Side effects, BAHA, and distractions

[leapyrtwins]

Don -

thanks for the update.  Please tell Tammy we are thinking of her and give her our best.

Jan

[cmp]

Thanks for the update, Don! So glad to hear Tammy is safely out of surgery, that they got the tumor out, and that the prognosis for her facial nerve is good.

Please pass along our best wishes to her for speedy healing, and please take care of yourself, too!

Carrie

[4cm in Pacific Northwest]

Hang in there Tammy.

Healing happens and it does get better. The 1st 3 month are tough as not only the surgery is hard on the body but so are all the meds they give you.

Be sure to do all that your doctor and physiotherapists tell you to do.

One thing I will talk about is “ poop � (bathroom humor always makes my kids laugh). Know that the bed resting and the painkillers cause constipation … and there is nothing in the recovery stage that we can’t talk about here on the forum.

I hope everything is flowing smoothly for you… keep moving forward…

Healing happens! It does get better…

Daisy Head Mazy

[LADavid]

Hi Don
Thanks for the update on Tammy.  Glad to hear things went well.  Please say hi to her and know that if either of you has any questions to fire away.  And by the way, all of us ANers have been pirates on this ship.  It comes with the territory.

Best wishes to you both

David

[leapyrtwins]

Daisy Head Mazy -

good point about "poop".  Most doctors recommend stool softeners for a period of time post op to take care of this problem.  But it's worth mentioning since not all doctors follow the same protocol.

Jan

[Debbi]

Also eating lots of fruits, vegetable, whole grains will help with the "pooping" - and staying away from meat and cheese which are natural "binders."  I am a big fan of stewed prunes (I know, weird, but I love 'em) and ate tons of them for the first few weeks.  It helped..

Just remember that each day brings progresss - even if it is slower than most of us would like.

You go, Tammy!

Debbi

[Pooter]

I will echo what others have said.  I had my surgery about 5 weeks ago and I'm still healing.  She will too, it will just take some time.  The facial nerve being ticked off by the treatment is normal and will go away with time.  Glad to hear that her surgery was a success.  Every day will bring sucess and healing.  Just keep at it even when it doesn't seem to help at first.  Thanks for the update and stay strong for her.  Give her a big huggles for us and tell her we're all thinking of her.

Brian

[Tamara]

Another update on Tammy's surgery.  The analysis on the tumor came back and its an Adipose Neuroma not your "usual" acoustic neuroma although I can't say that there is anything usual about an acoustic neuroma .  The adipose neuroma is very rare and made up from fat cells from what they tell me.  Tammy said that this is just her luck to get an oddball tumor of an oddball tumor.  The good news is that they have never been known to come back once removed.  The bad news is that the tumor was "sticky" .  Usually the surgeon just sort of peals the tumor of to what it touches.  Tammy's surgeon had to cut it off everything it touches.   

Tammy's progress since the surgery has been mixed.  She had great facial movement coming out of surgery which diminished the next few days due to the facial nerve seeking vengence for having its crib messed with.  Yesterday she needed to get her eye taped shut because it wouldn't fully close.  This of course is bumming her out.  This morning and early afternoon was a low point.  She was very nauseous and her shoulder/back was hurting her.  I think it was due to having her head turned for 7 hours during the surgery that it just didn't sit right.  Tonight she was much improved.  They gave her a shot for the nausea (I will take a scotch, thankyou!) because she couldn't keep the pills down.  The pain in her back subsided and she thinks that she will forgo the pain meds.

Basically she is just impatient and she thought she would be much further along now even though her doctor told her than the facial nerve would get worse before it got better and she only had surgery 3 days ago for cry, eye, eye.

Just trying to keep her spirits up and hoping of the best.

I will let you know more when I know more

Don

(Tammy's husband -  who has to keep making sure to post this or she will torture me)

[leapyrtwins]

Don -

thanks for the update - we'd hate to see you get tortured 

Sorry to hear that Tammy is having some issues, but ups and downs are very normal during recovery.  It sounds like she is making progress though, and that's a good thing.  Even though it's hard, patience is absolutely vital. 

I've never heard of a Adipose Neuroma - but then again, I'd never heard of an Acoustic Neuroma until I was told I had one.  It's wonderful to hear that once this type of tumor is removed it never returns. 

I can relate to Tammy's nausea and shoulder/back pain.  I experienced these same things.  In my case the shoulder/back pain went away before the nausea did.  Try to encourage Tammy to eat despite the nausea; she needs to keep her strength up.

Please tell Tammy that we are thinking of her and wishing her the best.

Jan

[Pooter]

Thanks for the update, Don.  It took me several to even come out of the anesthic fog and even longer to get my strength up to post on this board.  Jan is right; patience on everyone's part is vital.  She will be just fine, it will just take some time.  We definitely appreciate the updates and don't want to see you tortured. 

Brian

[Jim Scott]

Don:

Appreciate the update on Tammy.

I'm sorry to learn of her problems but overall, it seems as if she's doing O.K.  Time does heal and patience is crucial - but sometimes elusive - so we can all cut the lady some slack as she fights to recover after a serious surgery.  An Adipose Neuroma is as foreign to me as to you and probably everyone else on this forum.  Even so, that it's now been excised is what counts but Tammy sure can lay claim to being unique in this regard.  Lucky her. 

Give Tammy our wishes for a quick recovery and more patience.  We appreciate your messages Don, even when posted under the threat of torture, but we also look forward to having Tamara able to post on her own.

Thanks again for your posting efforts.  Now, please go back to keeping Tammy's spirits up - where they belong. 

Jim

[LADavid]

Don, thanks once again for the update.  Please keep them coming -- until of course Tammy is able to post on her own.  We miss her.  While I didn't have the unusual tumor that she had, I did have the post-op issues that she is dealing with as did others on this forum.  Of all things at this point, please ensure that she protects her eye.  Is an opthomologist involved?.  Please know that we on this forum are a good source of experience.  If Tammy is dealing with anything she is unsure of, tell her to ask.  And I've never said this before, but she will need you.  She has us for support, but from experience, loved ones are the most important source of inspiration.

David

[sgerrard]

Hi Don,

In addition to wishing Tammy well, and telling her it will get better, I want to echo what David said, and encourage you too. As her on the spot support, she needs you to stay healthy and well rested as well, so take care of yourself through this. It sounds like she will be having some facial nerve issues, but she will get over the "hit by a truck" effect of surgery shortly, and be recovering at home pretty soon.

Keep up that good sense of humor about it, it always helps. If you need Jim or me to delete that mention of torture before she can see it, just let us know. 

Steve

[lori67]

Don, thanks for the updates on Tammy.  And if you don't keep us updated - we might have to torture you as well!   

I hope she's doing well.  It's good to be unique I guess - I think she was just trying to out-do us with her adipose neuroma!  Show off!   

I hope her bad days are behind her and it's just progress from here on in!

Lori

[Debbi]

Don-  thanks so much for the Tammy Update (even under multiple threats of torture!)

Tell Tammy to hang in there - the first few days after surgery are filled with so many new sensations (most of them unpleasant) that it is hard not to feel discouraged or afraid at times.  The addition of the ticked off facial nerve just adds more stress.   As long as the nerve is only pouting, though, this should all be temporary.  (Although, tell Tammy that she may need to redifine her own definition of "temporary" - as I have done...) 

Just make sure she is keeping her eye really well lubed.  And, if she starts to get eye irritation from the bottle drops (which I did), ask if you can go out and purchase some single use drops (NYU Hospital let my hubby do that) as they don't sting at all.  My personal favorite is either GenTeal or Refresh Celluvisc Sensitive Gel. 

Tell Tammy we are all rooting for her - and each day should get a little better.  And, Don, don't forget to take care of yourself!

Debbi