MVD five months out after Gamma Knife

I wanted to give a quick post on how I was faring after my MVD on September 2nd of last year. I am entering my fifth month now. I am down to 200 mg of Tegretol a day. I have been decreasing my dosage gradually since the surgery and will be off of it totally by around the 20th of this month. The heavy numbness is gone. I do however have numbness left in my face on the right side that carries over into my gums and teeth. I can brush my teeth, but carefully. I do not floss but use a water pik. I toughed it out on the Topomax, and my appetite has returned and I am at a comfortable dosage of 200 mg. hopefully as the nerve heals we can eliminate that too. The Gamma Knife did some damage to the nerve and removing the blood vessel from a sticky nerve left me with nasty sticky pain. I may need pain meds once or twice a week, but no more than .5 of Percocet. And to be honest I think I would be better off with an Alleve. I have been caring for my granddaughter due to mom being ill and the stress has been over the top. At night when pop-pop takes over,I need to shut down any discomfort and sleep. I am getting better and that’s what I want anyone to know who is going to have it done or had it done. The feeling sometimes returns to certain parts of my face for a few minutes, and I think wow maybe I will get more, and then I get more. My ear pain is gone. No electric shocks down the side of my face. No pain in the middle of me face. I only struggle with jaw pain if I pick up the baby too much. So, best wishes to any one getting ready, you will be fine. Will post again when. Thanks again to all my angels out there who answered all my cries for help.

I am so glad your recovery has gone well. I wish you many more pain free days ahead.

Wish you all the best.

I am so glad you are getting better and I wish you all the best. I am getting ready for MVD but I am still so worried that it won't work for me and of the post op recovery. I know everyone is different but the recovery stories I hear about seem similar in that it is long and painful. I can't believe that I'm more scared of the post op pain than the pain I'm in right now. I'm talking to my Dr. next week. Please continue to post it is very helpful. Thanks.

Remember it can take an entire year to get to your best place…
In month 3, i had to go back on meds for about 4 months… And slowwwwly crawled back to the time before an oral surgeon … Well you know…

But
Year 3
Has only seen spikes at the frozen isles!

So i dash in and dash out!

Hoping for even better days for you!

Hello Lou - I am so happy that the MVD worked well for you, with a few exceptions. I had my MVD last March 26, & I am 10 times worse than before. I had a lot of scar tissue from my Glycerol Rhizotomy in 2006, so the doctor said that he did even more damage to my nerve by scraping the scar tissue from the nerve. Just my luck. I trust you will continue to improve & be free from this monster. Wishing you well! Nancy