Hi All,
My surgery is coming up in May and I'm wondering how people found their recovery period. I will be an induced coma for a while post op to keep my blood pressure low, but did people feel a lot of post-op pain etc.? Similarly, did some of you find you lost functions (like were weak or paralyzed etc.) but regained function? How long did it take you to recover?
Take care,
Vera
Hi Vera, I just had my surgery 2 weeks ago, mine was located in the right frontal lobe, and like u they kept my bp low for 3 days so i stayed in the ICU for that time but was not kept in a induced coma. I did have some pain it took them 1 1/2 days to get it under control but once that happened it was pretty easy to tolerate. I only needed one percoect 2 times a day for the pain. But that will only depend on how well u tolerate pain. my forehead was extremely sensitive so of course thats how they wanted to take my temp. so i had to ask them to take it by ear. And for 2 days i had serious issues with light. (photophobia) I could not tolerate light at all, so they had to keep me in the dark. The only functions I lost was the ability to move my eyebrows and wrinkle my forehead.(I have some of that ability now, the rest I may never get back). I did have issues with sleeping for a while. I was only able to sleep for 2 hours at a time, but that is also slowly changing. Hope all goes well. Lots of prayers your way. Hope this helped.
Tonna
Hi Tonna,
Thank you so much for sharing and for your prayers and well wishes! It certainly sounds like you are recovering like a champ! It is such a scary surgery to prepare for.
Take care,
Vera
Hi.
I wasn't put in an induced coma post my operation either. They dose you on some pretty heavy drugs so to be honest I do not remember that much pain. However it was still quite a difficult first few nights, they kept me sitting up straight for 24 hours with tubes connected to my head, so it wasn't the most easy time to sleep... Then the next night or so my face started to burn and swell up which again made it difficult to get any sleep at all. I left the hospital 7 days after.
It's hard for me to say how long it takes to recover from this, I had a bleed (hemorrhage) 4 weeks prior to my main operation and was kept in hospital the whole time. I believe the bleed did more damage... as they were giving me physical rehab even before my operation. Though I did not need much, I didn't really have any problem moving. The lack of energy however... that is the hard thing to overcome. Even today (nearly 4 years) I do not feel the same.
Hi Vera. Post op I was kept in ICU for another 7 days as they had to allow the swelling from the resect to settle down before they opened my up again to clip an aneurysm that they couldn’t get to, during the avm op. Not being a fan of drugs, it was not a fun time, and I found that nothing they gave me woud ease the pain anyway, for the first 3-4 days in the ICU. I have to say i shed a few tears while i was in there, and it was the rampant emotions that you go through post-op, more than the pain, that gets to you. All up it was about 4 weeks before i was allowed to go home - but that was only because of some ‘other’ complications not related to the surgery. You know the best thing about the recovery period? The wonderful people like yourself, that gave me strength on this site. You will do fine - cos you are who you are doc. Tone
Vera, I don’t want to scare you or make you more uneasy, but to be honest, yes there was a lot of pain. But, I also had a bleed, so that may have contributed a bit. Some days Tylenol would help, some days they’d have to give me heavy duty stuff. The good news is that the pain was always manageable. Hospitals don’t like to see you in pain, so they will always give you something to help you. You’ll do great!
Vera, after my AVM ruptured and I had emergency surgery, I was in a coma for no more than 24 hours. I woke up feeling a bit weak and drowsy, of course. The following day they removed my oxygen mask and I was ready to get up out of the bed. The third day I was moved from ICU to a private room. My mom says she can't remember me complaining with a headache, but maybe once. I was up and walking by the 4th day after surgery. I think the weakness is what got me down the most. I lost
17 lbs almost overnight. Just take it easy after your surgery....you have plenty of time. I'll be thinking of you and praying for a quick recovery. You gotta come to Texas soon!
Wow! You have certainly all gone through an ordeal! I know this won’t be a walk in the park! It is always good to know what you are getting yourself into. I think my doctors are good, and I know a lot of the nursing staff already which is helpful. I too will probably shed many tears, but I hope to get out of hospital and into my own home safely. You have given me so much strength through this time and knowing that others have healed is always comforting:)
xoxo
V
Maybe an ordeal for some of us when it wasn’t expected, but I think you are gonna be fine. You are a strong person to have put this surgery off this long. Sheree has done well since her surgery last October. Some problems with her legs circulating, but she’s wanting to go back to work in April. You’ll be ready for skiing again come winter 
I sure hope so Caryn! That would be a dream recovery:)
Hi Vera,
Good luck with your upcoming surgery. You are a very strong lady, I am sure thinks will go well for you. I will keep you in my prayers for fast recovery. It is the positive attitude, the determination to do well what will make you go through this and of course you support system: your family and your friends. You will be in good hands. Take care :)
That is very kind of you!
V
Ontario Mom said:
Hi Vera,
Good luck with your upcoming surgery. You are a very strong lady, I am sure thinks will go well for you. I will keep you in my prayers for fast recovery. It is the positive attitude, the determination to do well what will make you go through this and of course you support system: your family and your friends. You will be in good hands. Take care :)
Vera-
I had a bleed prior to my surgery and do not recall much pain at all after the surgery. I think I was on some good drugs while in ICU and then in my room. They also monitored my BP the whole entire time I was in the hospital which was 11 days prior to surgyer and I was released 5 days after. I just remember being extremely tired for such a long time. My surgery was in Aug. 2009 and I still struggle with my energy level. I felt extremely lucky that I had no side effects or loss of mobility. And I really do not have any headaches.
Hi Cheryl,
That's certainly a long time to be fatigued, and I hope it is getting a bit better! It certainly sounds like you went through a lot!
Take care,
Vera
Cheryl Brunk said:
Vera-
I had a bleed prior to my surgery and do not recall much pain at all after the surgery. I think I was on some good drugs while in ICU and then in my room. They also monitored my BP the whole entire time I was in the hospital which was 11 days prior to surgyer and I was released 5 days after. I just remember being extremely tired for such a long time. My surgery was in Aug. 2009 and I still struggle with my energy level. I felt extremely lucky that I had no side effects or loss of mobility. And I really do not have any headaches.
Vera-
You are so strong and amazing. I'm currently at work, but I want to send you a long (enough) message to help you out. I will pray all that I can for you!
Mary
Vera
My surgery was in the pons area of the brainstem. I did not have pain after the surgery but I was heavily sedated. I went from the hospital directly to a rehab center. Due to the area of my surgery I needed to rehab to help with balance, strength and coordination.
For me it wasnt painful till the night after I awoke. Then I was in pain and morphine was given. Up until I left I was on many different meds. I also lost my eye sight for a couple of weeks in the right eye but it came back. The pain was there and it sucked and the stitches hurt too but I coped.Each person is different as each case is. Good Luck to and hope all goes well, with miniumal issues.
Hi Mary!
I checked out your blog! What a strong and wonderful support system! I am blown away by your complication free recovery! Fingers crossed for the same for me! I need my left hand for medicine!
I look forward to your message and will add you as a friend!
Take care,
V
Mary Goodwin said:
Vera-
You are so strong and amazing. I'm currently at work, but I want to send you a long (enough) message to help you out. I will pray all that I can for you!
Mary
Hi Kat,
It's always so nice to hear when functions come back! Congrats on regaining your sight! It must be so nice to have it all be over!
Kat said:
For me it wasnt painful till the night after I awoke. Then I was in pain and morphine was given. Up until I left I was on many different meds. I also lost my eye sight for a couple of weeks in the right eye but it came back. The pain was there and it sucked and the stitches hurt too but I coped.Each person is different as each case is. Good Luck to and hope all goes well, with miniumal issues.
Vera-
I can’t imagine the emotions you’re feeling as you prepare for not only a life-saving surgery, but for a coma. You seem so poised and calm; I wish I had that strength. Something I had to do each and every day leading up to my surgery was seeing the end from the beginning. Thinking about how I cry when I have no shoes, but then I see the man with no feet. Never looking at what I don’t have so I can only see what I do have. Aiming to do that as much as possible provided me with the necessary motivation and perseverance. YOU CAN DO THIS. I didn’t know if I would wake up at all, or stroke free or without paralyzation. At that point, I realized what I truly needed; my family and my faith. These are the only things you’ll have under the knife and in the coma. Remain resilient in your heart and in your mind; your brain will be ten times as strong. I truly will be praying for every comfort and success you need.