ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Inquiries => Topic started by: shygirl on May 31, 2008, 12:05:06 am
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my head is numb on the whole left side. My hair hurts at the top of my head and when I touch it, it feels like I'm touching someone else's head!!! Has anyone experienced this? I am 9 months post op. Just wondering if it will go away ??? It's not really bothering me pain-wise. It's just annoying when it itches and I can't feel myself scratch :D
shygirl--itching away in TX
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Yes, I have had the numb feeling also (now 8 months post OP). We have been having warm humid weather the last few days and I have noticed that when I go out in the direct sunlight it feels like the numbness spreads. Sometimes it feels like I just returned from the dentist and the upper left side of my gums have been numbed all the way to the top of my head. I very rarely have pain though, sometimes just above the AN ear it feels like a bruised spot and when I touch it it hurts. I aslo have the feeling that the hotter it gets outside the more problems I have with balance.
Dan in Germany
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Shygirl~
I had this and sometimes still do have strange feelings (12 years). It doesn't really hurt anymore (it used to when I'd get my hair done), but just feels weird at times... ???
K
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Thanks ya'll, at least I'm not the only one---and I'm not crazy either!!!
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I haven't had numbness since my incision healed. The healing took several months to be complete. I think the nerves in the scalp need to reconnect across the incision area.
During the healing time my scalp would itch a lot. I wrote on another thread that I used a soft brush to gently massage my scalp. I believe the itching is from dead skin sloughing off. I would not use dandruff shampoos or tar based shampoos unless the surgeon allowed it.
I had sore areas in the crown of my head for several years pre op and still now post op at times. I sometimes complain that my hair hurts. My hair dresser says the pain is from cowlicks that get the nerves and muscles disturbed. I don't know if I understand how cowlicks work or if they are even trainable! ;D
Overall, you must conclude that I, too, get the crazies! :D
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Hi, shygirl:
I experienced the partial 'numb skull' thing for over a year following my surgery. As you mentioned, it never actually hurt but, as you also stated, it did feel odd, like I was touching somebody else's head. That was weird. I've noticed that my skull feels almost normal now, two years post-op. The usual sensitivity has returned, as I'm sure will happen to you, eventually. I guess it's all part of the healing process....but it does heal.
Jim
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hello shygirl
I am 3 years 2 months po. I still have the a funny feeling like you have gone to the dentist and gotten a shout of nova cane. But nothing compared after surgery half my head and face felt that way now it is located in the area of tumor removal, “ horseshoe size“.
eve
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I'm 10 years post op and my head still has a numb feeling, hasn't changed since surgery. Guess that makes me a numbskull :)
Cheryl
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I am thirt four months post op, trans lab, and the right side of my head is still numb! I can get my eyebrow waxed on that side and not feel it! I can have my hair pulled on that side, except at the incision site and I don't feel it. Pretty strange and none of the doctors have figured out why. I just figure it is another of life's little puzzles!!
Brenda ::)
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I had BAHA surgery in March - nine months after my AN surgery. At that time I thought that my numb head had disappeared, but it hadn't. When the doc injected the lidocaine into my head I asked him if he'd numbed my head first. He said "no, why?" I told him that I hadn't really felt the injections. Guess my head was still numb :D
I'm now about 3 months past the BAHA surgery and my head is still numb on my entire left (AN) side. The numbness doesn't really bother me though.
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I'm still numb - 15 months post op. Some spots have a little more sensation than others, but I know all about that itch that you can't feel yourself scratch! I also have one spot where my hair hurts too. Only a fellow AN-er would understand these strange things!
Lori
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Thanks for all the info all. I really appreciate it. I have wondered if and when it would end. Everyone is different, so I'll have to wait and see. Like I said, it doesn't really bother me. I was just curious!!!
shye
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It takes a long, long time for nerves to heal, and sometimes they don't do that all the way. I had a hysterectomy over 20 years ago, and I still remember getting shooting pains in that area for months, and then it finally healed as far as it was going to heal, but the area around the surgical scar is numb. This is just stuff surgeons don't tell ya about, durn their hides, anyway. Not that that would make any difference in making a decision, I don't think. I didn't have microsurgery, rather radiation, and I have facial numbness because the facial nerve is affected, and this extends up the side of my head to some degree. I tried to explain that to someone, and I did the old "Dead Man's Finger" where you hold up your hand and then the other person holds up their hand and you touch each other's hands with the palms and then the other person rubs one of the two fingers that are side by side with his thumb and forefinger. It feels weird! Try it. I hope I explained it clearly enough.
Then you can tell people, THAT's what my head feels like to me.
It's just one of the annoying things that some people have with these stupid AN's.
Sue in Vancouver USA
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I did the old "Dead Man's Finger" where you hold up your hand and then the other person holds up their hand and you touch each other's hands with the palms and then the other person rubs one of the two fingers that are side by side with his thumb and forefinger. It feels weird!
I have got to get over to Vancouver more often, you people are into some pretty exciting stuff over there! ;D
Steve
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Have you never done that, Steve? We have that in Texas... ;D
K
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Yep, numb head, numb ear, numb face... What's odd though is that I have little spots on my head that are very sensitive and tender. I can feel my hair being tugged, but can't really feel touch. Such strange sensations.
sure wish I couldn't feel that darned stiff neck, though!
Debbi - her numbness
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I was a numb skull for the longest time!!! Now I'm a numb skull for a bit after I receive a nerve block for my scar neuroma.
I can't seem to find a happy medium :'(
Anne Marie
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When the numb feeling went away, that's when my neck started hurting....worse feeling than a numb head. The occipital nerve block made my neck stop hurting immediately and the numbness returned. My Neurologist said I could get a nerve block once a month but the first one lasted about 6 weeks before I needed another one.
All of our AN journeys are different but it is great to have this support group. We know we are not alone and others know exactly how we feel which brings comfort to me. Thanks to all posties :D
Jean
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Have you never done that, Steve? We have that in Texas... ;D
K
Well Thank Goodness somebody knew what I was talking about!! It's easier to show somebody than to tell them how to do it, I guess. Yeah, Steve, come on over to Vancouver...we have a swell time over here! HA ;D
Sue, still in Vancouver
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Hi All
Well, I guess I'm the new post op here,6 days, and yes My skull is numb all over. It does feel wierd,Jim, in a strange way. I was also wondering how long it would last and by reading all the post ,I guess I found out. It doesn't hurt unless I scratch to hard. Then it sends ,like ,an electric shock wave through the area.
Interesting though
Take Care
Claire
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:)Yes, I was first diagnosed AN, then surgeon said Meningioma. Actually from reading everything on AN, it
describes me exactly. Surgery in March 1995. Deaf in left ear and yes numbness on left side. I take Neurontin for headaches and
that was my biggest pain. My occipital nerve was damaged. I wasn't told size of tumor, but to be connected to meninges and
leaning on brain stem, it had to be large. I passed a blood clot to my spinal column and was in ICU for 8 days. I was 61 years old
when I had the surgery, but PRAISE THE LORD!!!, through prayers all over the USA, I'm a survivor.
Has anyone on this forum had scull left out where tumor was? I'm so thankful I found this web sight. I'm not alone!! Thanks
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Survivor -
you are NOT alone - the majority of us are survivors, too ;D
I had retrosigmoid surgery last year and although my skull was cut open (craniectomy) the docs filled my head with fat from my abdomen and put that and some titanium mesh in the hole. Then they replaced the section of my skull that they had cut away and screwed it back with some titanium screws. There's a titanium plate in my head somewhere also - I think it's between the belly fat and the section of skull that was replaced.
You have been through a lot and although you weren't old at the time of your surgery, you certainly weren't a kid either ;)
God Bless You,
Jan
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Hi Survivor.
Yes, I have a missing piece of skull too - behind my ear. I got the lovely belly fat shoved in there, but no mesh or screws or anything else. I think you and I are two of the oldest people with "soft spots"! I guess they aren't just for babies anymore!
I feel the need to give my hairdresser an extra tip for having to put up with the soft spots, scars and metal things sticking out of my head! I'm sure they didn't have anything like that in beauty school! :D
Lori
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It's not the numb head that bothers me, it's the numb brain that does.
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Lori~
I guess you are a Numb Skull then??? ;D
K
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Well, yes, but not in the part that's missing! ;D I believe I'm also a fat head. Among many other things I've been called over the years... :-[
Lori
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Fat head here, too ;D
Skull isn't as numb as it used to be though. I think the lidocaine from my BAHA implant is finally wearing off ;)