Treatment Options > Microsurgical Options
Newbie in Houston
Pooter:
Greetings everyone. I've spent the better part of the day today scouring through information in the forum. Some of it was enlightening, some was disheartening and some was scary as heck! I may have already answered my own questions inernally, but I'm going to post them anyhow.
Background: 2 days ago I was diagnosed with a 3cm AN on the right side. I already have pretty severe hearing loss and tinitus (sp?), but fortunately no other symptoms. I've already met with Dr. Vrabec (highly touted from some that I've seen), and meet with Dr. Trask on Tuesday. Surgery, at this point, appears to be the only option because of the size and location (getting dangerously close to the brain stem). I've also resigned myself to the fact that I will lose all hearing on that side as a reasult of the surgery. Small price to pay if they can get all of it out, I guess. I should find out next week after meeting with Dr. Trask when they're going to schedule the surgery.
Questions: I've read throughout the forum of people taking anywhere from a couple of weeks to 18+ months to recover to be able to return to a "normal" working life. The optimist in me wants to believe that given the size and location of the AN that my brain has already done some level of adjustment already over time and that balance and other issues will be lessoned because of that. On the other hand, I've seen others with seemigly similar situations that took much longer to be able to function normally (to drive to work, to walk without bumping into things or even without getting so nauseous that they throw up, etc..). I guess I'm wondering what I can realistically expect for post-op recovery time. The answer I've come up with myself, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, is that it all depends. Everyone's body and AN is different so the recovery time is going to be different for everyone, so I cannot realistically gear myself up for a recovery time of X because it likely will be something totally different than that. I don't want to psyche myself into thinking it's going to be quick to set myself up for disappointment when it's longer than that. But, the prospect of it being a significant amount of time really bothers me. If it helps, I'm an IT Manager for a small-ish company, therefore there is a possibility of me being able to do some work from home in bed with a laptop, but I haven't seen anything about how likely that is and how soon post-op it would be possible to do that. Additionally, I'm curious about what the "gotchas" are for post-op? What do I need to prepare myself (and my 2 small children) for how life changes for me afterwards?
All of this has come to light very suddenly and is exteremely worrisome. I am encouraged by all of the posts of people having gone through similar situations and, while sometimes difficult and long recovery times, they do make it through somewhat normally. It's comforting to find a place where others have experienced the same emotional, physical and other issues that I'm now faced with. In short, it's nice to not feel alone with how scared I am.
I'm sorry if I haven't been precise with all the terminology. It's all still new to me. I guess I'll become somewhat of an expert on it as time goes on. ;)
I'll continue to scour the forum and guidance. I appreciate any responses in advance.
Regards,
Pooter... 8)
Kaybo:
Pooter~
Welcome to a fellow TEXAN!!!
Sorry that you have had to join us, but glad that you are here -- there are wonderful people here with LOTS of care and support! I had my surgery in Houston (12 years ago) at Methodist. We come there a LOT as my sweet hubby's family live there - maybe we can get together some time! You are right in deducting that every AN is different as is everyones' reaction to surgery. There is just absolutely no way to say that you will recover in a certain amount of time. I do think that there has been so many advances in medicine since I had my surgery that recoveries are much quicker these days. I also think that when you go in prepared, it makes it easier. We knew NOTHING (not even that I would sacrifice my hearing) b/c it was a kind of rush-rush thing. I had a fairly difficult time, but I came out on the other side and have a WONDERFUL life now!! I would LOVE to chat more with you - if you'd like, you can send me a PM and give me your phone number and I will call you. Also, I have a blog if you want to see what life is like for me AFTER surgery (it starts from the back - newest posts come up first)! The address is below!
Please let me know if I can be of any help!
K
jtd71465:
Unfortunately I have to say welcome to the group (or team). We have several things in common, I'm an IT manager, have two young children (6 and 8) and had my AN surgery in January 2007.
My AN was not the same size, it was 1cm X 1cm x 7mm. I had no complications and returned to work full-time during the first week of March (driving 70 miles a day) I was however doing "laptop work" from home from about day 14 on-wards.
Your assessment is correct in that we cannot predict the outcome of your surgery, what we can say is make the decision that you are comfortable with and stay positive. Also reach out to all on this board for their positive stories...we truly do have a collection of great individuals.
If you want please do not hesitate to contact me via a Private Message.
Joe-
leapyrtwins:
Pooter -
welcome to our little AN club. Sorry you have to be here, but there are worse things. It's normal to feel scared and overwhelmed when you are diagnosed, but you will get through this. And the good news, is that we will help you.
Like you say in your post, everyone is different and everyone's recovery is different. Some have lots of problems post op, some have a few. Most docs will tell you that recovery from surgery will take approximately 6 weeks. From the description of your job, IMO you could be working from home within a few weeks of your surgery if all goes well.
As far as the children go, I can't stress enough that you will need help during your recovery, especially if they are young. My two children were 11 when I had my surgery last year and I couldn't have gotten through everything without the help of my family. Post op you most likely will be very tired and it will be a little while before you can drive. Typically the hospital stay is 4 to 7 days. In addition, your balance will be affected for a period of time and possibly your eyesight. You will make improvements daily, but recovery takes a lot of patience.
I don't want to give you the impression that AN surgery is the most terrible thing in the world, but it is major surgery and it takes time to recover from it.
There a lot of scary stories on this forum, but there are also many inspiring stories and many success stories. Rest assured that there is usually a solution to all the problems that an AN can cause. There is a lot of support here and the people on this forum will be more than willing to help you through anything you may encounter.
If you do lose all your hearing in your AN ear, there are options. The BAHA or the TransEar are both excellent solutions to SSD (single-sided deafness). I just had BAHA surgery five weeks ago and I can't say enough about it.
Hang in there,
Jan
nancyann:
Hi Pooter: So glad you found this site - I found it a few months after my surgery.....
Everyone's given such great advice. All I can add is: YOU ARE BIGGER THAN THE AN IS ! !
Try to keep a peaceful heart during this journey.
Always good thoughts, Nancy
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