I am 10 days out of surgery (decompression, duraplasty). My NS told my family I should know within a week what symptoms would be relieved as a result of the surgery. I am a little scared because all I really notice is a decrease in the skull-based headache. I still have vestibular symptoms (dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus, brain fog). What is realistic???
I am still in a lot of pain because I am not taking any meds except advil. Finally getting more than 2 hrs. of sleep a night. Going in tomorrow for a follow-up and suture removal. I guess I will see what he says.
Usually after your surgery has healed but NS will say it may take up to a year to see some changes. Ask him for additional pain meds. Pain is subjective and you shouldn't be suffering to the point you can't sleep. Some people have more pain post surgical than others. Just talk to your NS about your post op symptoms. If he disagrees ask for a referral to a pain mgmt specialist. They are great & I always tell everyone to have a team of specialists approach post op. Most NS don't follow up past the surgical stage.
I am almost 10 months post op and still have tinnitus which i now wear a hearing aid to mask out the ringing. so no that never changed. my headaches went away a long time ago way before my surgery. Vertigo I get sometimes depending if im over stressed or doing to much. brain fog never gets any better. My arm and neck pain are back and my NS claims neither of these symptoms are Chiari related which is a lie. refer to your Neurologist and try to get better pain meds than Advil if you are not sleeping. I unlike most did not experience any pain after my surgery. My doctors kept my pain under control. I took the valiums and oxycodone every few hrs even when i was not in pain to regulate so i would not get pain....which worked. After my 2nd week i did not need any medication at all. hope i helped answer your question
The reason that I am not taking pain meds is that they make me so sick (I should have clarified that). It was not for a lack of trying. Those in combination with the anesthesia was a mess. I literally threw up for 24 hrs. after surgery. I couldn't tolerate anything. They ended up giving me tylenol and a small dose of muscle relaxers. I can now take Advil and use a lot of ice. The pain is starting to ease up which is a relief and I am finally getting some more sleep.
Looking forward to getting the stitches out today. I really need to be more patient with it all. Like Beeba said - how can my symptoms go away in one week when I have had them most of my life.
I am 3 wks post surgery and had a very hard time sleeping too. And I also was quick to go straight to advil alone. I've been taking Advil PM at night to help me rest more and it made a big difference.