This is my first time back on my computer since my surgery. I am still in great pain and am waiting to decide whether the surgery was worth the agony. I spent four, unpleasant days in the hospital. Since coming home, I have spent most of my time sleeping or watching TV. I haven't felt well enough to even read. The family has doted on me greatly and I have enjoyed having my husband home with me all these days.
The surgery was harder than I expected. After opening me up, my neurosurgeon was surprised to find my arachnoid membrane to be opaque and discovered that my trigeminal nerve was surrounded by scar tissue. It appears I must have had Meningitis as a child. The surgeon said it looked as though glue had been squirted all around. He removed the scar tissue and separated the trigeminal nerve. He also sectioned the nerve to cause numbing so that I won't received so many pain signals.
Right now, I have the pain from the trigeminal neuralgia and the surgical pain, as well. My jaw keeps popping out of place. My numb eye leaks and needs eye drops. It's difficult to open my mouth to eat. I have to be careful when I swallow because part of my throat is numb also.
I do feel a tiny bit better each day and hope I will eventually think this was all worth it.
My surgical tape fell off yesterday and we all got our first look at my wound:
D said it looks like she sewed me up (and she didn't mean that as a complement) and S cried for the first time of this whole ordeal. The one good thing I can say is that my long thick hair covers the wound perfectly. With my hair down, no one can tell I was a patient of Dr. Frankenstein.
Another good thing is that I received three bouquets of lovely flowers and that many kind people have called to see how I am.
I hope I will be able to return to my blog more and that my health will continue to improve.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.
Dear Mrs. Happy Housewife,
A friend of mine found your website while she was searching the web to find out what Trigeminal Neuralgia is. I too have TN and under went MVD surgery on July 1, 2009. I have to tell you that my surgeon did a much better job at sewing me back up. I can hardly look at your picture, but I am very squeamish. It has been just over 6 months since my surgery and I am having some re-occurring pain after being almost completely pain free during the month or so prior. It's been devastating to say the least. Tears came to my eyes when my friend told me about your website. As you probably know, it's difficult to explain this condition. It would be wonderful to have someone to share with. I've started the rounds of doctor's appointments and scheduled MRIs.
I hope that you are recovering quickly. It takes some time so be kind to yourself and take it easy. If you're anything like me, I couldn't touch the "hole" for months (for those who don't know...it's covered by a metal plate, but there is an indention under the scalp). It just freaked me out. Now I'm an old pro at it. My hair has grown out a few inches and with my other hair down (which is also long), no one can tell that anything ever happened.
I'll keep you in my prayers!
Sincerely,
TNFriend