I am presently 4 weeks out of an MVD procedure. The procedure itself is slowly relieving the burning sensation in my gums, but I do have periods where my face is jumpy and hurts. Is this normal? I am told that I need to be patient and take it slow. My procedure involved the removal of a large blood vessel. I also had a previous Gamma Knife that caused considerable numbness. My mind is my worst enemy. When I feel pain, fear and panic creeps in. I had a panic attack Sunday for the first time in 20 years. The last time was when I lost my sister. So that triggered a lot of fear and anxiety. I feel like so much is going on inside my head. Little wormy feelings, burning, than a sudden headache. I look fine to people so this is frustrating too. But is a jumpy face normal?
I was told to expect normal rattling and rolling in my head , neck
It would be one year
for all /many of us to feel normal in the face and head
Thank you KC. Like a crazed woman I think I kept checking the site every ten minutes. When I saw your reply I did a little dance. Thank you.
I am also 4 weeks out. Mine went perfectly. Back at work and still get occasional pain but that is caused by the tenderness to the head. No nerve pain at all. Problem is that there is no definition of "normal". My op took over 6 hours while he untangles the blood vessels before he could insert the sponges.
If you are worried I would just speak to your Doc. I do not have any of the burning sensations you have so again not sure if that is normal, or I was just very lucky.
I had MVDS on my left side in October 2013, and it did take a full year for me to say I am pain free. I had both shocks and burning boring pain. During the year since the surgery, ther were periods of time that I would have no pain, just to have the pains reappear. I believe I have completely moved past that, and now consider the surgery a success!
Best of luck to you
Christine
Wow, it seems there are no two alike... Best wishes to you Lou. I hope the burning wormy feelings go away SOON!!!
I wish you Sunshine Days and Smooth sailin', from here on out!!!
Today has been especially hard, so thank you Christine for taking the time to respond. I have pain in my face in the V2 area which I did not have so much before the surgery and it is relentless. Feels like the worse sinus infection on the right side. So tired of the dead pan eyes from the meds and the physical limitations. I go back on Nov 2nd to see how the meds are working. I can take the second Topomax on Thursday. Hope that helps. Such a journey. Sometimes I just walk around the house giving myself pep talks. I’m a fighter and this is one more battle, and all that good stuff. Oh, but sometimes my voices catches and I can feel that cry just trying to come up. So thank you everyone. Bless you all.
Keep fighting...hang in there...
I’m 6 weeks out and had some pretty dense numbness in the maxillary branch when I woke up from surgery. That has gotten better. The area has gotten smaller. But I still have numbness and then tingling in the upper lip and left side of my nose. Sometimes it’s worse. I know what you mean. I evaluate every little sensation. Wondering if it means it didn’t work?! But I also know how much pain I was in before surgery. I had 3 veins and 2 arteries compressing the nerve, so surgery was pretty complex. I know that it has to just be the nerve healing. It’s been through a lot (as have I). I’m down to just 300mg of gabapentin once a day. I see my surgeon Monday. So we’ll see what he says. I had meningitis one week after surgery and only started to feel well in the last 1 1/2 weeks. Hang in there. We’ll get through this!!
I too am approximately 4 weeks after MVD. I also had gamma last year. I know head is tender/sore after surgery. I am having twinges in jaw area as well as a few jolts in forehead. The worst is the feeling my head is a pin cushion or voodoo doll with the sharp acupuncture like needles once in awhile
I was advised I would see a definite difference in 6months and after 2 years is the time frame for the nerve to heal
Please stay calm to keep your stress level down as we all heal differently. Remember our brain/head is delicate/tender and yes as it heals we will feel different “feelings” during the healing stages. Remember that as I say they were fiddling around with our noodles and the surgery has upset everything
Possibly by being calm you will find things settle down. Let us knowin a week if you notice your situation feeling somewhat better
Chippy
I am just a little over 3 weeks out and am doing great. I am still weaning off the meds. I had a really horrific pain episode upon waking from surgery and having decided to take my time getting off meds to let the nerve heal as much as possible. With what I’m still taking, I barely feel any side effects and it is so great to be pain free and clear-headed. I want to enjoy this for awhile and not stress. Have been dealing with this for 8.5 years.
I think it’s very important to remember that we have been emotionally traumatized by TN as well. I am doing whatever I can to stay calm and positive, creating the best possible environment for my body to heal itself.
All the best to all of you!
Juliet
I hope you are feeling better Lou, and best wishes to all of you just coming out of surgery. May you all get pain free and back to feelin good soon. !!