Well the day has come and I am now facing MVD surgery and it is all set up for a go on Monday September 16th in the Morning. I am completely nervous. So if anyone on here can give me any advice or words of encouragement I would appreciate them so much. What can I expect when I wake up from surgery? How long did it take for you to be ok without someone watching over you?
This has been a long time coming and has been a horrible year or so of me battling this pain. I know people have gone longer with it but I am grateful that my surgeon finally listened to me and saw the images and got right on the ball to schedule my surgery.
Just want to say thank you again to everyone on this website this has been a lifesaver finding this resource for me.
I have had two MVD s. Your head will hurt but for me I didn't feel the bad pain or shocking. It took me a couple of weeks to get to some what normal. I pushed my self some and please don't do that. Take it slow and if you have anymore questions please let me know. I'll try to help the best as I can. I'll be praying for you. I'm on face book, My name is Rebecca Webb. Best wishes and good luck.
Collette....best of luck on Monday and will keep you in our prayers. Its perfectly normal to be nervous . I had mine done 30 years ago and because of my surgeons confidence I went into OR totally relaxed and had high expectations. His final words to me were " dont worry I will take good care of you". I was probably too naive going into surgery also as there wasnt places like this forum to get self educated. I knew that I couldnt live the rest of my life like I had the 8 years prior to my surgery in excrutiating pain. I have to say that when I came out of anesthesia and had my senses back I really do not remember being in pain. My TN pain was gone and the surgery discomfort was minimal.My neck was sore and I couldnt lift my head but it wasnt like a stomach surgery where every move you make hurts. Strong suggestion would be that if they do a spinal tap do not let them make you sit up for 24 hrs. I left the hospital 5 days later and honestly got around pretty well. I was able to walk up and down the stairs in my home and began taking walks within my development within a week and driving a car within 2. Had an occasional headache but nothing out of the ordinary. My advice would be to go into this on Monday strong and positive that there is a great possibility that you will wake up pain free with a minimal of downtime recovering. Expect some headaches...some soreness..but hopefully that will be all. Take your time recovering there is no rush. I was 33 yrs old at the time I am sure if I had that procedure today at 63 it would take a bit longer to bounce all the way back. Best of luck but I am sure you will do just great. The odds are in your favor by a wide margin that you will get relief and that relief will give you your life back. .
I just read this and you by now on your way to recovery. I hope all went well and your now feeling more human. I had my mvd 2 months ago and have completely recovered and have had no pain. My surgeon was very re-assuring and I had total confidence although was apprehensive and scared going in. Who and where did you have your surgery done. My surgeon used the minimally invasive endoscope which I researched for someone using this device. My recovery the first day was tough with some neck pain from the muscle in my neck and incision, I had a slight fever, and my blood sugar was elevated a bit, but overall I think it was not as bad as I imagined it would be. All of the lines I had in me made it hard to turn over and uncomfortable for the first nite. At any rate my prayers are with you for a speedy and successful recovery. Jay in North Idaho
Hi Jay Thank you for your encouragement and kind words. Sorry it has taken so long to reply as you can imagine I have been recovering. I am doing pretty well except when my surgeon went in he "combed" my nerve which has caused me to experience some complications. I have complete numbness and a fiery type pain with it in my jaw line, lips and my tongue is completely numb and hurts very bad constantly. I knew I would have to take some trade offs for getting out of the shocking type of pain of the TN I had which was Type1 and 2. I am having a lot of trouble adjusting to these new symptoms:( However no trigeminal pain so that is awesome. Yes I had a lot of surgical pain my surgeon did not do the minimally invasive endoscope. However I am only out of surgery just over 2 weeks so I do have quite a bit of healing to go. The muscle pain is awful from the incision site. I definately feel more Human like you said in you post:) I received my Surgery from Dr. Kim Burchiel at OHSU in Oregon. He is wonderful and his team is amazing and I received the best care of my life at this hospital. I literally thanked him for saving my life I think four or five times. Amazing Doctors and Nurses as well. I am hopeful for my future of being pain free from TN however I do hope this numbness tends to back off as time passes because I can not handle not being able to taste things even water taste like card board. Plus I feel like I just back from the dentist and I have drool at the end of my mouth and I constantly wipe it but nothing there. I told my cousin I am developing a tic. Hahaha, but to be pain free from TN is amazing I am only 38 and I am looking forward to getting back on track with my life. Thank you again for you comment and well wishes I appreciate it very much. Collette in Aloha Oregon.