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hendi51:
My husband has been diagnosed with a AN. It is small in size, 7x5mm, but is causing some problems. He lost his hearing first, then has had dizziness since December, 2006. His dizziness isn't spinning, everything seems to be moving up and down. Sometimes the bouncing is very bad. He also complains that his head is floating and he has tinnitus though it isn't bad most of the time. His balance has been affected as he staggers like he's been drinking. He also complains that sometimes his feet don't want to move and has fallen 4 times. Luckily he hasn't injured himself other than bumps and bruises. We get another MRI Wednesday and see the ENT August 10.

Omaschwannoma:
Hi,

Sorry to hear of your husbands difficulties.  This forum is great for supporting one another through difficult times and discovering an AN and how to treat it is overwhelming.  The symptoms you describe sound very familiar and probably are coming from the balance/vestibular nerve being compromised (pressed on) by the tumor.  I am 2.5 years out of surgery and getting on with my life teaching yoga.  Getting an MRI with contrast is the only way to diagnose an AN and having another one is even better.  Take a tape recorder to your doctor appointments so you can replay later if more questions arise.  There will be many wonderful people jumping in here to talk about how to treat (three choices:  1. Watch and Wait, 2.  Surgery and 3. Radiation Treatment).  Looking into each one, talking to people who have had their treatment, and finally talking to other doctors for 2nd opinoins or sometimes even third opinoins is the best approach. 

I recommend you send away for the AN Packet filled with lots of good information and the tapes/cd's of the most recent AN Symposium held this July in Philly.  Once you've visited with your ENT you'll be back here asking more questions as you gain more knowledge and understanding.  Hope to "read" from you again. 

Dana:
Hang in there!  You've found a WONDEFUL refuge full of supportive, sympathetic, clear-thinking folks.  There's lots to learn as one makes a decision about how to proceed, and this forum and organization is a good place to reference as you sort out all the factors specific to your husband's situation.   

One of the many truths about ANs is that there doesn't seem to be alot of correlation between size of tumor and symptoms.  So, even though your husband's is small, it's having profound effects on his balance.  Perhaps it's the location of the tumor in relation to the balance nerve?  These are the kinds of facts that you and doctors have to determine as part of diagnosis so that you can decide best action plan.

As Arushi said, it's well worth joining this national organization --- an organization of patients -- and getting all the brochures, etc available.  Call 'em on Monday.  Plus you might start doing searches in this forum for the area of the country where you live (although that doesn't necessarily constrain where you get treatment, of course) so that you have some basic knowledge about teams of acoustic neuroma experts who you can go see after your ENT appointment.

Take good care.
Dana

hendi51:
Thanks Karen & Dana. He was told on May 14, about the tumor. It's on the left side. Finally we knew what was wrong. We were originally told we had 2 weeks to decide if he wanted surgery or GK. When we went back to doctor the Neurosurgeon said "wait a minute!" Lynn had a heart attack at age 55 on January 21, 2006, then stents Dec., 2006 and Feb. 2007. They don't like to do surgery on any one that has had a heart procedure for at least 6 months. He has been cleared now if the surgeon is ready but will have to be put in the hospital one week before surgery to be put on IV blood thinner. They are afraid to take him of the Plavix cold turkey. We had wondered if that would be safe. Now we know, it wouldn't. This has been a very stressful time for both of us.

Freda

Jim Scott:
hendi51:

Hi, and welcome to the forum. 

Dana is totally correct in that the size of the AN tumor and loss of balance (disequilibrium) are not necessarily related.  It's the location of the tumor that causes most of the problems.  My AN was relatively huge but I didn't develop symptoms, aside from the typical one-sided hearing loss, until 6 months prior to my diagnosis.  Until then, I was fine (I thought).  In fact, the 4.5 cm tumor had pushed my brain to one side and was beginning to compress my brainstem.  My primary care doctor was alarmed when he looked at my MRI (he called from his home, in the evening, which is very rare) and the neurosurgeon who I chose to perform the surgery was equally concerned.   So, in my experience, having severe symptoms does not automatically equate to having a large tumor.

Your husband may well be a candidate for non-invasive radiation treatment.  You will both need to learn as much as you can - this website is a fount of AN information - and make an informed treatment choices.  Don't rush into anything but don't waste time, either.  These AN tumors can grow very slowly or very quickly, in 'spurts' - and bigger is definitely not better! 

We're here to support and help you and your husband in any way possible.  Please stay connected. 

Jim

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