I had my decompression 12/11/12 after living with Chiari relatively symptom free for years. Over 3 months later I'm still not feeling, well, good. I have a lot of stiffness/soreness in my neck and shoulders, headaches, fatigue, and trouble with my balance. I'm also not sleeping for more than a couple hours at a time and I've been getting really depressed. My surgeon keeps telling me that everyone recovers at their own pace and he's not concerned that I don't feel good yet, but I'm scheduled to go back to work in a little over a week and I'm not so sure I'm going to be ok. Granted, my job isn't very physically demanding, but it's very mentally/emotionally challenging. I also have to be able to type, talk on the phone, read a computer screen, etc., but I don't feel like I can ask for more time. I feel like I should be fine right now.
Everyone recovers at their own pace. What did your NS tell you to expect after surgery as far as post op symptoms and returning to work? I would like to know what they have explained to you before I start.
I agree with Emmaline about the Arnica. I use Arnicare...it's a gel form from Walgreen's and it is incredible .
My surgeon was pretty broad about the recovery timeframe prior to surgery. He said he has some patients who are up and back to work in a couple of weeks, and some who go 6 months or more. He also explained that my symptoms may not be completely alleviated, and it'll take time for my body to adjust to everything that's happened. Which is basically what I've seen people say here too. Maybe I'm just putting too much pressure on myself to be "normal" and stressing out unnecessarily.
Thanks for the Arnica suggestion... I've never heard of it but I'll give it a shot.
The Arnica helps me a lot. I have Emmaline and Wendyanne to thank for the recommendation. Post Decompression Recovery is subjective. I wish it was like having your Gallbladder out and you knew in 6-8 weeks you could return to work. That's not how this works at all unfortunetly. Please know we all get frustrated. You are going to have to find your new normal. Please know you can always ask questions or vent or anything you need here. We understand.