Surgery Concerns...:(

[Sobes]

As they say, man planned - God laughed!

Jan, that is great! I've never heard that before. lol Thank you for your reply and the chuckle!

Bren~

[nteeman]

As they say, man planned - God laughed!

Jan, that is great! I've never heard that before. lol Thank you for your reply and the chuckle!

Bren~

Yes a great Yiddish adage "Mensch tracht, Gott lacht."

[ppearl214]

As they say, man planned - God laughed!

Jan, that is great! I've never heard that before. lol Thank you for your reply and the chuckle!

Bren~

Yes a great Yiddish adage "Mensch tracht, Gott lacht."

Neal, my father would be very proud of you (he speaks fluent Yiddish!)
Phyl

[leapyrtwins]

Actually I think it's technically supposed to be "Man plans, God laughs"  and I just heard it myself very recently.

I couldn't help thinking "how true" 

Jan

[mar50]

Hi Bren! I just wanted to chime in on the contact lens issue - I never even thought about it prior to surgery.  But for some reason afterward, wearing contacts became a big issue for me.  I think it somehow symbolized returning to "normal", whatever that is 
Even though I still have an incomplete blink in my AN side eye, I switched to daily wear disposable lenses, which are very, very thin.  They don't seem to get as dry, and have been working fine.  I had to try a couple of different brands, and they do cost a little more (about $30 for a 30-day supply), but I have been thrilled to be able to wear them again.  I was able to start wearing them about 6 months post surgery (3 months post GK).

I wish you all the best for a speedy recovery!!

Martha 

[cecile k]

Hi Bren:

Hope you don't mind me chiming in a little late here :-)  Even with a great recovery, heading back to work 3 weeks post op would be pushing it. I would give yourself at least 6 weeks and then head back part time.

It's been 8 years post op for me now - it was six weeks before I was able to handle things on my own at home (SAHM of five boys :-) and then I found fatigue to be a huge factor. Everyone recovers differently but I would still aim for taking at least six weeks off from work to give your body a lot of time to heal. Wishing you all the best!

Cecile

[another NY postie]

Bren,
Just read your thread.  I am currently 8 weeks post op and have had an remarkable recovery.  I had middle fosa and since about the first week, I have not needed (or been able to for that matter) nap in the afternoon.  I have not, however, ever been a good napper so genetics may play a part in this.  My surgery was only 4 hours so I am also thinking that I didn't experience the brain fatigue because of the duration of surgery.  That being said, I would find myself very tired around 7 pm.  It looks like your hours are late afternoon/evening so this may be an issue with you.  Any possibility you can take an earlier shift in the beginning days?  I think if I had a low key, desk job, I could have gone back easily about week 5.  I do not, however, as I am a teacher, so I have a little more time.  The main issue for me right now is building up stamina so I can be on my feet all day and getting used to noisy environments as I did end up SSD and middle school is very noisy.  It does not look like you have a low key job, either, so I am betting you are going to need more time too.  I would get the dr to give you 6-8 weeks and then you can see how you feel and go back earlier if you are up for it.  Any chance you can go back initially part-time?  That seems the best re-entry for most people.  I do not have that option so the dr. wrote a note for me for longer since it will be 100% once I return.

Hoping your surgery goes without a hitch and you are back on your feet before you know it!
Cheryl

[pjb]

Hi, sorry to hear about your upcoming surgery but yes everyone is different what I didn't do which I should have is started out with more time off you do have  FLMA for 3 months they have to keep your job, if you want to go back earlier than you can do so.  What I did was kept extending it and that wasn't good either with my place of employment and also the doctor had to keep writing disability papers.  Best to plan for a longer recovery period then sooner I had other complications other than from the surgery that set my recovery back a few weeks more. But definitely go back part time at first I went full time and that was not a good. Also I think for most of us the memory and concentration seems to affect alot of people with you position both mentally and physically you need time to heal... my prayers will be with you..

[Sobes]

I was able to start wearing them about 6 months post surgery (3 months post GK).

Martha- thanks for the info about contacts ...very good to know and good advice. So you had GK and surgery?? 

Cheryl, pbjork,  and Cecile- thank you for the advice and input... it is all very helpful to me. My mind seems so chaotic right now. I am an "information junkie" but feel my mind is overloaded right now. Hearing words of encouragement and others' experiences seems to be very helpful...helps "sort" things out...thank you!


Bren~ 

[Pooter]

Bren,

I never officially welcomed ya to the forum, so welcome.  I'm always a day late and a dollar short. 

I was able to wear contacts maybe 2 months or so after retrosig surgery.  I was itching to wear them but didn't until I got the all clear from my surgeon and my eye doctor.  It was in my top 3 of questions at every follow up.

I documented my "story" from just before diagnosis until well into recovery with all of the ups and downs in between.  If you're looking for more information, please read mine.  It's a long read, but it's pretty detailed from the patient's (me) perspective.

Regards,
Brian

[Sobes]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the welcome! I too am usually a day late and a dollar short! lol That's great info on the contacts. I only have 1 pair of cheap glasses and haven't had them "updated" in a very long time as I only wear them right before bed...maybe a few minutes! I am anxious to read your story...thanks

Bren~

[Pooter]

Bren,

Given that your glasses are old, if your prescription has changed much since you got them it may be worth your time now to get them updated before treatment.  If you do, I would recommend that you get the kind of frames that are expandable beyond their normal range (not sure what you call them).  If you have to wear them post surgery, then you'll be in a headbandage for a little bit after surgery and wearing traditional glasses can be problematic at best.  If you're like me and have to wear a head bandage for an extended period of time (I was in one for a month or so after surgery), then you'll go nuts not being able to wear your glasses right.  The expandable part will make it easier to wear.

Just a thought if you had the inkling to update them before treatment.

Btw, didn't say it, but the link to my story is in my "signature" below..

Happy reading!

Regards,
Brian

[wendysig]

Hi Bren,

Sorry I am very late in coming to this thread.  I wanted to weigh in too on the contact lens issue.  I also wear contact lenses and although I found them uncomfortable directly after surgery I did eventually start wearing them again early this year and actually could have done so sooner, i was just too lazy to go for another exam so get a new prescription (the old one was outdated).  I wear them all the time and even (shame on me) sleep in them for a few days at a time without a problem.  Of course, everyone is different.  As Brian suggested, if the prescription in your glasses is not current, I would get them upgraded for just in case purposes.  No being able to see properly is very annoying.

Wendy

[Debbi]

Hey Bran-

Well, since Pooter and I had our surgery 8 days apart, I will blame him for me not seeing this thread until now!  (How do you like my thinking on that Pooter? )

I agree with everyone that 3 weeks may be optimistic.  I went back to VERY limited hours at a little past 2 weeks, but I am a coach, set my own schedule, and work from home.  I did not get back to full time until about 8 weeks.  Never wore contacts, so can't comment on that.  Much will depend on whether or not you have eye issues after surgery.  My eye is completely dry, so contacts are probably never an option - but its okay because I like my glasses. 

I guess the answer to all your questions is ... it depends! 

Hope you are enjoying some family time this weekend.

Debbi

[EJTampa]

I'm posting mainly so that Debbi doesn't have to be the latest to get to this thread (ok, not really). 
 
One thing I haven't seen mentioned (could have missed it) is the potential balance issues.  I had my surgery on March 5th of this year and was home on March 6th!  I had a great outcome, some headaches now, but easily managed with OTC meds.  If my memory serves me, I was still out of work for 5 weeks.  For me, it was the balance/light-headedness issues that kept me from driving.  If your AN has not yet had any negative impact on your vestibular nerve, then you could very well be battling some vestibular deficiencies for several weeks.  One part of my commute involves a tight loop to get on the interstate.  This really threw me for a (dare I say) loop .  It has gotten much better now, but I still get light headed, especially with up and down motion of my head (it's easier to shake my head side to side than up and down, so I say "no" a lot more than "yes" now . )
 
Did they test your vestibular system yet?  I had some degradation, but not enough to be noticeable by me, or enough for my left side to begin taking over for my right.
 
Ernie