Read this today re cortisol 'Stress has been postulated to trigger or contribute to inner ear pathologies but there is little objective evidence. We investigated stress hormones in Ménière's patients and patients with acoustic neuroma. Data were compared with those from a control group of patients with facial spasm. We assayed classic stress hormones including adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, growth hormone and prolactin. We found a strong positive correlation between cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone in Ménière patients and patients with acoustic neuroma but no correlation in patients with facial spasm. The data also revealed in female patients with Ménière's disease or with acoustic neuroma an unexpected significant positive correlation between cortisol and prolactin. The data showed the expected negative correlation or no correlation between cortisol and prolactin associated with males and females in the other patient groups. Both cortisol and prolactin increases are known to represent alternative strategies to cope with stress, and our data point to prolactin being possibly more dominant in Ménière's disease and cortisol in acoustic neuroma. These data provide further evidence for modification of different stress hormones in audiovestibular pathologies, which might provide a valuable diagnostic or prognostic tool in the future.'

Your continued updates, Dlip246, are very helpful.  Thank you for sharing them.

I'm not a doctor, but I understand that CK can cause swelling of the tumor for a while until it eventually shrinks a bit.  So, I'm hoping this is a temporary situation for you.  The swelling of the tumor is supposed to be a good sign, as I understand it, that the CK is working.  But if the swelling of the tumor touches a nerve, it can cause issues for a while.

Again, thanks for sharing your experience.  It is very invaluable!

Best wishes on your continued recovery!
Don

Welcome to the ANA Forums, Leighannski!

I'm thrilled that you made your first post here.

ppearl214 is correct.  I'm not a physician, and I cannot give any medical advice, nor should I.  We do share our personal experiences which often vary from person to person.  What often is beneficial for one person sometimes does not help others.

So, with that in mind, I will share my understanding with you.  It could be wrong, and I will be the first to admit that I sometimes may misunderstand something.  But what I read, Leighannski, is that there was a lot of initial excitement about the benefits of aspirin for acoustic neuromas.  Unfortunately, with more research and studies, it seems like aspirin (with or without tumeric) proved to not have any significant beneficial effect.  That is my understanding, and I thought I would share it with you.

However, if you want to try aspirin and see if it works for you, that's up to you.  But I don't think even your physician could give you a recommended dosage since the research studies did not prove as effective as some of us had hoped.

Others on the forum could share their personal experience with aspirin and tumeric.  They might also share other options which worked well for them.

Best wishes on your journey!
Don

Hello LeighAnn and welcome.

Please note that we are not doctors and you should consult with your physician regarding any medication/supplements.  Others here may be able to share their personal experiences and, yet, we are not qualified to answer medication dosage questions. I hope this helps.  Wishing you well.

Hey, Don & GirlDad -
I really love this website and forum! The sharing of experiences and suggestions makes me feel less alone in this journey in addition to the hard outcomes of major decisions, like treatment choice and then who to be treated by and what questions I should be asking!!

Girldad, I am so glad you received my feedback (and happy!) because your story really touched me.  I am generally feeling very well, doing my PT exercises (20+ minutes 3-4X/day) and have gone back to the gym (spinning/weight lifting) and running a bit now.  I am so out of shape but determined to get back the muscle mass I have lost.  My appetite has really not returned which isn't necessarily a bad thing!, but my ability to taste is definitely altered.  Most food tastes like paste/nothing.  And I find I am producing less saliva when I am eating.  I will start a separate post to ask if others have had these issues and whether they resolved. 

And thanks for the info the BAHA. Good to hear you love it! I am still exploring options!
Donna