Hi Scott,
We've chatted before about this and you've read my story....but here I go again!
What are you nervous about exactly? Surely GK can't be as daunting as two brain surgeries!! Is it just because it's another procedure that you've never had before or are you nervous about radiation or just the major uncomfortableness of it all?
I recently had to undergo the common procedure of colonoscopy for colon cancer screening. My husband had this already, my aunt had this, my parents had this and now it was my turn. I'd heard them all say that the "getting ready" part was far worse than the actual procedure. But, after the 4 days of getting ready and the big "clean out" (I know...too much information!
) I was still nervous about the actual procedure. Well, duh.....they drug ya! Piece of cake.
So, here's my take on the above:
#1 New procedure? After two surgeries, you probably want another "procedure" like you need a hole in your head.
Sorry, Scott...couldn't resist! Anyway, the only holes you get are 4 very tiny pin sites that heal quickly. And as far as "procedures" go, this one certainly is less invasive than a colonoscopy, and it's more interesting and it does have the WOW factor with the cool techno-gadget-Cobalt 60 stuff you can impress your friends with.
#2 Radiation? Scott you've probably read the other posts on this issue. It's technology that helps people and kills tumors.
#3 Major uncomfortableness (I think that's a real word...) Okay, everyone is a bit different here. And maybe it depends on your doctor and how much meds they give you or something, but the cream on the head deadened the skin, the quick needle injection of further local anesthetic really numbed the pin sites for me, so that when they put on the headframe (after I'd received the relaxing white pill - that's the duh, they drug ya part again...) I don't remember any pain associated with it - only pressure. The front right side of my head dug in a little deeper for some reason and that's where it was the most noticeable. The next day, the head nurse called me and asked..."Was any part of this painful?" They wanted to know! They don't want to hurt you! I said no. But, other's have remarked that they had a bit of pain with the headframe. Personal sensitivity to pain, amount of anesthetic....for whatever reason, this might be different for you. After that there is nothing else painful about the rest of the GK. I went in at 6 AM and I was home before noon. The pin sites were a little sore after the anesthetic wore off, and it's sort of weird because the anesthetic sort of drifts around your head, I guess because there isn't that much tissue to absorb it or something...so you get weird little numb spots as it travels around. Nothing painful....just weird. And if you've done steroids already, you probably know what that's like. And for me, after stirring up my AN, the nerves on my AN side of my face went crazy and I felt like I'd been burned but it was tingling and lighting up the nerves like a neon sign on the fritz. I held a cool washcloth to my face. And, for me, there was no way on God's Green Earth that I would have been able to go to work for at least two weeks. It and the steroids and the insomnia really wiped me out.
But, Scott, you've had TWO surgeries and the rotten thing is still hanging on my by it's fingernails. After all of that, you might as well deal the death blow to that stupid thing in your head, and nuke it one way or another. And when it's all said and done, you'll probably say, "Piece of cake!".
With kindest regards for the very best outcome, no matter WHAT YOU DO!!!!!
Sue in Vancouver
