16 days post op

[wasky]

Hello to all.  I had my surgery in Boston 7/30/2010 for a 3.5cm left side AN, sub-occip approach.  Dr. Barker and Dr. McKenna were great, surgery lasted 10 hours and they were able to remove the entire tumor.   I have left SSD, facial paralysis which I hope will improve in time, balance has been good, minor double vision brought on by vestibular exercises but much improved.  My current concern is my blood pressure and pulse.  I never had issues prior to surgery, now its been crazy.  They have me on bp med with which I need to follow up with my pcp whom I don't see until 8/30.  My bp and pulse when laying down runs more normal, 130/88, pulse regular at 68 to 74.  Once upright it goes up, 140/93 and varies, this was taken 45 min after bp meds.  My pulse is the most erratic.  It jumps all over, 80's to 100's and seems to change each second.  Before leaving Boston talked with the NP who had me go in for an ekg and check bp, bp was 133/88 not bad but my pulse kept jumping.  I was told up to 100 is normal and I occasionally jumped past, reaching 109 when there.  But, even they seemed somewhat baffled by constant changing numbers.  The ekg was normal and I was told not to stress over it.  At home I've hit up to 121, and when upright it never runs regular.  Does anyone else have such an erratic pulse?  Is this due to surgery?  My brain stem was pressed on for years by the tumor, perhaps causing this?  What questions beside -what might be the cause and -how do I get it under control might I ask?  Should I be concerned or relax and give it more time?  I will be calling the doctors on Monday as they need to change my appointment so I will bring it up again.  Any help is much appreciated.

[Tod]

Wasky, I'm not a doctor so I all I can say is follow the advice you have been given. I had a lot of a brainstem compression, but not the post-op erratic pulse you report. At only 16 days post-op, I would encourage that you relax and simply be aware of what your body is doing. It takes time to heal. If you trusted your docs enough to let them root around your brain, I wouldn't stop now.

Good luck with your continued recovery,

Tod

[Jim Scott]

Wasky ~

Congratulations on your successful AN surgery!

I have no idea why your pulse and BP are so erratic and will have to leave the solution to the guys with medical degrees and licenses.  My large AN was pressing hard on my brainstem prior to debulking surgery but my pulse was around 70 and my BP around 135/78 most of the time, while I was hospitalized, so I'm skeptical about the AN/brainstem being a source for the erratic pulse and BP.  Again, I'm not a doctor - just speculating, but I trust this will soon be resolved for you.  Oh, and welcome to 'postie-land'!   

Jim

[leapyrtwins]

Wasky -

good to "see" you on the other side 

I've heard of BP issues like yours after AN surgery - so I think they are fairly normal.  However, I'd still make sure you communicate with your doctor about it since, as Tod & Jim pointed out, most of us here on the Forum aren't doctors.

Hope the remainder of your recovery goes smoothly.

Best,

Jan

[jaylogs]

Hey Wasky!! Sounds like you have been having fun!   Well, just hang in there, and keep getting better! I am sure the BP will calm itself down over time as you heal.  Please continue to give us updates!! Take care!
Jay

[sunfish]

Wasky, 16 days post-op is not very long at all for your body to adjust to the shock it has been through.  If you've been taking any steroids, those can raise your bp and pulse, and it can take a few weeks to settle down, or so I was told by the docs.

I developed high bp after CK last March, and I'm still on meds.  Initially, they thought it was from the steroids, but it didn't go down.  I thought it was because of change in activity level, and slight weight gain, but I've been fairly active and my doc thinks I'm at a healthy weight.  Primary care doc says I was just a hypertension case waiting to happen, and CK just pushed me over the edge.

On the other hand, I wrote to Dr. Chang at Stanford, and he said he doesn't think a right-side AN like mine could cause hypertension.  However, he told me to look at the work of neurosurgeon Peter Janetta, who has studied the effects of left-sided brain stem compression on hypertension.  In fact, if you look in the general AN forum, you'll see someone posted a link just this week about Type II diabetes and compression of the medulla, by Dr. Janetta.  This article references his other work.  I've had too many other "fish to fry" than to go searching for answers to my bp probs (I've got balance and vision issues, and am going to the vestibular disorders clinic in a couple weeks)

Here's hoping everything levels out for you over the next few weeks.  Stay as active as the docs allow, and eat healthy!

[maro]

Hello everybody,
My husband got AN removed from the right side 11 days ago, besides CFS leakage that was fiixed with a lumbar tube apparently everything was OK until yesterday he started to experience some numbness on his right side and seems that he can't close his eye, is this possible that this happen when the doctor said - no damage to the facial nerve was done.  It is poslibble that his condition is going to get better, worse, what can I expect? the doctor didn't talk much about this because all the time he was in the hospital appeared that no damage was done. Also his headaches have increased tremendusly. Thanks for your help .

[jerseygirl]

Hi Maro,

Sounds like your husband is experiencing delayed facial paralysis. It happens 10 days post-op, especially after discontinuation of steroids because of post surgical swelling. It reaches its highest point at this time. The prognosis is very good, most patients experience complete recovery but it happens at different times for different people.

                   Eve

[maro]

Thanks a lot Eve, I am glad to hear that I didn't know if this was goingt to continue-  they don't explain much in the hospital, they give you a booklet and that'd it . I have another question. How long this last?

[jerseygirl]

Maro,

This is likely to get worse before it gets better and then completely resolves itself over time. I had no facial paralysis after the first surgery, on day 11 same thing like your husband experiences now started to happen. A few days later I had full facial paralysis. A couple of weeks later it reversed its course but recovery was much slower than its dramatic  appearance. I reached my fully normal function after 1.5 - 2 years. At this point nobody (even myself) could tell a difference between 2 sides of the face. Believe you or not I had a second AN surgery and that came out fine, no facial paralysis.

 Everybody is truly very different in their recovery   times and patterns but just prepare your husband that worse things very well might happen to his face in the next few days, followed by improvement after a few weeks. Best of luck, hope the worst is behind you.

                Eve

[maro]

Thanks a lot for the information! scare me to hear that but at least I am somehow prepare for that. I will keep you updated- and hoping for a miracle for my husband and the rest of you guys that are going thru the same issues. I will keep everybody in my prayers. MARO