ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Post-Treatment => Topic started by: Heresrose on November 30, 2011, 08:37:20 pm
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I had translab two days ago and I am lying here wishing I had not had the surgery but lived with the consequence instead.
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Sorry to hear that :( You'll get better :)
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Wow, day two and typing! I wasn't able to even look at a screen for at least a week. I think you must be doing fairly well. Hope your recovery goes well.
Susie in Wyoming
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WHats the reason for saying that you wish you hadnt done the surgery if you dont mind me asking please?
chris
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First few days are the worst. I was a couple of weeks before I could use my computer. Try to rest & you will get through it.
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I had translab two days ago and I am lying here wishing I had not had the surgery but lived with the consequence instead.
You have this wonderful quote by Eleanor Roosevelt as your sig line:
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present"
Yes, tomorrow is a mystery, post-surgery but today is most certainly a gift... a true present.... and sending you continued wellness wishes and a speedy recovery.
My mantra for all of my ailments in life (and those that have met me know I have many...)
"Day by day, inch by inch....."
Hang tough!
Phyl
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Day two and typing? Shucks, you'll be fine. Day two for me, they took me out of surgery and finally tried to wake me for a few minutes. Truly, the first few days are the worst and then each day gets better.
Be good to yourself,
Tod
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The pain in my head is horrible, but the accompanying facial paralysis and inability to close my eye us unbearable. The paralysis was unexpected and so was the inability to remove the whole tumor. Don't let my ability to type fool you. I can't sleep and I am trying to keep my mind off the pain.
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The pain in my head is horrible, but the accompanying facial paralysis and inability to close my eye us unbearable. The paralysis was unexpected and so was the inability to remove the whole tumor. Don't let my ability to type fool you. I can't sleep and I am trying to keep my mind off the pain.
I'm sorry to hear that these issues are by products of the surgery. Many here have also endured and know that we all support you as you recover from the surgery. I know the doctors are good about noting these things prior to procedures (even radiation... they noted it to me as well) and for all those researching options, we try to note to do your homework as best as you can pre-treatment to know potential outcomes.
For you............. know that I send healing hugglez..... with wishes that each day becomes easier to bear... speedy recovery. I know these words may mean little consolation for you at this time, but we are here, cheering you on. Please keep us posted on what the drs say and recommend as you move forward. Know that you are certainly not alone in what you are experiencing as many here on the forums have and do still endure the same. We walk beside you for each step you now take forward.
Please try to get some rest. Rest will help the body heal. Although it may be difficult right now to try to rest...... please try.
Phyl
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First of all I am sorry you are having pain and issues. I agree the eye closing is very difficult to deal with. I too had facial paralysis and not having the ability to close my eye bothered me the most. In addition, I had double vision and I had to wear a patch over my eye for almost a year. Once I was able to get a gold weight inserted into my eye lid (that will help you close your eye) things really improved. I had to wait about 6 weeks before that very simple surgery (inserting a gold weight) and I had that for about 15 months then it was removed and I was able to close my eye lid on my own.
Please hang in there, things will improve and get plenty of rest.
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Rose .....
I really am sorry you are having such horrible pain in your head. Are you taking the pain meds available to you? I really think taking whatever they will give you and keeping your eyes closed may help more than trying to keep your mind off of the pain reading here on the forum. You know your own body and no one else can tell you what to do, but for me I would ask for the maximum stuff they would give me until the early surgical headache pain level goes down ..... and it will!
Many, many thoughts and prayers!
Clarice
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Rose, I am sorry you are struggling. When I was finally allowed to wake to consciousness and could understand what had happened, I was terribly depressed. I anticipated the paralysis to some degree, but not all the other implications of the experience. The pain was bad, but it passed...especially if I took the meds offered. I hated the way the morphine and steroids made me feel and hallucinate, but that was better than the pain.
Hang in there, lots of will be praying for you, and this does get better.
-tod
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Rose, taking steroids can make one wired and not able to sleep. Are you telling the nurses about how bad the pain is? Occ one pain med may not work for a person and they need to change or get a higher dose. You are very soon after surgery and this is probably not how you are going to be forever. The paralysis is hard to know you have and takes a while to adjust to. I have been thru this twice. Are you putting the right kind of lubricant in your eye also? I got by with the heavy type drops in the day and the gel at night but others use the gel in the day also. Hopefully the paralysis is a temporary one but that can still take a while of weeks to improve. I feel for you and hope you can get some rest soon as that is also helping you feel so bad. We all habdle our outcomes in our own way and hope you feel better in time. Just make sure to tell your nurses and drs how you are feeling. Keep letting us know how it goes as we want to be of help. Cheryl R
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Thank you all for your words of encouragement. I wasn't getting very treatment from a nurse team the other night, but I was rewarded with an angel of a nurse's aid last night. The perfect combination of professionalism and compassion. After such surgery one shouldn't be ignored by the caregivers.
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Feeling better right now. MRI shows rind remaining which Schwartz expects will collapse. I also able to pucker a little better so that feels like progress. Most importantly I feel mentally alert.
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I'm very happy your doing well. I hope your recovery road is as pain free as possible.
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I'm so happy to hear you're getting a bit better! I've been thinking about you these past days, but had to stay away from the forum in order to at least pretend to prepare for my finals. I haven't even scheduled my surgery yet, so I don't know what you're going through. All I can tell you is that I hope with all my might that you will be okay!! Also, and I doubt this is any consolation for the pain you're feeling, but your sharing this here is helping others, such as me, prepare for what is coming, and for that I will be eternally grateful.
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Hi Rose,
I am 5 weeks out from my translab so I know what you are going through.. it is all still very "raw" for me too.. I also awoke with facial paralysis and eye issues so I know those feelings too and it is VERY hard to deal with when it is unexpected! One thing, make sure they give you plenty of pain meds for first few days/week,, my nurses were phenomenal and very responsive so I can say pain was not an issue until I went home and was weaned off some of it. And getting off the steroids will definitely help your feelings too and sleep.. you really need rest right now or at least your brain does.. I now have headaches and feeling/ or lack of it is coming back into face and side of head and that is hard to deal with. But try to remember what my Dr told me about paralysis,, "You will not always be like this". . it will take time, but it will also get better. I had two surgeries in 5 days,, the second was a graft of tongue nerve and facial nerve and they also put gold weight in my eyelid.. I was glad to get it over with, but that was hard week.. also, realize that when you get home and off some pain meds and the anesthesia gets out of your system, you will feel more like yourself and much better.. it took me about two weeks to really start feeling like myself and now,, I am not what I was,, and won't be, and I know how hard that is for you at this point to overcome as it was for me,, but I will be better than I am now and so will you.. patience is something I have to learn.. it is hard especially when you end up with an outcome you did not go into it looking for.. but realize your situation will get better as you move out from the surgery and your body/brain heals.. if you look at my first posts you will probably see a very angry, hurting individual, , but I am getting better.. Dr visit this week at one month out was positive, healing going well and return is in 3 mo. with nerve conduction test to see how it is going.. so hang in there and rest and stay on them about pain meds right now,, I had morphine, loratab and dilaudin (?) pump to begin with,, I did not like the hallucinations but also did not want to feel anything for first few days..ask for different nurses if need be, they are there to make you feel better not ignore you and you are "paying the bill" so insist!! Good luck to you and hope each day truly does get better for you,, Jane
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Ah, I know what you exactly mean by ' I wish I never had the surgery' I know if I say that to anyone around me, they will think it's stupid to think that way... :( I was angry the first 6 months or so about how I let 'surgery' happen. Facial paralysis is so difficult to deal with. I'm almost 9 months post op, and I started feeling emotionally better after taking antidepressants at 6 month mark.
With everyone telling me that I should be thankful that I had survived the surgery, I think that was more stressful than anything else. It forced me to keep my anger inside always and it really stressed me out, I think. I think it's good to let your anger out. I wish I had done it earlier.
Hang in there-- I'll keep you in my prayers.