ANA Discussion Forum
AN Community => AN Community => Topic started by: rebarman on November 12, 2006, 10:11:13 pm
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but I guess I'm most interested in, and having trouble finding answers to, is the amount of time needed after surgery to get back to work. I have an approx. 1.5cm AN in my left ear with 70% loss of hearing. I have decided on the microsurgery option. I work at home as a CAD draftsman, an am wondering approximately how long will it be before I can get back to work. My workday consists of sitting in front of a monitor in an office next to my bedroom. I will be able to get from the bed to my desk with very little problem. I realize there will be some down time, but does anybody have any input that may help put my mind at ease. I enjoy my work and think I'd go stir crazy if I were going to have to just lay around for 3-4 weeks. Thanks for any assistance you may have.
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The recovery time depends on a number of factors, the two main ones being - what type of surgery are you going to have and also any complications as a result of the surgery.
I had middle fossa and was fortunate to not have serious balance issues, no dry eye and no facial nerve damage. I do have headaches though.
I was at work in 5 weeks and I was told that was too early. I did feel the strain and in hindsight should have waited at least another week. I do business re-engineering so had to concentraqte hard and also had to deal with very militant unions. Without the union factor, 5 weeks would have been fine.
If during surgery, you get a SCF leak or your balan ce nerve is damaged, recovery time may be longer. Others will post their view as well.
Laz
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My tumor was 2cm.  I had translabyrinth.  I had 70% hearing loss too.  There is some skull pain for a few days post op.  If you can sleep on your back (train yourself to do it now) your head won't hurt much. ÂÂ
I'd adjusted to the balance problems over time and before diagnosis.  My residual balance problems only lasted a few months post op with some special exercises and walking outdoors.  Balance was not serious problem.  All I needed was sleep and nerve rest.  I was at my keyboard from day 6 onward.  Dry eye kept me from the keyboard once in a while.  I did not spend long periods of time at the monitor.  I stayed home and recouperated on good small meals for a few weeks.  I rode in the car several times during those two weeks.  I had few head pains.  I drove a short distance round trip on my own at two weeks.  I drove longer trips at one month with another person in the car.  I maintained and redesigned our community web site from my own PC during the first month post-op.  My recovery was unremarkable and uncomplicated.
Your post op symptoms could involve cognitive issues.  With patience these thinking and eye/hand coordination problems will go away.  If you have patience with yourself, you'd be able to do your work at home.  Just don't push yourself to keep late hours.
Keep a positive idea about recovering gracefully.  Have patience on your mind.  Try to think like a lazy beach bum for a while. ;)  Good luck.
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Hi There,
If your office is right next to your bedroom and there is no outside noise and interferance, you should be in good shape. As others have said it will all depend on the outcome of your surgery. But I would guess in a few weeks or so you should be able to sit at your desk and do some work, a little at a time. The benifit you have is that when you get tired you can just move to the next room and take a nap, and go back and do a little more later. Not having to be back to an office enviornment is a huge benifit. I have a hard time being in around lots of people and noises. Best Wishes to Ya. It's a tough one, keep your thoughts as positive as possible.
Patti UT
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best case... 4 weeks .... thats what I told work .. HA ..
I was 8 weeks, worked from home the first week .. and only 1/2 days ..
at 9 weeks was working full time ... but running home to sleep! ...it takes a while to get back to your normal self...
everyone is a little different ... I would say the average is 7-8 weeks ....
it depends on the size of the tumor .. (your seem on the smaller size which is good!) ..the skill of the surgery team.... and what you do... working from home sounds good .. if you worked high steel (Skyscraper builder)... I would start looking for other work!!
Over a year post op.. I'm back to working crazy hours ... its been a slow process .. I little at a time .. but life has returned to its normal crazy schedule...
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Hello rebarman:
I had a hard time concentrating the first four weeks. After that, it got better every day but slowly.ÂÂ
I took 8 weeks off work. Until then, I needed an am and pm nap to keep going. Fatigue after surgery is normal. You just need to listen to your body and let your brain rest when it wants to.
When is your surgery?
Good luck to you, Kathy
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As you've probably picked up on by now, the only real answer is "it depends!" LOL! You do have an advantage in that your work isn't physically intensive and you could go take a nap in the middle of the workday if needed. That may make it easier for you to ease back into things earlier than others were able to. But it will also depend on how your concentration, vision (dry eye), and balance (which can make it hard to focus on a monitor) are affected.
My story:
I had translab surgery to remove a 2.3 cm tumor. The first two weeks I felt pretty lousy. At 4 weeks, I was taking care of my two very young sons by myself (though doing so from the sofa for quite a bit) during the day, and feeling completely drained by evening. By 6 weeks, I was running after my kids normally and felt pretty much the same as I did pre-op. I've also been told by the doctors that my recovery has been "remarkable." At least your job is less physically demanding than taking care of two energetic, boisterous, little boys all day! LOL!
Katie
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Hi
I'm a "Newbie" also but, there is that forum with doctors and other sources of information. Cover all the bases you can to get your information.
I will be having a Ct. Scan two weeks from today, at Stanford. (CK the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after that. (22 mm AN)
The waiting and gathering the information can sometimes be the hardest part of the whole thing.
We are here for your questions as many as you like.
Good Luck,
Palace
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rebarman
Welcome. I cannot answer the surgical questions you have asked, but I did want to chime in and wish you well and know that we are here to help, loan a shoulder worth making soggy, a bad drink and sharing as my experience/knowledge that we can. Hang in there.......
Phyl
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Hi Rebarman,
As another data point, I had an AN about the same size as yours with a 50% hearing loss. It was about four weeks after surgery before I could read well enough to clean the email out of my work inbox. I'm now seven weeks post-op, and doubt if I could do CAD work for more than short periods of an hour or so.
Wayne
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Hi rebar--
I had the unfortunate complication of having severe headaches post-op and it was almost 2 years before I could work again 3/4 time although I seemed to have a few short periods of "remission" from my constant headaches--about a week apiece. I function now, but am on some pretty heavy duty meds. I still have some really bad headaches--a couple a month. I also work at home as an artist. Have you done any research on radiosurgery options? There are quite a few folks here that opted for that with great results and very little down time.
Capt Deb 8)
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Thanks to everyone for their replies.
I don't have a set date yet (waiting on the insurance co. to precertify) but we are trying to do it in the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Dec. Jan. and Feb. are usually my slow months at work so this is the opportune time to have the procedure.
I have looked at Radiosurgery, but due to personal choices I was wanting to go the Microsurgery route. I may have to re-think that if there is a long recoup time vs. Radio.
The procedure will be done by Dr. Mattox and Dr. Olson at Emory Hosp. in Atlanta.
Again, thanks for all the info.
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Rebar? You must be involved with structural engineering.
I wouldn't worry too much about down time. In your case, probably a few weeks. After all, you are already in an enviable position working as you do from home. No hellish commute to have to worry about; no slavish revelry at the crack of dawn; and, (Taaaahdaaaah!!) no phoney baloney commraderie with so-called "healthy" people (co-workers) feigning concern and sympathy, yet always patting you on the back in search of the soft spot or right place to stick the knife in. Not only that, they ask lots of really dumb, repetitive questions. Not because they actually care, but because they simply can't think of anything else to talk about!
Take Care.....Paul (Mr. Misanthrope)
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recovery is different for everyone...I know for me I'm still trying to get back. If I did something from home I would be back by now. Working in a calm quiet environment where you can control your factors will make a big difference in when you can return. There are those who have returned in 8 weeks and we've not heard from them again. I could tolerate short bouts on the computer but couldn't really keep my eyes open long enough to do anything more than send garbly gook emails :o) (sorta like calling friends when you're drunk LOL)
Keep us updated on how you do!
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Rebarman,
I was in a certificate program at the University of Wasnington and could only miss 2 classes per quarter when I had my surgery. I had invested so much time and work in the program that I was determined to continue. I managed to attend classes 8 days after my surgery. I still had the metal clips in my head. I talked my family into driving me to school (two days / wk) and walking me to my class. When I could drive by myself at one month post-op, I would walk at night through the campus from the parking garage to class. Those of you with balance problems know that walking in the dark is a real problem. I looked seriously drunk and was surpised security wasn't called. If I was walking with someone, I would grab onto their arm. I probably made a few people uncomfortable.
When I think back on it, I wonder what I was thinking. I remember telling my family "If I can sit at home I certainly can sit in class." I guess it worked out OK. I do remember in my computer class being very nauseated from looking at the computer screen and then looking at my book.
I was so hyper on steroids and I think it was a factor in pushing myself. I do have problems with headaches and I wonder if doing too much too fast had anything to do with that. I did graduate with my class, so I was happy about that.
Best of Luck,
Janet
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Janet,
That's an inspiring story! I remember How tough it was getting for me to carry on before and just after treatment.
I think Rebar is in a very good position doing CAD work from home. It will be so much easier for him to get back in the game.
Paul
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Not sure why you are so determined to have surgery...but to each his own.
I had a 3cm AN. It was treated with LINAC (radiosurgery). Other than a mild fever for two weeks during the 5 treatments, I never had any issues. Never missed a day of work...I even played roller hockey the whole time.
I'm now 6 years post-op, and have not looked back. I have no issues at all...have not even lost my hearing. Not sure if I'm one of the rare cases, but for me, radiosurgery worked.
I continue to have periodic MRI's, but the tumor is "dead" ...no growth or change.
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RamAir,
Where did you have that procedure done? I was led to believe that anything over the 2cm mark meant surgery. That's really great that you got through it that way!!
Did you have any hearing loss before treatment? What were your symptoms?
Please respond....your case is unique!
Thanks.......Paul
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RamAir, I checked the previous posts you've made, starting back in 2005. really interesting story! You should repost it again for others to see!
Paul
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Paul,
My doctor, Doctor G.L., was out of Staten Island University Hospital. Unfortunately due to greed and lawyers, his name was dragged through the mud for awhile. He's now at Cabrini(sp?) in Manhattan.
I had slight hearting loss and mild balance problems. But being young and stupid, I chalked them up to hard living ikn college ( ::))
I know, 7 years ago, 3cm was considered large for radiosurgery, but by no means too large. I believe doctors today are routinely treating tumors 4cm with great success.
Here's my reasoning...let's say you have a 5cm tumor. If there is no immediate threat, GK/LINAC may not be able to destroy all of it, but with luck it should shrink alot. If a follow-up treatment is necessary, you can still have surgery or get further radiosurgery. However, if you damage nerves during surgery, you can't "fix" them later. A reduction in size is ultimatley the short term goal. Long term...you're looking for a complete cessation in growth. A "failed" first attempt at radiosurgery does not change your ultimate outcome. It just means more work is required. As technology progresses, so should the success rate. If getting GK/LINAC reduces the size by 90%, it may give you another 10 years before a follow-up is necessary. In that time...something better may come along.
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Rebarman:
My AN was 4.5 cm and, at 63, I'm probably older than you. I only mention this for context. As my signature shows, I had microsurgery in June to 'de-bulk' my large tumor, was hospitalized for 4 days, released on the 5th day- and was posting messages on this board a day after I got home from the hospital. I'm retired so returning to work was not an issue, but after about 10 days of post-op fatigue, I felt good - was wallking daily -and, at 4 weeks post-op, my neurosurgeon gave me permission to drive. I underwent 26 sessions of LINAC fractionalized radiation 3 months after my surgery and did fine. Now, 5 months after my surgery, I feel good, look good and have few 'issues' that have not already resolved themselves. Both my neurosurgeon and radiation oncologist are delighted with my recuperation. So am I. :)
Yes, we're all different and I certainly can't guarantee that you or anyone else will have the exact same recovery experience I've enjoyed. I hope you do. I wish every AN patient could. I only offer you my positive accopunt as a reference...and I wish you well.
Jim[/color]
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Thanks, everyone. I'm still in the "waiting on insurance pre-approval" mode. I have an appointment this Friday with the Dr's from Emory, and hope to have all the information and insurance approval by then. If all goes as planned, will have the operation as soon as their schedules allow. Winter is a slower time for the construction industry anyway, so with a little planning and a lot of luck, I will be back on my feet (or at least have my butt in the chair) and able to work when the spring ground breaking occurs. :-)
Again, I really appreciate all the info and words you all have offered.
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Good luck rebarman. Let us know how your appt. goes.
Kathy
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I was back at work as a medical doctor in 2 weels w/ no problem.
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Sam,
What kind of medicine do you practice? GP? Specialist? etc......
Paul