…and have headaches and lots of dizziness and buzzing in my head. Is this normal? I feel like sooooooo horrible. When will I start to feel normal again?
K
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Your brain just had a traumatic experience. You’ll need to sleep a lot. Anyone want to chime in who’s had a crainiotomy?
That’s one hell of a picture! When was the craniotomy? I get the impression that it was quite recently, in which case I’d say the fact that you are writing emails an asking this type of question are a very good sign. My craniotomy left me out of work for 9 months. I wasn’t able to use the computer for almost a month because I was so confused half of the time, my vision was completely screwed-up, my short-term memory was almost non-existant, etc. But to answer your question, yes, the headaches and dizziness are completely normal and can last anywhere from days to weeks to months. I don’t recall having any buzzing in my ears, but my surgery was also in a different location, so aside from the headaches and dizziness, our symptoms could be quite different.
As for the “normal” question… I don’t mean this at all as a joke, but I guess that it all depends on your definition of “normal.” Personlly, I never felt the same again after my surgery, so it became a new “normal,” but I am refering more to the emotional/psychological side of things. Physically, I started feeling a bit more like “myself” after about a month. At the same time, I have a friend that has had two craniotomies right about in the same location as you. Her operations were due to cancer, but she healed very quickly. She was having headaches, which is expected, but was more or less back to being herself as soon as they removed the staples.
I wish you the best. We’re here if you need us!
I have had 2 crainiotomies and it takes a lot out of you…the first one was the hardest just because I had no idea what to expect. Trust me your doing really well just as long as you can read and write and remember who your family is. Some of us aren’t that lucky. As far as when you will start to feel normal again…no one can really answer that. But hopefully it is as soon as possible. My first surgery was just a little over 2 years ago and I dont feel anything like the person I used to be. But i’m ok with who I am and the person that I have become. Now with your headache…the reason I found out I have an AVM was because I got a crazy onset of a headache and never had one like it before. I have now had a headache for 2 years 3 months and 15 days…it just takes a lot of time for our brains to heal. Just be careful with your dizziness and try not to stand up to fast and be careful when your walking. I hope you feel better as soon as you can. 
and well come to the crainiotomy club!!!
Welcome home. Sorry you feel so bad. No craniotomy for me so I can’t offer much! But did want to say that I am glad it went well (judging from the fact you are home and on the computer!) and hope that you feel better soon!
Krystal have you contacted your neuros and inquired about pain and buzzing ?
We are all unique…and for myself headache, head-pain, buzzing and other sounds in my head alomg with dizzy and light-headed ‘nesses’ were a part of the after-math.
Brain surgery as I was told afterward is a whole lot of shock, trauma, stress, etc. and healing is different for everyone so ‘normal’ is individualized as well as collective. If you speak with one of your neuros or their staff they may give you some information, advice or recommendation that fits your particular case.
Was your post-op visit scheduled for one or two weeks out ?
By the way woman you should be resting and more to the point-SLEEPING…Why are you NOT asleep?
Krystol I’m glad you are home … I hope you get back to being yourself soon . TAKE CARE
Oh Krystal, I’m so sorry for what you’re going through, yes I’ve been there, well I’m still there. The best thing would be for you to tell your neurology team what is going on. I also had severe severe headaches… the meds they gave me wasn’t working, so I would go back and forth to the er just to get 2-5 hrs of relief from pain, after a couple of years of going through that I finally was referred to the mayo clinic (specialize in headaches) in Ann Arbor, Michigan which helped me out a lot. When I arrived back here in Ga I was again sent to a phychiatrist and he helped me out on some issues I was dealing with. Please be careful with the dizziness, because if you move your head to fast you may pass out and please let your doctors know what’s going on, immediately!!! I had my craniotomy in 1998 and have a lot issues to deal with now. I still have dizziness, different sounds in my head, and headaches, but they are not as bad as they use to be. You may not be able to drive for a while and you need to get as much rest as possible so your brain can heal. Your comprehension seems to be good, so that’s a plus. Your doctors may want to send you to see an ENT doctor to check out your balance issues and maybe a headache doc.(specializes in headaches) Keep us in touch and remember we all love you!!! You asked when will you feel normal again, well it’s been 10 years since my craniotomy and I never got back to the normal I felt before my surgery, I have a new normal that I’ve gotten use to and it’s not so bad, so hang in there.
It sounds like your recovery is normal, but don’t hesitate to call and run the signs & symptoms past your doctors. That will put your mind at rest (no pun intended) if they tell you it’s normal. If it’s not normal then it gets treated. If you had an abdominal surgery, if instance, you would still be hurting and needing pain meds. That could take 4-6 weeks. A brain surgery is just as much of a shock to your body. Give it time and let it rest. Andrew never had any pain meds after his surgery, just Tylenol, but others at the same hotel still needed a lot of pain meds 2 weeks post-op. Everyone is different, but likes others already stated the fact that your able to type and express yourself so well is an excellent sign. Your in my thoughts and I hope your pain ease soon. Take care.
I’m glad you are home in spite of the pain you are experiencing you seem to still have your mind.
Hopefully, you will be pain free soon.
Peace,
Ameenah
Hi Krystal, I am glad you are home and the craniotomy is over with. Now comes the recovery. It takes time to start feeling NORMAL again. And it depends on the person and the extent of there craniotomy. It took me 3 weeks to just stop the room from constantly moving and then still almost 3 months later I am still feeling some of the after effect of it. Sleep will become your new friend for a couple of weeks so get to know it really well. Do not push your self to get back to your everyday life to quickly, take it easy and listen to your body. And if you have concerns perhaps call your doctor? I hope that everything went well and that these things that you are feeling are only temporary. Take it easy and update us all when you are up to it.