ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: Crazycat on December 13, 2006, 04:56:54 pm
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Hello all!
I Just returned from Dr. Michael McKenna's ( Neurotologist at large) office at Mass Eye & Ear in Boston. For the most part, I'm in extremely good condition since my surgeries last year. I do however, have some issues with left-side impairment that are bothering me. Totally deaf in one ear - left-side - while being, let's say, an "inconvenience" is something I've been living with for five years prior to diagnosis and treatment and have no problem dealing with, even as a professional musician if you can believe it.
What's really bothering me is the impairment or lack of control I'm experiencing when it comes to handwriting and even guitar playing. Not only did I have excellent penmanship throughout my life but have also had considerable talent as an artist and illustrator. Now, although I can still get by with these skills, my abilities have been seriously compromised. I'm earnestly hoping and praying that these skills that I "had" will eventually return in full force after diligently and ceaselessly working them.
The good doctor spoke of "retraction of the cerebellum" and that typically, most of the healing that we can expect to occur in this area will occur within a year or so after surgery ( I'm now 1 year and 3 months out). It seems that in my case, I have a mild case of this affliction, in spite of the fact that I had a tumor the size of a grapefruit and two shunt surgeries for hydrocephalus. The difficulties that I'm experiencing however, are minor in comparison to how bad it could be, i.e.: problems with movement, walking, or balance.
I was speaking with a woman I know that has M.S. a month ago. Out of the blue she complained to me that her handwriting was shot - among other things. I thought that was interesting, not having M.S. yet having a similar malady.
The cranial nerves, while being so close together at the skull base, act as a sort of wiring harness that often gets short-circuited during the course of an invasive surgical procedure and/or from impingement of an invading growth. We've all experienced it, one way or another, whether the problem involves sensation (trigeminal nerve), facial movement (facial nerve), taste (chorda tympani nerve), auditory, vestibular and other problems I can't even think of. The purpose of this thread is to now append "cerebellar retraction" and the resulting problems that may arise from it into our litany of medical grievances.
Here is a publication that I found pertaining to the subject at hand:
http://www.otology-neurotology.com/pt/re/otoneuroto/abstract.00129492-200207000-00028.htm;jsessionid=FQ9pJJsnhTBKwt2LTQSh541XJfjxQvHM7S3p8p8fLkSsPGvnPyhJ!918851391!-949856145!8091!-1
If anyone is experiencing this problem with handwriting or has gotton over it after surgery, CK or radiation please feel free to chime in!
Take care, Paul
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WHAT ELSE IS GOING TO HAPPEN POST-OP ????
Jeez, Paul, & this is your livelihood !!!!!!! Haven't read the insert yet, I'm still shocked to hear there can be more heading down the pike !
Obviously, at 5 1/2 months post op, I'm not having that problem. When I 1st tried to play the piano post op (besides forgetting a memorized piece ),
looking at the keys made me whoozy, took some time, still a little off..... but to hear there can be more of a problem !!! I write alot at work, I've taken
to copying drs. notes that are too long.
This is just TOO much ! I hope things improve for you - I'm sure more for you than me, MUSIC IS YOUR LIFE, art also.
Best wishes to you, Nancy
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Paul,
I hope these symptoms resolve for you...
I personally have to wonder about "retraction" being the "culprit". If "impingement" is an issue then wouldn't an An simply by "being" there have an affect on nerves?
There are / can be a myriad of symptoms many of which most of us do not mention simply because they don't seem to be important. Then again, whatever the An sits on, or impinges on, plenty of symptoms can happen.
Perhaps the best thing to do for all of us is to mention anything new to our doctors?
I, myself. ignore some mainly because they seem unimportant in the "bigger" picture.
I find myself thinking now "wait a minute" i don't remember having that before?
Perhaps if we reported more of them, we'd have better research answers.
I say this as I think, well, Ans grow on nerves, so wouldn't any strange new symtpoms have a part to play in all this?
Again, it's the diffrence between a macro and micro picture of Ans...
Hope you get answers and better soon,
Windsong
PS short term memory made me forget the bit about handwriting? yes, handwriting which used to be oh so nice is all over the map along with the dyslexic typing....for me
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Paul,
Interesting article. I've been wondering for some time if cerebellar issues may be involved for post treatment AN patients who have vestibular issues. I'm not sure that losing a vestibular nerve on one side can explain the whole range of the vestibular symptoms. We tend to focus on direct damage, like a severed nerve, but damage to the blood vessels supplying blood to parts of the cerebellum would have a similar effect.
Regards,
Rob
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  I too still have some minor problems with handwritting..  and belive it or not .. I sometimes miss-spell my name! .. not sure why I do it , but you know how your hand just sort of "knows" how to things... well my hand has forgot .. and commonly leaves out a letter ...and the same letter all the time!
  I have a thoery! ..
  now think star-trek .. the shortest point between to spots on a graph .. can be shorted if you bend the paper! ..
  now think you brain is the paper ... what was the shortest point (a comressed brain because of the AN). is now no longer the shortest point! assuming we had the AN for a long time ....our brain learned the shortest route... and now its not ... we have to re-learn .. and it might take (another 40 years in my case) ...
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Paul - handwriting difficulties have been a frustrating issue since surgery. I too used to have nice penmanship, but find it hard to complete certain letters as I am wiriting and it ends up looking like chicken scratch.  While writing in cursive, I find it difficult to complete an "O, S, B" and a few others. If I take it very slowly and concentrate it is much better. Sometimes I will write faster than my brain can process (hope that makes sense) and words are jumbled, as if my brain and hand are out of sync.
What has helped me re-train my brain to some extent is purchasing printing and cursive writing handbooks that grammar school kids use. (The ones that you trace over)
I also used to do alot of fine needlework, but that has also become a challenge.
Cheryl
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Cheryl,
I understand you perfectly. It's making those loops on the fly that are especially difficult - Thank god for computers and word processors!
So this has been plaguing you since 1990? This does not bode well for "getting back up to snuff" so to speak! :( At least anytime soon....
Paul
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well, only with respect to handwriting i hope , Paul...
???
handwriting was one of the first things apart from balance and vertigo that i was aware of... (close behind was the head wonky/cognitive aspects)
I at first put down the bad handwriting to being tired, you know the type... from being tired, not like "tired" An-wise now that I know about my An
later came other symptoms.... years before someone acted on my request for an mri
in between i do recall a bad time for all manner of things that meant punching in buttons on doodads regarding numbers... for a while i had others nearby do it for me...
must be a cognitive and muscle message system gone awry along with the nerve impulses to them.... ???
W.
about 5 yrs after that I got my An mri diagnosis
Cheryl,
  I understand you perfectly. It's making those loops on the fly that are especially difficult - Thank god for computers and word processors!
So this has been plaguing you since 1990? This does not bode well for "getting back up to snuff" so to speak! :( At least anytime soon....
     Paul
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I was surfing the net yesterday and discovered something about the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome. Apparently, damage to the cerebellum creates cognitive and emotional problems. Maybe, that is an explanation why ANers with huge tumors have cognitive and emotional issues!
http://www.conquerchiari.org/subs%20only/Volume%203/Issue%203(10)/Cerebellar%20Cognitive%20Affective%20Syndrome%203(10).asp
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/121/4/545
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/129/2/306
Moreover, kids with tumors of the cerebellum suffer from something called posterior fossa syndrome which is similar to the one above. I do not have the link but you can use Google to find out more about it.
I hope the links I posted here work; I tested them on my e-mail. If not simply Google on "Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome".
Eve
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I understand what you are saying. After my AN was removed and having a blood clot a week later (sinus vein, in the brain), I couldn't eat with a fork (without wearing half of it) and write. I have been back to work full-time and I have noticed that my writing has gotten better. I can tell when I'm tired, it looks bad. (Christmas cards were a typed letter this year).
I just don't know if it was the AN or blood clot!!??!!
I only hope that it will come back sometime, like (HOPEFULLY) everything else.
Angie
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thanks for the sites re the cerebellum and motor and thinking activity mixing up... i found it very interesting reading.... maybe it explains the dyslexic typing.....
wonderful to be picking up info like that as some of the issues aren't all that big that we aners have yet they leave such questions in my mind as long term memory lol tell sme this is not my "normal"...
W.
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Wonderful thread and info, thanks all. I too have problems with hand writing and typing. hand writing went to the dogs years before I was diagnosed with an AN. Typing has gottne progressively worse over the past few years to the present level. Slight improvement lattely. Only when i get tired I need to be really conscious of how I type. Going to read those documents ow. Thanks again!!! :)
Ciao
Lorenzo
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Hi Paul
Just a quick note, I'm headed to work, but Chet also experienced handwriting problems and at first blamed it on the surgery and retraction, but when we looked into it deeper I discovered that his handwriting had been declining prior to discovery of the tumor. he had to keep daily logs at work. By the day of discovery it was almost unreadable. I'll read your posting and all replies to the tread later, but I personally believe that it may have something to do with the size of the tumor and brainstem and damage to the nerves.
Don't give up, the timeline for inprovement is larger then the timeframe you listed. Chet has never recover the penmanship, but did recover his ability to print to some degree. (slower and more effort needed) and this happenned way beyond the 3 months, more like 3 years post op.
Thinking of you
Raydean
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Raydean,
The same holds for me as well: I began noticing a decline in my penmanship well before diagnosis and surgery. The growth was so big it began impinging on my cerebellum. At first I had been attributing this decline to not writing as much as I used to before relying on a computer keyboard.
I remembered back when I was in elementary school and resuming class after summer vacation, it was tough getting the writing hand working properly again chiefly because I was still so young and just hadn't deveoped the muscles and nerve pathways enough to function strongly after taking a three month hiatus. Due to my relying on the computer to write as an adult, this is what I thought in principle, was happening.
Thanks for your feedback and say hi to Chet for me! Paul
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(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r274/ktaylor62243/scan.jpg)
Taylor wrote this just a couple days before her surgery. I kept it. She started telling us a month or two before she was diagnosed that she couldn't write or type like she used to. Yes, her handwriting got much slower and messier after surgery. That frustrates her a lot. She can write but must go slow which is a real problem now that she's taking college courses. She does get help from the special services department there, but wishes she didn't need it. By the way, she earned a "B" in algebra for the fall semester!!!!! I'm sure I couldn't do that. I try to encourage her to practice the handwriting to improve her speed, but she doesn't do it enough.
Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!
Kathy
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Hi Cathy,
Glad you wrote in, sorry it's about the handwriting issue.
I don't have that problem, thank God, got enough to deal with.
I'm writing this because I'm so glad to hear Taylor is off to college, & doing good. I loved algebra when I took it, good for her.
I think alot about Taylor (and Chris), so young to have gone thru this. Wonder how her facial paralysis is doing, any improvement.
I had written to others re: Dr. Michael Sachs in New York - his website shows before and after pictures of people with facial paralysis.
He does facial reanimation. You may want to check it out if the docs don't think her facial nerve will regenerate.
Also Dr. Azizzadeh in Cal. does facial reanimation (he did Mary Jo Buttafucco)
Anyway, always glad to see you guys online. Take care, Nancy
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Thanks for the post Kathy!
  I was waiting to hear from Taylor because I remember her mentioning that she was having a problem with her penmanship. Super frustrating to be attending classes and having to take notes down - fast! I remember how it was. I used to envy people that knew shorthand back then and I didn't even have a problem with my writing. Carrying a mini cassette recorder to class would probably do the trick!
  I suppose we should be thankful that this problem hasn't clouded our abiliity to think at all.
Having healed up so much since surgery, I recently remembered how messed up I was for the first 2-3 weeks. I had to be spoon fed for the first 2 weeks - that I was actually able to even take food in - because one half of my mouth was so numb and my motor skills were shot. I had total double vision for months afterward along with balance problems that have stabilized considerably since then.
The surgery in my case was so radical I had to have a feeding tube shoved down my gullet because they did not trust my ability to swallow. That was intensly uncomfortable and I ended up yanking the thing out on my own because it was compromising my ability to breath, never mind talk.
They didn't feed me for at least 4 days after that. I survived on the I.V. alone!
Also, thanks for those links jerseygirl!
 Paul (Intravenus DeMilo)
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Dyslexic typing I thought was just my problem since I don't write much. Hope it doesn't change much with surgery. I have to retype half or what I write now.
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My guess given the number of "bad-handwriting", deterioration etc is a result of something in the brain not sending the right signals for thought/visual/ motor/ doing it ect.... nerve passages? maybe research is being done on that one...
It's affected me big time and i never did learn typing in school but i sure had the accuracy to write almost error free typing in my novels and stories... what i write now takes phenomenal sp checks or re-reading even in posts. A real bummer.....
I am happy to hear Taylor is out and about. That's super!
I want to add at the risk of sounding like a "mother hen" (i can think of other words myself :D) is she wearing ear plugs during any concerts? Also, if she is falling and has back painof any kind after I assume she has mentioned this to her doctor.
I know I know..... i sound like a worry wart.. .
I think it's superbly wonderful that Taylor is doing those two courses and finished the previous two!!!! Congratulations and way to go!!!!
Good news.!!
Windsong
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I think, especially for me, some of my handwriting difficulties come from the balance nerve loss. I can no longer do any kind of free-hand perspective drawing because my horizontal and vertical lines are so off. If I paint any buildings at all, I have to work from a photograph and use an opaque projector to get my drawing right. In trying to freehand a horizon, it drops off to the left really badly. I now have to use a T-square cuz I can no longer eyeball a horizontal line. I did a pastel post op of a sky with a sailboat marina at the bottom of the picture all the masts were skewed to the left about 20 degrees. I didn't even notice it--Dr Love pointed it out. Now I use the T-square to check my horizontals and verticals. Same with horizontals and verticals in my handwriting.
Capt Deb 8)
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same with me capt Deb!
i left off serious writing to take up painting and drawing....uh huh.... and then as the last few years passed on by i ...ahem ...discovered that my previous great eyeballing of shapes and lines went ..umm.. ...
d
o
n
h
i
l
l
oops... looks like the sp and dysleixia is still there ... missed the furth letter in dwonhilllll... aieeeeee...
windsong
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:(
I can't sketch and do my watercolours yet. I'm hoping I can improve in time. At this time of year, I had orders for Christmas and was painting-away. I pulled my other works from the stores and not painting right now. I will begin to try and get back into this, when ready. CrazyCat is my inspiration to continue with music and arts.
Palace
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Thank-you Palace!
I've been going crazy around here with the approaching holidays.
My handwriting seems to be getting worse over time.
Paul
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Paul,
  have you tried to practice? .. writing your name over and over? .. I don't practice anymore, but I find I just have to re-learn everything .. I did not learn to write as a child overnight and it wont re-learn it a second time any faster!!
Deb,
all the masts were off by the same amount of degrees? .. I find that really interesting .. because it goes to prove my theory that we have a hard time driving to writing because our sense of were are hands are in 3 dimensional space is different now that one of our inner ears are gone .. we just have to re-learn it .. just like a child is first walking, they are a little tipsy or their writing is bad .. we will just have to re-learn it.
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Yes Joe,
I've tried doing that occasionally. Evidently, not near enough. I hope that the damage done is not irreversible.
Paul
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Hello everybody.
My brother had 3,5 cm AN removed 7 months ago. Everything is slowly (!!!!) improving. We are very concerned for the lack of hand coordination (noticeable with the handwriting). Did the coordination with any of you get back to normal after several months? Are your physicians optimistic regarding this issue? Our clinicians are very vague regarding the hand coordination.
Thank you very much for your help and for this wonderful forum,
Max
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……………….and (before I forget), is anybody aware of any specific therapy to facilitate the recovery for the hand?
Thanks a lot,
Max
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The only therapy I know would be occupational therapy and physical therapy. With OT they have the patient do things like write their name on a lined paper, write the alphabet, perform hand eye coordination procedures. It's pretty much the same with PT.
Things you can do,
get a kids spelling book (they're cheap at wal mart) the ones that have the letters traced out and practice those, dot to dot puzzles,
perfection (game w/ timer for hand eye coordination try to beat your time)
you can pretty much use anything..jacks, catch, practice with your non dominant hand not just the dominant one. anything to challenge your brain.
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I did PT (physical therapy) for a few months .. it does help .. it can be hard but you just have force yourself to do things --- and it will get better over time ...
when I first went back to work as a programmer, it was VERY hard to type ...I spent the better part of an hour just logging in for the first time it weeks .. I must of typed my password over a dozen times .. I just could not do it right.. but I forced myself .. it took a lot of time but now 40-50 hours a week of typing I am "almost" back .. and that's 1.5 years later!!... so yes -- it takes a lot of time and practice ...
handwriting is better, but it not "back" but then again I don't write that much .. (everything is on the computers) .. I hate writing checks .. they look like a 5 year old wrote them ... I suspect it will take years to come back, unless I pratice more.. (which I won't :o ) ...
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Hi everyone,
Sorry I haven't been contributing; I've been in Florida for over two weeks and will be here into April. The weather's been great! Seems we escaped New England in just the nick of time!
Well Joe, I can empathize with you. I hope it all comes back.
Paul
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Joef I hate writing checks! If I can't do it on the computer then it doesn't need to be written LOL
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Max,
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I think that the only thing we can do in this area is to just keep practicing in order to retrain our brain and hand. I've also noticed that while I used to hold the pen in my hand comfortably and write or draw tirelessly for hours on end, my hand now feels strained and even gnarled while clutching it, almost as if I've been afflicted with some kind of palsy.
Even while in the midst of laboriously scrawling out a word or sentence, I find that I have to pause in mid-word or even mid-letter to sort of re-orient myself in following through the motion. Holding the pen doesn't even feel comfortable or natural like it used to.
Paul
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I am going to add my 2 cents worth. I am right handed and my AN was on the left so luckily my handwriting has not been affected. However, my left side is about 2-3 seconds slower than my right side. When i am really tired my left foot kind of drags, running is impossible, unless I want to look like Phoebe on friends. My ENT surgeon said to use it or loose it. That this is not an uncommon occurence with large tumors. So i try really hard to use my left hand, he also said that a good way to get my coordination back was to eat with my left hand. Just to let you know it is not a pretty sight, and something you should only do in the privacy of your own home, away from teenage boys! ;D
Another thing I have been experiencing since day one, is i have no hot/cold sensation in my right side. I am finally getting some sensation in my right fingertips, but no where else. It is weird but i have grown acustomed to it. I just have to be careful when cooking and in the lovely MN winter. My dr. said this lack of sensation is the result of a "brain stem insult" during my AN removal. He said they must have tapped my brain stem. He said all feeling should come back. Takes forever!
So that's my two cents worth. Thanks for listening (reading),
Denise
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Hi Denise!
Why'd you re-register? You ain't no newbie!
Seems that you're writing more. Are you feeling better?
Paul
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Hi, Paul,
I am feeling good. Thanks for asking. I sent you a personal note.
Denise
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Thank-you Denise, great to hear from you!
Paul
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I've also noticed that while I used to hold the pen in my hand comfortably and write or draw tirelessly for hours on end, my hand now feels strained and even gnarled while clutching it, almost as if I've been afflicted with some kind of palsy.Even while in the midst of laboriously scrawling out a word or sentence, I find that I have to pause in mid-word or even mid-letter to sort of re-orient myself in following through the motion. Holding the pen doesn't even feel comfortable or natural like it used to.
Paul
I experience the same thing.
Cheryl
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Thanks for the corroboration Cheryl!
Paul
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Paul,
It seems really heartbreaking that you once had excellent penmanship and are having trouble with your music. Did you by chance go thru any type of occupational therapy? Right after post-op, I was much like you are. Couldn't write my name, had trouble lifting filled glasses,opening soda-bottles and Milk jugs, eating with silverware..all most other things you do with your dominant hand. I've really come a long way in OT. I just graduated from OT after about 6 months (2 days a week)
At rehab they really stressed the hand out, but eventually, it slowly started to get better with practice. I do just about everything now, but it seems since I had to basically learn to use that hand over again, it does feel awkward and different than it once did. I used to never even be able to write my name, but now i'm doing about 6 or 7 sentences before my hand starts to cramp. Yeah! It feels totally different. It seems almost if the way I did it b4 wasnt working, so I had to retrain myself to do it again. I dunno, I cant really explain it.
Anways, I will keep in touch with you, I hope you progress. My cousin is an Occupational Therapist and she told me to keep doing stuff and if its challenging, then keep doing it. Its the only way to get better.
DFCMAN
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Hello Chris and thanks for the empathy and encouragement.
I've been in Florida since the beginning of the month and being away from home I'm not on the computer as much as I used to be. I'm down here spending some time with my girlfriend and trying to heal up. I've actually been doing some bike riding. Not as easy as it used to be (I used to do 30 - 50 miles a day without thinking much about it) . The hardest part is getting on and off the thing. Standing on one leg has been a bit of a challenge in the equilibrium department since surgery. Having to stand one one leg and swing the other one over the seat and then propel myself off on two wheels is a real challenge. Once I'm off and rolling I'm okay. Having to make quick, evasive maneuevers can also be troublesome. I'm sticking to bike paths because cars are now more of a menace than they ever have been for me. There's a great bike path here in Florida that runs down the gulf coast to Tampa along the Suncoast Highway. At night I go jogging. It's funny, I'll go out jogging at 11pm sometimes with shorts and a tank top and be drenched in sweat by the time I get back. And this is January!? Too much.
I'll tell you: I think one of or THE most important thing that helps a person get by with equilibrium difficulties as we have is having strong legs. Strong legs help you stay centered and grounded. I think that a discipline such as Yoga in addition to regular strength conditioning would help invaluably with balance as well as with stretching.
Another thing I've been noticing: As much of a disappointment as being irretrievably deaf in one ear is, it does not compare to the frustration and disappointments brought about by balace / equilibrium difficulties and other left or right side neurological impairment - at least in my case.
Paul
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Paul,
you are missed around these parts... and let me/us know when you head back. Give MsJody a BIG huggle from me and send some warm weather, will ya? Freezin' up here! :) Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are waiting on us!
xo
Phyl
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Hey Phyl!!
We miss you too! Jody's been doing great! She got a job down here as a "Minister of Music" ( church organist and choir director at a huge Episcopal church here in Spring Hill). The second day we were here we walked in to a local Blues Club called "The Blue Note". They had a baby grand piano in the corner. She sat down at the piano and started pounding out Elton John, Paul McCartney and some jazz standards. They hired her as a solo house act immediately. Not just one but two nights a week!
I brought enough of my gear down here to hook up with a band and work if possible, but I'm heading back home in April so it really wouldn't be fair to get myself too involved with people down here, unless it was a fantastic situation.
Are you planning another brunch? And where the heck is Captn' Deb??
Paul
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looking for brunch in March/April... check the "AN Community" forum.. see the posting there.
GREAT news about Jody! As for you, I have a sneaky feeling you are getting some real good jammin' in with bands down there. Best stay there rest of winter... the cold blasts we have recently been getting have not been pretty to this AN'er.
Miss ya!
Phyl
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Phyl, please try for late April with the brunch. I'll be home by then for sure.
Paul
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yeah Paul..i'd imagine that riding a bike would be kinda scary. But I did hear that its one of the best things for your balance. My PT has been working on my legs a lot. I do a leg press with about 190 lbs and some things with the quads. I have also been standing on one foot and tossing a 6 lb ball at a trampoline. I admit that helps a lot. I used to only be able to do about 1 or 2 tosses and now im up to about 15-20. With my right leg...I guess that's the bad one. But yeah, its all getting better, pretty quickly. Im at about 85-90% now id say. 6 weeks ago I was sayin about 75-80%. So it helps that im still doing it and also im trying to stay active and might start running here when the weather up here in Pennsylvania gets warmer. Hope all is well. Take Care Paul.
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Bumped to forefront.....
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Hi Paul--How are you--Still enjoying FL weather, I'm sure!!! I met w/Dr Barker who referred me ot Dr Loeffler (radiation specialist) as Dr Barker said 10% chance of further damaging my weakened facial nerve if repeat surgery (didn't want that anyway)--anyhow I mentioned the NE brunch bunch and when I described you (as I don't know your last name) he smiled broadly and chuckled and so you made an impression on him!! I will see Dr Loeffler March 21..
Regarding your hand-writing--it occurred to me that I think quicker than I write (same goes w/typing but I never was a good typist) and have to concentrate so the words I am writing are clear.. I have a printing/proofreading background so grammar and spelling are important to me. I had retrosigmoid (w/retraction of cerebellum) but I can't be 100% positive my handwriting has been impaired beause of that as when I am hurried or stressed I can't write quickly anyway....
Jut had to add my two cents' worth--I'm now going to check to see i fPhyl has made progress w/the brunch date!!
Take care and looking forward to seeing you again and hopefully meeting your gal!! Mary...
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Hi Mary!!
Yes, I'm still down here with Jody! I'll be returning to MA the second week of April. Looking forward to seeing all of you at the brunch again at "Maxwell Silver Hammerman's". And thanks for mentioning me to Dr. Barker. You know, he said that he would prescribe the same treatment for me in the event of any regrowth.
Take care and see you soon, Paul
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I would have never thought my AN could possibly be the reason for my poor handwriting. It has been bad for years and since my surgery I found when I do need to write a check I usually have to write it a couple of times because I totally hose up the information. I constantly get letters mixed up so I feel better now knowing that it is not my old age but possibly that stinking tumor and the after effects.
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TP,
From the profile you've provided of the size of the tumor and the accompanying symptoms, I'd say yes, the sloppy handwriting is directly related to it.
Your symptoms - minus the facial paralysis - sound like what I went through. I think they left a bit of the growth behind on my facial nerve so as to avoid damaging it. I'm very fortunate to have gotten through without any facial nerve difficulties.
Paul
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Paul - handwriting difficulties have been a frustrating issue since surgery. I too used to have nice penmanship, but find it hard to complete certain letters as I am wiriting and it ends up looking like chicken scratch. While writing in cursive, I find it difficult to complete an "O, S, B" and a few others. If I take it very slowly and concentrate it is much better. Sometimes I will write faster than my brain can process (hope that makes sense) and words are jumbled, as if my brain and hand are out of sync.
What has helped me re-train my brain to some extent is purchasing printing and cursive writing handbooks that grammar school kids use. (The ones that you trace over)
I also used to do alot of fine needlework, but that has also become a challenge.
Cheryl
I have this same exact problem at work and notice that when I try to write I end up either writing too fast or too slow and messing up even simple letters or numbers. I always thought it was because I might have ADD but it seemed to have started after my surgeory a few years ago.