Healing time after Craniotomy

I wonder how long would it takes the most to fully recover from craniotomy
And is headache ( not the 24/7 one) considered a symptom of healing ( regrowing and repairing the damage of the craniotomy ) ?.

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I felt better after a couple of months but I would still get a sharp headache from time to time at the incision site. nothing terrible just a sharp pain that didnt last too long. The most unsettling part of the healing process was that I could feel the bone flap popping from time to time along the back of my head. and I took about 6 months to fully heal. I’m sure everybody’s different depending on their surgery site, but that was my experience.

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So do you think that the headache that won’t last long is a symptom when the brain is healing ? Because in my situation my son went the first 6 months after the craniotomy without any headaches but after the 6 months he started to feel some headaches that wont last long and sometimes of the place of the surgery and sometimes in other places … And these headaches comes around once a week or 2 weeks but since he hasn’t had any headaches before it got me worried and when i talked to the doctor he told me its normal and not related to the op.

When I was having them my neurologist told me that’s part of the healing process as some of the nerves were reconnecting along the incision site and that was causing some of the sharp pains, but they should subside after a period of time.

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Glad to hear that … I hope thats exactly is our situation :wink: thank you brother

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I can say the healing process can be a slow and lengthy process for some… I think after 9 years I now have some feeling on my scalp and still from time to time get light headaches etc… I was told if taking something for the headaches doesnt work then that is when you may want to follow it up… God bless!

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Wow 9 years I didn’t thought it might takes that much … God bless you :innocent:

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9 years… good lord… :slight_smile:

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It just shows we shouldn’t count these things in days or weeks or possibly months! Patience is kinda necessary :grimacing:

Adrian, hats off, mate! Hats off!

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Hi Omairi,
I don’t think there is a standard answer to your question. I’m not even sure if anyone fully recovers from a craniotomy! Will I ever be fully normal again? It’s not something I am aspiring to, but I am grateful for all my blessings. I know my situation could have been a lot worse.
Its been 10 months since my craniotomy. I get intermittent headaches, sometimes for several days, but nothing I can’t bear. My head was really sore especially around the 6 month mark for about 4-6 weeks. I get different types of headaches, one type is really helped just by putting pressure on the scar site (think it might be nerve pain) You might want to try that with your son.

Sometimes I’m very sensitive to normal noise. I still carry special earplugs with me, but the occasions are becoming rarer. I also struggle with focusing on a conversation in a noisy pub or restaurant. I sometimes have light sensitivity. I often get floaters and mild visual disturbances. Cognitive symptoms such as attention span, multi-tasking, memory and becoming easily overwhelmed. Fatigue has improved over time, but is still a problem for me.
My neurologist said I was describing similar symptoms to his TBI patients but that he imagined my recovery might be slightly longer than for them.
I hope that helps.

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At first I felt half dead, but very slow improvements came to me in the first couple months. Then going home brought major improvements. My head was numb for some
months, and so there were no headaches. I have hardly had a headache at all since
the operation, but things are different with different people. There were times lasting for weeks when I would see small improvements every 3-4 days, and I was gradually feeling younger with time, not older.
I got to drive cars again a year and a half after the operation, and work again around then. Near total recovery was about 5 1/2 years after operation.
Thank you, God.

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