ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: southjersey636 on January 22, 2007, 07:57:10 pm
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Just happen to stumble upon this forum after looking up some topics on the AN. Well lets start off by saying my name Mike and I was first diagnosed with my AN at 18 when I lost hearing in my left ear. Over the years while growing up I would get dizzy spells that dated all the way back when I was 8-9. At 18 I had my tumor taking out at University of Penn in Philadelphia and overaul the surgery came out great with no facial problems which was a big +, some uneasy balance problems and no hearing in my left ear but that was disccused to me before I did the surgery. Im now 24 and like many others have had my share of issues of recovery from uneasy feelings when in certain stores-situations, to fatigue. but I guess I can help speak for the younger crowd that has had one of these tumors removed or is going to. I feel that certain things can aggravate the affects the tumor removal like alcohol, caffeine and not getting enough exercise.
Well thats all for now. Hope to talk to you all.
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Welcome 8)
Years ago (at your age).. I guess you could call me a heavy drinker (20+years ago) and of course became older and wiser ... I have not *really* tied one on since the surgery, but I've had enough dinner parties and light social drinking to realize ... I'm a lightweight now.. with only one inner ear to balance myself .. seems like 2 drinks are 4 ... 4 drinks are 8 etc... I'm ok sitting down.. but getting up to walk in a dark hallway .. forget it..... heck I have trouble doing a DUI walk dead sober anyway.
The best things to do? .. exersize more, (drink less) don't avoid places that make you un-easy -- I know its hard, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Heck I'm taking the train to work every day.. the crowds of people still make me un-easy, but it is getting better (plus standing on the train while it going is great pratice!)
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Mike: welc Welcome to the forum.. if it's of any comfort, at your age, I never held my drink well, but I was too drunk and or young or stupid to know the difference! Now at age 44, I know the difference and I still "don't hold my drink well"! Glad to know your sugery went well. Thanks for introducing youself- take care, Annie
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HI Mike and welcome! Heck I had one sip of wine and it went straight to my head....I can't imagine what a whole glass would do LOL
Have you met Chri, Chelsy or Taylor? They are around your age.
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Welcome to the forum Mike!!! I know your perspective on the whole AN journey will certainly help our younger members (and us oldies as well ;)) Thank you!!
Since my AN surgery I have found that I can get drunk on just half a glass of wine, where as before my tolerance level was much, much higher.
Cheryl
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Hi Mike!
Welcome! I'm older than you, but I still feel 18 inside. Strange that. Wonder if it has anything to do with the AN? I blame it for just about anything else... ;D
Alcohol and ANs: not a good idea. I drink a small glass of wine (and sometimes two...) at dinner parties, and boy it feels like I had the entire bottle and more! Takes much longer to recover from it too. Sigh, I like wine with food and I would miss it if I couldn't enjoy a nice vintage! :(
Still, at least my taste hasn't been affected too much so I can still taste it. Next trip to California is going to be full of flavour!
Ciao and looking forward to reading your prospective on ANs at a younger age.
Lorenzo
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Mike,
Welcome! Sounds like you are doing great after six years. I'm trying to cut back on the caffiene, I have gone from about eight mugs of coffee to two. I have maybe two drinks a year, so that isn't a biggie. My eighteen month mark is coming up soon, but my balance is far from great. I have the popular AN headache. Now, crowds are another story! I shop on the internet!! I know how angry this tumor made me. It will be interesting to hear how someone so young has coped with it for the length of time you have. Symptoms from the time you were eight or nine must have been really scary. I'll be looking for your posts. Welcome.
BrendaO
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Hi Mike and welcome :)
Well, around these parts, we enjoy virtual, water-down mug o' grog and for the most part, that is all we can tolerate in the way of alcohol.... but, we are really great around here for sharing our good ears, a stiff shoulder that can hold much and our thoughts/feelings/experiences and even some bad jokes on occassion. I'm sorry that you have had to endure as you have, but we welcome you and thrilled to have you here.
Phyl
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Mike,
Nice to have you on here. Its a good lil place to share and hear what others have to say. Its good b/c in a way you can be inspired to do better yet you can stilll inspire those who may need the encouragement. Everyone here is different and it seems they have many certain pros and cons.
Anyways, Welcome!
Chris
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Whilst everyone introducing themselves, i'll do the same.
My name is Michael also. I was diagnosed 1/20/2007. Right side 2.5cm.
I have been reading alot of the posts here and I am very impressed and thankful for the copious amounts of useful info.
This is where the non-medical experts are.
Very happy to find this space.
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Welcome to both Mikes! You'll find alot of help around these boards and alot of great people too!
~Karen
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Hello southjersey Mike and mykey Michael!!
Welcome to both of you. Anything you need, you can find here. Everyone has been there, done that.
See you around, Kathy
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Alcohol aggravates??? I'm Irish for gosh sakes! Oy vey! Life isn't fair...
Welcome both Mikes...
Dan
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Hey Kathy a fellow irishman! Does that mean we need to stock greg beer on the BPW? ;D
Welcome guys know where here for you all!
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Dan,
How do you think I feel re: Alcohol ,since I'm half Scottish and half Irish, part of me is always looking for it and the other part won't ever pay for it ;D :o
OK, it's a bad joke, but don't anyone give me a hard time, I usually don't play in the "silly" posts ::)
Mark
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Thanx for all the replies its great to see others on here feeling and going through the same issues.
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Man Mark - you are more ethnic challenged then I am. (Irish, Welsh, some French and German). I'm convinced the Irish side of me is always looking for a party. As for the Welsh- I'm personally convinced this is the group that Tolkien had in mind when he wrote The Hobbit (short, pale skin, lots of body hair, funky toes)!
Okay after that description- you all will need a drink of some type! Annie
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The 2 Mikes (southjersey636 & mykey):
Hello and welcome to the discussion forums. Thanks for your participation. We need all the input we can get, especially from the younger AN 'survivors'. Hope you'll find the forums a benefit to you - and come back often.
Jim
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Mike,
Interesting story about your dizzy spells. I can relate to it. My problems seem to have started when I was clocked on the side of my head by a stray golf ball when I was five years old walking home from kindergarden in 1962 - probably why I hate that game so much. The dizzy spells kicked in at age eleven and continued intermittantly until 1987 at age thirty. I had a nasty inner ear infection in 1986 that knocked me off my feet for a week. I had excellent hearing though up until 1999 when I seemed to lose it in my left ear almost precipitously - couldn't even hear a dial tone on the phone. All the other symptoms followed suit between 1999 and 2005: hypoglycemic-like fatigue, double vision and eventually catastrophic equilibrium problems. My experience may go to show how long you can get on with an A.N. although I would not recommend this approach to anyone. It certainly took its time running its course with me but in the end I certainly paid for it having let it go way too long.
It's pathetic: When I was twelve I was diagnosed with having a urinary blockage (which I sincerely believe to have not been the case at all). As young as I may have been to be afflicted with that kind of problem they wasted no time in rushing me in to the hospital and ripping my urethra out. There's something very fiendish about Urologists don't you think? At the tender age of twelve I endured hellish suffering that grown men with prostate problems scarcely experience. I still bear the scars from that procedure - in 1969 - physically and psychologically to this day. The irony of this being that I probably didn't even need to have it done in the first place. Urologists seem to have a weird passion for catheterization.
Contrast that with a real problem, bearing down on me like a "Sword of Damocles" that was, for whatever reasons, consistently overlooked or ignored until being reduced to eventually crawling in to a hospital for treatment.
Just to let you know.....
Hope you get through as "unscathed" as possible, Paul