On 8/17, two MRIs of my head and internal auditory canal determined the affect on the AN's post-op (5) CK treatments. My doctors (Mahadevan/Wong) at BIDMC in Boston are pleased with the process as swelling and the tumor’s size are in check. I am most relieved to not be prescribed back on the steroid Decadron whose side-effects would have put me in “outer space†again with no sleep, a ravenous appetite, irritable, easily agitated and not one to induce interest to be around. I could not be in my own skin. Although balance is compromised with exertion, it should improve. When ambient noise is around, it is still difficult to hear but pre-treatment hearing levels are expected to be preserved. Tinnitus and facial tics did not result. When infrequent mild headaches occur I take OTC ibuprofren and a power nap as I fatigue easily. These residuals should soon also be gone.
I am now a “Post-Toastie†and will be monitored every six months by MRIs until confirming the tumor's growth has been arrested or hopefully shrunk. I anticipate with no further symptoms, these recent protocols will become a brief detour in my life’s journey. Yet prior to sharing this, I read others' post-radiation experiences on this ANA site to inform me symptoms in some months or years out should not be unexpected. Now that's a bummer!!
