Hi Lisa,
Most importantly, I want to say I'm not feeling discouraged now and I don't regret my decision. I just had to keep reminding myself "I will feel better and it had to happen sooner or later." The surgery and all the unpleasantness that followed just seems like a bad dream. I was very out of sorts from the anesthesia and several of the medications I was taking had nasty side-effects, so the laying down with eyes closed wasn't purely balance related.
It's funny, I spent a lot of time over the past few weeks thinking about how to describe balance problems and dizziness, and what a struggle it seems to be.
I had a few balance-related problems before surgery: particularly motion sickness and room spinning. The motion sickness was so bad I couldn't even swim without feeling terrible and needing to lay down. So far all I know post-op is I seem to be able to ride in the car without problems. NOTE: despite having started since my AN was diagnosed and never having had this problem before, more than one ENT told me this is unrelated. I'm very skeptical about that. I'd love to hear if anyone else has struggled with motion sickness seemingly due to the AN.
The spinning thing felt like I was still but the whole room was spinning around me, is that what it's like for you? In both cases I'd take dramamine or meclazine and lay down until it stopped. Based on what I've read and heard from doctors it's hard to predict who'll have a hard time balance-wise after surgery, which stinks.
I hear you about the contacts and sleeping. Nice to just be able to put on glasses if/when you want to, but the pressure on the incision is uncomfortable - at least for the middle fossa approach.
I wish you the best of luck with your follow-up appointment. Don't be discouraged if a single logical answer doesn't present itself. As many, many people here can attest, it can be a difficult decision. I got 4 opinions in total and none were the same! This forum is an excellent sounding board!
All the best,
Liz
