my mother just had surgery

[wbcn34]

hell my mother had her acoustic neuroma removed on august 3 at the mass general hosp in boston  on of her surgens was dr barker
and dr mckenna she has been at icu for the past two days and in alot pain how long does the pain usually last? is tough seeing her like that they removed the tumor and fixed her damged nerve her tummor was in between the balance and the brain  the doctors are happy with her progress  just wanndered if the pain lasts for days ?

[Boppie]

The head pains will subside mostly by the time she is released from the hospital.  The meds they are giving her for swelling could be contributing to her head sensations, too.  She is in good hands in ICU.  If her doctors are happy with her progress, that is a good sign.  If there were complications you would be told, so don't be alarmed by ICU.  The bandage looks large but the incision is only as big as a half arc of a 2½ inch diameter circle.  She probably will not remember much of ICU. 

How old is your mother?  How big was the AN?

[wbcn34]

my mother is 73 years old i think the tumer was the size of a quarter i am not sure she is on morphine for the pain and they are giving pills to make her sleep  she had tears in her eyes from being in pain she was out of it  the nurse told us we cant see her today they want
her sleep

[OTO]

wbcn34 - the key is to speak up to the nurses and doctors if your mother is in pain.   They will adjust the level of pain medication only if they know she is in pain.   When I was in ICU and in the regular hospital room they would always ask about pain level.   

[Boppie]

Your mother might feel frightened by the affects of the pain meds and steriods they have to use.  You can ask the nurses to hold her hand and reassure her she is okay.  I am a 65 year old lady and I loved having my kids come to see me when I had my surgery.

Glasses...She might want her glasses when she gets to a regular sittting up position.  Can you temporarily remove one side piece for a few days so that she can see better? (P.S. don't lose the hinge screw) 

[wbcn34]

i will ask the nurse tomorow about her wearing glasses  i never knew people with this type of surgery can have this much pain  i had fibroids removed about two years i was in alot of pain but i dont think it was as bad as the pain you folks went through my mother kicked us out when we saw her the first time she didnt want to see anyone  boppie thank you for hepling me get through this i know it will be
tough for a while

[Boppie]

Actually, I found the abdominal surgery I had for a huge hernia in my groin much worse for pain than my head incision.  But your mom might be sensitive to the anti swelling drugs.  She could be having some halucinations from the drugs, too.  This might explain "kicking you out".  All will be well soon.  Just hang in there.  Once the swelling is down she'll be ready to roll.  Hope the food is good! 

She might not be a happy camper about the having to walk and regain her balance but she has the will to get back to normal.  You know that, cause she's the Mom who kicked your behind once in a while, right?   Keep up your courage for her.  Be a rock!

[Jim Scott]

wbcn34:

I hope your mother is better by the time you read this.

This surgery does generate some pain but what you describe your mom enduring seems excessive.  If she is receiving morphine it must be pretty intense.  As other posters have already mentioned; be certain the attending doctor(s) and the nurses on duty are fully aware of your mother's pain.   If her doctors (Barker and McKenna) think she is 'progressing', you need to ask them why she is in so much pain.  It's a perfectly logical question - and deserves an answer.

Jim

[wbcn34]

i went to see her her today she is getting better the pin is not as bad her head is still swallon she gets dizzy when they had her stand up and walk a little they told thats normall to are giving her a little rehab to get her balance back they cut the back of her head her tumor was big then i think she will going to a rehab hosp   

[ppearl214]

great team at MGH... mom could not be in better hands as we are fortunate to live in a medical mecca, here in Boston   Wishes of wellness for your mom and hoping her recovery/rehab (Spaulding?) will be brief.

WBCN... use to listen all the time..

Phyl

[wbcn34]

hello yes i think she will be going to spaulding   a former wbcn listner  now a sirus listner

[krbonner]

So glad to hear your mom is starting to feel a tad bit better!  I remember that Day 3 post-op was about the worst I'd ever felt.  The pain was intense.  Unfortunately, the nurses didn't really notice (I unconsciously go to a self-hypnosis technique to control pain - that's how I got through two births without ever needing pain meds!) because I was so out of it in my "hypnosis".  My mother is the one who realized what I was doing and insisted that they up my dosage.  I was on the Rx pain meds for about a week, and then on a constant dose of ibuprofen for another 4 weeks or so before I was okay with a break between doses.  Sometimes.

It's also normal for her to be woozy and dizzy when she's first trying to stand and walk again. 

I know it's frustrating, for both of you.  Keep the doctors informed and ask all questions.  If I remember, Barker only came by once during my hospital stay (his residents came other days), but McKenna came just about every day.  Keep on them if you have any concerns about your mom's progress.

Good luck!
Katie

[wbcn34]

hi katie i just saw my mother again her head is still swallon but it seems to get better she still gets dizzy when she tries to stand up dr barker and mckannd came twice to vist her and the interns are coming up more they keep asking her were she wants to go to phschal therpy she told them she might want to stay at mgh for that   katie how long were you in icu ? my mother was there for two days and how long did it take before you were walking again? my cousin had his on the brain he felt beter by the thirf week 

[krbonner]

hi katie i just saw my mother again her head is still swallon but it seems to get better she still gets dizzy when she tries to stand up dr barker and mckannd came twice to vist her and the interns are coming up more they keep asking her were she wants to go to phschal therpy she told them she might want to stay at mgh for that   katie how long were you in icu ? my mother was there for two days and how long did it take before you were walking again? my cousin had his on the brain he felt beter by the thirf week 

I was in ICU about 1.5 days, and discharged at 5 days post-op.  But, I was 35 and all the doctors and nurses remarked about what a quick, easy recovery I had.  At discharge, I still didn't trust myself to walk more than about 3 feet without holding on to someone or something.  The physical therapists at MGH were "forcing" me to get up and walking 2 days post-op, and I hated them for it!  LOL!  It felt absolutely miserable.  But it was the best thing for me.  It was probably about 2 weeks before I could walk (slowly) pretty confidently again.  And that was considered a pretty quick recovery by most AN surgical standards.  At 6 weeks post-op, I was taking care of my kids by myself during the day, and falling into bed exhausted as soon as I could.  The headaches will be pretty constant for at least a few weeks, and much worse if you let the painkillers (either prescription or non) wear off.

I did have a lot of fluid build-up on the surgical side of my head that took a while (a week or two) to go down.  It's normal for her to still have some swelling, but keep an eye on it and let the doctors know if it doesn't continue to look better. 

I know it's hard for your mom right now.  These first couple weeks are pretty tough.  But I have to say that at 11 months post-op, I've felt completely back to normal for a while now.

Katie

[wbcn34]

hi kr i just came back from visting my mother her face droped a little bit her speech is a little off  she is one tough person the only thing i am concered about is her blood pressere it keeps going up and down  she passed out today her blood pressere was really down mgh is giving some  type of fluid to controll it she is going to spaulding in a day or two  did anyone have issues with the blood pressre after sugery?