surgery date!!!

[scarriegirl]

finally!  i am having retrosigmoid on nov. 17.  i am so relieved.  freaking out a bit about being under anasthesia for that long...but otherwise so happy to finally have a plan!
x
carrie

[wendysig]

Carrie,
Congratulations on getting your date for surgery.  Try to keep busy and occupied with other things and you'll find November 17 is closer than it seems.  If you can, please have someone update us afterwards on how your surgery went as we are always anxious to know.  Be sure to post your surgery on the AN calendar so we can all remember to wish you well.  I hope now that things are more settled you will find you are not quite as anxious as you have been.

Wendy 

[jazzfunkanne]

Hi Carrie good luck with the opx

[cindyj]

Hey Carrie,

Big step getting the surgery scheduled - congratulations!  I do know it feels good to have that phase of your journey taken care of.  I'll be right in front of you with mine - I'll try to set a "good example" for you to follow 

Hope you'll keep us posted,

Cindy

[MAlegant]

Carrie,
Retrosigmoid worked very well for me, so I'm a fan, as if anyone could be a fan of brain surgery!    (Time under anesthesia seems to vary so much between people--I was under for about 6 hours but I've seen posters out for as little as 4 hours to more than 12 hours.)  Try not to worry, it will soon be over, the tumor (or most of it) gone, and you will be on the road to recovery.
Best
Marci

[ppearl214]

Hey carrie,'

One major hurdle done! Good for you! Where and by whom is doing the surgery?

Congrats... time to get you well!

Phyl

[cin605]

Carrie-iwish you well..keep us posted i am in N.H. you can call me at 969-6694.Are you having surgeryat Mass.General?

[Lamsue23]

Carrie,
     Now you can take a deep breath and relax. You have just made your big decision, let the doctors do the rest.  Hope you can keep us posted.  We are sending you our prayers your way. 

[AMD]

Carrie,

I am also having retro-sigmoid on Nov. 17th in Indianapolis.  This will be the day we say goodbye to our AN's.  I wish the best for both of us and we can always chat about how we are feeling afterwards!!!

-Amy

[leapyrtwins]

Carrie & Amy -

congratulations on making your treatment decisions.  And good luck with your Double-Header (no pun intended) on November 17th.

I'm also a retrosigmoid "alumnae".  I wish you both the best.

Jan

[scarriegirl]

amy...we are brain twins!!!

i am having surgery at boston medical center.  i am so lucky to live in mass as my health insurance is provided by the state and is covering the whole thing.  i am being treated by dr. lawrence s. chin. he is head of neurosurgery at boston university amongst other amazing credentials. my husband and i felt immediately comfortable with him.  he said everything i needed to hear and then some.  my tumor is 2cm wide at the largest point...it has been causing me horrible problems for years including headaches, dizziness, numbness and finally hearing loss.  i guess i am just backwards compared to others!!  but dr. chin seems very positive that he can reverse some of my symptoms.  he has done about 100 AN surgeries and many other brain tumor surgeries.  i will also be attended by dr. jalisi who is a head and neck specialist,..ontlysosomething.....
i am so excited and confident.  again..just nervous about anasthesia....i don't like the thought of waking up hours later with no feeling of time passing....anyone who can share their experience with anasthesia will be greatly appreciated. 

thanks for all the kind words!!! i hope i will be able to give back as articuately as you all have when i am past the worst. 

xxx
carrie

[ppearl214]

Hey Carrie,

Great hands at BMC... rumor has it they also just broke ground on a new Cyberknife unit there.... will get the updates later today from some CK gang I am meeting.  You are so correct about many of us lucky enough to live in a medical mecca (Metro Boston)... and glad to hear that the state is helping with costs.  That is great news and should lift worries off your shoulders.

Please consider the brunch in Worcester 2 wks before your procedure (you and your husband).  If possible, we'd love to have you both join us and you will be able to meet many that have had surgery here in town.... and a great way for your husband to meet other spouses that walk along side so he can be well informed as well as to expectations as you go through the AN processes/journey. He's an important part of the journey as well and we'd love to have you both join us, if possible.  You can learn more about it in this thread:

http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=7255.new#new


Again, congrats to you......hang tough until then...... and glad to hear things are all set.

Phyl

[wendysig]

Carrie,
I am so happy for you that you feel so confident in Dr. Chin and Dr. Jalisi -- could otolaryngologist be the word you were looking for when you tried to type Dr. Jalisi's specialty?  You can imagine how long it took me to remember that title -- it took even longer to be able to spell it.  Having confidnece in yoru doctors makes all the difference.  As far as the effects of anesthesia  go,this once again seems to be very individual.  I really have never had any side effects from anesthesia and have had several operations --   I've  never had any sense of the time that had passed during surgery though -- it has alway sseemed one minute I was wake and the next minute I was being waken up adn the surgery was over.  Thankfully no nausea or anything for me which some people do experience.  I hope it goes well for you too.

Best wishes,
Wendy

[JerseyGirl2]

Carrie,

I agree with Wendy's assessment of anesthesia effects -- they seem to be so very individual. My AN surgery (about 5 hours) was the third time I had general anesthesia (other two times were for a routine colonoscopy -- about 20 or 30 minutes, and surgery for a pilonidal cyst -- probably about a 45 minute procedure). I had no ill effects from the anesthesia any of those three times -- no headaches, nausea, nothing. My sister also had a routine colonoscopy and pilonidal cyst surgery (these cysts are very hereditary and usually "attack" folks in their early 20's) -- she experienced a lot of nausea and headaches after both procedures. I assume from your message that you've never been anesthesized before, so it's hard to predict what your reaction will be, and this is one of those instances where "thinking good thoughts" isn't going to be a factor -- it's going to be what it's going to be. So certainly hope for the best, but be ready to expect something less. And, most importantly, rest assured that however the anesthesia affects you, your ICU staff will definitely know how to deal with it and will make you comfortable as quickly as possible!

As far as the passage of time, as Wendy says, one minute you're awake and the next minute they're calling your name to wake you up after surgery. You might have sort of a "wow, it's over!" reaction and will hopefully experience a lot of relief at that thought, but other than that I'm not sure that the "passage of time" issue is much different from just sleeping through the night.

Best wishes as your surgery approaches!

Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)

[Lamsue23]

Amy & Carrie,
       I have had many surgeries including a knee replacement 2 years ago.  I have always gotten very sick afterwards until I had my knee replacement.  I explained how sick I get and I don't know what they did but the outcome was great.  No nausea........The morning of my AN surgery I explained the same thing and I must say I had nausea but so little, especially being in surgery 10 hrs......I don't remember anybody waking me, all I remember is that right after surgery I was brought for a CT & MRI.  I was so glad they brought me to my room after all of that.

     Good luck to both of you, our prayers are going your way....