I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to let you all know about my MVD last July. I think because I was so happy to have the Tn gone I didn't want to talk about it but realised that that's not fare to you Guys that were in the position I was before. So Sorry for my Delay.
I went in to the hospital on the 13th of June last year and had a totally positive experience. The actual operation took much longer than was expected. My Surgeon told my family it would be about 2 hours, t took him six and a half. The nerve was totally wrapped around a main artery. It had grown like an octopus. Hence why it took so long. After I woke up I went to ICU for the night and the next morning I was moved to a lovely room. I wasn't in any real pain at all as long as they kept topping up my drugs. I had a catheter in for two days and then I was allowed to move around and use the loo. I chose to go home after four days. I then spent the next week in bed most of the time as I was very tired and had a small amount of discomfort when my pain killers wore off. My scar healed really well and quickly without any problems. I kept applying coconut oil to it and after ten days the stitches came out. I was very lucky as they only shaved a very small amount of my hair so I could easily cover it with my hair down. If I'm honest I would say that even after all this time I'm still not 100% as I was before TN as I still have pain in my neck area and sometimes my scar aches a little. I just take a pain killer and all is well.
So I would highly recommend this treatment and if my TN comes back would go and have it done again in a heart beat. I'm hoping that seeing I have been totally pain free from the TN it may well be fixed.
I'm happy to answer any questions if anyone has any. I'm going to try and attach a couple of pictures.
Wonderful to hear of your positive outcome, Debra. I also understand the instinct to "flee the scene of the crime" (my term) when one gets such positive results. I encourage you to hang around and help to answer the questions of people who are considering the operation and have individual concerns or fears.
Awesome Debra! Thank you for sharing your story and positive results!
So pleased for you! Wishing you continued well-being, please do drop by once in awhile to update!
Really happy for you, (( hugs )) Mimi
Happy for you! Was the pain gone immediately or did it take some time? I had mine done Jan 21st and still have the original face pain and tooth ache. Not thinking it’s going to work out well for me! Oh well, on to rhizotomy?
I woke up without any TN pain and haven't had any at all since. x
Andie said:
Happy for you! Was the pain gone immediately or did it take some time? I had mine done Jan 21st and still have the original face pain and tooth ache. Not thinking it's going to work out well for me! Oh well, on to rhizotomy?
Usually your insurance will make you try a couple of different meds - then Dr. Casey wrote that the side effects were as bad as the TN for me - ..... I only waited one year - the best MVDs are within first three to five years - sooner the better.... BUT only if a TN expert Neurosurgeon says you are a good candidate.
I tried Gabapentin, which worked quite well for a few months, then they stopped working so I was given Tegratol, worst month of my life. I felt so ill. My throat started to swell and I became very itchy so was changed to Lyrica. These had some effect some times but I was still getting major pain daily. So they decided to operate as There was no other medication to try. I think I was lucky in a way that the meds didn't suit me, or who knows, I could still be on them now. I think i was on Meds for about 12-18 months in all. But the gebapentin did work quite well to start with, so about nine moths was on them.
