First, let me thank all who have so thoughtfully been supportive through this forum. It has been kindly received.
On October 22nd I underwent a middle fossa craniotomy at Stanford with Drs. Jackler and Harsh. I was fortuntate that the surgery was performed without any major complications. The tumor was removed completely.
The post-op phase has been quite an experience. You see, prior to the surgery my vestibular nerve was checked and found to be intact. During the surgery they had to sever the superior vestibular nerve to get to the inferior vestibular nerve where the tumor was located. This was a sudden shock to my balance system. The majority of my post-op challenge has been dealing with the vertigo and trying to regaining balance and nausea. I also have fairly impressive double vision that shows up when I'm tired. It has shown tremendous improvement from even last week and I'm very grateful to be where I am now.
I have very little hearing remaining in my right ear, although the formal testing isn't for 3 more weeks. I have very loud tinnitus in the right ear that can be somewhat disturbing, but I have gotten more used to it as time has gone by. It seems to get louder as the background ambient noise gets louder.
Post-op my facial nerve function deteriorated to a House-Brackman 4/6, but quickly improved over the course of the next 5 days. At present it is a 2/6. I frankly only notice it when I smile wide or when I shampoo my hair (can't close my eye tight so shampoo leaks in).
Thank you to those who previously commented on Vestibular Rehab. I started this on monday and it has been great. I have a series of exercises that I do daily and it really does seem to help. With the help of my father, I built a mini, low, balance beam that I've been using for heel to toe walks and balance while quickly looking in akward directions. Challenging, but good.
I find that my tiredness comes in waves. Sometimes I feel pretty good and just as quickly I feel exhausted. Sometimes I feel like I literally can't lift a finger. I knew that going in, but it has taken on a whole new meaning post op.
I try to walk daily. The first 5 days I couldn't walk without a walker, then I moved on to a 4-pronged cane, then nothing. The biggest challenge, by far, has been the dysequilibrium. Everything moves--walls, floor, objects--constantly. Fortunately, this has truly gotten better, every day. I've tried my best to walk on every surface type at my disposal.
My headache is quite tolerable. After 2 days post-op I had the nurses stop all narcotic pain medications. It was clouding my thought process and making it more difficult to try to walk. I knew I needed to walk ASAP to avoid complications, but between the intense vertigo and narcotics, it was quite a challenge at first. At post op day #3, I went to Tylenol and then nothing. My headache is quite minimal, fortunately.
I was on 4 separate anti-nausea medications for the first 5 days (Scopolamine, Anzimet, Zofran and Reglan). That still didn't cut it. But, day by day, as the vertigo improved, so did the nausea. I've been off all these meds for 8 days now. I still get occasional nausea (usually after I've been doing my vestibular rehab exercises).
So, all things considered, I'm very grateful for a positive outcome to a difficult situation. I knew the first few weeks would be the toughest, and that has certainly been the case. I can honestly say that I feel better and better on a daily basis. I wish to extend my sincere thanks to all those who freely shared their experience with me prior to surgery. It most certainly helped me prepare for, what may prove to be, the most physically challenging episode of my life.
D--
