Post Gamma Knife Recovery

[salomon]

Looks like the end of july l will be having Gamma Knife surgery at Emory with Dr Hui-Kuo Shu.

My question is (the best guess or reasonable response) how long before l can get back to working,going to the gym,and just plain being myself? l have not had vertigo or balance issues.l have only had hearing loss.My wife wants me to be still and not do anything.Which will be difficult for l have an extremely active life!

Help me out with your best response

Thank you

[Jet747]

Salomon,

I have no details about your tumor size, location or your general well being...nor have I ever studied GK recovery, in general. Nor am I a qualified expert.

I mention the above items so you take my answer with a grain of salt.

I recovered "mostly" in about a week.  I'd say 70%.

It took about a month to feel at 95%.

I'm sure we all react differently to GK in my case I'd say a general feeling of "worn out" would best describe the following couple weeks.

I'm sure you'll do great!!!

Best of luck to you,
Jet

[Patti]

The day after mine I rested but didn't feel the need to.  The next day I was out planting bulbs in my gardens. Never felt anything different. I had a few facial jolts a few months later, but fortunately I wasn't in the car.

[salomon]

Salomon,

I have no details about your tumor size, location or your general well being...nor have I ever studied GK recovery, in general. Nor am I a qualified expert.

I mention the above items so you take my answer with a grain of salt.

I recovered "mostly" in about a week.  I'd say 70%.

It took about a month to feel at 95%.

I'm sure we all react differently to GK in my case I'd say a general feeling of "worn out" would best describe the following couple weeks.

I'm sure you'll do great!!!

Best of luck to you,
Jet

Thank you for your reply! My tumor at last year's MRI was right at 8mm between brainstem and cochlear.i have had hearing loss,but that is it for the last 5 years.l am 60 years old,work out 4 times (1-1.5 hrs) a week and ride bikes 3 times a week for at least 16-20 miles each session.Plus l ride stand up jet skis.So l have an active life as you can tell.
l'm looking forward to getting this all behind me,cause it is a cloud that has been following me.l'm scared,but feel that is a normal reaction to zapping you with a ray gun!   

Would appreciate more comments for or against

thanks

[ANSydney]

salomon, given the duration of your symptoms and size, I would wait for MRI confirmation of any tumor growth. Get the MRI on disk and check for yourself.

If there is no (or little growth) and all you have is hearing loss, active treatment is probably unwarranted.

[rupert]

A very expensive ray gun Salomon.     You should have no problems resuming your exercises after treatment.  A good rule of thumb is just listen to your body.  If your body tells you that you need some rest, just rest.  Your body is very good at telling you what you need.  Seeing you are very active now I believe that will only help you.   No worries, just a walk in the park.  Good luck to you.

[Glupson]

Hello Salomon,

For me, after 1.8cm tumor traitement, I made my first 2 hours walk just a day after traitement. I had a lot of "soft" activity during the first month, with traveling, partying, and after that first 30 days, the life was just as it was before.

[salomon]

Sounds Great @Glupson
An update on my condition.Got the MRI back and reviewed with the Doc.Some growth but the tumor was working its way back on the nerves from the pic last year and the one done on June the 6th.l decided to go ahead and have the radiation treatment.So l had the mask made as well as a CT scan.As l walked out of the clinic the nurse handed me an appointment card for the procedure the following Friday! Oh crap! This was too soon,but my wife and l discussed at length and decided to go ahead.

One week later l came back to Emory to have the procedure done.Although the mask was quite intense the first few minutes,l calmed down and about 30 min later was all done.

lt has been 6 days post treatment.Had a slight headache for the first couple days,but nothing (so far) since.l have been tired all week but wake up ready to go! Have been back to the gym starting Monday after the procedure and went several more times during the week.Also got several bike rides in last week.l am taking one day at a time,but trying to continue with a normal life.l will keep you all posted as to my condition for the next several months.

[Glupson]

Happy that it happened so well for you!
Obviously, it is not over - you will have your follow-up MRIs and each time some apprehension befor the results, it simply becomes a part of your life. But usually, things go just fine.

I wish you the best, continue your active life and enjoy!

[salomon]

Just wanted to give an update on my condition.Great! The procedure was done 3 weeks ago yesterday.As far as my condition goes l really can't tell you anything has changed.l have had some days that l am tired,but l haven't stopped working out and riding my bike.My job is generally outside too.

A couple things l haven't said is that l changed my whole diet around a few years ago trying to "starve" the tumor.l went vegan the first year and the last 2 years as a vegetarian (only fish and chicken).Also,l don't do any processed or fake sugar,just local unpasteurized honey.Some of you all may laugh and call it BS but that all started with a nutritionist that l started seeing.So whether or not my lifestyle has anything at all to do with my recovery l believe in it! And will continue doing the same cause l feel so much better now.

l will continue watching to see if any symptoms come up and will take appropriate action if and when that does occur,but for now l will continue my life as previously said.And will also let you all know if anything comes up and will give updates too!

[salomon]

September has arrived and l'm still kickin' pretty good! No side effects,which l am tickled pink! Just hoping there is nothing down the road coming up.l have my first post bike race coming up in a few weeks that l have been training for the last month. 56 miles will be short but excited to see if l can place well.Not expecting anything except finishing.........

Keep on truckin folks!

[salomon]

Last post was back in Sept and nothing new to report.All seems normal from day to day.Still have an occasional day that l'm tired,but seems like everything is normal.

 Happy New Year to all!

[Jet747]

Salomon,

Good to hear you continue to be doing great!

Wish you and your family a happy 2018!!!

BR,
Jet

[salomon]

"Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic."
Got this caption from ANA when l decided to give an update.

So it's been a 120 days since my last report.Not a lot to add,been doing great on most everything this year.l have lost most of my hearing on the side of the tumor,but that was expected.Very slight balance issues.My wife retired the first of this year which left us without insurance.Cobra was incredibly expensive (around $2000) a month.*Note: Does your employer really want for you to pay that much! Checked with several other insurance company's but still a lot to pay after trying to adjust to one income.And we missed signing up for Healthcare.gov by just a few days.So this year we just went without..
Good news though,l just got us signed up for coverage through Healthcare/Obamacare for 2019.Somewhat ironic is it's the same insurance that we have had through my wife's previous employment.At about half the cost with a subsidy.
Because of no ins,l haven't went back for an MRI,but will be scheduling soon as coverage starts.

Not much else to report except a season ending accident which shredded my left Rotator Cuff.Had surgery on Dec 29th,2017.Which we didn't pay anything for because the deductible and max out of pocket had been paid from the GK procedure.The surgeon said you have two dates to choose to have the procedure done.Dec 29th or Jan 6th of 2018.Gee,which one should l choose!

Oh,l did purchase (thru an audiologist) a set of hearing aids cause just one wasn't working too well.Best thing l could have done.My cell phone bluetooth's right into the hearing aids.And l can also stream music.

Hope this will thread will help others decide what is best for them!

[Usone123]

HI - I know it's been a few months, just curious on your status now and if you've had a follow-up MRI.  I'm in the Atlanta metro too and reviewing my options for treatment and doctors now,.