expect anything to get any better than it is today.  I have the major headaches, balance issues, and dry eye.  I feel like my progress has stopped so I was wondering if it's possible for it to resume or should I just except the way it is?  Thx

[leapyrtwins]

When is the last time you checked in with your doctor?

Many on this forum have headaches, and thankfully many have found solutions that work for them.  There are also solutions for dry eye and balance.

Have you searched the forum for posts related to what you are going through?  The search feature (directly below the block with your user information) is a big help.

Jan

[cecile k]

This may sound strange but I had improvement with my headache issues even six years after my AN surgery. I was very thankful to have found a physiotherapist who specialized in headache issues and she got me to the point where I felt I could live again. I regret not having kept a journal of my recovery - recovery was so slow that it hardly seemed noticeable over a short period of time. I would suggest to any one going through a challenging recovery to keep a journal, even if you write in it once a month.

Cecile

[Jim Scott]

Should I expect anything to get any better than it is today?  I have the major headaches, balance issues, and dry eye.  I feel like my progress has stopped so I was wondering if it's possible for it to resume or should I just except the way it is?

It's not uncommon for for a post-op AN patient to feel their progress has stalled at some point.  For some, that can occur within months, after seeming to heal and recover on a steady basis,.  For others, the perception of their recovery being stymied comes after a few years.  I'm not a doctor and can't analyze your specific situation but from 3+ years of reading posts from a wide variety of AN patients who are recovering, I feel it's not taking much of a risk to state that, yes, you should expect things to get better than they are, today.  You may be at a point where your body has healed as much as it can without external aid, such as medications and exercise targeted to help the brain regain it's ability to provide balance.     

As Jan astutely pointed out, your doctor may be able to either prescribe headache medication or refer you to a physician that specializes in treating headaches.  Your doctor can also refer you to an ophthalmologist for treating your dry eye and perhaps recommend a vestibular training facility that might help you with your imbalance issues.  It's certainly worth asking.  If this doesn't succeed, you can always make your own appointments with an ophthalmologist, headache clinic and vestibular training facility.  I hope you'll consider becoming proactive in your continued recovery.  It does get better.

Jim

[Joef]

everyone is different .. I'm lucky , never did have headache problems .. however my face did not START moving until 14 months out .. and made little improvements over the next couple years.. now at 4 years its stalled... but still get dry problems once in a while .. but its become manageable ...

[epc1970]

Hi
I too am about 15 months post op and like you had started to think that this was as good as it gets.  I am pretty lucky in where I am at but  just a couple of days ago, I noticed increased feeling in my bottom lip which may not sound like a big  deal but it was proof to me that things are still healing! I ,like you, get headaches and I have noticed that as time goes on I get fewer but at the same time I have been relentless in finding solutions to my headaches so while I do think that time is helping I also know that my combonation of treatments-medication, cranial sacral therapy and gentle neck OMT -have helped as well so I would encourage you to seek out treatments that will help the issues that bother you the most.
Erin

[tichinose]

This is a good thing about of all this.  I lost 40 pounds because nothing has taste so I don't eat much at all....lol....I am going to look into some of the therapy especially for balance.  The neurologist gave me some kind of barbituate for headaches but I really don't take them much unless it's real bad and I am not driving somewhere.  Going back to opthamologist today to check on the punctual plugs he put in a week or so ago...thx for the input

[moe]

Recovering from AN surgery can take quite a while, sometimes years (me).
It is HARD WORK!!!!!!
They don't tell you that when you feel all these post op symptoms coming on.Sounds like you are on the right track though.
Keep truckn and working hard to get yourself feeling better. I'm 3 years post op, and still working at it. Balance games /exercises will remain a life long  activity.
The WII console gaming system has WII fit which I try to use  somewhat regularly for balance/yoga/strengthening exercises.
I figure the more you exercise/walk/tone the muscles, it will help with balance issues.

When flu season comes around, I say "I'm so glad I don't get sick often, because I have a hard enough time taking care of myself when I'm healthy!"

Let us know how things go, and check out the headache posts-very helpful info. Thankfully that is the one thing I did not get post op. Enough on my plate
Maureen