ANA Discussion Forum
Treatment Options => Radiation / Radiosurgery => Topic started by: Larry on January 18, 2009, 04:22:09 pm
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Hi all,
I'm faced with the prospect of either a one off hit with a Linac (similar but slightly different to GK) or a fractionated approach.
I'm interested to hear recovery times from either approach - that is, hoe long did you have to wait until you could go back to work.
cheers
laz
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Hi Laz,
I had my last of three CK zaps on a Friday, and was back at work the following Monday. I was not 100% for a few months, with fatigue days and pressure days, but I was able to show up, anyway, and get something done most of the time. I think that is a pretty common experience, with maybe more fatigue the first week if you get your radiation all in one day.
Steve
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Larry:
for what it's worth, I underwent FSR (Linac) - 26 daily 'low-dose' hits - and suffered no discernible negative effects. I'm retired, but I could have been working and remained unaffected by the FSR. I drove myself on the daily 62-mile round trip. No problem. On the basis of the practically non-existent ramifications of the treatment, I recommend it. I hope it's available to you.
Jim
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i finished 3 doses of ck last Tuesday. jan 13.
i worked day 1 - day 2 also.
day 3, i worked about 5 hours. tues
i took off the day after treatment. wed.
Thursday - i worked about 5 hours.
friday -i worked ABOUT 7 TO 8 HOURS.
TOMMORROW, I WILL FLY TO SAN FRANCISCO FOR 3 DAYS
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Thx for the responses guys - I'm starting to feel more relaxed because when i had surgery - i was out of work for 6 weeks recuperating - and being self employed - well thats a tough one especially in the current economic climate.
i guess the "up and about time" is dependant on how well the treatment went and how the body responds but the positive news so far is encouraging.
cheers
Laz
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Laz,
I asked my employer for the entire week off after my GK, because I thought that I would need it for my recovery. I could have gone to work the next day, I didn't have any symptoms, except from some swelling on the forehead because of the frame. That took 2-3 days to go away completely. Other than that, I didn't miss a day of work.
Marianna
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I felt great walking out the door after my GK treatment. Only had a slight headache for a couple of days and took Tylenol. Pin sites were no big deal. Third day out went on a six mile walk. Fifth day out got hit with a balance issue that resolved itself. Back to my volunteer work (not working right now) exactly a week later. Fatigue has been the hardest. Just have to pace yourself. Little things will crop up here and there. I am only three months out so I don't have a lot of experience under my belt. Best thing for me so far.....I haven't lost any hearing post GK. Nancy ;D
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Hi, Laz:
I am probably the exception, but I was profoundly exhausted for most of the two weeks after CK, with only a brief respite around days 5 through 8 post-treatment. At the 2-week mark, I went on a very demanding business trip with loooooooong work hours; did okay til I got home and then collapsed. (Read: I did too much too soon.) At the one-month mark, I slowly began to recover my energy. By the 2-month mark, I was beginning to rally strongly. At the 3-month mark (and since), I felt my energy level had virtually rebounded 100% back to what it was before treatment.
Much depends on the size of the tumor and its location. But exactly how you'll respond to radiotherapy remains largely a crapshoot.
FWIW, if I had to do it all over, I'd do it exactly the same way (except for the business trip! ::) ).
Best wishes,
Tumbleweed
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Hey, my VERY dear Laz!
Same boat for me as with Steve and Tumbleweed! I finished my "fractionated" (CK) on a Friday, back at work Monday. Fatigue set in and I just set my pace with how my body was reacting. Chose fractionated (in my case) for hearing preservation.
I know you have been riddled with feeling like crap a lot.... so regardless of what you choose (where's the Captn when we need her?), it's time for your AN to "die sucker, die!" :)
I'm behind you all the way!
xoxoxoxo
Phyl
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I had my GK on a Friday...stayed overnight (standard steroid treatments/swelling monitoring)...went home Saturday, returned to work Monday.
I felt a little tired on Saturday, like I did a whole bunch of yardwork. No headaches, or any other side effects immediately after treatment. I drove home from UVA about an hour and a half drive with my wife.
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Thx guys,
A fairly common theme with the odd exception but by and large, I'm confident i have made the right decision
cheers
Laz
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Laz, are you leaning toward Linac or fractionated? Just curious.
TW
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Hi guys,
I've pretty much decided that i will have a fractionated approach. TW, the machine in Oz is a Linac machine. i will have 5 treatments and a total of 22Gy. this seems to be about the norm. I've booked it for just after easter.
because my AN is pressing on the brain stem, it was advised that a fractionated approach is better than a single hit. I must say that it didn't take long for me to agree to that coz the thought of a helmet screwed into my head for the single hit approach was not appealing.
Oh well, just got to get on with it now.
laz
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YAY! A decision!!!!!!!! I'm behind you 200%! Please plu-eeeeeze keep me updated!!!!!!!!!!
xoxo
Phyl
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Hi, Laz:
It sounds like you've made a great choice, and one which incidentally I would've made, too, if I lived in your area.
One note of interest but which you might already know: if the 22 Gy you referred to was derived by simply adding up the Gy for each treatment to reach a total figure, the biologically equivalent dose (or the equivalent dose in Gy if it was all delivered in one dose) will actually be less than that. For example, I got around 6 Gy for each of my three CK treatments, yet the biologically equivalent dose was -- if I remember correctly -- somewhere in the11.5 to 13 Gy range and not 18 Gy (I'd have to look in my notes to jar my memory for the exact figure).
Best wishes for a successful treatment and ultra-fast recovery, Laz!
TW
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I had my CK treatments on January 14, 15 and 16 at Stanford. I really can't tell that I had anything done and I went back to work the following Tuesday (Monday was MLK day so I didn't have to work). I am not any more tired than I would be on any other normal work day. I only work part time (4 hours a day) so maybe that is a factor but I have't gone home and been exhausted either. I painted my bedroom the week before we left and I painted the bathroom last week (the week after we got back). I didn't have headaches or balance problems before CK and I haven't had any problems with that since then either. I really don't feel any different. If I hadn't been told that I had an AN, I wouldn't know that I had one. My biggest problem is that my face is numb, I lack taste on the AN side and since my diagnosis, I have tinnitus. Dr. Chang told me that whatever symptoms I had going in to CK, wiould probably be permanent and if there is inflammation on down the line, it would probably be those same symptoms that I currently have that would increase in intensity.
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i had reported only some tiredness during and after the ck. i am now 2 weeks after the treatments. i missed two partial days during treatment and took the day after just to rest. now i have some days that i feel very good - about 2/3 of time. the other 1/3 - i do get tired. my wife has given me a lot of couch time! i work on average 10 hours per day and have raveled to teh west coast for business for 3 days after CK.
i had some headaches going in - the frequency is down. in th epast 3 months before - 1 bad one .... but i did have one really bad one after ck. one day only - thank goodness.
i had a little balance issue going in and it is about the same.
hearing and ringing - no discernable difference.
when i went to west coast, i took wife along to help in case that i did not feel well ---- this was not needed, infact we went sight seeing in the evenings.
all in all - i can only point to the tiredness as an issue --- but this is not enough to affect work - just waht i do in the evenings.
carter
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Larry, so happy you've made your decision. If I had a choice, I'd probably choose fractionated now. There was only the GK machine here when I had my AN nuked, so that's what I went with. Actually, I think because I didn't sleep much for that first week is what bothered me the most. The steroids kept me awake so I was pretty miserable. It took me 3 weeks to feel "normal".
Sue in Vancouver USA