Hi Katie. Im still trying to navigate around this site so I hope I am doing it right!
I had MVD at the end of Nov. in NYC (I live in CT). Recovery pain wise (surgery pain not nerve pain) was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The pain meds and steroids made me feel nauseous and ginger ale became my best friend once I was home but they really did help. My energy level on the other hand took a bit to recover and still is recovering. I was out of work for 8 weeks (my job is very physical) and this was actually my first week back. I was not laid up that entire time but wanted to take the time to recover. I would say it took me a good 3 weeks to start to feel normal.
I was in the ICU for 2 days and in the hospital for one more day. I have had no pain at all from TN except for immedietly after surgery. I never lost feeling in my face etc. and have never felt any tingling. My skull on the side of my surgery at times feels numb and my scar will ache.
I had my staples out after a week. They were super annoying! I had very minimal hair shaved but as its growing back is gets really itchy. I have really long thick hair and I have found that when I wear it up it tends to make my skull ache so I wear it down for the most part now. As for eating, bc I was in so much pain before surgery and eating very little it took me a bit to fully get my appetite back after surgery. There were times that I ate too much (it was really very little) and it make me ill.
Before surgery I was on 2700mg of trileptal and 40mg of baclofen and am slowly coming down on them. Still no pain!
O I forgot- I also take magnesium/calcium, fish oil and B12 to help the nerve repair itself and help with inflamation. I had taken these vitamins initially before taking any medications and before surgery and they worked instantly and left me pain free for about a year. So I have continued to take them post surgery.
Hi Katie. We all recover differently. I was in ICU 3 days, regular room 4. What I thought was the best advice and that I did (and I was very glad to do) was to: take a neck pillow (like those traveling neck pillows people use on an airplane) and have ice packs at home. The neck pillow was great at the hospital and at home. Even though I had a ton of pillows to use, none of them worked as good as the neck pillow. You wouldn't believe how sore your neck can be from the position they have it in during surgery. It's also good for the ride home from the hospital. The ice packs were great for the neck and then, when the surgeon gave me the ok, for the incision area. Besides that, I was a zombie the first 2 weeks. Just couldn't do much more than sleep. My husband stayed home with me the first week and then I had family members stop in every day the second. But it's just me, no kids. I hope all goes well. :)
Thank you of the tips! I didn’t even think about the u shaped pillow! What a wonderful idea. I will also look in to the fish oil! Anything that helps isomeone else I’m def interested in trying! Thank y’all again for the comments! Tuesday is coming up so fast’
Good Luck. You will be well taken care of Dr. Eskandar and the staff at MGH they are amongst the best in the world. I did my research and he did my MVD on 7/17/12. Complete success. No complications and no TN.
When I went back for the followup he came in the room and I looked at him and said "you fixed it" he smiled and said allright!!. First rate. He used dissolvable sutures that disappeared on their own.
Thank you do much rick! Hearing from you makes me feel so good! Thanks for sharing! Tomorrow is going to be a long day! I will talk to everyone soon thank you for the prayers
Saying prayers for you today, Katie! I'm 3 months out from my MVD, off all meds, pain free and feel fantastic! I will pray for a speedy recovery for you :). Saw the comment above about the supplements. I also took Fish Oil (3 grams), Magnesium, Super B Complex, Vit C, a multi and a few others for months before surgery and now after. I have reduced the Fish Oil though and stopped the Vit C. I took the upper dose of Fish Oil before/after surgery to help with inflammation. Try to eat plenty of fiber when you are back to meals and drink lots of water. I honestly didn't have any problems with the constipation from pain meds. I always eat a high fiber diet (like 50grams or more a day) so that might have helped me out. Also, something that really helped me in my recovery was to walk every day. I got on a treadmill (had a friend drive me to our small gym) on day 4 after surgery and only went 2mph for 10min but it made me feel so good to be out and be doing something. I then went every day slowly adding speed and time.
Wanted to mention too that I'm an "Army brat" - all my life growing up - so I come from a military family too!! Keep us posted!
A busy surgery week or everybody I had my consultation on Wednesday and I’m having surgery on Friday he just happened I have a cancellation for surgery. I had to drive six hours for the appointment so I’m glad to get it done. I have been following all the post and feel very prepared. Because of this website I Knew what to expect and what questions to ask. Very confident in my decision. I am more afraid of not having the surgery then having the surgery.
Katie, I am hoping that you bounce right back from the surgery. As a mom myself, I know you feel like you can't be down for long because there is so much to be done and you have the baby to take care of (and on top of that you are by yourself!), but give yourself the luxury of the time that you need to recover. You deserve it! Remember to take it slow! I am praying for you -- God bless!
thank you for the prayers