Any success stories and positive experiences with AN surgery?

[B Matthew]

Hello all.  I've just landed on this forum and it's a bit terrifying scrolling through the Post-Treatment forums and reading a lot of the thread titles.  It seems several posts are not  very positive and it appears a lot of people are looking for help/feedback due to having bad symptoms post surgery.

I certainly don't want to freak myself out by reading about all these negative experiences as my anxiety has already spiked from reading just a few threads.  So I figured I would start a thread that's dedicated to success stories and positive experiences after having AN surgery.  To someone like me who's just landed here, I would consider positive experiences to be when active people are able to get back to their regular lifestyle and feel mostly "normal" again after surgery.  Success stories would also mean you aren't dealing with serious balance issues, fatigue, vertigo, wonky-head, depression, foggy head, lightheadedness, memory loss, etc. that is negatively affecting your lifestyle after AN surgery/recovery.  I realize life will never be the same again, but I'm hoping there are many stories of people getting back to close to where they were before surgery.  Is it possible that a lot of people who don't have lingering issues and are able to get back to a "normal" life within 6-12 months don't post here?

I'm sure there has to be success stories here so it would be great if people could post links those threads here as my goal is to build a consolidated list of positive threads to read for encouragement.  It would also be great if any of you who feel pretty close to "normal" again after AN surgery could share your stories in this thread, even if it's already been posted elsewhere.  This would be great for people like me who just arrived on scene to read some encouraging stories all in one place instead of trying to search for them amongst all the scary thread titles.

I'm a very active 50yr old male with a ton of hobbies including surfing, snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking, motocross, 4-wheel racing, and golf.  I'll be looking to remove my AN with the retrosigmoid approach soon, and I'm hoping to read stories of other active people out there like myself who were able to got back to doing the things they love, and live a "normal" life again after surgery. 

Your positive feedback and encouragement is much appreciated.

[MarlaB]

I'm 15 years out and one of the moderators on this forum and I can tell you that I feel that my outcome was and remains very successful.

Yes, many of the current commenters here are looking for ongoing support for ongoing issues, but many are not. What's more common is for folks to be here for the pre-diagnosis, pre-treatment and post-treatment, and when all goes well, they go on with their lives. I don't recall seeing very many "hey my outcome was great/awesome/perfect" but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I know how frightened I was when I was first diagnosed, and what helped me was to be as prepared as I could be for any eventuality.

I hope you get a lot of responses to your request here, but even if you don't, know that at every/any point in time of your journey, we are here.

Wishing you the best.

Marla B

Marla

[bfoley]

Greetings B Matthew-

I was in my 50s for diagnosis - decided on Gamma as my initial treatment. At the 3 year post MRI - Gamma was determined to be a failure. So I had surgery translab at Mayo.

Post surgery there is a new normal. Hearing was already gone on tumor side so that was not a big deal.  I feel that I am doing great now.  I have not slowed down.  I figured out new/different ways to address any issues I run into with what I want to do.  I work on balance daily.  I have worked my way into standing on one leg to put my socks on.  It takes longer but I know its better for me. People ask why not sit down to do it - but I want to keep challenging myself!  I do vestibular exercises daily on my walks. I had a lot of support from family and got great advice through the forum.

Please know that a lot of people come here if they have issues, so it may be skewed to that direction.  Its not all wine and roses, and everyones circumstances are different.  I feel blessed.

If I can share one part from "Don't Worry" by Shunmyo Masuno that I find meaningful (and read over and over) -

In Zen we say, "Every day is a good day."
This is not to say that life is a succession of good days. 
There will be sunny days and rainy days.  Sometimes you'll be able to bathe in that gentle sunshine, and other times you'll need to bear up against the cold wind.  But no matter what, you will gain the invaluable experience of having lived that day, and it will become precious to your existence.  The Zen interpretation of this is that all days are significant, and therefore there is always good to be found.
Your circumstances should have no influence on the way you live your life.
The way you live your life will affect how you perceive your circumstances.

Wishing you peace through your journey!

[DanFouratt]

Mathew,

I am not sure what surgery you are considering.  I went with radio surgery (CK).  I feel my was very successful. i played gold (walked) 4 days after treatment.  The day after treatment I drove 2.5 hours, shopped with my wife for multiple hours and drove back. I had tinnitus ans SS before had and I still do,  in the last 1.5 years plus no new symptoms. I feel I am successful outcome.

Dan