Greetings,
It is my 3 week post-surgery anniversary today.
It is soooo good to be on the rehab side of things!
My surgeons removed a "jelly bean" size neuroma from my ride inner ear canal.
The pre-surgical mri and my symptoms suggested that the neuroma was located on the cochlear nerve but it turned out to be attached to my vestibular nerve. Thus, alhough the surgery itself left me deaf on the right side, they were able to remove all of the neuroma (yep, I asked for pictures and saw for myself) and still leave the cochlear nerve intact. This is great because if anything should ever happen to my hearing on the left side (God forbid) they can install a BAJA implant and see if they can get any sound for me.
I had opted not to have a BAJA installed because my second opinion surgeon, Dr. Arts, at U. of MI. shared with me that many folks do not like them and end up not using them - leaving the risk of infection at the implant site for no reason. Post-surgically, I remain happy with that choice. I had already lost most of my hearing on that side before surgery and had made my adjustments.
Regarding one-sided balance issues, I am adapting just fine. I am able to walk with my dog up to 1/4 mile daily as of yesterday! We (that is me) are still slow and a little wobbly but we meet our goals. I think that a critical factor in my recovery was that my dog, Ruby, and I walked daily before surgery to work through the vertigo - it was way bad before surgery but I wanted my brain to make it's adjustments as much as possible before surgery. It also kept me in shape - I was hoping to offset muscle strength losses post- surgically. It really helped!
I was in the hospital a week and have been home for two weeks. I started walking just my block. I still tire easily - after our walk I rest most of the day and/or do light chores and activities so as not to overdo.
Another pre/post activity I did/do is playing Wii games to help my brain work through vertigo. It really helps! I recently read some literature stating that doing things with your non-dominant hand helps the brain also so I have been using either hand throughout the day. My goal is to beat/match all my dominant hand high scores
I still have a ways to go on that, however.
I do have some facial droopiness on my right side but I am doing all my exercises and it improves daily. Doc says he expects that I will regain 90% of that back over time. My right eye feels dry lately so I will check with him on what to do.
I am experiencing frequent low-grade headaches, but that is improving also. Tylenol X-strength helps alot but not totally. Patience, rehab and rest, I guess, eh? I also felt my vision was not quite as good at first after surgery but that seems to be dissipating - vision was really wonky before surgery.
One thing that does concern me is some mild to moderate intention tremors when using my left hand. It is my dominant hand and does not fit the AN profile for a neuroma the size of what I had. I will ask my neurosurgeon about it at my 6 week check up. Anyone else have this problem?
Although I am doing great regarding balance, I decided to do some rehab at the re-balance training center - it starts in two weeks. I want to make sure that I am not overlooking any exercises that will help me along the road to recovery. Given the hard economic times, I can't afford alot of rehab but I figure if they can teach me what to do, I can do the exercises at home.
Anyway, I am posting my results because reading about other forum members experiences before my surgery really helped me understand what I was going through and what to expect after surgery.
I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My ENT surgeon was Dr. Robert Daniels and my neurosurgeon was Dr. Bryan Figeroa. I would recommend them anytime. Dr. D. is a mite low on bedside manner but is one great surgeon. If you happen to live in/near eastern Michigan, Dr. Henry Arts at the U. of MI. is outstanding as well.
God bless, ya'll,
Diane
