I'm getting close not to my visit with Dr. Casey at the end of this month and I'd like to be able to schedule my surgery while I'm there. I'd love to get it right away but being a busy mom, upcoming events, and needing the support of family and friends afterwards, I want to find a date that works well for all.
How much time should I expect for serious recovery . . meaning can't do chores, drive, etc. My mother-in-law is out of town and wants to come and stay during that time and I need to let her know about how long. After that initial period, how long did it take to be functioning. You moms know what I mean by that - driving the kids everywhere (teens), making dinners, LAUNDRY, etc. Also, I live a good 4 hours away from Dr. Casey. Would I return there to have my sutures out? Should I expect followup visits there and when?
I want to wait until mid-October for my surgery. Before that I have football cheer season, a trip in September, a 16th birthday for my oldest, and an Eagles concert (I want to do the last in case my hearing is off for a while). I'm hoping then that one of the follow-up visits is in 6 months so I can see the We Will Rock You musical in Detroit in April :).
From my experience, I wasn’t allowed to lift over 10 lbs. for 6 weeks. Wasn’t allowed to drive for 6 weeks, but drove at 4 weeks. The first 3 weeks are nothing but taking care of yourself. A lot of resting. You will need someone to do the work around the house. Started feeling better and doing some things after the first 3weeks. This was my first surgery so I didn’t know what to expect. What surprised me the most was how weak I was. Seemed to take awhile to get my strength back. The MVD is so worth it. After pain for eight years, I have been pain free for four years now.
Since my surgeon is 3 hrs. away, he had me go to my regular doctor and have the staples removed. I didn’t see the surgeon again until my 6 week checkup.
Make sure you take your pain meds right before you leave the hospital for your drive home. The drive wasn’t that bad. Slept a lot.
Hope some of this helps.
Connie
Hi MyBell,
I think to cover your bases, plan for 6-8 weeks.
For all you know, you might only need 4-6, but better to plan for longer just in case.
Your follow up visits should be by phone with your neurosurgeons office, sutures or staples can be removed locally at your doctors office.(ask your doctor ahead of time.)
Although you may feel able to do chores around the house, the no lifting anything over 10lbs thing limits you…
I would empty the dishwasher, and the stack of plates was too heavy… Tried to do laundry, but the jug of detergent was too heavy for me, attempted to pour my own water, jug in fridge was too heavy. ( I would feel it in my head if something was too heavy.) Just be cautious.
First 2-3 weeks I would advise having someone around to help with the house, kids, meals etc
Make a list of questions for your visit with Dr. Casey, include what you have asked here…
All the best for your visit!
(( hugs )) Mimi
I had mine I january and I was unable to walk unassisted for the first few weeks (the nerve they work on is close to the nerve for balance), no driving for 2 months, was unable to work or anything for the first 2 months. Take this time to heal, do not push yourself. I am not one to lay down and be lazy, I have 3 kids and no time to be down. I had no choice but to take it easy! God bless
My experience was pretty simple. MVD with Dr Casey in MI on June 12, flew back to Florida on the 16th, staples out by local Family Dr on the 28th. Email communications with Dr Casey as frequently as I needed, with his instructions for medication weaning.
Thankfully, I had no secondary issues, and recovery has been pretty easy, actually.
I have 3 kids, my mom stayed with me for the first 2 weeks. Which was the timeframe that I needed before I could get through the day without a nap, or feeling wiped out. Each week was an improvement! She happens to still be here, and helping, but those first couple weeks were important.
If she could stay for at least 3 weeks, and the kids could are old enough to help a little around the house, that would be a start, definitely long enough for you to drive. Maybe carpools would help, with kiddo obligations.
If you are able to stay in the Trenton area for a few days, in a hotel (Biddle Brighton B and B is awesome!!) I would highly recommend it. Just to sleep those first few days as often as you need, to really kick off the healing, and get the strong hospital meds out of your system would be helpful. You would also be close to the Dr If need be. By the time we got on the plane, I just felt tired, no other symptoms.
PS- I purposefully stopped taking the prescrip pain meds on the 15th. Advil worked perfectly for a couple of weeks. This REALLY helped me feel like myself faster.
I was unable to drive the first month and a half. But I had a CSF leak post op. I don't have kids so I was able to take it easy. My husband stayed home with me the first week. I then had my mother and sisters stop by to check on me during the day while he was at work. I needed a lot of help with chores for about 4 weeks. After that I was able to do more as long as it did not involve a lot of lifting. Definitely have food ready before surgery or get a list of people that can help out by bringing meals. That helped me a lot the second and third week when I was alone without my husband.
Thank you Kathy! I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon with a great friend that will be there to support me in every way :). I will update you all on my visit. I'm hoping that my appt on Monday will be the beginning of the end of this horrible disorder.
Thank you Tiffanie!! I'm so happy for all the support I have on here. I will talk to Dr. Casey too about this wonderful network that has supported me and helped me on my journey :).
Yes Dr. Casey is great - you will definitely feel comfortable with him.
I have had a great recovery so far. The only thing that hasn't improved much yet is the numbness I have on my right side (MVD side). The headaches, sore neck and pressure I felt is getting better every day. I am already driving at 2 weeks post op and slowly doing housework, cooking etc. I feel so good I think I can do more than I should but I still get very tired after only a couple of hours. Other than that I am doing amazingly well. I can't say you will have such good results but it is possible. Dr. Casey found a lot of damage on me too and I had 4 compressed nerves with the Trigeminal nerve being by far the worst.
I just got home from my trip to see Dr. Casey and the first thing that comes to mind is WOW. I was so very impressed with Dr. Casey (and his Nurse Practitioner). I will be scheduling to have my MVD with him in October. I'm only waiting because that is the time that works best for me and my family. I am glad that I saw other neurosurgeons before seeing Dr. Casey because it made me realize how talented he is. I cannot imagine having anyone else do this surgery.
He definitively diagnosed me with classic Type 1 TN and was able to clearly see a vein compression on my MRI (that no other doctor had seen). He showed me using multiple slides where the artery was pressing on the vein that was twisted around the nerve. He new every statistic, every study, really just everything there is to know about TN, the treatments, the drugs, the surgery, etc. I felt like I had read another book after this consult. He also told me about the hereditary component that I had not realized so I will have to dig deeper in my family tree to identify relatives who may have had TN. It does make me worry though for my daughters.
Thanks everyone for all your encouragement, all your stories, and all the details you provided me about MVDs, Dr. Casey, etc. I will stay on here and let you know when things get scheduled. I hope that I can also share some hope and encouragement with others.