Michael ~
Your questions have been ably answered by the previous posters but I wanted to mention something that I've observed via the many posts I've read from post-op patients struggling with deficits in the weeks and months following their AN removal.
Neurosurgeons, otolaryngologists and neurologists are focused on successfully removing the tumor from your skull without endangering your life or doing any real damage to your cranial nerves beyond what the growing tumor has already accomplished. This is why nerve monitoring is routinely used during AN resections. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the hyper-sensitive, delicate nerves and the tiny area that the doctors have to work in (which is why the surgery is performed under a microscope) there is often some degree of nerve damage that manifests in the kinds of issues you're dealing with. These problems are usually temporary but, as in your case, quite annoying, even life-altering. The doctors that performed the surgery are very likely sorry you're having these problems and hope they'll be resolved soon but in their estimation, they did their job - they safely removed the AN - and subsequent issues are not really in their field of expertise so they tend to be unhelpful, even dismissive, in some of the more extreme cases. This often frustrates the recovering AN surgery patient. Some get very upset, and I can understand why. What I don't understand is why these surgeons don't simply refer their post-op AN patients struggling with problems related to the surgery, to a doctor or physical therapist that might be able to offer the patient some relief. I know some AN doctors do this but many don't. They just tell their AN patient "that happens" and allow the patient to wrestle with his or her deficits. The patient can easily become depressed at the glacial pace of their recovery and attaining the normalcy they quite naturally seek. This is unnecessary, in my opinion.
I would suggest seeking a doctor or therapist that may be able to assist you with some of the problems you're dealing with as you recover. Being annoyed with your doctor is a normal reaction but won't get you anywhere because, even if he is sympathetic, he is not likely to be of much real help at this point, other than to monitor your overall recovery and check your MRI reports as they come due.
You do seem to be recovering slowly but surely, which is a positive sign. You may have to challenge yourself at some point in order to surmount the usual problems post-op AN patients often have but generally, from the content of your posts it appears as if you're doing relatively well just a few months out of AN surgery, which, as you know, is major surgery. I trust you'll continue to recover at a good pace and of course, we appreciate your presence and contributions to the ANA website forums.
Jim
