2 months post op

Symptoms and Treatments Surgery and Recovery
1

Hello group,

I’m 2 months post op and recovery is going well. I have some good days and some not so good. I haven’t had a full day of no headaches however, I haven’t needed any prescription pain meds for over a month. I use Tylenol tension headache, this is the only thing that helps me even prior to surgery. I’ve tried all the others Baclofen, gabapentin, ajovy etc…. to no avail.

I have had a few hours here and there free of headaches and it feels so clear and light. I’m back to driving but not more than a 10 mile radius of my home of that. My neck is still a little tender and hard to turn my head left. The dizziness that I felt when baring down is gone. Thank goodness for that, because feeling like you’re about to pass out from belching is unnecessary.

I saw my surgeon a couple of weeks ago and he said everything looks great and he wasn’t expecting any real results because the pain from the Chiari and surgery is about that same and it’s going to be a year of recovery. He explained again that it’s like a roller coaster that should start evening out. He said that there’s nothing more for him to do. It’s all on me now to take it easy and slow. If, I’m not having any problems he don’t want to see me again not because he doesn’t like me but he’s in the healing business and don’t like permanent patients. He a great dr and friendly. ( I also have other medical issues that keep me with dr so he said they will inform him if anything looks out of sorts. ( I had two surgery when I did the decompression)

My scar has healed surface level. I have some sharp pain deeper in the incision area but that’s was to be expected. I’m happy that the back of my head doesn’t feel like rug burn anymore.

All in all I feel like I’m coming back to life. I have a new energy. It’s nice to be able to walk and not having each step causes headaches thats so painful that it shouldn’t be called a headache but something more elaborate because I’ve rather been in labor. I’m careful to take it easy and remember that this was a MAJOR surgery and life changes had to be made to continue my life.

I pray that all find relief because it’s more than a headache

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Hey, Jayjay! SO glad to hear your recovery is happening. And, actually sounds rather fast! That’s even better. Your headache pain may just take time to go away. Is it in the front of your head, or in the back? Mine was in the back, where the actual “brain squish” was going on. And, my “brain squish” pain never has gone away, and I’m 9 years post-surgery. My docs tell me it is a ‘pain pathway,’ that damaged nerves have created; even though complete healing may have happened, there could be damaged nerve who are still saying “OUCH!” even though there is no longer any damage. Bummer. The only thing that has worked for me to block pain pathway agony has been very small doses of amitriptyline. (like, 2-5 mg - every other day) Certain nerve pain meds like that do take 4-6 weeks to become effective, though. So, it does take a while to see whether they will work or not. Sounds like you haven’t even been in recovery that long - so you may not need anything! Thank God for your healing! :grin:

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Yes, the pain mostly starts in the back. I do get the migraines that feels like my brain is splitting into two. I think I’ve accepted the fact that the headaches aren’t going away where. I’m just happy that I know what it is NOW!! Prior to that I was self diagnose myself with all kinds of brain ailments. As they say only time will tell. I just hope that the daily all day headaches don’t return