I haven't been here for a long time (since I was 3 weeks post-op last December); trying to catch up with my life, work and hang in there with all my issues, which have turned out to be more significant than I thought they would be...I should explain also that I did not, in fact, have an acoustic neuroma...during surgery it was revealed that I had a facial nerve neuroma, and in order to remove it, my surgeons (both excellent) had to sever the nerve and perform a graft; 10 months later, I have no movement in my face on the affected side, although I'm told I have good muscle tone; I also have incomplete lid closure, a drippy nose, dry eye, pain in my face, balance problems, very significant memory problems...somehow I keep ticking. However, lately I have been experiencing a feeling of fullness in my head on the right (affected side) and decreased hearing (although I have some hearing in that ear, it is tinny, distorted); my balance is also off and I have fallen twice in the last week - once down the stairs and once while bending over to pick up a piece of paper. Yesterday I saw my surgeon and he thinks my inner ear reacted to the surgery by becoming inflamed and retaining fluid, and that I may be developing Meniere's Disease. I read up on it and wanted to cry - it seems that people who have it are subject to attacks of vertigo and dizziness almost completely out of the blue - sometimes so severe that they are confined to bed until the attack passes, after which they sleep for hours or even days, because the aftermath is one of extreme fatigue. Has anyone else developed this or even heard of it happening after facial nerve or acoustic neuroma surgery?
I also have BPPV due to the dislocation of calcium crystals, which, if I'm not mistaken, is another source of dizziness not related to the Meniere's. As it seems that I am developing into one dizzy broad, any info would be appreciated!
