Side affect following CK

[Marty84]

I am a 84 year old male who had CK radiation 21/2 years ago for an acoustic Neuroma.  follow up MRI's indicate Tumor is shrinking.  However my balance has worsened and I feel very fatigued every day.  This has also caused depresion.  During the past few years I also suffered a few mini strokes and one regular stroke I have taken a few programs to deal with the balance issues.  In each case I dropped the programs because they made me feel worse.  However I read on this site that feeling worse is not unusual.  About a month ago I joined a Vestibular Therapy session and go twice a week.....I don't feel any better but I will stick with the program in hopes it will help.  Would welcome any comments from others who have experienced similar affect's.

Marty

[donjehle]

Hi Marty84, and thank you for posting your experience here on the ANA Forums.  You may be surprised at the number of people who will read your post (though most will not respond).

My Vestibular Therapist would do periodic testing on my progress.  I had to learn not to base my progress on my feelings.  Sometimes I felt like I was not making any progress, sometimes I felt I might be doing a little better, and sometimes I felt like I was doing worse.  And all of that might have been true because our progress is rarely in a straight line.  We might have good days and have bad days.

But I learned to leave the results of my progress with my vestibular therapist.  The first day I saw her, I fell several times (fortunately, I had a safety harness on).  The last time I saw her, and she tested me, she told me that my balance was actually better than most people my age.  I had improved immensely.  However, I did not always feel like I was progressing.

So, I just want to encourage you to continue.  I will be interested on seeing your post in another few months of how you are doing with your balance.

Best wishes with your therapy!
Don