Author Topic: effect from sleeping on AN side  (Read 3111 times)

painter

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effect from sleeping on AN side
« on: March 25, 2010, 09:16:22 am »
Hi everyone,
I was hoping I was done posting new symptoms, but this one has me wondering.  I don't normally sleep on my AN side, because it was uncomfortable from the start.
But now by morning I sometimes roll over to relieve my other side.  I'm almost 4 months post op, and I've found that some mornings after sleeping on the AN side for only half an hour, I get up with the taste of blood, and a slight bloody discoloration in my saliva. Once I'm up for a bit it goes away. And I never get this when sleeping on the other side.
Has anyone experienced this or heard of this happening before?
Thanks,
Tom

Denise S

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Re: effect from sleeping on AN side
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2010, 02:35:08 pm »
I do get that ? something ? but I figured it as that saliva metallicy type taste.   I find it interesting though, especially if you think you have some kind of blood.   That would probably be a good thing to call the doctor and ask (my thought anyways).    I'm only a bit farther out than you, 4 1/2 months post middle fossa.   Periodically the pressure is not good if I lay on my surgical side, then other times it's like it don't hurt at all.

Well, it will be interesting to see what others might say.   
W&W 2 yrs. (due to watching other brain tumor: it's stable)
Left AN:  1.2 cm (kept growing during 2 yr.)MIDDLE FOSSA  11/9/09;  Michigan Ear Institute Dr. Zappia & Pieper
SSD, mild tinnitus, delayed onset of facial paralysis lasting 3-4 weeks, no tears AN side
BAHA surgery 10/2/12 Dr Daniels G.R.,MI

Jim Scott

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Re: effect from sleeping on AN side
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2010, 02:45:12 pm »
Tom ~

I didn't have this experience and frankly, I would have been slightly alarmed to wake up 'tasting blood' with 'slightly bloody saliva'.  I have to echo Denise's suggestion to call your doctor's office to ask why this is happening and if it has any negative consequences.  Probably not, but better to know than simply guess. 

Post-op, my 'AN side' was sore for months.  However, somewhere around 9 months out of surgery, the soreness dissipated and I was able to sleep on my 'AN side' again.  Now, almost 4 years post-op, I have no trouble resting my head on the side where my incision was made but that area remains a bit more sensitive than the rest of my skull, although not enough to be a problem. I trust that your incision area will eventually heal to the point where the taste of blood and slightly bloody saliva will no longer be an issue. 

Jim
4.5 cm AN diagnosed 5/06.  Retrosigmoid surgery 6/06.  Follow-up FSR completed 10/06.  Tumor shrinkage & necrosis noted on last MRI.  Life is good. 

Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is.  The way we cope with it is what makes the difference.

Mei Mei

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Re: effect from sleeping on AN side
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2010, 04:17:45 pm »
Dear Tom
I had my surgery on Jan 12 and have no trouble sleeping on both sides.  Frankly the taste and/or blood post AN surgery would have me worried enough to call the doctor or even visit the doctor.

Take care, Tom,
Mei Mei
1 cm Tumor RetrosigmoidSurgery on Jan 12 at Johns Hopkins
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35dB loss pre surgery and now SSD
Post surgical Headaches and Tinnitus
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Dr. Schwartz GW  Titanium Mesh  March 2012
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painter

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Re: effect from sleeping on AN side
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2010, 04:46:05 pm »
Thanks for the concerns. I'm taking your advice and seeing an ENT doctor on Tuesday. There are so many weird symptoms associated with this surgery that it's easy to blow off many of them as part of the package. Hopefully, this is not related.
Tom

painter

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Re: effect from sleeping on AN side
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2010, 10:06:02 am »
I took the suggestions and saw an ENT. He is convinced it has nothing to do with my AN surgery, but is due to tiny nosebleeds caused by the arid climate here and the fact I'm on Coumadin. That was a relief until he wanted a CTscan because he saw a pollup. Do these medical things ever end? Anyway, I can now mark off blood in the mouth as having to do with my surgery.

james e

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Re: effect from sleeping on AN side
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2010, 10:25:37 am »
I have slept on a buckwheat hull pillow for years...Amazon.com, or sometimes Walgreens. I sleep on my surgery side too. The buckwheat pillow allows you to form it in all types of shapes. I "drill" a small hole with my fist, and my ear and scar area do not touch my pillow. You can make the pillow thick, thin, angle shape, just any way you want it. Try it and you will never go back to another type of pillow.

James

painter

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Re: effect from sleeping on AN side
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2010, 01:54:32 pm »
I have slept on a buckwheat hull pillow for years...Amazon.com, or sometimes Walgreens. I sleep on my surgery side too. The buckwheat pillow allows you to form it in all types of shapes. I "drill" a small hole with my fist, and my ear and scar area do not touch my pillow. You can make the pillow thick, thin, angle shape, just any way you want it. Try it and you will never go back to another type of pillow.

James

Thanks, James, I'm going to try it.
Tom