Well, here I am, 5 weeks post-op. My head still hurts, my neck is still very sore, and I'm still not on anything even close to resembling a normal sleep schedule, but apparently, I'm recovering well according to my NS. He won't let me go back to school/work yet, so I'm doing the bored-at-home-all-day thing right now. I'm finding myself increasingly able to deal without my muscle relaxers and pain meds, but still needing them enough that it bothers me. I wanna be DONE with this. I feel like after this long, I should know if this surgery worked or not. And I'm not sure. I still feel kind of like a space brain, even when I'm not on any meds, I'm still having nausea issues, and though they haven't been severe, headaches.
I dunno you guys. Am I expecting too much? I mean, I can actually go up and down the stairs alone now, and have been trusted to go out on my own (I was very unstable for the first 2 weeks post-op), though I did get yelled at for trying to do too much too fast by my mother. My husband just looked at me and said "Are you sure you're ready for that?".
<Also, please excuse my extended absence, we've had some family stuff I've had to deal with aside from the post-op recovery process. It's been a crazy month>
Taking care of the kids and running my house doesn’t exactly allow for much in the way of rest. I can’t take any of meds while I’m the only adult home with the kids. And of course, now that it’s summer, our social schedule goes full tilt. My next appointment is July 20th. Ugh. So much waiting!
I haven't had my revision yet and I don't remember the first few weeks of my first one it was so long ago. But my new surgeon who is very knowledgeable about Chiari told me that 6 weeks is the turning point for most people. She said the first 6 weeks are awful and then things start to get better. I can't say for sure but I am pinning my hopes on that because my first surgery in 2011 was really difficult. Certainly someone who has gone through it recently would have better info but I thought I would pass on info from someone who does the decompression surgeries frequently. I hope that you can rest a little and be kind to yourself. Ask for help when you can and take care of yourself. I am sending you prayers and healing thoughts. I hope the other issues resolve too. Wendy
I had my decompression this past December. I am still experiencing issues. I was under the impression that at 6 weeks things would be healed. Lol. I am still healing. I wasns't given the ok to drive until 12 weeks and then I waited for a while. The first attemot was nerve racking and I had a co pilot for a few weeks. I have a lot of issues due to my symptoms returnng, Which started around 4 weeks post op. I may be just one of those people that have problems. I hope you are not. Please try to take it easy. I know it is easier said than done being a parent. Don;t push yourself and don't expect too much. I thought I'd be cured, but it was a very RUDE awakening when my symptoms all started returning. It was then very difficult to accept. Good luck!