First time Poster, surgery in July

[CHD63]

.... and a welcome to you, Darin!

My husband's niece lives in Grand Rapids ..... absolutely beautiful state!  Years ago we took the ferry from Luddington to Manitowoc (spelling??) and it was a beautiful drive through Michigan.

Sorry you are having to deal with an AN but you will make many friends here on the Forum to walk with you through the maze of treatment options, decisions, and after treatment.

Clarice

[kkweiher]

Hi Darrin,

Glad you found this awesome place.  It was a fountain of information for me when I went through my AN experience.  My tumor was about the size of yours and I had it removed Translab.  My surgery was in April of 2006 and life is still good!!!!! Things are a little different but I was one of the lucky people to not have any problems, except the surgery lasted for almost 11 hours.  I have a little problem with memory, but have been tested and it seems I don't forget as much, its just I don't hear whats being said in the first place.  I, like you, did not realize I had ringing in my ear until after being tested.  I really did n't realize I had a balance issue until after being diagnosed.  Its funny the way we make excuses about things.  I remember I was with my daughter at the mall before I found out abount the AN and I kept running her into the wall.  Now we know why....guess I did have a balance issue.  If you have n't talk to your doctor about this you may want to...  Ask him if he feels your chances of headaches will be greater doing the procedure where they go in at the back.  I gave up hearing on my left side because my doctor had told me the chances of frequent migraines were possible the other way.......but now even though I have no hearing my ringing is alot louder and constant.  I still occasionly walk as though I have been overserved but usually just when I am really tired.  I went back to work after 3 1/2 weeks.  I work as a Cashier for a small community bank and it is sometimes difficult to concentrate I have found I do most everything I did before.  My multi-tasking skills are n't as good but I can still perform. 

I hope your surgery goes well.  Like you I had complete faith in my surgeons!!!!!  Good luck!!!!!!

[MAlegant]

Hi Darin,
As others have said, being young and fit will really help you.  I was old (48) and fit and I know it helped me.  I was running again in about 3/4 weeks, and by 12 weeks or so I was back to my usual distance and pace.  Another words, you will likely recover well and be back to your normal lifestyle relatively quickly.  If you have balance issues you will deal with those.  Who knows, you may even be stand-up paddle boarding! I would definitely get ready for surgery by training.  And buy the bike.
Marci

[grega]

Hi Darin, and welcome!

Even tho you might be feelin overwhelmed by all this brain tumor stuff, specially with everything else going on in your life, you're doin just what many others have done to get thru the initial obstacles ... learning, asking lotsa questions, talking about your feelings and worries and joys in life, and reading others' stories and advice.

Hopefully this is what will make you feel very comfortable before and after what you face, as it has for me.  Very nice people, even tho I've not actually met any of them.

On May 6 you said about your neuro, "I felt so comfortable with him, and he answered all questions and never acted in a hurry at all.  He did say that for any reason I'm not comfortable with him, it's ok to look elsewhere."   Same obsevations I found in my Johns Hopkins neuro .... not being in a hurry is good!  And looking elsewhere is OK in this process.  Glad you found a neuro you like.

Another hope for you is that you bounce back to some normalcy as soon as possible, with minimal problems.  With that in mind, if summer activities are important to you, perhaps you can wait till the fall for the procedure you choose.  Your call, with your neuro's advice.

Look forward to your future posts!  Keep  -ing!
Greg

[catlover]

Hello Darin,
Welcome to us! Sorry, you have to join this club, but if you have an AN it's the right way to go! I'm sure you'll handle both the divorce and the AN surgery just fine. You are young and strong and I'm sure you'll get on that bike of yours before you know.

I'm about to have retrosigmoid approch on Wednesday 20th and I'm very scared to say the least.

Best wishes from Helene in Sweden

[Adrienne]

Hi Darin,

Sorry-a bit slow to the party here.  Truth be told, I've been limiting my time on this board since finding out my surgery date (this Tuesday, May 26th).  Before the date, I was spending hours and hours finding out everything I could.  Now, I kind of need to step back and not read the scary stuff anymore.  It's out of my hands, and I need to feel confident that I've done all I can to give myself the best outcome.  I'm working on picturing myself well and fully able after the surgery.  I can picture it-so that must be a good sign, right?

I thought *I* was young!  Bah ha ha.  I'm 36.  Don't burst my bubble.  I still feel like I'm 26.  Nothing wrong with that.

Like you, I enjoy exercising too.  In fact, I plan to play soccer on the night before my surgery!!!  My team is supportive and we all think it may be a good distraction.  I'm worried about getting back to my running, or doing exercise tapes though, I hope it doesn't take too long.  My ENG basically proved to me that my left side balance nerve is dead-as I had no response to the caloric test.  I'm hoping that means my balance won't be *too* bad.  Guess I'll let you know in a week or so!

Tell ya what, I'll go first.  I'll let you know how it went, but only if it's positive.  You don't need any more scary outcomes/information!

Take care.  Lots of us in the same boat right now.  Good thing I love the water!

Adrienne

[suboo73]

Hi Darin!  Welcome to the forum - i am late to the party, too, so please forgive me!   
Sorry you had to join this club, but sounds like you are doing your research and making some BIG decisions for such a young person! (My daughter is 24, i can't imagine having to make these decision at that age!)  But you are young and fit, so keep that going and hopefully the surgery will go quickly and smoothly.

I am here with my sister.  She was diagnosed first, and i knew for years my hearing wasn't right. 
So i had an MRI, and then was diagnosed as well.

Keep posting and see if there is someone who can give us updates when you have surgery.
All my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Sincerely,
Sue