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Author Topic: Getting anxious  (Read 3071 times)

jps311

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Getting anxious
« on: February 08, 2009, 10:25:47 am »
Ok my Gk is on friday and the nerves are rattled. No worried about the procedure. Just a bit cautious i guess. Atleast i have a long weekend to relax and recover. I have heard and read many things and i expect a little fatigue but i can deal with everything else as it comes. I am thinking of making a cd of all my favorite hard rock songs. That helps me settle down.
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gordy

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2009, 02:17:03 pm »
good luck to you. im sure that you will be just fine. i had gk done about a year and a half ago on a thursday morning, was ready for work that monday. good luck to you.
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MAlegant

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2009, 03:29:39 pm »
Good luck and best wishes.  From what I've read here (I had surgery) the GK folks have very cool stories to tell and most seem to be positive.
Best,
Marci
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3cmx4cm trigeminal neuroma, involved all the facial nerves, dx July 8, 2008, tx July 22, 2008, home on July 24, 2008. Amazing care at University Hospitals in Cleveland.

Nancy Drew

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2009, 05:50:56 pm »
Hang in there!!!  Those pre-GK nerves are the worst.  When I had my GK I had them turn up the volumn while I was in the GK machine, and that made a huge difference since I was freaking myself out!!!  Afterwards the docs behind the panel said the music was so loud it made the room vibrate!!!  I had GK 10/21/08 (a newbie postie as I call myself), and I am doing fine.  The researching, decision making, finding a good doctor and waiting were the hardest for me.  There are some ups and down here and there, but I would say for the most part everything is going well.  I had a MRI a couple of weeks ago, and my AN is already starting to shrink.  Hearing is the same and balance is good.  Best wishes!  Nancy
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12/05 AN diagnosed left ear 4.5mm
06/08 6mm
Gamma Knife 10/21/08
1 year MRI  6.8mm x 5.5mm
2 year MRI  5.9mm x 4.9mm
3 year MRI  6.5mm x 6.0mm 
Slight Hearing Loss Post GK

Swedish Gamma Knife Center
Englewood, CO
Dr. Robert Feehs

sgerrard

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2009, 06:46:43 pm »
It's okay to be a little nervous. It is not everyday that you have a major medical procedure performed on your head. Don't worry, though, it will go fine.

Steve
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8 mm left AN June 2007,  CK at Stanford Sept 2007.
Hearing lasted a while, but left side is deaf now.
Right side is weak too. Life is quiet.

GRACE1

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2009, 07:48:58 am »
Good luck tomorrow!  I will be thinking of you.  I am sure you will do fine.

Grace
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Diagnosed 7/06: AN - right side: 1.3cm in transverse dimension, 6mm in AP dimension, and 6mm in cephalocaudal dimension.
GK 12/06- Wake Forest Univ Baptist Med Ctr
MRI 5/07- Some necrosis;  Now SSD
MRI 12/08- AN size has reduced 50%
MRI 12/11- AN stable (unchanged from 12/08)
Next MRI: 12/16

Jwh

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2009, 09:09:44 am »
Will be thinking of you!  You'll do great.
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5/01  1.3 AN removed at NYU using Retrosig. Approach
2/07  Rediagnosed with Regrowth 8 mm (wait & watch mode)
1/09  1.4 AN removed at NYU using Translab (total tumor removal)

highlife

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2009, 09:22:16 am »
Well, I'm sure you'll think I'm crazy, but I actually look forward to MRI's.  I'd like to start every day with one.  My brain absolutely loves them.  My head always feels crystal clear, like all my little neurons are lined up right.  Maybe I just love the opportunity to take a nap.

Grace, your AN is about the same size as mine when you had your GK done.  Did you have balance problems before/after?  How was your hearing before GK?  My biggest problems are about balance, dizziness, and wonkihead with a feeling like I have a football stuffed into the side of my head.  But me hearing is still pretty good.  I'm scheduled for endoscopic surgery on March 4, but I like the fast recovery you have with GK, but the suspense of what could happen over the following 24 months might kill me.  What do you experience?
Steph
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Rt ear AN - 10x6x4mm
dx 9/08
wait

mk

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2009, 12:58:29 pm »
Good luck with your procedure tomorrow.
I found that the procedure itself was not that bad - just long. It was a tiring day, having to go in early, doing MRI and CT scan, waiting for the treatment planning after the scans etc. I went at 6 am and was done at 3 pm (which includes an hour and a half of resting for monitoring and administration of IV steroid). Afterwards I had a long nap and was even able to get up and go and have supper at the hotel restaurant. So overall not too bad.
Keep us updated on how it goes.

Marianna


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GK on April 23rd 2008 for 2.9 cm AN at Toronto Western Hospital. Subsequent MRIs showed darkening initially, then growth. Retrosigmoid surgery on April 26th, 2011 with Drs. Akagami and Westerberg at Vancouver General Hospital. Graduallly lost hearing after GK and now SSD but no other issues.

GRACE1

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Re: Getting anxious
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2009, 03:24:26 pm »
Steph,

I'm glad someone looks forward to MRIs.  I don't dread them, but I'm not crazy about them.

I did not and do not have balance problems.  There was a time about a year before I was diagnosed that I was having some dizziness, but they thought it was my blood surgar.  I now believe it was the AN.

When I was diagnosed, I had lost 40% of the hearing in the AN ear.  Unfortunately I did not have my hearing tested again until about 6 months after GK.  The loss was then at 80%, and the other 20% was distorted.  So I am essentially deaf in that ear.  I know my hearing had gotten worse between diagnosis and GK, so I kick myself that I did not have it tested right before the GK. 

The only problem I have had since GK is the hearing loss, which I was prepared for.  I felt great immediatly afterward.  I credit the facility and its staff for my success.  It has been 25 months since GK, so I would hope and trust that nothing else presents.

Each person has their own unique experience with any given procedure.  I feel that the exact location of the AN strongly influences one's experience with the procedure and the effects afterward.  Just my thought. 

Good luck to you.  Keep us posted.

Grace
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Diagnosed 7/06: AN - right side: 1.3cm in transverse dimension, 6mm in AP dimension, and 6mm in cephalocaudal dimension.
GK 12/06- Wake Forest Univ Baptist Med Ctr
MRI 5/07- Some necrosis;  Now SSD
MRI 12/08- AN size has reduced 50%
MRI 12/11- AN stable (unchanged from 12/08)
Next MRI: 12/16
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