numb head

[lora]

As a general rule how long did you head stay numb around the surgical site.  This kinda makes me crazy especially washing my hair.  Bad enough half my head has 'peach fuzz' but it's the numbness that gets me!

[eugd]

I'm 6 months post op and its still numb, it takes a long time for the nerve to regenerate...

[Omaschwannoma]

I'm 2.5 years post surgery and still feel slight numbness.  It feels better now than in the beginning, so the nerves must be regenerating.  My husband had severe wound to his forhead in his teens and he says when he touches this area it feels numb (he's 57 years old now).  I guess it depends on nerves repairing.

[Yvette]

I'm 6 months out and about 50% of the feeling has just returned. Since I'm SSD, the loss of hearing makes things "different" on the AN side. Deafness and numbness kinda mingled. It took a while to realize that I was associating sound with touch-if I concentrated on just touch sensation I could tell it was coming back. Hard to explain, Yvette

[Jim Scott]

Thirteen months out of surgery and the incision site numbness is just now subsiding.  It takes time so we have to be patient, like it or not.

Jim

[leapyrtwins]

I'm approximately 8 weeks post op and I'd say the numbness on the left side (AN side) of my head is about 3/4 gone.  But now that my head feels semi-normal again, I'm noticing occasional headaches and the pain seems to be concentrated on the left side.   My AN didn't give me headaches prior to surgery, so I'm trying to decide if the headaches are due to the surgery, or if they are just headaches associated with other stuff currently in my life (exhaustion, lack of sleep, stress, etc.).

Anyone not have headaches prior to AN surgery, but developed them after surgery?  Is this common?

 

[jimmy r]

I had a few headaches prior to surgery but nothing serious. i had bad headaches the first 3 weeks and now i wake and feel a slight headache coming which i medicate with advil and coffee. i too had retro surgery -2.8 cm.

leaprytwins - i find it amazing that your AN grew 1 cm in less than 2 months. i had my first totally removed in 1987 ( 3cm) and thought they got it all. it took 20 years for another to grow to 2.8 cm. I saw no growth from the time of my first MRI to surgery 6 months later.

[matti]

I am 9 years post op and the AN side of my scalp is still numb.

Cheryl

[leapyrtwins]

leaprytwins - i find it amazing that your AN grew 1 cm in less than 2 months. i had my first totally removed in 1987 ( 3cm) and thought they got it all. it took 20 years for another to grow to 2.8 cm. I saw no growth from the time of my first MRI to surgery 6 months later.

Jimmy R -

I think the surgeons were amazed also; but then again, I'm just an amazing person LOL

Seriously though, I've had a few strange medical things throughout my adult life - things that were totally opposite of what they should have been.   Must just be the way I'm wired.

Wish the docs were able to attribute the rapid growth to something specific, but neither of them seemed to have any idea why it happened.  Neurotologist felt really bad because the growth caused the tumor to become more imbedded on the hearing nerve and they were unable to save it - hence my complete deafness on the left side.   He and the neurosurgeon felt it was better to "kill" the nerve than leave part of the tumor.  I have to say that I totally agree with them.

Are you saying that you had AN surgery not once, but twice?  How rare is that?  I was under the impression that once ANs were surgically removed they were gone forever.

Jan

[redgrl]

Im 10 months post op and still have numbness. It's still weird to wash my hair. 

[leapyrtwins]

Im 10 months post op and still have numbness. It's still weird to wash my hair. 

Redgrl -

you are SO right - I'm only a few months post op, but washing my hair is very bizarre.  But, I'm so grateful that I CAN wash it.  The nine days I spent post op before my doc gave me permission to wash my hair were some of the grossest (is that a word ) days I've ever experienced - glad that's over 

Jan

[jimmy r]

When i had my first surgery at HEI 20 years ago i was told that they got it all and was not told to have follow up MRI's. About a year ago i got a letter fron HEI saying there has been a small occassion of recurences and i should have an MRI. I waited a few months, but was getting sharp pain that i never had so i had the MRI and found a 2.8cm tumor. i was the 10th at HEI out of about 5000 surgeries- lucky me. I have an MRI today to see what is left - Dr barker did not want to cut my facial nerve which was wrapped around the tumor so he left part of it.

[leapyrtwins]

Ouch, Jimmy R.  Surgery, not once but twice 

Don't know if I could do that again.  You are a brave soul.

Hope today's MRI shows good results. 

Jan

[lora]

JimmyR==Be brave!  I just had 2 surgeries(within 2 months) and all I can say is you go in older and wiser!  Best of luck!!

[Battyp]

I think my numbness went away in my head at about 9 mos post op..wish it would in my face  Washing my and brushing my hair was weird...I still have days I just want to shave it off 

jimmy we had a same size tumor. I'm hoping the terms "we got it all" are true as I honestly do not know if I could do this again!