position to sleep in

[leapyrtwins]

I had retrosigmoid and I'm a fat head, too 

I also have a titanium plate, titanium mesh and titanium screws in my head from my AN surgery - oh, yeah, and a titanium "fixture" (BAHA implant).

Jan

[Mathilda]

Does all that titanium set off alarm bells at the security check of an airport. Hope not ! Wouldn't want to be a "suspect"

[leapyrtwins]

Actually I wondered about this myself.

But I've traveled by plane a few times post op - both before and after my BAHA implant - and I'm happy to say that I didn't set off the metal detectors 

I was  looking forward to seeing all my "hardware" on my first MRI post op, but sadly titanium doesn't show up on MRIs 

Jan

[Dog Lover]

I was confused by others saying that belly fat was used in the mid fossa approach. I had a mid fossa almost 6 weeks ago, and no belly fat was taken from my big ol' belly....  Does it just depend on your surgeon or am I missing something?

I was also wondering about setting off alarms in the security check at the airport. Good to know that we seem to be alarm proof - at least in the head! 

[Soundy]

I am also a fat head that was unhappy about the tiny amount of fat removed...   

back to original question ... I had to sleep on back for months laying on either side gave me
headaches and still can't sleep flat or rather with just a pillow... had to track down bed
wedges and sleep semi upright...hope you don't have this issue...

[Captain Deb]

Here's me the day they removed the pressure bandage at about day 5.



With the matching leopard slippers, the nursies called me "jungle girl!"

Capt Deb

[Omaschwannoma]

Mathilda,

I was in an elevated position while in the hospital and told to continue to keep my head elevated for a few weeks after I returned home.  Helps to drain fluids that tend to build up in the head during surgery and also insures no CSF leakage.  I also remember being rolled over from my back to the side (not the operated one) during my incoherent days while in the hospital.  I just remember the nurse asking me if I wanted to lay on my side and nodding yes, she rolled me over, feeling much like a beached whale and then the room slid off the earth--yuk!  It felt awful to be moved but after the room righted itself my body enjoyed the different position.  Capt Deb said it honestly that you'll be so medicated you won't really care, but when you get home, different story!  So maybe a "wedge" of foam is in order for when you get home as this will be more comfortable than what my hubby tried to build with pillows that tended to slip and move around during the night. 

I had retrosigmoid and they took fat from my hip as my doctor said there wasn't enough on my belly.  So I'm a "fat head" and guess my hips are well padded too! 

.....placing arms around you, left cheek to left cheek Capt. Deb honestly your incision photo makes me tear up!  What a vivid reminder (thanks for that) of what we all went through!  We gotta give ourselves huggs!  It's no surprise our heads feel "wonky"!  I have my photo too, but don't think I'm ready to peek at it again as it brought tears to my eyes the first time I saw what had to happen. 

[Mathilda]

Hi Capt Deb,

A couple of years ago my son would have been jealous of your hairdo  

Seeing your scar makes me realise that the involved area is larger than I thought, but it doesn't look scary to me. Actuallly I'm kind of surprised to see how much it seems to have healed already in those five days.
We will always be somewhat of  a questionmark  for the rest of our lives though!  

BTW was your middle fossa a success with regards to preserving your hearing?  (I'm sorry if I've missed that)
Thanks for showing the photo. It's good to know what to expect.

Mathilda

[MAlegant]

Hi,
I had retrosigmoid and they didn't use any fat. (I had to sign a permission form so they could if they needed it but I asked them to take it from another "location".  )Also, I only had a bandage for about 24 hours and it wasn't a pressure bandage. I'm pretty sure the doctor who took the bandage off enjoys pain. 

Back to sleeping: I finally purchased a pregnancy wedge pillow at Target to prevent me from rolling onto the AN side once I got home.  It worked wonders though my husband was unhappy about the huge pillow between us.  Before the pillow I would occasionally roll over and cause myself great pain. 

All best,
Marci (happy to be sleeping any way she wants now)

[Soundy]

Do any of the rest of you still have to sleep elevated

I still have to sleep on my wedges or I get a whopper of a headache ... I also have a lumbar pillow in the
small of my back because sleeping on the wedges gives me a back ache  ... that will go away after I am
up and moving for a while and prefer it over the headache...

I had 15 inches of hair cut off my noggin the day before surgery at our local Relay For Life... doctor said I didn't
have to cut my hair , but it would make it easier to get it out of way during surgery and cleaner after surgery ... and a child with cancer somewhere got a wig out of the deal ... my hair was still shoulder length...