Facial Numbness before treatment

[nann]

For stopping a cold sore.....At Very First Tingle, take a icecube and apply it on and off for about 20 min. The cold sore will not come up. Wouldn't have believed it till I tryed it.  An easy cure.

[Meshell201]

I will definetly give it a try!  thanks!!

[pjb]

PJB & Lisa, thank you.  Great idea, I will most definetly start searching for the list of questions and make a spreadsheet like you suggested.  I know that once I get into the doctor's office I will need to have all my questions written down, otherwise I'll just draw a blank and forget what I wanted to ask!  I've told my friends and family that if this tumor was anywhere else, I may not be as stressed as I am, not to make light of other surgeries, but, like you said, this is major ......this is my brain and it scares the heck out of me!  I can only relate the numbness to the AN...I've never had this before...my AN side is mostly numb and the other side of my face has spots that are numb, plus my tongue..it's such a strange feeling.  I will post what I find out next week...I hope you all do the same.  Thank you again for everything and I pray your appointments give you good news!

Definitely will be here awaiting your posts...I never paid attention to any of the numbness prior to my surgery I think I was in shock and denial for awhile but definitely know I have them now...My prayers and thoughts will be with you and yes any surgery is major but this is a complex surgery that is what I have been told so many times and a rare one as well but it seems like so many great outcomes and more and more people do have them..But we are truly grateful that they are slow growing and benign.

Best Wishes,

[Meshell201]

Thank you PJB, I appreciate your prayers and thoughts...mine are with you also.  I will post what the doctor tells me next week.  Take care!!

[millie]

PJB-thank you for reminding us that treatments for our "conditions" are becoming better and better.  And Michelle-your words remind me of that poem.  "We never know how tall we are until we are called to rise.  And then if we are true to plan our statures touch the skies."  We are strong because we must be.  What good is negative energy going to do us?
Good luck tomorrow.  Stay positive.
Thank God for this site and all you guys. And girls.
Millie

[Meshell201]

Millie, the poem says it all.  A friend of mine always says that God will never give you more than you can bear....I am a believer of that.  I agree, there is no room for negative energy, it does nothing for us, so a positive attitude is what we must all have.   This site is full of positive energy, thank you all for that!  I'll post what I find out today.  Thank you all for your well wishes. - Michelle

[Meshell201]

After 2 months of researching AN's based on my local ENT's findings, I saw the doctor at UVA today and he doesn’t feel that I have an AN after all.  He said there is a tumor at the porus acusticus on the right IAC, but he needs a CT scan to look at the bony detail since the tumor seems to arise from the adjacent temporal bone and the MRI shows that the typical “signal characteristics” are not consistent with an AN.  However, the tumor is encroaching the path of the 7th and 8th cranial nerves (that’s why I have symptoms similar to an AN).   I’m scheduled to have the CT scan on 30 April and I’ll meet with the doctor right after the CT scan.   So, I'm really back to square one right now.  On a good note, I like the doctor, he was very nice and took an hour to sit down and discuss the MRI results with me....he "dumbed it down" so that I understood everything that he was talking about -- explaining the images and showing me exactly what he was talking about using a skull.   So, that's where I am right now...trying to stay positive.

[millie]

Hi Meshell-
I hope this note finds you hanging in there.  I have been offline due to sudden open heart surgery for my husband.
I just read the words you posted about staying positive and going forward and God making us strong and thank you so much for those words.  I have been feeling  down and I have not been in the AN loop/site but your words make me feel not so alone.
I am praying for you and waiting to read of your next experiences with this re-diagnosis.  We can do this!  Millie

[Meshell201]

Millie, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband.  I will keep him in my prayers.  My father went through a triple by-pass 10 years ago and is doing wonderful!  I'm glad my post helped, I know how stressful your husband's surgery is, not only on him but on the family as well.  There will be times when he might feel depressed, but tell him to keep that positive attitude, it will get better each and every day!  I had my CT scan on 30 April and was diagnosed with a benign meningioma in the auditory canal.  The tumor is right up side my 7th and 8th cranial nerves (that's why I'm having the same symptoms as an AN).  My doctor wants to watch and wait, even though I'm having facial numbness, etc, he said that watching and waiting to see how it progresses is his recommendation....the meningioma shows some calcification.   If symptoms change or increase, he said that I need to contact him, otherwise I go back in 1-year...which seems like a long time to me.  Even though I like the doctor, I'm thinking about another opinion, at least for peace of mind.  I can only hope and pray that maybe it won't grow, or it will grow slowly and I can push the surgery down the road a bit.   So, that's where I'm at right now.  Thank you for checking in with me.  Since my symptoms are similar to those on this site, I still find the AN site really helpful, so I'll be popping back in from time to time and will look for good news posts on you and your husband.  God Speed to you and your husband!! - Michelle

[millie]

Meshell-
I have been off the website due to my husband's  sudden surgery( quadruple bypass and aortic valve ).  He arrived home on the 14th; recovery is slow but we hope sure and we are counting our blessings.
As I return to  the site and try to catch up I read that you have written that you have a benign tumor and it is not an acoustic neuroma.  Yes, stay on the site as the symptoms are the same and maybe we have more in common than we think.  About a month ago, while trying to keep busy weeding (to not think about the AN) I contracted poison ivy or oak and went to a walk-in clinic where I had them take some blood and have it sent to my primary physician since I hadn't had blood drawn in a year.  Well, today he told me my alkaline phosaphate level is very high and I have to go for more tests to see which enzymes are elevated-from my bone or from my liver.  I "googled" Alk phosphosates and scared myself.  Enough of that.  Back to ANAUSA.
I am thinking maybe I have your type of growth in my auditory canal.
How are you doing?
Millie

[Meshell201]

Millie -- you certainly have had some bad luck...poision on top of everything else and now the Alk phosphosates!  Maybe your growth is in the canal like mine.  When the local ENT diagnosed me with an AN, and then the specialist disagreed, I asked if he was sure -- he said that it's not uncommon for AN's to be misdiagnosed -- you need to talk to your doctor and/or get another opinion.  I had called my doctor last week to get a copy of the CT report.  My doctor actually called me again a couple hours ago.  It seems that last Thursday he sat down with the neuroradiologist and they have changed the diagnosis from a meningioma to an osteoma (a benign tumor comprised of bony growth -- slow growing just like an AN and meningioma).  From what I understand, meningioma's grow on the lining of the brain -- since my tumor is in the internal auditory canal, they are 100% sure (if 100% is possible) that it's an osteoma...so I'm back to Googling!!  My doctor did say, that of the two (meningioma vs osteoma), that if you have to have one, osteoma is better because it actually does not grow on the brain like the meningioma.  Since the osteoma is in the internal auditory canal and is near the nerves -- that's why I'm having the same symptoms as an AN.   I'm still in a watch and wait....the doctor believes that the symptoms I'm having with the facial numbness, etc are related to the osteoma.  All in all, I think I'm adjusting to the shock of hearing "brain tumor" and am handling it much better.  Enough about me, I sure hope that you meet with your doctor and find out what is going on.  I will have to google the AK phosophates and read up on that.  Please let me know how you are doing -- I pray that you get some good news!!  I look forward to your update.  Take care of yourself!!  - Michelle       

[millie]

Hi Meshell PBJ Lou and everyone-
First of all, let me apologize for "disappearing."  I am not used to discussion forums and I have a hard time finding topics I have replied/posted to.  However, necessity is the mother of invention!  I am learning.
Today my husband Tom went to the cardiologist and he is recovering well.  Except he is really tired.
On the way home, I got the bloodtests for the elevated alkaline phosphatase my internist ordered.  They check to see if the elevated enxymes are coming from the liver or the bone.  I am wondering if I have a benign tumor like yours, as mine is also a spindle shape inside my auditory canal (left) and my hearing has really declined in my left ear in the last two months.  Can these benign tumors, while not a.n.'s, be removed also? 
Thanks and hoping to find my way back to this site!
Hang in there!
Blessings!
Millie

[pjb]

Hi Meshell PBJ Lou and everyone-
First of all, let me apologize for "disappearing."  I am not used to discussion forums and I have a hard time finding topics I have replied/posted to.  However, necessity is the mother of invention!  I am learning.
Today my husband Tom went to the cardiologist and he is recovering well.  Except he is really tired.
On the way home, I got the bloodtests for the elevated alkaline phosphatase my internist ordered.  They check to see if the elevated enxymes are coming from the liver or the bone.  I am wondering if I have a benign tumor like yours, as mine is also a spindle shape inside my auditory canal (left) and my hearing has really declined in my left ear in the last two months.  Can these benign tumors, while not a.n.'s, be removed also? 
Thanks and hoping to find my way back to this site!
Hang in there!
Blessings!
Millie

Do not feel bad I have been on here now and then for a couple of years and still having a lot of trouble with the posts and numerous topics way too many for me to keep up and to follow....

Best Wishes,

[Meshell201]

Hi Millie,
So glad to hear that your husband is doing well -- his strength will come back, I know it took my Dad quite some time (and encouragement from us to get up and walk around as much as possible).  One thing that my Dad had trouble with was that he lost his appetite because he said nothing tasted right -- one doctor told him to eat dill pickles...it would stimulate his taste buds and my Dad tried it and and he believes it actually worked!  Once he started eating, his strength increased and he felt so much better!  As for the osteoma, from what I understand, the surgery to remove a benign osteoma is basically the same surgery as an AN.  I haven't talked to anyone who has the same tumor that I do, but in doing a little research last night, I found a few cases of osteoma's of the internal auditory canal and the surgical approaches used were posterior or a middle fossa and retrosigmoid...sounds like the same surgery used for AN's.  The people that had surgery had already lost hearing in the affected ear and were experiencing dibilitating vertigo.  Many of those mentioned on these sites are in the watch and wait category.  When will you get your test results back?  Keep me posted on what you find out.  Take care!  - Michelle

[millie]

Hi everyone!
I have not yet heard about the results of my alkaline phosphosate tests (whether the elevated enzymes are from liver or bone.)
I will post when I do.
In the meantime, I am going to the AN Meeting tonight from 6-7:30 (Local Support Group) in Garden City, LI.  Adress is LI Plastic Surgical Group, 999Franklin Ave, Fourth Floor, Garden City NY 11743; Daria Quinones, Local Group Leader, 631 219 0347.
Millie